Specimen fishing tips | Target winter grayling with Dai Gribble
ONE species that epitomises winter fishing is the grayling. There is no better fish to target during the short days, and a bonus is that grayling are predominantly found in streamy upland reaches of rivers – so you’ll most likely find yourself surrounded by some great scenery.
Here are seven tips to help you get the most out of a grayling trip.
Floatfish
Trotting tactics allow grayling to fight to their full potential. I generally use a 13ft rod unless I’m fishing a very small river, as the extra length helps control the float. On bigger, open stretches of river a rod up to 15ft long can be useful, especially on windy days.
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Grayling take a bait fairly quickly, so if they are present in a swim they often come out on the first few trots through. If after 30 minutes’ trotting you have not caught anything, moving swims is a better option than persisting in the same swim.
Bulk shot the float
I like to have the bulk of the shot or an Olivette weight about 2ft from the hook, with a No4 shot between the bulk shot and the hook. This makes changing depth really easy, as the shot don’t have to be moved.
Keep the bait down
Changing depth is important, because grayling tend to hold in the current just above the riverbed and it is likely that different swims will be at different depths. Keep increasing the depth of the rig until you are happy that the bait is close to the bottom. If the float gets pulled under due to catching the bottom, just shallow up a little.
Maggots to start
I have found white maggots to be the most consistent bait for grayling, and I favour a double maggot hookbait. It is worth having a few red maggots as a change bait. Sweetcorn can also be effective, and indeed may single out the bigger fish in swims where there are lots of small grayling.
Feed little & often
Grayling will feed in even the coldest weather, but take care not to overfeed them. You want them to take your hookbait before they have eaten enough. Feed around five maggots each cast – the aim is to get the fish searching for food, not to fill them up.
Take your time
Grayling have quite hard mouths, and are notorious for shedding the hook. To minimise the risk of losing fish, ensure your hooks are really sharp – check the points frequently – and take your time when playing fish.
Tommy Pickering's greatest tips revealed!
When it comes to boosting your catches in early-spring, there’s no one more qualified to help than Tommy Pickering. The former world champion andcurrent Preston Innovations England feeder team boss is one of the world’s best all-round anglers, and this week he reveals a boxful of tips that will bring more fish your net.
Bait
LIght Groundbait
A light-coloured groundbait mix will always outscore a darker version when roach are the main target. The species tends to feed more confidently over a light blend, and a very fine product that has minimal feed content should be used to prevent overfeeding the shoal. Sonubaits Super Crumb Lake ticks all the boxes.
Pinkies for big fish
Worms, casters and maggots may seem like three deadly baits for skimmers, but pinkies go top of my list when fishing for the species on natural venues. Mix plenty of them into your groundbait, use two or three on the hook and you’ll find you are picking out much bigger stamp fish than other anglers around you.
Try a binding agent
If you are struggling to get your pellets to cling to the Method feeder then add a binding agent. Dampen your 2mm pellets as usual and then add one spoonful of Sonubaits Stiki Pellet to a pint of bait. This will make sure the pellets stick when casting and as the feeder falls, but also ensure they start to break down slowly once the feeder hits the deck.
Which goes first?
Add groundbait to the water when making paste but add water to the groundbait when making groundbait. This subtle change is may seem unimportant but it is essential, and will make sure your bait takes on the consistency that you require for the job
How to hook casters
There are two different ways to hook a caster, and how the day is going will dictate the best way to do it. The first is to bury as much of the hook inside the shell as possible. This produces more action when silvers are cagey. When they drop their guard, have the hookpoint fully exposed so you reduce the number of missed bites
Vary your pellets
Pellets are the staple diet of most commercial fish but the fish can wise up to them at times. In order to give yourself an edge, feed standard coarse pellets but use a flavoured or coloured pellet over the top to fool bites from wary specimens.
Cylinders V Cubes
Punched cylinders of meat are stacks better than cubes when fishing on the feeder. This is because the shape of cubed meat leads to twists occurring in the hooklength when you reel in.
