Carp fishing tips | How to accurately cast every time!

Increasingly these days, carp anglers quantify the distances they are fishing at in ‘wraps’, rather than in the traditional units of feet, metres or yards.

This obsessive attention to accuracy can be pivotal to success. The last thing you want is to bait up a promising-looking spot out in the pond, then cast your baited rigs 10 yards past it. 

The way to make sure that your freebies and baited rig are sitting side by side is by using short poles known as distance sticks. 

They are simple to use too, once you have got the hang of it. 

Once you’ve mastered the art, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without them!

Learn the basics

To begin with you need to use a marker rod, or a bare lead on the end of a braided mainline, to find the potential ‘spot’ that you want to fish to. This could be anything ‘promising’, such as a gravel bar, the edge of a drop-off or a clear spot amid weed. 

Once you’ve found the spot, you need to tighten down gently until you are in direct contact with the lead. Keeping the rod in the typical casting release position, you then need to put the line in the clip on the reel and wind in the lead. 

Next, poke your two distance sticks (you can use banksticks if need be) into the ground 12ft (a rodlength) apart on the bank behind your swim. 

Then, placing the lead next to one of these sticks, feed out line from the reel and move the rod-tip towards the other stick. It’s important not to let the line spill off the spool freely when you’re doing this, but to instead keep it under light tension. Go round the other stick with the mainline, all the while keeping it quite taut, and back round the other stick in a ‘figure-of-eight’ motion. 

Keep doing this until you reach the point where the line is in the clip, all the while keeping a tally of how many ‘wraps’ you have made. It’s then possible, using simple maths, to work out the exact distance that your ‘spot’ is from the bank, and for you to replicate this with your fishing rods, ensuring that you loosefeed, and fish, precisely the same area. 

Build a mental map

Over the course of a season, you can use this method to record a host of your favourite ‘spots’ around a lake. 

In a notepad, jot down details of the distance they are from the bank, and any notable trees or other landmarks on the horizon that they line up with.

By doing so, whenever you turn up at the lake, you’ll be able to land on the money every single time. And you won’t even need to use the marker rod to do so – simply refer to your notes. 

It’s also easy for anglers to share information using this uniform measurement. Some fishery owners and helpful venue regulars will even alert fellow anglers to known hotspots using this ‘code’. 

Marking the line

For all its advantages, using distance sticks can be a time-consuming process, especially if you are casting regularly. That’s where the use of marker elastic comes in.

Essentially, it’s the same as pole elastic, and many carpers choose to use exactly that, as it can be cheaper. Both are absolutely ideal for tying around your mainline without causing damage. 

The resultant knot – which, essentially, is an old-fashioned ‘stop-knot’ – should be tied at the distance you are fishing at, so that you don’t need to weave your line around sticks. Just cast out and wait for the sound of the elastic going through the rod rings to alert you to your desired distance.

Clip up the line and simply aim your next cast at your spot.

How to use distance marker sticks

1) ‘Clip up’ to your desired spot and space your marker sticks a rodlength (12ft) apart.

2) Put the lead at one end. Release line by working it from one stick to the other.

3) A figure-of-eight motion will stop the line slipping off the sticks and prevent tangles.

4) Count off each length (wrap). It is easier if you start at the same end each time.

5) Make a note of how many ‘wraps’ it is to your chosen spot, for future reference.

Perch fishing tips | Top four lures to use for perch success

There are loads of lures that will catch perch, but not all of them are effective all of the time. The key to success is knowing when to use each one to its best advantage. The rule of thumb that I work to is based upon water temperature. The warmer the water, the more positively you can fish with larger lures and faster retrieves. In the depths of winter, the opposite is true. Only the smallest movements are needed, and smaller lures tend to score better. So let’s take a look at some top picks for the months ahead. 

What colour lure to use

Over the years my thoughts on lure colours have changed a lot. They may differ from conventional wisdom but have been proved successful time and time again. 

There is no right or wrong colour, so it’s worth having a few variations. Water temperature and clarity both play their part in deciding on the best colours.

Autumn clear water – I like bright colours at this time of the year. Slime Curd and Headlight are among my favourites.

Autumn murky water – The strong silhouette of a dark lure tends to be best under these conditions. Go for colours like Sangria and Motor oil.

Winter clear water – These are among the toughest conditions to catch in, but brighter colours still tend to win out. I like Official Roach and Bass Orange when the going gets tough. 

Winter murky water – Once again, the strong silhouette of a darker lure tends to be my favourite, and Seaweed and Sweet Plum are stand-out patterns. 

Crankbaits - Best used in October/November

These small hard lures are my favourite way to catch perch, and when the water is still relatively warm they take some beating. 

Use lures in the 6cm-9cm range, as these are ideal for perch, and pay attention to the diving depth of the lure. The bigger the vane on the front of the lure, the deeper it will dive. 

By far the best shape of crankbait for perch is a short, stumpy body that produces a really fast wiggle action. For some reason this drives perch crazy, and in clear water you can watch them pick up on the vibrations and zoom towards the lure from several metres away. 

Perch are often still quite spread out at this time of the year and can take some finding. This is where crankbaits score, because they can be worked quickly through a swim. 

Try fan-casting, covering the water in front of you in a series of casts from left to right. If you don’t have any hits straight away, move on to the next swim. 

Shads - best used in November/December

With the water temperatures dropping away, the perch are often a little less active and will tend to hug the bottom more closely. This calls for a lure that can be fished a little slower and – crucially – closer to the bottom without snagging up. Soft shads are perfect for this job, especially when fished on a weedless rig. 

Lure size is starting to become more important now. Try lures in the 4cm-9cm range, depending upon the size of perch that you are fishing for. 

Rig these on a matching wide gape hook, ranging from a size 1/0 to a 3/0. 

Instead of hooking the lure through the back, thread the hook on sideways for a simple weedless rigging. This will help you avoid the majority of snags, but still gives a clean hook-up when a perch bites down on the lure. 

Drop shot - best used in December/January

With the water temperature now falling quite low and still dropping, the perch are much less active and will often hug the bottom and any features tightly. 

Gone are the days of expecting perch to chase lures – now a bait has to be presented right on their noses to bring a bite. 

This is where drop-shotting really comes into its own, as the weight on the end of the line ensures that the bait is held right in front of the perch for the whole of the retrieve. 

With the lure set at about 30cm off the bottom, it will be impossible for the fish to ignore it. Ever so slowly edge the lure along the bottom, leaving a good 10-second pause before moving it again. Very often bites will come when the bait is static. 

Smaller lures prove their worth at this time of the year. 

Small shads and worms measuring around 4cm-6cm are perfect, even when targeting specimen perch.

Creature baits - Best used in January/February

With conditions now stable but cold, the perch will be amid cover and may only feed for short periods around dawn and dusk. Their natural prey of small fish and invertebrates will be harder to catch, though, so they will be hungry. Once again, a slow approach, close to cover and hard on the bottom, will pay dividends. 

