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EXPERT TACTICS TO TRY THIS MONTH

Trick wary carp Two red-hot Steve Ringer’s
with coloured rigs for river top tips for
pellets roving success late summer
Sept 26 - Oct 24, 2023
ISSUE 407

£4.60

MASTER THE FLOAT FOR BIG CHUB & BARBEL

 is on
Trustworthy reviews to help you buy the right kit
Easy tactical advice to catch you more
Learn from the biggest names in the sport

The best place to watch all the latest tackle

reviews and discover new tactics to try

James Furness (Editor)
The best of two fish caught
during a recent carp fishing
social session
Tony Grigorjevs (Features ed)
I was amazed to see Paul Hardy
bank a 10lb-plus bream on the
pole – more on that next month!
Most of my fishing these days is done on
my own, which I don’t mind at all really as
I’m pretty happy with my own company
most of the time!
But a few weeks ago I thoroughly
enjoyed a 48-hour carp fishing ‘social’
with a group of friends. The sport wasn’t
exactly prolific, but there were several fish
caught and plenty of laughs shared over a
few beers and a BBQ in the evening.
As always seems to happen to me at this
time of year, the shortening daylight hours
caught me out! It had been a month or so
since I’d last done an overnight session,
when I’m sure it had been light till almost
10pm. This time I found myself scrabbling
around in the dark at 8.30pm on the first
night trying to get everything sorted!
Autumn can be a funny time of year
when it comes to fishing, especially for
species such as carp. Traditionally it’s a
season considered to be one of the most
productive in the angling calendar, with
the theory being that the fish’s instinct to
feed up for winter will kick in.
These days, however, by time we get to
the end of summer, the fish in many
venues have been on the receiving end of
intense angling pressure for the best part
of eight months and will have seen pretty
much everything us anglers can throw at
them. This means they are invariably at
their most cautious, and certainly won’t
be crawling up our lines.
To make the most of the next few weeks,
and what can still be a very fruitful period,
it’s crucial to ensure that every bit of your
approach is spot-on. Don’t leave anything
to chance or settle for a ‘that’ll do’
attitude! Rather than jumping in the
nearest available peg, make sure you
spend time at the start of the session
looking for signs of feeding fish or areas
you think that they’re most likely to visit
during the day, and then work your way
into the session in terms of baiting.
Try to avoid falling into the trap of
thinking that just because it’s autumn
they’ll want a big meal, and instead start
with just enough feed to encourage a bite
or two, and then go from there.
Get the basics right and back them up
with good solid watercraft and I’m sure
you’ll enjoy a memorable autumn.
See you next month!
James Furness, Editor

Tom Scarr (Art editor)

I’ve been back at the carp lake
enjoying those misty mornings,
as summer slips into autumn.

28
HAVE YOU TRIED Darren Starkey details the
two simple rigs he uses
OUR DIGITAL when adopting a roving
EDITION? approach on rivers
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www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 3
 ISSUE 407 SEPTEMBER 26 – OCTOBER 24, 2023

Fishery Focus 22
8 Furzton Lake
Buckinghamshire

14 Stamford
Deeside
Way Fisheries

Tactics
22 Cathal Hughes
Winkle them out with a window feeder

Darren Starkey
28 Become a river rover

32 How to fish in the city

Tom Humphreys heads to Swindon!

37 Steve Ringer
10 deadly late summer tips

Quick fix
42 How to trot a float properly

44 Alex Dawson
Fool them with a feeder tweak

48 Mat Linforth
Slow down your shallow fishing

Rig school
52 Learn to tie a Chubber float rig

Speedy’s tactical
54 masterclass
How to master margin feeding

58 Q&A
Catch more with our expert solutions
to your angling questions

4 IYCF | 407
28
 66

62

Tackle Your IYCF

62 Live test
Shakespeare SKP Concept-T
70 The Cooper family
Adventures of a fishing family
14ft waggler rod
74 Your letters
66 New gear
The latest tackle releases this month
Have your say

76 Daiwa Mission
68 Buyers’ guide
Eight of the best seatboxes
Your catch pics

80 Puzzle break
Win Fjuka bait bundles

92 Bob Roberts’ diary

Find out what our top all-rounder has
been up on the bank to this month

92
86

Carp Tactics
82 James Furness
How to succeed on new waters

86 Rig of the month

Fluoro D-rig

88 Carp Q&A
Sticky’s experts solve your problems

44

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www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 5
 MIXED BAGS ARE
ON THE CARDS
Big hookbaits such as wafters, boilies

USE EXPANDER and hard pellets can be quite selective,

and will tend to attract only carp and

PELLETS AS METHOD F1s. Switch to a softer bait such as an

expander and it’s anyone’s guess what

HOOKBAITS will come to the net next, with big

skimmers, tench, crucians or even
barbel a possibility.

THEY BLEND IN
WITH THE
LOOSEFEED
There was a time when ‘stand-out’
baits such as bright wafters and mini
boilies ruled supreme as hookbaits,
but they’ve lost their allure on some
fisheries. This is because the fish have
DID YOU
increasingly started to associate them
with getting caught. A 6mm expander
KNOW?
pellet or two, however, will blend in The best way to hook expanders when
with the micros on the frame of the using a feeder is via a Quick Stop on a
feeder, making it almost impossible for hair rig. Using the needle, push the
the fish to sense danger. plastic stop through one or two
pellets. Remove the needle
and secure the baits
with the stop.