Try pop-up boilies
The bomb and popped-up bread can be fantastic for carp and F1s on commercials right now but don’t neglect boilies. An 8mm or 10mm pop-up can be a better option if you are getting lots of little plucks that you can’t hit – small silverfish are often the culprits. Pop-ups are also better when you are waiting long periods, as you can be a lot more confident that the hookbait is still on the hair and hasn’t disintegrated.
Floats
Which float stem
The type of stem that your stick float has should be dictated by the conditions you are fishing in. Cane is best when trying to catch silvers on the drop, alloy versions are more stable in unpredictable, boiling swims and plastic-stemmed floats stand upright as soon as they hit the water. They are therefore real winners in turbulent and pacey swims.
Quick Change Swivel
Always use a snap link swivel with any kind of waggler. This will enable you to quickly change the size or pattern of the float at any stage of the day.
Overcast and windback
Sink the line when using the waggler so that the float stays in the same place for longer. In order to achieve this, cast five yards beyond your target zone, before winding the float back to your spot with the rod tip underwater. A small amount of line may still be floating and this can be sunk by sharply flicking the rod tip upwards.
Dot it right down
Never have any more than half the float bristle showing when pole fishing. When fishing for shy-biting species such as F1s, dot it down so only a few millimetres are showing. This can be done by adding tiny shot such as No12 Stotz to your rig in order to fine-tune it.
Accuracy every time and how to keep a short line
Pick a far-bank marker in order to fish in exactly the same spot all day. Line your swim up with an object that won’t move and make sure you are facing it when the rig goes in. Place your elbow on the same spot to get the same distance every time.
If you want to hit every carp and F1 bite on commercials you must keep a short line between pole-tip and float. Use a 6ins length in still conditions, 9ins if there is a ripple, and a foot if it is a bit windy.
Tackle
How long a rod?
Too many people don’t pay attention to the length of feeder rod they are using, but your choice will dictate how accurate your casting is. For fishing 30 yards out on a standard commercial, opt for a 10ft version, stepping up to a 12ft or 13ft rod when chucking beyond 50 yards on bigger waters.
Make yourself comfortable
Being comfortable when fishing from a box is incredibly important, or your mind will soon drift off the job. Make sure your side tray is as high as it can be so that you can reach bait with ease. Rig roosts and keepnets should also be easily accessible without having to over extend.
Positioning a pot
The positioning of your pole pot on the top kit will dictate how successful you are. Make sure it is only a few inches from the pole so that any loosefeed you drop in goes directly over the top of your hookbait.
Fail-safe shotting
Shotting patterns are rarely given the attention they deserve, and if you are after a mixed bag on commercials then one patterns always works well. Place a bulk of shot around 18ins to 2ft away from the hook and have three smaller dropper shot spread evenly between that and the hooklength loop. This will slow the fall of your hookbait and make it look natural as it nears the bottom.
Keep a short hair
The difference between an effective hair rig and one that doesn’t lead to many fish in the net is literally a few millimetres. The shorter the hair rig, the better and I find that hair rigs where there is only a tiny gap between the bait and the hook are most effective.
Control your area
On a busy commercial, think carefully about where you are going to fish. If all the anglers opposite are casting to the middle then the fish will probably avoid this commotion and go elsewhere. Look to fish in your own patch of water – even if that means coming shorter – and you’ll find more feeding fish.
Try a heavy plummet
We all know that plumbing the depth is important, but using the correct plummet is a must. If it is too light, you won’t be able to work out the contours of the bottom whereas a 20g-30g version will give you the precision that is required when using the pole.
Sensibly strong rigs
If a fishery states that the carp run up to 15lb, don’t set up a rig to catch only fish of that size. Using heavy lines and hooks you’ll miss out on bites from smaller fish, so compromise.
Feeder
longer hooklengths
On rivers I find an 18ins to 2ft hooklength best in coloured water. When bream fishing in normal conditions I will step up to 3ft, and 5ft for barbel, as they tend to sit well away from the feeder on big rivers like the Trent.
Don’t move a feeder
Once you have cast a feeder out don’t move it out of place. With a Method or pellet feeder you will only empty the frame and move your hookbait out of the pile of freebies. This will ultimately make the whole rig ineffective. When you cast out, make sure the feeder hits the water with the mainline still slack, so you can put a bend in the tip without moving the feeder.