Texas rigging was developed for catching bass in heavy weed, but it works just as well for perch when the bait needs to be inched along the bottom. The ideal bait is a small rubber ‘creature’, which could be anything from a worm shape to a crayfish. 

The ideal lure has a slim profile allowing it to be rigged weedless, so it can be worked along the bottom without snagging. 

Go for 4cm-6cm lures rigged on a size 4/0 wide-gape hook, and expect bold bites as the perch grab these plastic creatures. 

River fishing tips | Choose the waggler over the pole

As we head towards winter, it’s all too easy to bank on the precision and great presentation offered by the pole. 

By doing so, though, you’re immediately limiting yourself, in my opinion, in terms of flexibility. 

The pole is brilliant for catching in one tight area over your feed, but you can be left wanting for the chance to fish further out or off to one side to see if the fish have moved slightly. With a waggler, you can achieve this in seconds. 

On deep canals such as the ones close to me in South Yorkshire, the waggler becomes a key tactic to have up your sleeve and can sometimes totally outfish the pole in clear water, or when there are a lot of fish to catch quickly.

It’s also a classic and easy method to fish, and one that doesn’t need thousands of pounds’ worth of long pole to achieve. Most of us were brought up fishing the waggler, so it’s nice to be able to leave the pole in the bag and go back to basics.

Why wagglers score

For me there are three reasons to use the float over the pole. First, speed. It’s much quicker to cast out and wind in fish than it is shipping 14m or 16m of pole in and out on a busy bank. 

Seond, in clear water the fish will be much happier without a pole being wafted over their heads... and finally, the waggler gives you the versatility to cast around the peg to seek out fish if bites are few and far between in one spot. The pole cannot do any of these.

Going the distance

If you plan on having a long pole line, make sure there’s enough space between this swim and where you’re fishing the waggler. 

The range you pick must be able to be reached with your loosefeed, so around 18m is good. 

If you have a feature like a boat in front of you, there’s the temptation to cast tight up to it but I wouldn’t –  instead I would make sure there’s a few metres between the float and the boat to let me go further over if the fish back off. 

Try fishing shallow

I know we’re in November, but until the really cold weather hits, I’m a firm believer in still being able to catch off bottom, especially on those big canals. 

Roach, rudd, hybrids and even skimmers will be sat here, but the big question is, how far off bottom do I need to come? 

This can be 2ft off the deck in 9ft of water, and if rudd are present, we could be talking as little as 2ft below the surface. 

It’s something you need to work out as the day goes on. As a rule, I would begin on the bottom and go shallower if bites were coming as the bait was falling, or if I was catching a lot of rudd.

No-tangle waggler rig

The days of big shot around the float base are gone, and this means no more tangles. I’ll use loaded floats, but try and fish as light a loading as possible. For most casts, a 1.5g loaded float is bang on.

My favourite is a loaded fine-tipped peacock insert waggler. This float needs only a moderate strength cast to hit the spot and is stopped by two Guru Line Stops. Down the line are evenly spaced three No9 shot, which leaves just a tiny bit of float showing so that I can easily see any hold-ups on the float from fish picking the bait up on the drop.

Tackle talk

Mainline is robust 0.18mm (5.3lb) Guru Pulse Pro to a Guru ready rig of 0.10mm N-Gauge and a size 18 Pole Special hook – I couldn’t tie them any better myself! The Pole Special is also a fine waggler hook so don’t be put off by the name.

That just leaves rods, and a 12ft through-actioned model will do nicely as there’s not the need for the extra reach of a 13ft or 14ft rod.

Feeding

Loosefeed is the way to go here, but how often the catapult is brought into action can vary. 

To begin with I’ll feed 15 to 20 maggots every third cast. Only if I am having a lot of grief from small fish will I switch to feeding every cast to ensure enough maggots are about to keep the better fish on the hunt.

I could use casters, but I think maggots sink more slowly and give me a better chance of catching on the drop.

Hookbaits

This is single or double maggot – casters are crushed too easily when you miss a bite – and I prefer a bronze or fluoro pink maggot by choice. When using a double maggot I will hook them through the pointed end to leave more hookpoint showing, which I’m positive means more bites turned into fish in the net.

Getting Twitchy

Seldom do I leave the float sat completely still in the peg. My waggler routine is to cast, let the float settle, and if I’ve not had an indication after 30 seconds, give the bait a twitch by turning the reel handle once. After another 30 seconds I’ll wind in and repeat but hopefully, the float will have gone under by this point!

How to find the quality fish with Bob Nudd

Even though I’m a small-fish man at heart, there’s still nothing to match the excitement of running a float down a river swim and striking into something substantially bigger on the other end!

Be it a perch, chub, bream or tench, targeting quality fish on rivers is a totally different challenge to setting your stall out for a bag of small roach. 

Yet the tactics, baits and feeding are surprisingly simple, and the rewards can be relatively quick in coming.

This is especially true when fishing smaller, more intimate, rivers where there’s less water to play with. My local Old River Nene in March town centre is one such example, being only around 13m or 14m wide with an average depth of 5ft down the middle.

Now, the Old Nene may be best known for its winter roach sport and it may not look that much cop at first glance – but in October, it’s home to some big fish as well, especially quality rudd, skimmers, eels, perch and even the chance of a tench or three – fish that seem to vanish when the cold weather arrives.

But that’s not for a good few weeks yet, so it really is time now to go there with better quality fish in mind. I’d say that’s true of many smaller rivers. 

A bit of colour in the water will also help, but even in clear water there’s still every chance of a few fish that will pull your elastic out of the pole.

My approach for these fish revolves around fishing the pole at a comfortable distance and using groundbait, chopped worm and casters, three items that all fish love and which should avoid the smaller species that the Old Nene is also full of. 

To put it into practice, I’ve come to the scout hut section of the river where there’s a good chance of some skimmers and one or two lovely golden rudd. 

Move the rig

A lot of better fish are caught by holding the rig dead still over the feed, but I don’t do this all of the time. 

Instead, the float will be inched through the peg slowly to cover a good few yards of the swim, just to see if the fish prefer a moving bait or are sat just downstream of the feed.

Having around 2ft of line between pole and float helps here, but in stronger flows this would be lengthened to as much as 5ft to let me cover more of the peg. In terms of plumbing up, I set the float to be fished three inches overdepth.

The session

Kicking off on double maggot, it doesn’t hit the bottom as a string of rudd hold the float up and swim off! Changing to caster and redworm is no better, and even half a dendra results in the same, but this is normal just after feeding. The fish are pulled in and go a little mad, swimming about everywhere.

After an hour and plenty of rudd, things settle and the worm gets to the bottom. Chunky perch are first to arrive, and a couple of rudd getting on for 1lb also get in on the act. With few small fish about, I can now revert to baits more suited to skimmers. Double caster catches a few rudd-bream hybrids, quality roach and hand-sized skimmers.

After two hours it’s time for a top-up, and thankfully the small fish don’t reappear. After a few perch something bigger is on, but I get the sneaking suspicion it’s an eel. At 2lb it puts up a right old scrap. Ten minutes later I hook another big fish, again on caster, but it snags me and the hook pulls. I have no idea what it was!