6 IYCF | 407

A BAG LASTS A
(VERY) LONG TIME
Shell out less than a fiver on a bag of
good expanders and they can last you
an age – we’re talking up to a couple of
years, even if you fish regularly,
provided the bag is well sealed after
use! A handful (around 100 pellets) is
all you need for a session and
preparing any more than that will
invariably lead to leftovers that
get chucked in at the end.
LIGHTWEIGHT
BAITS ARE
SUCKED UP
EASILY
In some cases, using lightweight baits
can enhance your chances of hooking a
big fish, even if it doesn’t intentionally
slurp up the hookbait. This is because,
if the fish is happily feeding in the
vicinity on the loosefed micros, the
expander will go flying into its mouth
too... often without the carp
itself even noticing!
IT’S EASY TO GIVE
THEM A BOOST
You may want to enhance your
expanders, especially when fishing
heavily-fished venues, and that’s easily
done. Due to their porous nature, they
will absorb added colours quickly, and
it’s the same with your favourite
flavours which, once added, will
slowly leach off the pellets and
draw fish into the vicinity once the
feeder hits the deck.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 7
 Furzton Lake, Buckinghamshire

Bream
in the park
Michael Buchwalder returns to the venue where he started his
feeder fishing journey back in the nineties, and explains how to
get among the lake’s impressive bream stocks
Words Michael Buchwalder Photography Tony Curd

8 IYCF | Issue 407

H
EADING to a large, open-water venue for beds of Canadian pondweed adding another
the first time can be a daunting prospect, dimension that you need to factor into your fishing.
laden with fresh fishing challenges to “The sport here is still excellent, though, with lots
overcome. But, according to Irish international of roach, skimmers, perch and bream to be caught on
Michael Buchwalder, there’s no need to worry, the feeder.”
provided you keep your approach simple.
We caught up with Michael on the banks of Furzton A comfortable distance
Lake in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, a large “When faced with such a large expanse of water, it’s
water surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city, easy to get drawn into trying to blast a feeder as far as
to see how he goes about putting together big bags of you can, but more often than not the best distance is
silverfish on the feeder from such venues. decided by other factors.
“The first is depth. If you’re targeting roach and
Times of change perch, somewhere between 5ft and 8ft deep is ideal,
“Furzton is a nostalgic place for me, as it’s where I but if you’re fishing for bigger fish like bream and
started feeder fishing thirty-odd years ago. Like many
places, it has changed a lot. Going back 15-20 years,
you could catch 20lb of roach on the pole and there
weren’t many skimmers to be had.”
“Then, a decade ago, there was a huge bream
explosion at the venue and weights of 60lb-90lb were
being taken regularly. Unlike now, the water was
coloured, which the bream loved.
“These days the 70-acre lake is gin-clear, with vast

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 9
 Maggots Groundbait

Worms Casters

Corn Pinkies

MAIN
SPECIES
Carp

Bream

Roach

Perch

TACKLE skimmers, slightly deeper water is usually best. have for the session, with a gentle wind and a slight
Rod “My peg for this session has a uniform depth of 8ft tow on the water.
MAP Parabolix Ultra II and, after casting around with a lead to locate any “As previously mentioned, conditions can change
Feeder 12ft weed, I found a nice clear area at 50 metres. I used a quickly, so I always carry a good selection of
pair of distance sticks to wrap up to the spot so that I quivertips. Changing these over is a simple case of
Reel
MAP Parabolix 3500X can quickly return to my baited area if the worst did just undoing my leader and switching, to ensure I’m
happen and I snapped off. using the right one for the conditions.
Mainline “Fishing at 50 metres is a comfortable range, one “My reel is a 3500-sized model loaded with braid
0.10mm braid that I can hit no matter what the weather does. On big and a 6m-long, 10lb mono shockleader. This helps
Shockleader waters, the conditions can have a huge impact on massively with getting fish out of the weed.
6m of 10lb what distances you can fish at and, unless you’re “As for my rig, I’ve simply tied a 45g window feeder
monofilament kitted out with dedicated long-range tackle, you can on to a 3ins loop in the mainline, and the 50cm
Feeder be caught out by sudden changes in wind direction hooklength is lassoed to this, butting up against the
45g window feeder and speed. loop knot.”
Hooklength “I always take this into consideration, and if there
MAP Optimum Power are no major variations in depth around my peg I’ll Bait choices
0.15mm opt for the comfortable range. “The word from local anglers was that
“The other advantage of this approach is that it Furzton had been fishing quite hard in
Hook
still gives me the option of pushing further out if recent weeks, but with many targeting
Siae 14 Kamasan B560
the fishing proves to be hard at 50 metres” bream with bigger baits like pellets and
boilies on Method feeders, I felt they
Simple set-up were missing out!
“Feeder fishing doesn’t “With this in mind I’ve
have to be complicated. gone down the natural
When tackling baits route, furnishing
Furzton I use a basic my side tray with
set-up that you can worms, maggots and
take anywhere. casters so that I can
“The rod is a Parabolix Ultra II quite literally fish for
12ft Feeder fitted with a 1oz tip, anything that swims.
which is perfect for the conditions we “My groundbait is a
10 IYCF | 407
 “These days the 70-acre water
is gin-clear, with vast beds of
Canadian pondweed adding
another dimension that you
need to factor into your fishing”

