Target a gravel pit and land your biggest bream
With a personal-best bream of 17lb 10oz under his belt, you could say Mike Lyddon knows a thing or two about the species.
So how does he go about catching them on large and featureless gravel pits?
Location
“Bream are lazy fish that spend most of their time away from bankside disturbance, in the deeper water where the light levels are much lower,” says Mike.
“The one angler-friendly thing they do is roll. Dawn or dusk, they give themselves away by topping, making shoal location easier.
“They also have regular patrol routes, and if you can locate one of these you’re halfway to filling your boots every time!
“To help you find these, use a marker float to pinpoint underwater features quickly and reliably. Ideally you’re looking for a large gravel patch completely free from weed.”
Feed and hookbait
“It is important to give them plenty of feed, and for me that means groundbait – a three-part mix of Sonubaits Bream Feeder, Hemp & Hali Crush and Super Crush Green – mixed with a tin of sweetcorn, including juice, lake water and a good splash of Sticky Baits Krill liquid.
“On deep pits, I’ll mix the groundbait slightly on the wet side and I’ll always riddle it after mixing so that it falls to the bottom quickly without producing a cloud on its descent.
“My favourite bream hookbaits are Sonubaits F1 S Pellets, fake corn soaked in Betalin and 8mm pineapple pop-up boilies – all sweet baits that bream love.
“Groundbait is introduced from a Spomb with around 4kg at the start of a session, spread over an area around 15ft across. After I’ve had a fish or two, I then like to rebait the area with four to six more Spombs.”
Tackle for pits
“For long casts, I’ll use a rod of 1.5lb to 2.25lb test curve, with 10lb Gardner Pro mainline to a 3ft Lead-free leader and a flying back lead threaded on to the mainline above the leader. This keeps the terminal end flat on the lakebed.
“My feeder is a flatbed Method with a 4ins hooklink of Speci Skin with the coating removed to a size 10 Barbless Target hook.”
How to catch shallow on commercial fishing lakes
It can be tricky to catch on lakes at this time of year, especially large, apparently featureless ones.
Lakes such as this are often shallow, and because of the water temperature – which is still quite low – fish are unlikely to be in the margins just yet.
But with the right approach you can enjoy a great day simply by fishing the pole directly out in front of you, even in swims that are only three or four feet deep.
Preston Innovations star Graham West is your guide…
Where to fish
“When you sit down at a swim with no obvious features it can be a little daunting, but that peg could be capable of producing a big net of silver fish,” says Graham.
“There’s no obvious cover for the fish to go at, so you need to pay careful attention to how the wind is blowing.
“If the wind is howling in your face you won’t be comfortable and will be unable to present a rig properly. What you want is a ripple blowing across your peg.
“This ripple gives fish confidence to settle and feed. If you are fishing a shallow swim when it is flat calm then the fish will be able to detect the slightest movement, such as a pole waving over their heads, and they’ll soon back off and go elsewhere.”
How to feed
“Assuming you’re fishing for silvers, start the session by feeding two balls of groundbait.
Once that initial dose of feed has gone in, the catapult comes into play on a regular basis, with a constant rain of pinkies keeping the roach, rudd, perch and bonus skimmers coming. Add more groundbait only if bites dry up – I much prefer to loosefeed.”
A clever pole rig
“Waving the pole directly over the top of where you are fishing will spook fish on a shallow, lake so you need to use a much longer length of line between tip and float than normal.
“I make my rigs the whole length of a top kit and don’t cut them down. So if the swim is 3ft deep, I will have around 4ft of line between tip and float.
“Use a 4x12 float, 0.11mm mainline, 0.08mm hooklength and a small hook – one as small as a size 22.”
How to bag up on redfins
The roach is still the UK angler’s favourite fish and the most obliging of all species that swim in our waters.