From this point on, it’s a case of running the float through – this seems best on the day – topping up with another ball when the small fish turn up and taking what I can. None of those bream or skimmers show, but with rudd, hybrids, roach, perch and small skimmers coming one a chuck, it’s a lovely day’s fishing. The beauty of it is that you never know if that next run through is going to produce a monster!

Hookbaits

This is a case of trial and error, starting bait always being two fluoro pink maggots. If small fish are a problem, it’s on to double caster and then two halves of redworm.

Failing all that, it’s a 2ins-long piece of dendrobaena worm. As a rule, dendras seem to catch more perch, with the rudd and skimmers preferring maggots or casters, so I try to spend as much time as I can fishing the latter.

Big rigs

Because I could hook a tench or even a carp on this river, tackle must be sensible. I’ll fish 0.16mm Browning Hybrid Power mono mainline to a 12ins hooklink of the same line but in 0.14mm diameter. Hook is a size 14 Kamasan B512 to an orange grade Browning Microbore hollow elastic that works out at around a No8 in old money. 

With this gear, I’m confident of landing anything I hook.

Floats also need to be big, not only to deal with the flow but also to get around small fish that with a light pattern can easily hold the bait up as it falls. For me, it’s a 1.5g pear-shaped pattern that’s been designed for me by DT Floats. By using an olivette and a couple of No9 droppers relatively close to the hook I can be sure that the bait will go straight to the bottom. If it doesn’t, I simply push the olivette and shot together to create one bulk.

Pick the right line

The first job is to decide where to fish. At March, the river is typical in that there are two shallow shelves close in and right across that slope down to a deep central channel used by boats. This is where I’d expect the better fish to be and the good news is that it only takes around 7m or 8m of pole to be fishing here. 

It’s true that this central channel can attract rubbish, branches and weed, so it is well worth running a rig through the swim before you do anything else to check exactly what’s waiting under the surface.

With some careful plumbing up, though, you will find a clear spot to run over. 

Feeding

This involves groundbait, worms and casters which will appeal to a range of species with less chance of pulling in small perch or eels, which worm and caster fed on its own can. I’ll cup three big balls in at the start, making sure to pack them with as much worm and caster as I can.

Groundbait mix is 50/50 Van Den Eynde Black Turbo and Gold Pro Bream, to which I add some yellow Sinking Crumbs to make them stand out on the bottom.

This is my go-to mix for skimmers and better fish in Ireland and it works just as well back home. I mix this the night before to make it relatively inactive and on the dry side to take into account the moisture from the worms and casters.

To form three balls I simply cup an amount in both hands three times and transfer it into another tub. I then put in a good handful of casters and a full pole cup of chopped dendra worms that are cut to a fine texture as opposed to large chunks. 

I chop the worms in the cup, as I find it much easier than using a bait tub. The lot is mixed together and each ball potted in using a far-bank marker on a point that is just downstream of my fishing position.

Topping Up

Another ball of groundbait and worm goes in when the bites fade or small fish begin to dominate, but one ball is ample.

Feed any more and you run the risk of putting the quality fish off or pulling in too many bits. 

This is also why I don’t loosefeed over the top, as it would only encourage small rudd, roach and bleak to move in.

FiVE things you need to know about keeping safe in floodwater.

After being swept with torrential rainfall, many of Britain’s rivers are well above their normal level.

There is still some fantastic fishing on offer, but safety is of paramount importance when tackling a flooded river.

Here are five things you need to know about keeping safe on the bank…

• Check online

Check the river levels to give you an indication of whether the water is rising or dropping, and help you anticipate fluctuating levels. The flood information site is very reliable and updated throughout the day. See www.flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk

• Use a marker

It’s easy to lose track of what the river’s doing through the day, but using a depth marker will alert you to any sudden changes. Some rivers have markers in place, but if you can’t see one a bankstick with strips of marker tape works well.

• sit well back

The last thing you want is to place yourself in a precarious position on the bank, so sit well back from the water’s edge.

• Take a rope

Steep and slippery banks can be a nightmare to get down, and up. Tie a strong rope to a nearby tree or peg it into the top of the bank to help you.

• Wear a lifejacket

Perhaps a little extreme, but a lifejacket can literally be a lifesaver if you do end up in the river. 

Match fishing tips | Adapt your feed to catch more carp

Those colder mornings and darker evenings we’re now starting to see will have been felt by the fish we’re after each weekend.

But while you can scale down hooks and lines and fish different parts of your swim, if you don’t get your feeding right there’s little chance of a steady day’s fishing in the first place.

I’m not saying that you need to go into full winter mode yet, but it pays to start trimming back on how much bait you are feeding at the start of a session and during it.

Big potting, for example, using a large pole cup on your cupping kit, begins to lose the effectiveness it enjoyed through the summer, so replace it with a small pot on the pole-tip to regulate how much bait is going in. What you feed is also worth thinking about. Meat and corn can still work but the fish may be far more responsive to micro pellets or dead maggots.

There’s a lot to take in and, of course, no two days are quite the same... but as a rule in October, I do begin to make changes regarding how I feed for commercial fishery carp and F1s in the margins…  

How much feed and when to feed it?

For carp I would use the larger Matrix Flexi Pot, which takes around 75ml of bait. This is filled to the top each time. I feed all this in one go to form a precise pile of feed on the bottom over which I can present my rig. 

However, I don’t feed like a robot, in other words every time I drop in. I prefer to introduce bait only when I think that the pile of pellets already fed has been disturbed by a feeding fish, when I need to put more in to recreate that homing-in point for the carp.

Feed – small or large?

It’s micro pellets every time, perhaps with a little bit of groundbait on the odd occasion on venues that have a track record of responding to groundbait. 

My favourite micro pellets are Spotted Fin Go2. I soak these so they take on as much water as they can, as this ensures that every single one will sink quickly. 

The difference between carp and F1s

There’s one change that I make for these two species, and that’s the size of Flexi Pot used. For F1s, I drop down to the 25ml pot to introduce much less feed than for ‘proper’ carp. 

Open-water fishing

Faced with deeper water well away from the bank, pots aren’t so important and I’ll often pick up a catapult. The thinking is that there are more fish to catch at this range and they’ll be on the bottom, so I fire in 4mm or 6mm pellets depending on the size of fish I’m after. 

There’s no hard-and-fast rule to this, but I’ll only feed if I am trying to attract carp into the swim or once I have hooked a fish, never directly over the top of a rig that’s in the water and fishing.

Barbel Fishing Tips | How to catch more barbel on PVA bags

There are some occasions while river fishing for chub and barbel when you need to switch tactics from a feeder to a bomb, especially at this time of year, when the fish have had a lot of feeders thrown at them.

Right now it can really pay to go down the bomb and PVA bag route.

Mesh PVA bags are a great way of introducing free offerings close to your hookbait, and right now I’m using dry baits such as maggots, pellets or chopped boilies.