Give it a chance
If your feeder is in the right place, leave it in the water for a long period of time. At this time of year you may only be fishing for 10 fish so don’t be afraid of leaving it be for up to 20 minutes.
Why plastic is best
I prefer a plastic open-end feeder to wire. This is because I am much more confident that all the bait stays in it until it gets to the bottom, and it also retrieves easier and doesn’t vibrate as much in the water.
Depth-Finder
To find the depth on bomb or feeder cast out a 1oz bomb. Once it hits the water start counting. A bomb of this size falls at a rate of a foot every half second, so you can work it out from there.
Fishing a light bomb
When fishing the bomb, the lightest lead you can get away with should be used at this time of year. Any excess commotion will spook any fish you have landed on and when fishing on commercials, a 3/8oz to ½oz bomb is about right.
Match feed to venue
Feeder groundbait when targeting bream depends on the water I am on. If it is a commercial that sees a lot of pellets than I will use a fishmeal-based product such as Sonubaits Bream Feeder, but if I am on a natural water I’ll turn to a cereal recipe such as Sonubaits Super Crumb Bream.
Half- Filled feeder
Half-filling a Banjo feeder is a fantastic way of getting extra bites in the cold. The reduced amount of food around the feeder forces the fish into taking the hookbait and it is often the bigger specimens that fall for this trick.
How to fish a bulk shot float rig on rivers with Dave Harrell
There are days when fishing a float shotted with a group of shot or an olivette close to the hook will catch you a lot more fish than a strung-out, lightly shotted rig. Even in water as shallow as 2ft, a bulk shotted rig can work wonders particualrly for species like chub and barbel.
Years ago, there were very few float choices for these approaches but, in more recent times, there are plenty of choices to suit a large number of situations.
Bolo and Avon style floats are ideal for fishing bulk shot rigs on rivers
All my bulk fishing is based around three types of float patterns, and while there are different designs within these families, the basic approach is the same with a bulk and sometimes (but not always) a drop shot.
I carry a big selection of floats for this sort of work and they range in size from 2g all the way up to a 10g. Add to this equation a mix of thicknesses in the hollow bristles or balsa tops and you will quickly realise that it’s a type of fishing that requires plenty of options if you’re going to cover all situations.
A variety of different pegs suit fishing a bulk shot float rig
Olivettes or shot?
Olivettes can be slid up or down the line
For bulk-shotted rigs I prefer to use olivettes over shot. They are neater and less prone to tangling. The ones I use can be fixed to the line by pulling a small piece of tight-fitting pole elastic through the hole and trimming it flush with the lead.
This fixes the olivette in place and stops it moving, unless you actually want to slide it yourself.
I use these in sizes from 0.40g all the way up to 10g.
Cut down Avon and Bolo floats are great in shallow water
SHALLOW SWIMS (2ft - 4ft deep)
There was a time when I only used to attack these sorts of depths with a short, stubby balsa float but in recent years I’ve had a lot of success by cutting down the stems of small 2g and 3g Avon and Bolo floats.
As there isn’t much depth to play with on this sort of swim, you’re better off not using a drop shot and instead fixing an olivette or a bulk of shot about 1ft to 18ins above the hook.
When I’m fishing in this way I’m usually targeting barbel or chub, so there isn’t a need for too much finesse as the water will be fast. I use 5lb or 6lb line in these situations and tie the hook direct to the mainline.
Because these swims aren’t very deep I would always sway towards loosefeeding with maggots, casters and hemp or fishmeal pellets.
MEDIUM DEPTH (4ft - 8ft deep)
This depth is where bulk rigs are ideal for a wide variety of species. The choice of float is determined by the species that you are fishing for. If the target fish are roach and dace and the flow is slight then the No4 and No5 Bolos are perfect.
For faster moving water, I use the No1 and No2 models with thicker hollow bristles and for very fast water, the choice is either a No3 Bolo for fishing out in the river or an Avon float for close in work.
Left to right: No.4 Bolo, no.1 Bolo, no.2 Bolo, no.3 Bolo, no.1 Avon, no. 2 Avon
To choose the right size float, always plumb the depth carefully before you actually put a float on the line.