They are present virtually everywhere, and the warmer weather opens up a range of ways to catch them. John Wilson once described roach fishing as ‘a disease, but of the pleasant kind’ and he wasn’t far wrong.
Most tactics work, from a feeder cast to the horizon to a delicately-shotted waggler presented just a few rodlengths out, but nothing beats winkling a few out from a natural lake where the water is on the clear side and the fish won’t give themselves up easily. Such a venue presents its own challenges but the rewards are there and the fish can be surprisingly big, too.
To help you on your way, we asked four top anglers for their answers to six common questions on catching stillwater roach…
Q. When would you use groundbait over loosefeed and what would be the mix?
Sean Ashby: I’d always use groundbait. Loosefeeding alone brings the fish off bottom, which isn’t what you want to happen. I use 50/50 Sensas Gros Gardons and Canal Fine Noire, mixed on the dry side to make it very active. I will loosefeed too, but only over the top every now and then.
Cameron Hughes: Generally, for roach on a natural venue, I will always put some groundbait in. This gets a bed down early for roach to graze on and settle over. Which groundbait I decide to use depends very much on the depth of the swim, but I always base my mix around the reliable Sensas Gros Gardons.
Lee Kerry: I will use groundbait to concentrate the shoal, but it’s loosefeed that really gets them competing. On harder natural venues my mix is Sonubaits Supercrumb Lake, over which I’ll periodically loosefeed maggots.
Steve Hemingray: In clear conditions it’s loosefeed alone but with colour in the water groundbait becomes a must. Normally I feed groundbait at the start, then loosefeed over the top. My mix is Sensas Gros Gardons with casters, a little chopped worm and sometimes dead maggots and pinkies.
Q. If the roach show signs of coming off bottom, is it worth shallowing up for them and if so, what’s the rig to catch them?
Sean Ashby: When roach move up and down in the water it’s hard to judge where they are. By pinning the fish to the bottom, you’ll catch more consistently so if I think the roach have come up in the water, the solution is to fire in two pouches of casters every 10 minutes to force them back down.
Cameron Hughes: If roach come off bottom, you need to work out whether it’s worth trying to pin them down on the deck again. In this situation I feed a big pouch of casters and catch as many as I can before bites slow up. If it’s too deep for this to work, pack a groundbait ball with casters and fish it out.
Lee Kerry: If the roach have come only a foot or so off the lakebed then I’ll still back myself to catch using the rig I was fishing on the deck, but if the roach are beyond half-depth you can still catch them, but with a different approach. My float in this case would be a 4x12 Des Shipp Silvers pattern with strung-out No10 shot.
Steve Hemingray: If the roach are off bottom they want to be, so this is where you should try and catch them. However, they could be at 5ft deep in 10ft of water so a very small float might not work. My favourite patterns are the Drennan AS3 or Carbon Roach in sizes 4x14 or 4x12 with a strung-out shotting pattern.
Q. What’s your number one hook pattern for stillwater roach, and in which sizes?
Sean Ashby: I’d go for the Sensas 3210 barbed pattern. If it was barbless only, I’d use some very old Drennan red hooks that I don’t think are made any more! You want ta very light fine wire pattern in size 18, perhaps only changing to a size 16 if you are fishing bigger baits or a few bream are likely to be about.
Cameron Hughes: Hooks are really a confidence thing and for natural venues that are a little harder I use a Sensas 3260 in a size 18. In Ireland, and on other venues that are equally prolific, my favourite is a Tubertini Series 2 in anything from a size 16 to a 12!
Lee Kerry: My barbed hooks of choice are Preston Innovations PR322, with a long shank and a good round bend for fishing maggots and casters. On barbless venues I switch to the PR412, a similar hook but barbless. Sizes depend on the bait and how good the fishing is, so this could be anything from a size 16 to a 20.
Steve Hemingray: On barbless-only venues I like the Drennan Silverfish Match is sizes 20 or 18 for single maggot or caster or pieces of worm. A 16 is for really good days when double baits score well. My barbed choice is the Drennan Carbon Match in a size 20 or 18, depending on the hookbait being used.