blend of Sensas Bream & Skimmers, Feeder Dark and TOP RIGHT
Gros Gardons. Michael carries a range
“This produces the perfect mix – dark in colour for of quivertips to cater for
the clear water, but with an element of fishmeal too, different conditions
so that I’m giving myself the best chance of bites from
roach and perch as well as the better stamp of bream ABOVE
and skimmers.” Furzton offers some
quality roach, among
Weedy waters many other species
“Fishing venues that have lots of weed can be a
challenge, and it’s a regular problem facing natural LEFT
water anglers. As I said, here at Furzton the water is Bait for the day included
gin-clear, and these conditions are perfect for prolific maggots, casters and
weed growth. a dark blend of three
“Between where I’m casting my feeder and where groundbaits
my seatbox is positioned there’s a large bed of
Canadian pondweed. It’s inevitable that when I’m BOTTOM LEFT
reeling fish back, some are going to get snagged. Lots Loading the window
of anglers panic when they have a fish stuck in weed, feeder with groundbait is
but it’s possible to get most of them out easily with the quick and easy
right technique.
“Something I learned from fishing on the River Erne OPPOSITE INSET
in Ireland was that the anglers who tried to yank the This 5lb bream topped off
fish from the weed invariably ended up losing them, a splendid 20lb mixed net
and some end-tackle. I’ve always found that the best
way to get the fish out is to keep a tight line and a big
bend in the rod, applying a constant pressure and
pulling, but without the yanking action which can
break your line.
“By doing this, you’ll notice the rod-tip inching back
gradually. Patience is the key here, as the heavy
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 11
 with groundbait, I started with a double caster
hookbait. On the very first cast I had a positive bite
and a quality roach was netted – precisely what I
hoped would happen.
“I carried on feeding casters and fishing either
casters or maggots on the hook, and did so until bites
slowed up. After catching a great run of roach, perch
and a couple of hybrids, the bites started to tail off, so
I decided to introduce some chopped worm into the
feeder to boost attraction in the peg.
“You have to be careful with worms, though, as you
can end up with a peg full of small perch on this venue
– but, faced with no bites, you have to do something!
“As is often the case, putting worms in the feeder
sparked an immediate revival and, after a couple
more roach, I couldn’t resist putting one on the hook
to see if there were a few better fish in the swim.
“After a couple of minutes, the tip pulled round
slowly and I hooked a much bigger fish. The tell-tale
nod on the end of the line suggested this was a proper
bream, and after a little bit of patience getting the fish
through the thick beds of weed, a 5lb bream was lying
ABOVE shockleader and braid gradually cuts through the in the landing net.
Roach came regularly weed, releasing the feeder and the fish. The result? No “A few skimmers and hybrids followed, and every
to maggots and casters need to tackle up again!” time the swim went dead, I introduced what I call a
before a lull in action ‘worm bomb’. This is basically loading the window
prompted a switch to The session feeder full of worms and capping it with groundbait.
worm on the hook “To kick things off I attached a large bait-up feeder to This has resulted in me catching plenty of fish until
my clip swivel and deposited 10 payloads of neat the end of the session.
OPPOSITE PAGE groundbait on to my 50m line. I didn’t include any “A quick look in the net reveals a wonderful 20lb
A cracking mixed bag of particles, as I’m fishing with a window feeder which mixed bag of fish, from a venue many said was fishing
silvers for Michael from mainly delivers particle baits and a small amount of rock hard. It goes to show that, by adopting the right
Furzton Lake groundbait on each cast. approach and keeping things simple, on these
“Filling the window with casters and capping it off big venues you can always put a net together.”

FURZTON LAKE,
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE B
SECTION
Location MICHAEL
Furzton Lake, Milton FISHED
Keynes MK4 1GA HERE
Contact
www.mkaa.co.uk A
Tickets PARK SECTION
MKAA annual HERE CAST A BARE LEAD
membership: from AROUND TO FIND
C
£50 for adults and SECTION CLEAR SPOTS
£33 for concessions.
Day-tickets available
from MKAA bailiffs
for £8, £5
concessions
Rules
Fishing only allowed
from platforms on the
eastern side of the
C-section. No tackle,
bivvies etc. on
non-lake side of the
path. No night fishing D
on C-Section. Split SECTION
shot no larger than
swan shot are
allowed when
floatfishing

12 IYCF | 407
“Putting worms in the feeder sparked
an immediate revival and, after a
couple more roach, I couldn’t resist
putting one on the hook to see if there
were a few better fish in the swim”
 Stamford Way Fisheries, Flintshire

Modern day
commercial winner
Adam Bowen & James Davies fish a complex where tactical nous
and careful decision making are essential to keep the carp coming
Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs

14 IYCF | 407
T
HERE’S little doubt that carp are the
favourite species of the nation’s anglers.
Visit any large commercial fishery at a
weekend and you’ll see hundreds of match and
pleasure enthusiasts on the bank, with the
overwhelming majority of them trying to fool the
resident commons and mirrors.
Hard-fighting fish that pack on the pounds in no
time at all, it’s not hard to see why so many people put
them at the top of their target list these days.
The popularity of carp can also be seen through
tackle sales, with the most in-demand items often
geared towards the species.
One thing that has definitely changed over the years,
however, is the type of venue that anglers want to
target them from.
Gone are the days where the masses demand a bite
almost every chuck to accumulate a huge weight, with
a patient approach where each fish feels like a reward
for getting the tactics spot-on now often favoured.
It’s a shift in mentality that has breathed new life
into a lot of venues, with Flintshire’s Stamford Way
Fisheries being a great example.
Two lakes that are surrounded by lush greenery
cater for up to 31 anglers at a time, with carp and F1s
the only species that are stocked. There’s also a tiny
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 15
 Corn Maggots

Pellets Worms

MAIN
SPECIES
Carp

F1s

pool close to the entrance that’s the ideal place to
drop on to with a newcomer in order to catch them
their first fish.
ADAM’S Rather than fill the pools to the brim, a more
TACKLE conservative stocking policy has been implemented
and it’s been given a big thumbs-up by the locals.
Elastic New beginnings
Grey Daiwa
Local anglers Adam Bowen and James Davies both
Hydrolastic
favour this style of fishing and when the former’s
Mainline family took over the reins at the complex earlier this
0.15mm Guru year, they were keen to see what was on offer.
N-Gauge “It’s a fishery that has flown under the radar for
Float years on end but speak to the locals and they’ll tell
0.4g Dino Gino (on the you just how good the fishing can be,” explained
deck at 11m) Adam. “There are plenty of fish to be caught, but it isn’t
Hook overstocked, and you need to work hard for every bite.”
Pre-tied size 16 Guru First opened just weeks before the pandemic forced
F1 Pellet to 6in of the nation into lockdown in March 2020, the pools
0.13mm line are known as the Twin Oaks, and islands are present
on both. Reeds line every margin and the spacious
platforms are generously spread. There are also
swims suitable for wheelchair users, with ample
parking nearby.
Boards displaying the fishery rules leave you in no
doubt as to what is and isn’t permitted, with another
screen clearly displaying the peg numbers to help you
find the swim that you are after.
Walks between the car park and swims are short,
with frequently-mowed grass lawns in place to make
pushing a fully loaded barrow from A to B very easy.
Other facilities are also plentiful, including a large
café and campsite that can cater for almost 30
caravans at a time.
Take your pick
The central islands look like the obvious place to
target and while pinning a rig against them will
produce bites, it’s also important not to dismiss the
open water.
“I catch the majority of my fish on the pole at about
11m out, having an occasional chuck on the feeder if

“Most visitors that come here start at close range

and that leads to the fish patrolling these spots as
that is where a lot of bait goes in.”
16 IYCF | 407
LEFT
Adam brings a hard-
fighting carp to the net

RIGHT
Small fish like this have
been bred in the lake by
the bigger residents

RIGHT SECOND DOWN

A steady trickle of
maggots often
leads to instant bites

RIGHT SECOND BOTTOM

The large café serves
a wide range of food
and drinks

BOTTOM RIGHT
There’s no need for heavy
gear, with a size 16 hook
being sufficient

BELOW
Both lads were rewarded
for their willingness to
keep busy on the day

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 17

ABOVE
A lovely 4lb common was
Adam’s first fish of the day
OPPOSITE PAGE
Priming the margins with
plenty of bait sparked a
late surge in action
bites start to dry up,” James said.
“Most visitors that come here start at close range
and that leads to the fish patrolling these spots, as that
is where a lot of bait goes in.”
James had plumped to go on peg 29 with the point of
the island directly in front of him, with Adam on 28
having a bigger chunk of the feature to go at.
As planned, neither of them paid the island any
attention in the early stages, with the pole at 11m
being both of their opening gambits.
Maggots were Adam’s choice of bait and they helped
him get bites in the early stages, with a run of 2oz-4oz
carp coming to the net.
“These small fish have been bred in here from the
bigger residents. It’s proof that having a slightly lower
density keeps the stock happy and in top condition.”
It took around 15 minutes for the first better-stamp
fish to find the feed, with a perfectly-conditioned 4lb
common going into Adam’s net.
Swim rotation proved key for both lads in the
coming hours, and catching a couple of quick fish
before making tweaks proved the best strategy.
Sometimes that was picking up another rig to try off
the deck, or taking a quick look close to the island
with a Method feeder to rest the open water marks.
Late in the day it was the turn of the margins to get
some attention, with big pots of bait being dumped in
just over an hour before they intended to pack up.
“The carp get used to a lot of bait being thrown in
around this time, so they naturally gravitate towards
the edge. It should hopefully see the action step up a
few notches.”
Both Adam and James had banked around 10 carp
each in three hours and the final stages gave them a
solid boost, with the pair sharing another dozen as the
fish dropped their guard and fed without caution tight
to the bank.
Fish to 7lb had been banked and it was clear just
how healthy they were, with each carp displaying
impressive fitness levels during the battle. Mouth
damage was pretty much non-existent on most of
them too, with fins and scales all intact thanks to the
sensible rules that protect the fish’s welfare.
“We’ve had plenty of bites today, but it’s not been a
case of shovelling a load of bait in with a guarantee
that they’ll keep coming,” said James.
“You’ve got to work to get a response here and if
you’re willing to do that, the rewards are going
to come your way.”