Here are a few tricks which will help you with your presentations…

Make knots small

Before making your first bag, tie a knot in the end of the mesh and trim it neatly with sharp scissors. This minimises the residue left when the PVA melts in contact with water.

Use a loader

A tight bag should break down quickly in water. So use a PVA mesh on a loading tube. Compress the bait, twist the PVA tightly, tie an overhand knot and tighten it down. 

Don’t go too big

Big bags can be unwieldy. I like the finished bag to be not much bigger than a golf ball.

Save mesh

Before cutting your bag off the length of PVA, tie a second overhand knot close to the knot you tied to seal the bag – a 5mm gap is ideal (see picture). This minimises waste, and the knot will be a starting point for your next bag.

Hooking bags

Attaching the bag directly to the hook is the best option when fishing at longer range and using longer hooklengths, as the bag helps to prevent tangles.

If you are hair-rigging a bait, the easiest way is to nick the hook under a few strands of mesh.

Make sure the hook and associated bait are dry first or the bag will melt and fall off.

Clip a bag on

Alternatively, use a carp clip link – I use Avid PVA Links – to attach your PVA bag to the lead end of your rig. The knot on the PVA bag slides into a narrow groove on the clip, holding it in place on the cast.

I prefer this way if I’m fishing in faster or deeper water, where the lead helps to get the bag down to the bottom quicker.

Match Fishing Tips | Put the pole away and catch more on your rod!

It’s all too easy to tie yourself down to the pole on commercials. 

It can be a supremely effective tactic on these fish-packed waters, but how about a day on waggler and feeder instead? You might be surprised at the results!

Kieron Rich loves catching carp on these two methods, and over the years he has perfected a way that allows him to get the most from his swim while leaving the pole in the bag.

Feeder first

At the start of any session it’s best to target an area of the swim where the fish naturally live. 

An obvious spot is tight to an island, and Kieron believes this is your best bet for a steady start.

“Islands usually have plenty of vegetation that the fish feel confident feeding close to. Even if they spook after you’ve hooked one, they’ll never be far away. They might not be the biggest stamp carp at the start but they’ll keep you busy while you wait for the waggler line to spring into life.

“A small cage feeder packed with micro pellets and baited with a 4mm pellet is ideal. All the time I’ll be priming the waggler line by catapulting in half-a-dozen 8mm pellets every minute for at least an hour.”

Explore the layers

“Even after two hours of feeding pellets into the swim, you might not see any signs of fish in the peg. But more often than not they are simply sat too deep to break the surface with alluring swirls.

“That’s why I always plumb the depth at the start of the session and, when it comes to fishing the spot, I always start on the bottom.

“If I don’t get any bites within a few minutes then it is back to the feeder, and I will continue feeding.If I miss bites, however, that means the fish are sat above my hookbait and I need to shallow up. 

“I also steer away from using a big waggler. My Middy Crystal Insert creates minimal disturbance, and any fish feeding in the zone will continue to do so. On many fisheries, the days of using big ‘splasher’ wagglers are long gone. 

“Oh, and these days bites on the waggler can be extremely subtle, so make sure you strike at even the tiniest of dips.”

Carp Fishing Tips | Top ten tips for stalking big carp!

After a spring and summer of having rigs, marker floats and spods thrown at them from every conceivable angle, carp in day-ticket waters can become wary of visiting the lake’s main features and open water areas favoured by anglers.

One area where they feel far safer is in the margins, especially if these also provide some form of cover, yet very few anglers ever even consider fishing in ‘the edge’. Successful stalking isn’t rocket science, so follow our top tips and you could transform your autumn catches…

1) Bait and rotate

Identify several marginal spots you like the look of and bait them all lightly before visiting them in rotation. It may take the fish several hours to find the traps you’ve set, but before too long you’ll be able to rule out some and concentrate on others. The carp will already have their favoured margin spots – your job is to find them. 

2) Cut out the glare

In order to be able to gauge the depth, the presence of snags and the presence of carp, you’ll need a decent pair of polarising sunglasses - arguably the most important piece of kit for a margin angler. They take the glare off the surface and will help you see what the carp are up to in the swim, which direction they enter and leave it from, and how they are reacting to rigs and any bait introduced.

3) Watch the wind

It helps to know from which direction the wind will hit the banks of your lake, pushing the carp towards them. Most modern smartphones come with built-in compasses, so if you have one, use it! Carp will often follow a fresh wind, and so should you. Fish living in clear pits find areas of freshly-coloured water irresistible.

4) Keep quiet!

There’s little point prepping spots and then blundering along the bank, scaring the fish into the next county. You have to keep noise to an absolute minimum. Carp can feel vibrations caused by a heavy footfall, so creep about as much as possible. Whenever you can, wear dull clothing… and definitely no white T-shirts!

5) Pin it down

When targeting carp in clear, shallow water it’s vital to pin your end tackle down so it doesn’t spook wary carp feeding in the margins. Try placing your rig in a ‘dummy margin’ and see what aspects of it catch your eye the most. If it stands out to you, it’ll be obvious to pressured carp too. 

Use Tungsten droppers or putty at intervals to keep both the hooklink and the few feet of line above the rig nailed firmly to the deck. 

6) Lower your rigs gently

You’d be surprised at the noise a lead makes when thudding down on the deck, especially if it’s a hard substrate. If you can, lower your rigs into position rather than flicking them out. By doing this it’s also possible to pick out individual carp as they feed right at your feet.

7) Mixed offerings 

Mix up the types and sizes of bait you use to prime spots in the edge. This keeps the carp guessing and gives you loads of hookbait options. Hemp, corn, pellets, tiger nuts and boilies (chopped and whole) are all good, but why not try also meat, paste or chunks of Peperami, introduced by hand or lowered in using a baiting spoon?

8) Gain elevation

If fishery rules allow and you’re confident doing so, climbing trees around the periphery of a lake will massively improve your view of proceedings and allow you to gauge just how many fish are visiting your spots… and how big they are. This can also help you make choices about the best spots on which to position your hookbaits.

9) Use a safe, solid rig

This is not the time to be messing about with fancy rigs and presentations. Inline leads are tailor-made for stalking, and offer the best hooking mechanics. If you set it up ‘drop-off style’ the lead will also be ejected on the take, leaving you in direct contact with the fish, meaning less chance of it snagging up during the fight. 

10) Seek sanctuary

Carp are fond of cover, but fishing for them alongside snags or directly under overhangs is a recipe for disaster, and bad angling practice. Instead, pick a spot to bait up that is at least a few yards away from the obstruction so that you have more than a fighting chance of extracting any fish that you hook. 

River Fishing Tips | How to improve your river catches on the float!

Now is the perfect time to catch a bumper bag of roach and dace, and you can be sure fish in many rivers the length and breadth of the country will be feeding well in readiness for the lean times they know are coming.

And there’s no more enjoyable way to catch them than with a stick or a Bolo float. 