Q. Do you have a number one hookbait to pick out the bigger roach?
Sean Ashby: There’s only one bait for big roach, and that has to be casters. However, although double caster has a great track record, I rarely use it and instead stick to a single bait with the hook buried fully inside it. Catching big roach is really all about subtle presentation of the hookbait.
Cameron Hughes: That has to be casters! Double caster is a favourite of mine in Ireland and it certainly picks out the bigger roach.
Lee Kerry: Caster is a reliable big roach bait fished single or double but anther bait that’s often overlooked is a small piece of worm or the head of a worm. This really does pick out the bigger roach and you can catch several on the same bait. I find that if I can catch roach on a piece of worm, then I’m going to be in for a good day!
Steve Hemingray: Casters are most anglers’ favourite, but I’ve caught so many big roach on a section of worm. Redworms are also brilliant fished as a tail section teamed with loosefed casters.
Q. When does the feeder come into play for catching roach?
Sean Ashby: I’d switch to a feeder only if the fish were out of pole range or there wasn’t enough depth on the pole line. That would only be as a last resort, though, because in my experience the feeder isn’t ideal for catching roach. I find I miss too many bites, even on prolific venues.
Cameron Hughes: The feeder is becoming more and more popular for catching roach, and it certainly works if the fish are out of pole range or want to be feeding in a certain depth. Ireland is a great place for this style of fishing, with Inniscarra Lake a reliable venue for bagging up on the feeder.
Lee Kerry: Distance is what governs whetherI fish a feeder for roach. If the fish are beyond 30m out that’s too far even for a waggler, so the feeder is your only option – but I’d always want to try and catch on the pole, even if the water was relatively shallow on this line, as this method offers such superior presentation and accuracy.
Steve Hemingray: I’d only think of fishing the feeder for roach on big lakes at long range. You need to be very active, filling the feeder with lots of casters, fishing a long hooklink with floating maggot on the hook and never leaving the feeder in for more than a few minutes. Most bites come as the feeder settles.
Q. When faced with large numbers of small roach would you fish the whip or stick to short-lining on the pole?
Sean Ashby: I prefer short-lining on the pole because presentation is so much better and you can follow the fish about. Big roach will hang off the back of the feed and, on a whip, you won’t have the range to go after them. Any wind also makes presentation on a whip poor, so unless it was black with fish at short range I’d stick to the pole.
Cameron Hughes: A whip is a great way to catch lots of small roach quickly but sometimes you can catch them too quickly too early, which may spook the shoal. Short-lining is generally
a better option for not disturbing the shoal, so I’d start on the long pole and then look to change to a whip later on when the peg is really into its stride.
Lee Kerry: I’d try to draw the fish in as close as I could but I wouldn’t use a whip. Control of the rig and bait presentation are nowhere near as good as with the pole so in the long run you get more bites short-lining. If I was tempted to fish a whip conditions would have to be perfect, with little wind, just a light breeze blowing over my shoulder.
Steve Hemingray: With a whip you lose a lot of presentation and although you may think that you are catching quicker, you’re really not. Unless there were a lot of very small roach in the swim that weren’t that concerned about bad presentation, I’d always stick to short-lining, as bites will come faster and you’ll connect with more of the fish.
Top tips for chub on canals
Chub have become a regular feature on the Staffs/Worcs Canal in the West Midlands and the Chesterfield Canal around Worksop. Catching them, however, is another matter!
Canal chub are shy, and treated as bonus fish in matches, but the pleasure angler has more time to fish for them all day. Catch one and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t end up with a number of fish in the bag.
Shakespeare Bait-Tech man Darren Massey reveals the key do’s and don’ts for snaring a few canal chub in the coming weeks…
Location
A good canal chub peg has far-bank cover, moored boats in particular. Even a bare bank can be home to chub, and they also like to hang around in bridge holes (pegs next to bridges) or lock cuttings. Be wary of fishing in too much water, though – 2ft 6ins to 3ft is about right.