A HIGHLY-RATED CAFÉ
WITH TOILETS AND SMALL A CARAVAN PARK
TACKLE SHOP IS LOCATED HAS ALMOST
CLOSE TO THE ENTRANCE 30 PITCHES
AVAILABLE

ADAM AND
JAMES FISHED
HERE
Location
Stamford Way
Fisheries, Stamford
Way, Ewloe,
Flintshire, CH5 3BZ LARGE DISABLED
FRIENDLY SWIM HAS
Contact PARKING DIRECTLY
Call 07947 512262 BEHIND IT
or visit www.
stamfordway
fisheries.com
Tickets
Adults £10, Juniors
over-14 £8, Juniors
under-14 £6
Rules
Fishery-only pellets, PARK HERE
children under 15 STAMFORD WAY
must be accompanied
by an adult, no fixed FISHERIES, FLINTSHIRE
rigs, no boiles, meat

18 IYCF | 407
“These small fish have been bred
in here from the bigger residents.
It’s proof that having a slightly
lower density keeps the stock BRILLIANT
COMMERCIAL
happy and in top condition.” CARP WATERS

1
Marston Fields
Fishery,
Birmingham
Elm Lake is home to the
biggest residents and
Method feeder to the
island or pole at 13m will
fool carp to 12lb.
Tel: 07861 391916

2
Alders Farm, Milton
Keynes, Bucks
Since a major de-stocking
project several years ago
Pines Lake has become
much more of a ‘thinking
anglers’ water. Long pole,
pellet waggler and the
Method will all score.
Tel: 01525 261713

3
Partridge Lakes,
Warrington,
Cheshire
Holbar is home to the
biggest residents on-site
and Method feeder to the
islands will produce fish
to over 15lb.
Tel: 01925 767505

4
Gold Valley Lakes,
Aldershot, Hants
Bomb and pellet and the
waggler are winning
approaches on both Gold
and Syndicate for carp
to 15lb.
Tel: 01252 336333

5
Hallcroft Fisheries,
Retford, Notts
Early and late tend to be
best for the biggest carp,
with meat and corn down
the edge scoring on
Bridge and Moat.
Tel: 01777 719911
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 TACTICS
Packed with expert
advice from top anglers
to catch you more

Winkle
them out
with a
window
feeder
Natural water expert Cathal Hughes
shows why this approach often
outscores a cage feeder when
silverfish are on the agenda
Words Tony Grigorjevs Photography Ryan Hayden

22 IYCF | 407

C
AGE feeders have traditionally
been the weapon of choice for
anglers in search of reservoir
silvers, but there’s a new kid on the block
that is now well and truly giving them a
run for their money.
Take a glance at any black and white
action photos from yesteryear and you’ll
see some of the greatest anglers to ever
grace the banks using cage feeders. Of
course, they’re still highly effective, but
these days window feeders have become
the weapon of choice for many leading
TACTICS
natural water anglers, and for good
reason. Differing in shape and design,
they deliver bait in a new way and are now
seen as a far more versatile tool.
In fact, many top rods pin their faith in
using window feeders for an entire
session, confident that they can make
numerous tactical tweaks along the way
to keep the bites coming. Highly skilled
feeder expert Cathal Hughes is one such
angler, and he has been using ‘windows’
to great effect on some of the biggest
lakes in the British Isles.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 23
WINKLE THEM OUT WITH A WINDOW FEEEDER

Based close to the west coast of Ireland, You pack all your feed
Cathal has seen his catches rocket since he into the side of a
switched feeder patterns. window feeder
“There are a lot of distinct advantages that
a window feeder has over a traditional cage
when used on large loughs and reservoirs,”
explained Cathal.
“Whether you are trying to draw fish in or
hold them in your peg, it can be loaded in a
way that will do the job you have in mind.”

Versatile tool
The biggest benefit of a window feeder is that
it can be used in a few different ways.
“As the name suggests, these feeders have
a window that you pack all your bait into,
making sure it has maximum protection
during the cast and as it sinks.
“Pack it with particles and they’ll all get to
the bottom, leaving nothing trickling through
the rest of the water column.
“You can fill it with a mixture of chopped
worm, corn and casters before sealing the
24 IYCF | 407