Check the depth close in and well out as there could be a big difference and once you’re happy that you know what the depths are at different points in the river, use 1g to 2g of float capacity for every 2ft of water. Depending on the flow, this could mean a 4g or an 8g float in 8ft of water.
Position an olivette or a bulk of shot around 18in to 2ft from the hook with a single No6 drop shot about 10in from the hook.
Most of the time I would use loose feed for this depth range but there are times when groundbait can work well in conjunction with a bulk rig. This would usually be mixed with soil to a ration of 75per cent groundbait and 25per cent soil, with a small ball every cast.
DEEP SWIMS (8ft - 14ft deep)
Left to right: no.1 Bolo, no.2 Bolo, no.3 Bolo, no.4 Bolo, no.5 Bolo, no.2 Alloy Avon
Bulk rigs really come into their own in very deep water, and it was this sort of situation that first alerted me to the effectiveness of the approach way back in 1992, when I watched the Italian National team practising for the World Championships in Ireland.
I learned a lot that day, and ever since then Bolo floats have played a big part in my fishing.
For slow-moving water, the choice is a larger size of No4 or No5 Bolo, and as the speed of the flow picks up, the choice is either a big No1 or No2 Bolo or a big Avon. As a general guide, 1g to 2g of float capacity for every 3ft of depth is about right so a 10ft deep swim would demand a float taking from 5g to10g, depending on flow speed.
With the bigger float I change from a No6 dropper to a No4 and it works in just the same way.
In these depths, groundbait plays much more of a part in my approaches and if the river is flowing fast I use a 50/50 mix of groundbait and soil.
The extra weight helps to get the balls of groundbait down to the bottom quickly but the balls break up fast when they’re on the riverbed, allowing loose particles like casters and hemp to attract fish into the swim.
A nice chub caught on a bulk-shotted float rig
Dave Harrell is recognised as one of the country’s best-ever river anglers. He has fished for England at World and European level and now runs his own tackle company. For more information go to: www.daveharrellangling.com
River float tips
There’s no finer way to catch fish on rivers than on the float. Here are a few pointers...
The river season is in full swing, and the recent rains of our ‘barbecue summer’ will have helped put them in tip-top condition, so there’s never been a better time to grab a slice of running-water action.
Angling Times got hold of a host of river aces for their floatfishing tips on catching everything from perch to barbel, including the baits to use, the swims to fish and the tackle to get them in the net. The rest is up to you!
Steve Hemingray: European champion
1 Always look for the flow when after chub. The fish won’t be far from this well-oxygenated water, sitting in the slightly slower slack to the side to pick off food. A waggler fished down this ‘channel’ of fast water will waft your hookbait right in front of their noses.
2 Waggler or stick float? The wind will play the biggest part in deciding which method to use, and unless there is a slight upstream wind off your back, which is ideal for the stick, the waggler will be best.
3 Leave a bit of float showing when fishing the waggler as you’ll be running down the peg a long way and need to see the bites. This will also stop the float from being dragged under on any bits of weed there might be, and in shallow, clear pegs you don’t want to be striking all the time because this can easily spook the fish.
4 Always feed slightly downstream of you when fishing the float as chub especially will come right above where the feed is going in. When this happens you must be able to fish here properly and make the most of it. Start with half a pouch of feed and monitor the peg. Never lash it in to begin with though, as you can blow the peg too early.
5 If the river is clear, then bread can be a killer bait and pretty instant in getting bites. The stick float is best for fishing bread as you can slow the rig down to tease the bait into the fish. To do this, just check the line coming off the reel spool with your fingertip. This will pull the float off-line a little, but this is better than having the line in front of the float.
Dab the line for ultimate control
Darren Cox: England international
6 In water coloured by rain, a baitdropper is key to feeding and fishing accurately on the pole when you’re after bream. Dropping in a big helping of chopped worm, caster and pinkie will concentrate a bed of neat feed in one spot and let you drop your rig right on top of this, rather than the random fashion of balling-in groundbait, which gives you more river to cover in a less efficient fashion.