Feeding
I target the far bank, often right the way across if the depth is there. To start I pop in some chopped worm, made up of finely-minced lobworms and dendras, plus a couple of dozen casters, then loosefeed casters over this – 20 or so every five minutes.
Topping up is mainly with a lone chopped lobworm plus a few worms and casters. I’ll rest the peg for half-an-hour then return to it.
Timing
Chub can appear at any point in the day, so I’m always keen to have an early look to see if one is at home, sometimes 10 or 15 minutes into a session. Bites can take a while to come, so I’ll fish for around 15 minutes, feeding casters a couple of times during this period, before I rest the swim if nothing happens.
It’s quite possible to try this line a dozen times, not get a bite, and then catch three chub in as many drop-ins in the final hour.
Where chub are concerned, if one is there, then more should follow. They’re a shoal fish, even when they reach 4lb or 5lb, but they won’t climb up the pole and give themselves up. Even if I catch a chub, I don’t flog the line to death and will come off it to let things settle back down.
Best baits
I don’t think you can beat casters. They fall slowly though the water as you’re feeding them, and smaller than a piece of worm.
Double caster is the best bait by a mile, although I may use one caster if the fishing is hard and I really need to work for a bite.
Hook these to leave plenty of hook point showing to ensure a good hold when you strike, and set the rig to just touch bottom. I would also try a piece of worm or even a lobworm tail if I was sitting out for just one bite.
Sensible rigs
Even on a featureless-looking canal peg, a chub will know where any snags are and on Mr Crabtree-style pegs, you can’t give them any quarter.
I fish 0.12mm Shakespeare Mach XT line straight through to a size 16 Sensas 3405 hook, the float being a 4x12 or 4x14 dibber shotted with spread No9 shot to give the bait a slow fall and to let me lift and drop the bait.
Elastics are powerful stuff, a solid No12-No16 to steer the chub away from any danger. I also fish a long line, around 1.5m, between float and pole-tip to ensure that I prevent the pole from casting a shadow on the water.
All you need to know about Zig rig fishing
Carp spend a lot of time in midwater, especially on those high-pressure days with bright sunshine and no wind.
They are predictable creatures, and when conditions are right, zigging with baits fished anywhere from a few inches under the surface to just off the deck can prove to be deadly.
The biggest problem with zig fishing is having the confidence to cast one out and leave it there long enough for a carp to find it. Even though I know how effective they are, I still suffer from this problem at times.
Don’t look on zigs as a tactic to try only when all else fails –chances are that on days like these zigs will struggle too. Instead, make this a front-line attack and reap the benefits.
SPOD SOUPS
On prolific venues, spodding a sloppy groundbait mix over the top of zigs will bring more bites. The idea is simple. Not only does the cloud produced by the soup create a lovely fish-attracting haze in the water, but it also helps to disguise the end tackle. Carp will often simply swim through the cloud, searching for larger particles to feed on.
Spodding works best on venues with a big head of carp competing for food. The well-known reservoirs Drayton, Boddington and Naseby are where the tactic can yield huge catches, but don’t ignore it on smaller venues. It will work anywhere that the carp respond to the splash of a spod.
Your soup needs to hang in the water for as long as possible to have maximum effect. So the particles need to be as small and neutrally buoyant as possible – some ingredients definitely work better than others.
Maize meal is a very cheap and useful addition to soup mixes. Finely liquidised bread works well too. Breakdown pellets can also be used, as the mush that is left when they have broken down creates a very attractive cloud.
There is no point in adding larger baits, such as carp pellets and hemp. These will simply sink to the bottom where they are not adding to the attraction. Note that spodding this sloppy mix is not a clean job. By the end of a day’s fishing you are likely to be covered from head to foot in bait!