“Whether you are trying to draw fish in or hold
them in your peg, it can be loaded in a way that
will do the job you have in mind”
side opening with a layer of groundbait.
“This ensures all the goodies get to the
bottom before they are released, which is
essential when trying to hold big shoals of
hybrids and bream in the swim.
“That gives the fish no reason to stray off
the bottom, concentrating the entire shoal
around where your hookbait is lying.”
On the flip side, a window can also be used
in a completely different manner when you
kick-start the session to try and spark a quick
feeding response.
“Sloppy groundbait can also be fed through
a window feeder. This is a great tactic when
trying to pull fish into a swim,” said Cathal.
“Getting the correct groundbait consistency
is a little tricky, though, and it’s best to add
TOP TIP
SILVERFISH of all shapes and
sizes are likely to be present in
your favourite water, and
hookbait choice will dictate
which ones end up in the net. Two
pieces of worm or a grain of corn
are often the catalyst to help you
pick out the bigger skimmers and
hybrids in your swim.
A ready-made heli-rig saves time and effort
when fishing the window feeder at range
TACTICS
A 0.10mm braided mainline helps
magnify even the tiniest of plucks
water to it slowly until you get it wet enough
to just stay in the feeder when casting, before
it then explodes out into an enticing cloud on
impact with the surface.”
Two options
It’s impossible to know how much bait the fish
will demand on the day, and so Cathal likes to
prepare for two scenarios.
This means setting up a couple of lines and
feeding each one in a different manner.
“My plan involves feeding around 10 large
bait-up feeders of grubs at range into the
deepest water at the start of the session and
leaving it all to settle,” he explained.
“I’ll then build up a swim closer to the bank
by casting very regularly, which creates some
activity, tops up the bed of bait gradually and
attracts fish into the area.”
Tackle for both zones is similar, with just a
few tweaks needed to take the distance the
feeder has to travel into consideration.
“I use an 11ft Daiwa N’ZON Distance Special
Feeder at around 30m, switching to a 12ft
version for chucking 60m.
“Braided mainline is essential to help you
spot the plucks that are all part and parcel of
feeder fishing for silvers. It has no stretch in
it, so magnifies even the slightest knock.
“I have 0.10mm Daiwa J Braid Grand
X8 spooled up on either a 5000 or 6000-
sized reel.
“Feeder weight depends on the distance and
wind, and it’s important to have a selection
between 45g and 75g, using the lightest that
you can to comfortably hit the mark.
“I set it up on a simple free-running rig for
the short line, switching to a tangle-proof
heli-rig for chucking long distances.
“Hooklengths are just under 2ft long,
providing a little separation between the
feeder and the hookbait, enhancing my
chances of picking off those bigger fish that
often sit slightly off the main shoal.
“I always use 0.18mm fluorocarbon, simply
because it eliminates spin-ups and tangles.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 25
WINKLE THEM OUT
WITH A WINDOW FEEEDER
“My hook is a size 10 or 12. That may sound
large for silvers, but roach, bream and hybrids
in these big waters aren’t tackle shy, and
using them leads to better hookholds.”
Winning formula
One of Cathal’s favourite venues to unleash
the power of the window feeder is the mighty
Inniscarra Lake in County Cork.
Covering over two square miles, it is home
to big shoals of roach, skimmers and hybrids.
“It works extremely well here, but it will do
the business on any large reservoir or lake in
Ireland or the UK,” he said.
“I’m going to put plenty of bait down at 60m
and then start fishing at 30m.”
He spent an hour close-in, and the sport
stepped up gradually as the quantity of bait
he was putting in steadily built up.
Sloppy groundbait went through the
window at first, before he stiffened the mix up
26 IYCF | 407
Cathal builds his
catch as he swings in
another skimmer
once the fish had arrived in numbers.
With an hour gone, he looked in at 60m and
had an instant run of skimmers, proving that
the shoal had settled over the top.
Rather than plunder them to the point of
killing the swim stone dead, he had a couple
Proof that the window
feeder is a force to be
reckoned with!
TACTICS
of quick casts to add more bait and then gave
it 15 minutes to rest.
That proved to be a formula that worked
well throughout the day, making sure he was
never staring at a motionless tip for more
than a couple of minutes at a time, regardless
of which line he was fishing.
“The water levels have been really high
today and that often leads to tricky sport, but
I’ve still had over 40lb in just four hours of
fishing,” he concluded.
“I’ve used the window to attract fish, build
up a peg and then hold a shoal. The cage
hasn’t come into the equation for the actual
fishing today and that is all down to just
how versatile these feeders are.”
Cathal’s distance window feeder set-up is
super-simple and virtually tangle-free
Cathal’s tackle
ROD: 11ft, 80g (short line) or 12ft, 120g (long
line) Daiwa N’ZON Distance Special Feeder
REEL: Daiwa N’ZON LT Plus 5000 or 6000
MAINLINE: 0.10mm Daiwa J Braid Grand 8
FEEDER: 45g-75g window feeder
HOOKLENGTH: 1.5ft-2ft of 0.18mm Daiwa
Tournament Fluorocarbon
HOOK: Size 10 Gamakatsu 2210 (mainly
skimmers and hybrids) or size 12 Guru Pole
Special (mainly roach)
 Become a
river rover
Darren Starkey shows how staying mobile can
be the key to locating the biggest fish in your
favourite running-water stretch
Words Darren Starkey Photography Ian Jones