7 There is a school of thought that reckons light-coloured baits work well in coloured water – for instance, white or bronze maggots and lighter coloured casters, but in my experience, dark baits are best. The fish don’t have a problem finding dark groundbait, hemp, caster, worm, red maggots and fluoro pinkies.
8 The flat float can be a killer method to fish on pacy rivers where big bream, tench, perch and eels are the target. However, bites on the flat float are not quick affairs that a normal running rig will produce. Because it’s fished so far overdepth you’ll get a lot of indications on the float before it finally buries, so putting the pole in the rests and almost sitting on your hands is best.
9 River fish are nomadic and even if you’re planning to catch on the pole in one tight area, it’s still worthwhile setting up another rig for trundling a bait over a lot of the swim, or even a waggler. Fish will move upstream towards the feed that goes in, and running a rig through the swim in the early stages of the session will let you pick them off as they begin to move. Once they arrive, it’s time to switch to the more static approach.
10 There is a chance that your swim might fade as the session progresses, and big fish can often be responsible for this. My approach would be to feed some more bait to try to milk the last few fish out of the peg before swapping to a lobworm on the hook. This is the king of big-fish baits, and it might be a waiting game but can produce fish you never knew existed in your river!
Get your tactics right and roach like this will be your reward
Paul Woodward: River Wye match legend
11 The classic chub swim is where the river runs up to a shallow area. This change in depth naturally holds chub, and the angler who runs their bait just into the last stretch of deep water will find the fish. Loosefeed hemp and caster, and keep an eye out for any swirls on the surface, which show that the chub have come shallow.
12 On big, wild rivers like the Wye there’s no point fishing small baits. Three or four maggots or casters, or even a couple of grains of sweetcorn, will catch everything – even the dace!
13 There aren’t many chances to catch barbel on the float, but one way I do it is to fish a long rod with a big Bolognese-type float of around 6g. Fish this up to 3ft overdepth to slow the rig right down, with a banded 8mm halibut pellet, and feed a good pouch of hemp and pouch of 6mm halibuts every run-through.
14 River perch aren’t any different to those on lakes and canals, and snags are prime real estate! A swim with an overhanging tree in the edge holding slack water is the place to fish, flicking a lobworm on a simple bomb set-up underneath. For feed, chopped worm and caster is unbeatable, and if you’re not too proficient with a baitdropper, a groundbait mix will do just as well.
15 Wherever there’s the chance of hooking a barbel or big chub you must fish with tackle that gives you the chance of getting them out. In coloured conditions when big fish are most likely to show, don’t be afraid to step up your hooks and lines; 3lb mainline and a 0.13mm diameter hooklength (around 3lb) with a size 14 hook will give you a fighting chance, while still being fine enough to catch those roach and dace.
Bob Roberts: Trent supremo
16 Don’t go thinking that barbel only feed on the bottom. They don’t! Very often they will drift a few feet up in the water to pick off food, so it can be worth trotting a bait through the peg fished up to 1ft off the deck, ideally small particle baits like maggots and casters.
17 Big, deep rivers like the Trent with a smooth patch of water that runs at roughly walking pace around 6ft deep can prove to be prime barbel territory. Avoid ‘boiling’ pegs where the depth is uneven and the river littered with boulders and snags. Fish will live here, but getting them out might be a different matter!
18 Keep your normal waggler rods at home for big-fish river work. A power waggler rod designed for commercial carp fisheries is better-suited to this type of fishing, using 6lb line fished straight through.
19 The most successful anglers will work their stick float continually on rivers, and over the course of a trot down the peg I will slow the float down to half pace and even stop it completely, presenting a perfectly still bait to the fish. I do this by simply trapping the line on the spool with my finger, or gently dabbing it as it peels off the spool.
20 For summer perch on rivers I think there’s nothing to beat a livebait, but as most big stripeys live near features such as trees and reeds, a floatfishing approach isn’t always best. I prefer a static attack using a float-paternoster set-up fishing with a hair-rigged livebait presented under a large wide gape size 4 or 6 hook. This approach greatly reduces the number of deep-hooked fish you catch.
Even-paced swims scream barbel