I normally prepare some soup the night before fishing so it has plenty of time to fully absorb the liquid. Have a second batch ready to make as soon as you arrive, so that it soaks while you fish, and you’ll have a constant supply.
I tend to use additives at the sweet end of the spectrum at this time of the year. Strawberry Crush and Pineapple are a good starting point. Keep the levels low though – a teaspoonful added to two pints of soup is enough.
Water-soluble additive, such as liquid betaine are another must, boosting the feeding response of carp at a time of the year when they can still be fairly lethargic.
Soak those hookbaits
You will catch plenty of carp on unflavoured baits, although when I have tested them against ones that have been soaked in attractants the difference is often quite distinctly in favour of the flavoured baits. Super-sweet hookbaits work very well and are a good starting point.
Super-buoyant is best
There are some simple rules to follow when fishing zigs that will maximise your chances of success.
The most important tip that I can give is to keep the hookbait small. Even when 20lb-plus carp are the target, a hookbait around 8mm in diameter is ideal. I imagine that carp prefer this size of bait because it most closely matches the emerging insects that they will naturally feed on in midwater.
To overcome the weight of the hook and the hooklength requires the bait to be as buoyant as possible. It’s surprising how the hooklength becomes heavier as it absorbs water, and it can then drag down the bait. If you are going to leave the bait out there for a few hours it’s essential that it doesn’t absorb any water and lose its buoyancy.
A small pop-up boilie will do the job, but often better, if allowed, are artificial baits which have a consistent buoyancy.
Several companies produce bait specifically for zig fishing – from pieces of foam, to intricate hand-crafted Zig Bugs designed to imitate freshwater invertebrates.
All these baits work. I tend to favour Zig Bugs, because the more complex shape helps to disguise the hook, but the choice is yours.
Keep it tight
I like the hookbait to touch the back of the hook, as this definitely improves the number of bites translated into fish on the bank.
The chances of the hook ending up well back in the carp’s mouth are improved when the bait is tight to the hook. Foam can be slid up the shank of the hook, or held on with a very short hair rig.
Think carefully about the colour of your hookbaits. I find black and brown baits tend to outfish lighter coloured offerings. This is probably because they are easier to spot when silhouetted from below against a bright sky.
Nine tips for catching more perch while fishing.
Want to land a monster perch this season? Then you will want to take a look at these top perch fishing tips from specimen angler Sam Edmonds. Take a look at the below tips and see which one you can introduce into your fishing.
Match the weight
Match the weight of the jighead to the softbait you’re using. Too light and the lure won’t swim properly – too heavy and the lure can sink so quickly that the fish won’t get a chance to react.
Find the fish
If the river is pushing through and coloured, look for slack water like a bend, wider areas of river or lock cuts, for example.
When the river is clear, try features such as bridges, overhanging bushes and moorings, but also look for the darkest areas such as the main channel and tight to shelves.
Search the water
If I’m fishing a venue for the first time, I choose a tactic that helps me work the whole water to find fish such as jigging, crank baits, chatter baits or spinnerbaits.
Once I’ve found a shoal of fish, or I feel that there are fish in front of me but the searching tactics aren’t working, I will choose a more finesse tactic, such as drop shotting.
Check your distance
When drop-shotting a river from the bank, I usually have
4ins-9ins between the hook and the drop weight.
Don’t lift
If a perch follows you in, don’t lift the lure out of the water straight away. If you have a sinking lure on, such as a jigged softbait, and you’re fishing from the bank, let the lure fall to the bottom. Perch often follow the lure down.
Hit the bottom
One of my favourite ways to fish a softbait is by jigging it along the bottom, but a straight retrieve can also be a very effective way to fish, especially using shads and curlytails.
Rod positioning
When jigging, I keep the rod-tip at about a 10’o’clock angle, but when the softbait is falling tight to an overhanging bush, barge, or deep bank I lower the rod-tip as the lure is falling. That way the lure falls vertically, rather than back towards me.