P
ASSIONATE anglers may still get
the same buzz from the sport as
they did when they first wet a
line, but finding time to get on the bank
is proving harder than ever for most.
Family and work commitments eat
into prospective fishing time, leaving
many to look for different ways to still
get their quick fix.
The obvious answer is to stop taking
the kitchen sink along and getting cosy
in one spot for the duration of the
session, and to turn to roving instead.
This pro-active approach to catching
river fish requires only minimal
preparation and the bare minimum of
kit and, best of all, it will actually
enhance your chances of putting more
big fish in the net!
You can cover so much water, hopping
from swim to swim, spending only a
short amount of time in each.
I do a lot of this style of fishing on the
majestic River Wharfe. Rising high in
the Yorkshire Dales, she flows through
spectacular scenery while winding her
way to the confluence with the River
Ouse just south of the city of York.
It’s a waterway of big contrasts, often
changing rapidly from shallow glides,
barely deep enough to wet your ankles,
to darker, far steadier water. Although
home to a host of species, many to
specimen proportions, it’s the chub and
barbel that get most of my attention.
For the purpose of this feature, the
day-ticket stretch at Boston Spa
seemed the ideal place to show how
effective a mobile approach can be, so I
headed there armed with just two rods,
a rucksack, lightweight chair, landing
net and a bucket of bait.
First-choice float
My favourite tactic at this time of year
is floatfishing. The fish have less time
to inspect a moving bait than they do a
static one, and you are also covering all
the swim, giving you a better chance of
nailing it right in front of their noses.
Pegs that tend to produce well on the
float often have a good pace to them,
and range in depth from around 2ft-5ft. Trotted meat cubes over a scattering of hemp
For tackling these I thread a dumpy is a highly productive tactic on summer rivers

28 IYCF | 407
 TACTICS

crystal float of 3g-5g onto my 8lb line,

which can be fished straight through to a
strong size 12 hook.
I usually use an olivette to load the
float, but conventional split shot work
just as well. My favourite ‘hardware’
consists of a Drennan Acolyte Plus 14ft
rod paired with a trusty Okuma Sheffield
centrepin. If you have never caught a
barbel ‘on the pin’ before you really must
give it a try – it’s up there with the most
exciting thing our sport has to offer!
My bait for the day consisted of a couple
of packs of Dynamite Baits The Source
luncheon meat and two tins of the
matching hempseed. The meat was diced
into 6mm cubes on the bank with the
help of cutter but could also be prepared
at home the night before.
I favour the combination of meat and
hemp when roving and searching for fish
as the baits behave differently but
compliment my roving approach. The
hemp sits among the gravel, creating a
holding area, while the more buoyant
meat slowly trundles downstream
drawing in fish from further afield.

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 29
BECOME A RIVER ROVER

HOW TO make
meaty PVA bags

1
Mush up some of the meat into small,
irregular pieces using your hands

My bomb rig incorporates

a soft braided section
near the hook

2 “Thoroughly investigating the stretch and

Tip the whole lot into a PVA loading
tube. Wide-bore mesh is the best choice
3
Tie off the bag with an overhand knot.
The meat won’t melt the PVA mesh
switching to an appropriate tactic for each
swim kept the bites coming on the session”
Back-up attack
My second rod covers me for another very
effective and versatile attack – touch
legering. This is a simple approach to master,
with a size 6 hook tied directly to 12lb
mainline. Barbel are such a hard-fighting
species and you simply can’t take chances
when they are likely to show up.
I always try to fish upstream with freelined
meat, casting well above the target area,
allowing the bait to sink and then slowly
trundle along the bottom back towards me.
The weight of a large lump of meat is usually
sufficient to get it down to the deck quickly,
but I sometimes add a couple of shot or a blob
of tungsten putty, if required.
Make sure you use a brand of meat that is
durable and will withstand being bounced
around. I use the Dynamite Baits stuff as I’m
confident it will remain on the hook, no
matter how much it is being thrown about by
the underwater turbulence.

4
Simpy nick the bag onto the hook before
you are ready to cast out

30 IYCF | 407

TOP TIP
Barbel and chub
may fight hard but
they can pick the
bait up very
tentatively.
Keeping a small
gap between the
top of the hookbait
and the bend of the
hook will make
sure the fish also
mouths the hook
when they
intercept the bait.
This will lead to
you hitting more
bites
Deep-water winner
I also have another attack up my sleeve which
can be used on the same rod that’s used for
touch legering. A straight bomb with a PVA
bag of freebies works well in deeper swims,
especially those with a feature such as an
overhanging tree or snag to fish to.
A 1oz bomb is my starting point, but I’ll step
this up if it isn’t holding bottom in the flow. It’s
threaded onto the line and stopped with a
couple of floats stops and a buffer bead. If
needed, the run ring on the lead can be
pushed over the buffer bead to create a
semi-fixed rig, which is important when using
PVA bags to prevent the lead flying up the line
when casting. The rig is completed with a
short length of supple braid, attached to the
mainline with an Albright knot, and a strong
size 12 hook with a short hair.
The aim of game with this approach is to put
your bait in a likely spot and leave it there for
a period in the hope that a big fish will come
to the edge of the snag and wolf it down.
On the day of this feature, I used a 10mm
bait punch to create small pellets of meat for
the hair. I tore up some of the meat with my
TACTICS
fingers to create rough pieces which were
then put into small PVA bags for attaching to
the hook. Although this is a more static tactic
than the other two, I still only give an area a
short period, waiting no more than 10 minutes
before reassessing my options.
Wonderful Wharfe
With low and clear conditions, this was never
going to be a full-on red-letter session. I knew
the fish would be cagey, especially during
daylight. Sit in one spot and I knew I’d be lucky
to get a single bite, but keep on the move and
there was a much better chance of catching.
With so little kit to cart about, I was fishing
within 10 minutes of leaving the car. The first were far from ideal, by travelling light and
couple of swims failed to produce the goods, searching out every likely-looking swim I’d
but that all changed just minutes after been able to maximise my chances of putting
casting out in the third spot. Running the a bait in front of feeding fish.
float through with meat did the job, and a So, if you haven’t tried roving yet, put that
chunky barbel was my reward. right this month, as you really are missing out
Thoroughly investigating the stretch and on some spectacular sport!
switching to an appropriate tactic for each l The stretch Darren fished is controlled
swim kept the bites coming, with the biggest by Boston Spa AC. Day tickets are £5 and
barbel of the day touching the 7lb mark. must be bought in advance from
Although the late summer river conditions Super Shop in Boston Spa (LS23 6AA)
Darren’s tackle
FLOATFISHING SET-UP
ROD: Drennan Acolyte Plus 14ft
REEL: Okuma Sheffield Centrepin
MAINLINE: Daiwa Hyper Sensor 8lb
FLOAT: Drennan Loafer 3.6g
HOOK: VMC 7016 Size 12
TOUCH LEGER/BOMB SET-UP
ROD: Nash ‘The Specialist’ Barbel Elite 12ft
REEL: Okuma Pulzar 6000
MAINLINE: Daiwa Hyper Sensor 12lb
HOOK: VMC 7134 Size 6 (touch legering) or
VMC 7019 size 10 (bomb) There’s no need for small hooks with this style
of fishing - sizes 6 to 12 will cover all your needs
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 31
 INNER
Tom Hu
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32 IYCF | 407
 oduced
Maggots pr
ty of ro ach
plen
and perch