Both really come into their own when there’s a bit of pace on the river, but I fish them in different areas of the venue.

I’ll choose a stick float for close-in work – no more than around three rodlengths out – and a Bolo for further out. 

I’ll start on the Bolo while I  priming the stick float line for later in the session. 

The Bolo is shotted simply, with an olivette at two-thirds depth and a couple of No8 droppers between this and the hook. 

No feed to start with

When I begin fishing the Bolo, I don’t feed anything on this line – I simply run the float through to give me an indication as to what kind of mood the fish are in. 

If the float instantly buries, it generally means I’m in for a good day. However, if I run it through a few times without a touch, this tells me that the fish are in a less obliging mood, telling me I shouldn’t feed very heavily.

If I catch instantly, I’ll then give them some feed on this line, initially several catapult pouches full of hemp followed by regular maggot loosefeed. 

I’ll look to stay on the Bolo for an hour or so while also feeding the closer stick float line with maggots and hempseed. This is where I’ll expect to catch roach later.

On to the stick

A stick float taking around six No4 shot is ideal in many swims, shotted with No6s equally spaced between float and hook, apart from the two bottom shot which are smaller No8s. 

The presentation offered by this stick set-up is much better than you can get with a Bolo and perfect for big, wary roach, which should be feeding after being fed loosefeed for an hour or more.

On the stick, I’ll start by easing the float through so that the hookbait is just tripping bottom, but be prepared to change depth a few inches up or down if bites slow. You can also slow down the rate at which your float travels through the swim for a different presentation. 

Big roach love a hookbait presented slower than the current.

stay in control

It’s important to control the passage of your float through the swim, and the easiest way to do this is to fish with your reel’s
bail-arm open and let line peel from the spool as the current pulls the float through. 

To slow it, dab your middle finger on the front of the spool to prevent line leaving. You can also try actually ‘feeding’ line out with the fingers of your other hand.

Specimen Fishing tips | Keep pellets on your hair with this great trick!

Using small pellets which match your loosefeed is a great tactic for catching big barbel and chub on the rivers right now.

However, it can be a bit of a fiddly way of fishing – but not if you follow my advice! 

I’ve found the best way to keep small pellets on a hair rig is to attach them lasso-style with a grinner knot.

This method works for all but the smallest of pellets, and is a really easy and reliable way of ensuring that a pellet remains on a hair rig – there’s no need for drilling or using hair stops, and it is both quick and easy!

A pellet attached like this will stay on for a number of casts, and often you can recast the same pellet even after landing a fish.

In fact, I once caught five barbel on the same 12mm pellet!

1) Slip a pellet into a loop tied from 15lb Korum Micro Braid using a five-turn grinner knot.

2) Tighten the loop so that it grips the pellet in place. Then trim off the tag end of the braid.

3) Knotless-knot on a hook to match the size of the pellet. It should sit 2mm below the bend.

4) Change the pellet by easing the pellet out of the loop, opened up with a fingernail or your forceps.

Match Fishing Bait | How to colour your micro pellets to catch more carp

For ages anglers have been using plain old pellets straight out of the bag, but as a match angler I’m always interested in ways to make what I’m feeding stand out from the crowd.

Changing hookbaits is one way to do this and, on the feeder, so is casting further than everyone else – but most important of all is altering the feed that is going into the swim. Carp will see plain brown pellets a lot, but give them something yellow or smelling completely different and it all adds up to a distinct advantage.

Micro pellets are such a versatile feed that you can change their colour or smell, add groundbait to them or coat them in a strong-smelling sweet gel. 

By having something different to try with them on each cast, I can soon find what’s most appealing to the fish, and that adds up to more carp in the net!

Adding groundbait

Some anglers never use groundbait, but I’ll break out a bag of Ringer Baits Green if my swim is deep and I want to make sure the feed is getting to the bottom without breaking up prematurely. 

Adding groundbait will also make the feeder payload break down more slowly. This can be useful when you are not getting bites straight away. 

A 50/50 split of pellets and groundbait is about right, and I’ll mix the crumb to a normal consistency – too dry and it will take the moisture out of the pellets and not allow you to make a Method ball properly.

Boilie Crush

This is a new addition to my fishing – finely ground boilies that work really well as an additive on waters that see lots of boilies. I’ve also found it brilliant on lakes that don’t see boilies! 

It’s a good way of adding colour to your feed, with the yellow being good for bream and the orange for carp and F1s when using Orange Wafters. Two caps of crush is about right for a kilo of pellets, adding them once the micros are fully soaked.

Impact pellets

Sometimes even colouring micros and adding some Crush won’t be enough, especially in really coloured water. This is where a smear of Chocolate Orange Gel Spray comes into play. 

Once the feeder is loaded I’ll give it one squirt to add flavour and smell for the fish to home in one. Don’t go mad – it’s possible to put too much scent into the water.

How to add colour to micro pellets

colouring micros can make a big difference if you think fish are struggling to find them on the lakebed. In heavily coloured and clear water alike, coloured pellets stand out so much more than plain ones. Colouring micros is very easy to do on the bank – I like to match the hookbait colour to what’s around the feeder – so for yellow pellets, that would be a yellow Wafter. Here’s how to colour micros…

1) Dampen the micros, pop them in a plastic bag and add a capful of Ringer Baits Yellow, enough for half-a-kilo of pellets.

2) Grip the bag at the top and give the contents a good shake to spread the liquid evenly and fully through the micros.

3) Leave the bag for 10 minutes until the colour is absorbed. Note the difference between plain (far left) and coloured pellets.

River fishing tips | Bag up on roach with these great tactics

We’re just over 10 weeks into the 2019/20 season and on many of our rivers, you would be forgiven for thinking that there weren’t any roach in many of the stretches.

 All that has changed, though, in the past week or two. 

Thankfully they’re now feeding on our baits again! Rivers like the Trent are on fire at present so this week we’re looking at how to go about getting the best possible weight of roach from the various swims that you are likely to encounter from now until the autumn is well into its stride. 

Favourite Baits

Roach love hemp, so there’s always a can or two of Bait Tech’s Super Seed in my bait bag along with half-a-pint to a pint of tares that I cook myself. If you struggle to do this, try my way. 

I measure out a pint of dry tares into each of two large glass casserole dishes. I then fill the dishes to within an inch of the top with warm tap water. Don’t put more in, as they will swell a lot over the next 24 hours. Once they are soaked, add a teaspoon of bicarb and the same of sugar to each bowl and give the tares a stir. 

Next, put them in the oven on 180°C for about 40 minutes. From this point, I spoon out a few tares every five minutes or so and do a ‘squash test’. You want a seed that is firm but which compresses rather than splits. Over the next 15 minutes, you will find that the tares are perfect. Now’s the time to carefully take them out of the oven. 

Drain the water off, sprinkle two teaspoons of sugar over them and cover with kitchen roll. I put them in my bait fridge to cool down, then bag them up in half-pints and freeze. I just take a bag or two to each session and let them thaw out in the car on the way. Casters, maggots, pinkies and, on some rivers, breadpunch complete the bait line-up...