Nose hookers
When drop shotting, I like to use soft baits such as split tails, twitch tails and plastic worms, and I will nose hook them just like a maggot so they have a lot more movement. Another great way to rig soft plastic worms is to insert the hook through the middle of the body so that the ends of the soft bait flutter enticingly.
The right lure size
If I’m targeting big perch I like to use a lure 2.5ins-4ins in length. I go smaller if I’m trying to catch perch of any size.
new spopper gadget nails bigger barbel
Keeping barbel in your swim on a big river can be a tough game to play – but this unique feeding device will ensure they stay rooted to your spot time after time.
The sinking Spomb, also known as the Spopper, is the brainchild of entrepreneur Christophe Pelhate, and is an adaptation of the popular feeding device commonly used in carp fishing.
Its weighted head and pin release system is unique in that it allows the Spomb to sink to the bottom of your swim and deposit your bait accurately – even if you’re fishing at distance and into really deep water.
Chris has already sold 250 prototypes and drawn interest from Dai Gribble, Phil Smith and Des Taylor – all of whom have seen their catch rates increase with the help of the Spopper.
Chris told Angling Times: “It’s a game changer. You simply can’t cast a bait dropper as far as you can the Spopper.
“As it’s an adapted Spomb the device is already aerodynamic and casting accuracy is improved with the weight, but it’s also hydrodynamic – it will sink quickly through the water and release the payload with incredible accuracy.”
The Spopper has been so successful that the team at Spomb are now in the process of making their own version which will be hitting to the shelves soon – but for the time being, Angling Times joined up with Chris and top River Trent angler Brett Longhorne to put the Spopper through its paces.
Prototypes of the Spopper are available from SFUK but there is a waiting list. For more information please call 02476 239 650 or visit
On the Button
To demonstrate the prowess of the Spopper we met at the famous peg 1A at Collingham Weir on the Trent, where Brett was waiting to introduce his first drop of feed.
In a bucket he had a mixture of sloppy groundbait, hemp, chopped boilies and pellets, and this moulded into the dome-like cups of the Spopper perfectly.
He then closed the two domes together and pressed the pin system back through the hole in the plastic – it was ready for casting. Using a heavy-duty spod rod and a reel loaded with braid, Brett cast the Spopper out into the main flow and within seconds the device sank, hit the clean gravel on the deck and released its contents.
In the space of five minutes Brett had laid down 10 payloads of bait and each hit its mark, leaving him confident in the knowledge his bait was being deposited in a specific area and not being washed away downstream.
Over this feed he fished two rods – one with groundbait and maggots in a feeder and the other with pellets.
The results spoke for themselves as bites came thick and fast and barbel between 4lb and 12lb fell to his hookbaits placed over a big bed of feed at distance.
Chris concluded: “The proof is in the pudding. There’s just no way you can accurately introduce that much feed at that distance with a catapult, a throwing stick or a bait dropper.
“The bonus is that the Spopper can be used on lakes, in the sea, indeed any body of water with a hard bottom.”
1) Cast a 2oz-3oz lead around your swim to find areas of clean gravel or deeper holes where the barbel may be holding up. Use measuring sticks so you can clip your rods up to the same distance.
2) The Spopper is heavy when filled with bait, so a strong spod rod is needed to cast it. Couple this with a big pit reel loaded with 50lb braid and you’re good to go.
3) Press down on the pin to open the Spopper and begin loading it with your feed.
4) Close the two domes and pull the pin back through the hole to lock the Spopper. It is now ready to cast.
5) Use appropriate force for the distance you are casting. Before the Spopper hits its mark, pull the rod up sharply and this will create a slack line. This will help the Spopper sink vertically to the bottom.
How can I catch big roach?