Loosefeeding

The best way to tempt roach has always been on a ‘little and often’ basis. Keep small amounts of feed going in all the while and you will soon get them interested if they in front of you. Hempseed is a key feed at this time of the year so always use it, regardless of what you are putting on the hook.   

Waggler Rigs

My favourite float patterns for this time of the year are Thin Insert and Thick Insert wagglers. These are shotted with most of the weight either side of the float and a No8 shot down the line for every 2ft of depth. An 8ft-deep swim would only require four No8 shot with the bottom one on top of the 30cm hooklength.  

Pellet surprise

Most people wouldn’t expect to see this picture in a feature about roach fishing, but over the past few season anglers on many rivers have been catching some very big roach on banded or lassoed 4mm and 6mm halibut pellets. 

Use 3mm and 4mm feed in a small feeder and a long tail and your next bite could be from a barbel… or a 2lb-plus roach!

Pole Rigs

DH23 (up to 2g) and DH17 (up to 3g) patterns cover virtually all my roach fishing on the pole at this time of year. The smaller sizes of both up to 1g are shotted with strung-out No8 shot. For the 1.5g size and upwards I use an olivette and three No9 droppers.   

Hooks & Hooklengths

Pro Rig hooklengths of 0.08mm, 0.10mm and 0.12mm, depending on how well the fish are feeding. These are tied to fine wire hooks from size 20 to size 16. 

Groundbait 

On some venues it can pay to ball in several big balls of groundbait at the start and then loosefeed over the top. 

My favourite mix for this is a bag of Bait Tech Pro Natural Original and a small amount of molehill soil. Into the mix I add casters, hemp and a few pinkies. 

Top & Bottom rigs

There are so many variable float choices for roach fishing. For smooth-flowing water, a stick float with strung-out shots takes some beating, and I use the No3 Heavy Base model in sizes from 3No4 to 8No4. These are shotted with strung-out No8 and No9 shot in the smaller sizes and No6 shot for the three biggest floats in the range.    

It’s always worth considering a bulk rig if you’ve got some depth, and for 8ft of water I’d use 2g or 3g No4 or No5 Bolo floats.

These are shotted with an olivette and one or two No8 droppers. 

Location

Roach are likely to turn up just about anywhere, but for big weights at this time of year I’ve found the best depths to fish at are between 4ft and 8ft, running over fine gravel with a decent pace to the river. 

Deep swims that hardly move are best avoided until the winter months, when there is more water in our rivers. 

Reel lines & rig lines

The best way to tempt a shoal of roach into taking your hookbait is to fish fine. I use 3lb (0.14mm) and 4lb (0.16mm) Pro Match reel lines, and for pole rigs I use 0.12mm or 0.14mm Pro Rig. 

Specimen fishing tips | Beat the weed with this rig

This ‘weed beater’ tench rig with its popped up hookbait is tangle-free, as streamlined, inline feeders are less prone than most to getting caught up in weed.

The Korum ICS feeders I use are 45g, weight-forward designs. The position of the weight helps with the bolt effect of the rig so fish will hook themselves. Should the mainline break, the fish can easily pull free of the feeder.

Unlike some anglers, I don’t use tubing on the rig as I’ve found that my bare, 12lb mainline cuts through the weed much more effectively.

I use live maggots in the feeder – generally red with a few whites mixed in – as they will crawl out and into the weed, helping to keep tench grubbing around in the swim.

Use a short hooklink

The business end of my rig features a popped-up hookbait, and I’ve found buoyant baits are best presented using a fine braided hooklink. I tie this to a light but strong size 10 or 12 Korum Specimen hook.

Tench can eject small baits more easily than larger ones, and a short hooklink of 3ins-4ins definitely converts most pick-ups into unmissable runs.

Make my pop-up hookbait

Rig foam and fake maggots lift the hooklink vertically. I will try two or three red ones on one rod and a combination of red and fluoro grubs on the other.

Red and either yellow or orange often get more bites early on in a session but tench soon wise up to them, so don’t be afraid to change.

Carp fishing tips | How to get the best from a "quick overnighter"

A lot of my fishing is session-based, but in the warmer months, with so few hours of darkness and often stiflingly warm daytimes, I often fish shorter sessions. 

In summer the bite windows are narrow, and you can often waste many hours waiting for action while the carp rest lazily in the weedbeds. So, there are a number of things I always do to try to maximise my time on the bank... 

Be ready for bite time

Quite often bite time in summer and early autumn can be at first light, so I always aim to be fishing in this optimum period. It’s all down to preparation, and that includes making sure your kit is well organised. The lead bag is stocked up, my rigs are ready to go (hookpoints having been checked) and attached to my leaders, and all I need to do is put the rod together, attach a bait and cast out.

Pare down and prepareI

carry just the bare necessities with me on overnighters, so that moving around the lake isn’t a chore. A small pouch houses my terminal tackle, a bucket holds my bait, and even the food I take is ‘stripped back’.

If I know I am going to do a couple of overnighters during the week, I will often make up my food on the Sunday and freeze it in tubs, before taking it out of the freezer on the morning that I go. All I have to grab is a pint of fresh milk and I am away.

I also carry porridge pots in the van, which are super-easy and quick to make and don’t go off. 

Make a prior visit 

Ideally, I like to have done my homework on the lake I am fishing – walking round with a leading rod, finding spots in a few swims and noting down their location so that I can get the rods out really quickly.

You need to make the most of the time you have on the bank. If I turn up late in the evening, with an hour of daylight left, I can easily cast out to a spot. If you can, prebaiting some spots before you visit will really stack the odds in your favour. 

Ramp up your baits

Now that the fish have got over spawning, they are seeking out that extra nutrition, and there really isn’t anything better than a good fishmeal boilie. 

To ramp up their attraction so that the fish find them quickly and easily, I take my bait out of the freezer the day before I am fishing and add some Pure Tuna Liquid, which will absorb into the baits as they thaw out. 

Once they have that thick glaze, I add some GLM powder and shake them around. This gives them a crusty coating around the outside and ensures all those powders and liquids go to the bottom and seep out of the bait. 

Lap the lake 

When I arrive at the lake to fish, I will have an idea of where I want to be, but I will always do a quick lap, just in case they are ripping up the bottom in an obscure corner that I had overlooked. Unless I can see signs of fish in a certain area, I can drop back on to the spots that I’ve baited. 

This is where having everything written down comes into its own, as I can get in the swim, wrap the rods up, tie the baits on and I’m fishing.

Bait when you leave

Once I have finished my session and pack up, I break all my leftover baits down into crumb and put it out on the spot. 

If I can, I put in a few pellets and even some hemp too, to make sure that those smaller items are there to keep the fish grubbing about in the target area. Adding those liquids and other additives is key here too, as they will sit on the bottom and ensure the fish are digging out the bottom in search of the nutrients. 

Use a simple rig 

My set-up is nearly always an Amnesia D-rig, which sits perfectly over clean bottoms. 

Amnesia is a fairly stiff material, which prevents the rig from tangling in flight. It also allows the rig to reset should it be brushed around, spat out and so on. 

Having a balanced hookbait on helps with this too, and I like a wafter hookbait, as it sits well with the rig. Having that slow-sinking bait allows the hook to lie flat on the bottom with the bait hovering just above it. 

Be flexible

Doing short nights doesn’t take up much time, and I can pick and choose when to fish, depending on the conditions. If a new wind is due to blow up on to my spots on the Wednesday, I can get some bait in on the Monday and drop in when it is right. 

This kind of fishing can be demanding, but can be more successful than sitting there for three nights in a row. Even if the lake you’re fishing is popular with the guys that can fish it regularly, and you don’t feel that you can compete with them, get out there and do it! You’ll be surprised just how productive it can be.

Fish ‘off the barrow’

Once the rods are out, I have everything packed away other than my stove. Even though I have most likely baited a spot, if I hear carp elsewhere during the night I need to be moving. Having everything packed and staying as mobile as possible makes this a lot easier. If I was lumbered with a load of kit, I wouldn’t want to move, and I would have wasted a night, potentially. Being where the carp are at 3am is key – moving on to fish at this time has paid dividends for me in the past. 

Match fishing tips | THREE ways to fish the pellet waggler in a match!

On the face of it, the pellet waggler seems like a relatively easy way to fish – you just feed pellets, cast the float into the middle of the action and wait for the rod to get dragged in, right? Well, not necessarily…

Stick to this tried-and-tested routine and you will, of course, catch a few carp – but nowhere near as many as if you mix things up with the way you feed, the amounts going in, where you land the waggler in the swim and how long you actually leave it there before repeating the process.

Yes, in an ideal world, the float will bury within seconds of landing.

This tends only to happen, though, when the carp are there in numbers and are competing aggressively for the feed – something you find that tends to happen later in the session. 

At the beginning, sport is not so prolific and this is where mixing things up will always outscore ploughing the same furrow each and every time.

I have three routines that I follow when fishing the pellet waggler and these revolve around the key components of feeding, casting, twitching the float and varying the time spent before I wind in again.

There’s no hard and fast rule that says which one works best, so it’s a game of trial and error. But by using all three, you will find the approach that’s right for the carp on the day!

Routine one

This is the old favourite of casting past the feed and then winding the float back into the pellets. 

Done this way, there’s not a big waggler landing on top of the fish, which can spook carp easily.

This also means you’re fully focusing on the float and striking at a bite, as opposed to having
to take your hands off the rod to feed.

Step one: Cast beyond the feed zone by a metre or so.

Step two: Now fire out 8mm hard pellets (I use Sonubaits Pro Feed Pellets), ensuring that they land just short of where the waggler has landed.

Step three: Quickly wind the float back into the pellets by turning the reel handle sharply a couple of times. Give it 10 seconds or so before winding in and repeating the previous steps.

Routine two

With this approach you are doing the opposite to routine one – namely casting out and then feeding close to the waggler before winding it into the feed and waiting. 

This can work on days when the fish are not feeding aggressively and biding your time will produce. 

Step one: Cast out to a spot where you have seen fish topping or cruising, but ensure it is at a range where you can loosefeed pellets accurately and comfortably.

Step two: Now fire in the pellets – again I use 8mm Pro Feeds – but I land them just short of the float. Around half-a-metre or so is perfect.

Step three: Almost immediately turn the reel handle a couple of times to pull the float into the feed so that the hookbait is falling in among the loosefed pellets. 

Speed is essential here, and the float has to be moved within a few seconds of the feed landing.

Step four: I’ll then leave the rig in place for a minute before recasting. This gives any fish drawn in by the sound of the feed and float landing enough time to find the hookbait.

Routine three

Sometimes just the hookbait alone, combined with the noise of a big pellet waggler splashing down, will get you a bite. At times like this there’s no need for you to feed a thing. 

This is the easiest way of fishing the pellet waggler, but you do still have to try and make something happen by regularly twitching the float.

Step one: Cast out as normal to where you can see fish, or where conditions allow.

Step two: Allow the float to settle and sit for around 10 seconds before then twitching the float with a sharp sideways tug on the rod. I’ll do this five times per cast.

Step three: If nothing happens, wind in and cast again. Keep your hands out of the bait box and off the catapult at all times!

Step four: If I do catch a carp, I will fire in half-a-dozen 8mm pellets after I have unhooked the fish and before I pop it in the net. This ensures some feed will be out there to help pull in a fish or two ready for when I cast out again.

Match fishing tips | Top bomb & pellet tricks from record breaker

The bomb and pellet is a devastating summer tactic that really comes into its own in August and September, when the carp have wised up to a feeder approach.

Bournemouth roofer Jack Stamp recently used the tactic to its maximum potential at Somerset’s Viaduct Fishery, where he hauled a staggering 480lb 6oz of carp from peg 126 on Campbell Lake.

Landing fish to double figures, Jack described his day as ‘hectic’, and with 171lb 15oz coming second it’s clear that Jack, who has fished for Carp Team England in the past, is doing something right.

There are several things that Jack does differently to other anglers, and here are a few of his top edges that will help you to stand out from the crowd on this deadly method...

Feed Smaller Baits

“When most people fish the bomb and pellet they simply feed 8mm hard pellets and fish the same on the hook. While this will work at times, I prefer to do things slightly differently.

“My choice of feed is 4mm and 6mm pellets, which are much smaller than what most anglers will think of trying, and it’s the 4mm pellets that are really important in my approach.

“These really get the fish rooting around on the lakebed, and will hold them in the peg for longer.

“Of course, you can’t feed these as far as larger offerings, but on the day of the match I was only around 20m out, so this wasn’t a problem.

“It’s important to keep the bait going in, and I fed two or three pouches every five minutes and got through around eight pints throughout the day.”

Hookbait

“There are a lot of hookbait options that score on the bomb and pellet, and on the day I did the record I used a pellet wrapped in a paste made up of dampened micro pellets. 

“This helped my hookbait to stand out among the free offerings, and it worked well on the day with around 60 carp averaging around 8lb.”

Tackle and Rigs

“I keep my rigs really simple, and don’t bring much of my big carp fishing knowledge to this aspect of my match fishing. 

“There are some really good fish in Campbell, so I use robust gear, with 8lb Daiwa Sensor mainline, an 0.19mm hooklength and a size 12 KKMB hook.

“A free-running half-ounce bomb completes the set-up. Couldn’t be easier than that!”

River fishing tips | Give your commercial gear a change of scenery on a local river!

Top matchman Andy May is best known for his commercial fishing exploits, but he likes nothing more than spending a few hours roving his local river for chub. 

What’s more, says the former Fish O’Mania champion, you need hardly any extra kit for rivers… and much less of it! 

He uses the same rods, reels, baits and bits of terminal tackle as he does on commercials. A few stick floats and you’re away! So why not take a leaf out of Andy’s book and try something a bit different on your local small river this week? 