Ever wondered how you can catch big roach? Well you are in luck as many lakes now contain fairly big roach as they get to feed on leftover boilies that are meant for carp. The good news is that winter is often your best time to catch them, simply because many of the smaller fish won’t feed in the cold weather.
Why not try a helicopter rig? It’s easy to make, and all you need to use with this rig is maggots. However, there are one or two tricks you can try to increase your chances of a personal best...
Four ways to get more from your maggots.
1) Riddle the maggots when you get them home to remove any dead ones as well as the old maize they are supplied in.
2) Add powdered maize flour to coat the maggots evenly. Maize softens their skins but will need replacing every few days.
3) Add a teaspoonful of liquid pineapple flavouring. The citrus esters in pineapple flavour are loved by big roach.
4) Don’t pack maggots into the feeder on a cold day. With room to move, they will easily crawl out of the feeder holes.
Top 6 tips for fishing in a flood
**Please be very careful when fishing in a flooded area as this can be extremely dangerous. So make sure you proceed with extreme caution and if in doubt then don't fish!**
We’ve reached that stage of the river season again when conditions are well and truly against us. We’ve had sub-zero temperatures, snow and heavy rain over the past few weeks, and we’re now faced with very high rivers in most regions.
It’s turning into yet another season where we’re only going to get around six months decent fishing and in my opinion, it’s time we got rid of the outdated 1876 river closed season law.
In my opinion, the closed season should be lifted on rivers now, and clubs and water owners should be allowed to manage their own stretches.
Hopefully, we will see a change in the law soon but until then we either pack away our gear until we get good river levels or we wait until June 16. For many, that will mean a six-month break, so is it really any wonder that the number of anglers fishing on rivers is in decline?
I won’t be packing my river gear away any time soon. Instead, I’ll be looking for windows of opportunity when I can get out and catch a few on my favourite winter haunts. I need to be in the right place, with the right approach at the right time.
Before we look at tactics, though, my first advice would be to always ensure that you’re safe.
No fish or catch is worth risking your life for, so take extra care if you’re venturing out on a swollen river over the next few weeks.
1) slacks and side streams
Now that the rivers have been up for a while, a lot of the fish will be shoaled up in the steadier water close in. Don’t think you always need to cast a long way out.
It’s worth checking out all the small streams and brooks in your area. Some of these are only inches deep in the summer months, but when there’s a lot of extra water in the main river these are the places fish head for. Roach and dace, in particular, will populate these places in big numbers and if you find the right spots you could be in for a real red letter day!
2) Marinas
Boat marinas are safe havens for fish when rivers are in flood.
They fill up with silver fish and predators like perch, and pike follow them in, so don’t be surprised when your elastic stretches out of your pole for several metres in the middle of a roach catching session!
3) Use a pole feeder
This technique is one to try when there is a lot of dirty water in the river. It’s a deadly way to catch all species, and well worth mastering for the difficult days.
4) swimfeeder with worms
For me, on flooded rivers. worms are the number one bait – all species eat them.
I’ve even had small roach snaffling bait you’d think would be far too big for them. A worm is the most natural bait you can use, and there must be loads washed into rivers when levels are high. Make sure you have heavy enough leads on the feeder to hold the bottom.
5) try a flat float
These Cralusso pole floats are designed for use in fast flows. I carry them in sizes up to 15g.
If I need heavier than that, I prefer a swimfeeder. It’s important to use the right size float so that the bristle is sitting with a slight tilt upstream.
If it’s tilting downriver, it’s too heavy and if it’s tilting a long way back, it’s too light. It’s worth making up one or two of each float on winders so that you’re covered.
6) Use a smelly bait
I have had loads of success using this crushed halibut pellet mix. Barbel and bream love it, and I introduce it to the swim via a pole cup or through an open-ended swimfeeder.
I use it neat for barbel and chub and cut it 50/50 with brown crumb for bream. Hookbait is usually an 8mm or 10mm halibut pellet.