Pick the right swims

When you stroll along the bank you’ll come across countless spots that look ideal, but it pays to quickly analyse a number of factors before settling into a swim.

“If you can see the bottom all the way across then it isn’t worthy of your attention. Look for spots where the water appears to deepen off as fish will sit there when it is low and clear,” he says.

“Cover is also important and my favourite swims have lots of overhanging trees that dim the light and give fish more confidence to feed.

“Last but not least, you need a swim that allows you to run a float through it. If it’s choked with weed you won’t be able to manoeuvre a float and that will instantly lower your chances of providing good presentation.”

A few hours roving

To demonstrate how successful his simple roving approach can be, Andy took us to his local River Dane in Cheshire, where he soon found a number of spots that just screamed big fish. A few runs through on the stick float in each was enough to determine whether anything was present.

“The venue isn’t heavily pressured like a commercial so the fish are less cagey and will snap up a bait the instant they see it.”

In less than two hours Andy landed three 4lb-plus chub and a couple of smaller samples, with no more than one fish coming from each swim. “Today has shown how important it is to stay mobile,” he said. “Grab your commercial fishery kit and put it to a completely different use on the rivers this week.”

The kit you need

“If I am out for two hours of river action I will probably end up visiting at least 10 swims,” says Andy. “But I’ll spend less than 15 minutes in each one before moving on. It follows that you need the bare minimum of tackle with you – a rod, landing net and a small bag of terminal tackle and bait.”

A small carryall with a shoulder strap is ideal and will easily hold everything you will require. Andy has five items that he will never leave the house without when heading down the river...

Bait: “Chub and barbel love pellets. I always take a bag of 6mm pellets and feed these little and often. I like my hookbait to stand out from the crowd and use a banded 8mm pellet.”

Polarising sunglasses: “On low and clear rivers, if you look carefully, you will notice fish moving around. I use Wiley X Europe eyewear – they remove surface glare and make spotting chub and barbel a lot easier.”

Hooks and line: “Most small rivers are full of weed and overhanging trees. Give a big fish half a chance and it will snag you up. I use fairly thick wire hooks in sizes 10 and 12 and all my hooklengths are 0.20mm or 0.22mm. Reel line is 6lb or 8lb.”

Rod: “A specialist rod isn’t required – I use my pellet waggler rod for this type of fishing.” 

Floats: “This is the only bit of equipment you might not already own. I carry a few different types of alloy stick float with me to cater for different conditions. 

“Presentation is key to getting bites, and using the correct style of float is important. Floats with a big tip are more buoyant and best in fast water, while those with a bigger body are most effective in slower and deeper swims.”

Barbel fishing tips | Perfect rig for spooky barbel

Here’s a top rig to help you catch more barbel while fishing on the river. Dai Gribble explains why he favours this rig when conditions are difficult and the barbel are easily spooked.

A while back I ran a guided trip with an angler who’d been on the river for four days without a bite.

When I looked at his set-up it was clear he’d been using short hooklengths. We switched to a long, 4ft hooklength with a small pellet hookbait and we caught fish almost immediately.

Long hooklengths don’t spook fish, and keep the hookbait clear of any weed build-up on the mainline.

My running rig incorporates a buffer bead, an anti-tangle sleeve, and a quick-change swivel so I can switch hooklengths very easily.

The hooklink is Avid Carp Captive braid with the last 6ins of coating stripped back. 

This gives the hooklink superb anti-tangle properties, and the flexibility of the section around the hook assists with hooking.

1) Strip back around 6ins of your coated braid hooklink material – I favour Avid Captive. Tie a small overhand loop knot in the end of the stripped braid – this is for your hair rig bait stop.

2) Add your hookbait to the end of the braid and secure with a bait stop, then tie your hook on with a knotless knot. The hair should be just long enough for the bait to hang 3mm below the bend of the hook.

3) Remove around 1m of the coated hooklink from the spool and thread the anti-tangle rig sleeve on to the opposite end from your hook. You can use a baiting needle for this.

4) Tie an overhand loop in the end of the coated braid, attach it to the quick-change link on the running rig, then slide the anti-tangle sleeve over the link. This kicks your hooklength away from lead or feeder. 

River Fishing Tips | How to catch more fish from tricky rivers

Low, clear and full of weed – summer rivers can be tricky places at the best of times.

The fish are spooky, and will often sit out of sight. However, do it right and the results can be breathtaking, as Garbolino UK boss Darren Cox proved recently on the Warwickshire Avon, where he landed two barbel for 22lb in a match.

We caught up with Darren for his tips on how best to approach these challenging waterways, right now.

Swim selection

“When the temperatures are high the fish will be looking for oxygenated water, so weirs, rapids and shallow areas are the places to target.

“I always like to fish over gravel if I can, as fish seem to prefer lying over it, and anything that gives the fish cover is great to target.

“Features such as trees, weed or reeds are always good to look out for. On the day of the match I drew a peg that was very weedy and snaggy, which was why the fish were there.

“The first barbel I had, a fish of 11lb 14oz, snagged me up four times during the fight, but by using the correct tackle I managed to land it.”

Tackle Choice

“Most barbel anglers opt for quite a pokey rod up to a test curve of around 2.25lb and 15lb line. However, I much prefer something softer. During the match I used 6lb Maxima mainline and an 0.23mm hooklength.

“While 6lb Maxima will break at much more than 6lb, the soft rod I use in conjunction with this tackle is one of the most important parts of my set-up.

“I actually think this is better for playing barbel on, as it absorbs the lunges of the fish much better than something stiffer does.

“It may seem under-gunned, but the fact that I landed two double-figure barbel and didn’t lose a fish in such a snaggy swim shows that the gear is up to the job.”

Tactics

“On the day of the match I set up both a float and a tip rod, but the river was pushing through too quickly and was a bit too weedy to run a float through nicely.

“I caught the larger barbel on a feeder, and after getting a few line bites I knew there was something substantial in the swim. It’s always worth setting the float up, though, as it’s a great way to present your bait when the pace is right. 

“Even if you don’t catch on the float it’s still a great way to search the swim, as you can find out where the fish are lying.

“A dome-topped balsa float is my preferred option when fishing for big fish with large baits, and I’ll often lay two feet of line on the deck so that I can really drag my hookbait through the swim.

“If you have a large snag in your swim it’s always best to try and draw the fish away from it with feed – however, sometimes this just isn’t possible.

“On such occasions, you have to be prepared to go right into the lion’s den!”

Choice of Bait

One of the biggest problems on summer rivers can be the large shoals of tiny fish such as bleak. 

These can destroy your hookbaits, so you want to be using something that excludes these species. 

Hemp and casters are a great all-round option, but if you’re going specifically for roach and chub then tares are a favourite of mine. During the match I fed four pints of hemp and casters, as well as a cubed tin of Mainline Match Spicy Brown meat.

The benefit of feeding the meat is that I know that this bait will reach the bottom through all the small fish, which will leave something for the bigger fish to eat when they move into the swim.