The trusty 4m
whip
was called in
to
action once
more

Plaums Pit
Starting off my mission is the wonderfully
intimate Plaums Pit, a beautiful club lake of
around two acres, situated within a mature
woodland wedged wonderfully between
industrial and housing estates.
Despite it being just metres from
distribution centres and mechanics, you
could be forgiven for thinking that you’re
actually in the middle of nowhere, that is, if it
weren’t for the gentle hum of traffic in the
distance and clattering forklifts.
As ever, with time of the essence, I began
feeding in the edge while preparing my trusty,
recently re-elasticated 4m whip. When
combined with a small pot of maggots, this
method will catch fish in practically any
situation and when faced with a lake like this
with ample marginal features (lilies, bushes,
reeds etc.) it can be a devastating method.
As luck would have it, I ended up sitting
right next to the lovely Matt, a committee
member charged with looking after the pond,
who right on cue landed a magnificent tench
just as I was setting up. It’s always a good sign
when your immediate neighbours catch a fish
of this quality, and I immediately switched my
baits over to sweetcorn and hemp. Plaums Pit is a
With green dreams of tench filling my mind, stunning little
a seemingly endless stream of small perch club lake
took a liking to my maggots and, with time
ticking on, out went the corn. When changing
to a larger bait like corn it can slow down the shopping trolley. A switch to co
rn
takes, the hope being that the next one will be It was clear what was going on here – the resulted in th
is
something of significant weight. tell-tale bow-wave of a bream touched the chunky brea
m
As seconds turned to minutes I could feel surface and, although I am certainly not
myself reaching for the maggots once more complaining, it wasn’t close to being as
and, with that, the float slid away. appealing as the tench! To cap off a great
Immediately the elastic pulled out to short session I stood in a large, steaming
capacity, but with seemingly little movement pile of fresh dog muck – hopefully a good
I thought that I’d caught the bottom, or a omen for my next venue!

“All too often in this series I set myself a

challenge that is saved at the last minute
by one of these miniature predators, and
I’m always incredibly grateful!”

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 33
 Bites were hard to
come by on such a big
expanse of water
There’s birdlife
aplenty at Coate
Water Park
Coate Water Park
With the sun slowly setting, I made my way
over to the beautiful and historic Coate
Water Park. Famous for its large and
prehistoric-looking carp and pike, this
water is not for the faint-hearted.
I wanted to know whether this
behemoth of a lake would be suitable for
beginner anglers but, perhaps, I should
have just gone to KFC instead.
The lake is overrun with birdlife, infested
almost, and the water quality seemed to
suggest that there is not a healthy
balance in place. I like a challenge,
though, and particularly with such a
ving
A blank-sa beautiful backdrop, how hard could it be
la st
perch at to catch just one
knock in g s
Wiltshire Angling
is a true treasure
trove of tackle
small fish? As it turned out, very!
Faced with a daunting situation like this, it’s
easy to become overwhelmed and lose track
of a game plan. With such a vast expanse of
water, around 37 acres in total, location is key
and with grebes, egrets, herons, cormorants
and kingfishers all present in numbers, I had
to find some cover that would act as a natural
defence system for the fish.
With only about two hours of light left, I
began feeding four maggots every minute or
two, scaling back my approach to a size 18 and
extremely light line. The temptation,
particularly on large lakes, is to start off by
introducing a large amount of free offerings.
This would be fine if I had a whole day spare,
but for a quick bite you have to play
a tentative game of cat and mouse.
An hour or so passed with just a
few nibbles on the float and one
maggot sucked dry, my heart rate
slightly increasing with every
single drop of the sun... and then it
happened. A proper take, and an
absolutely monstrous two-inch
perch. Success! All too often in
this series I set myself a
challenge that is saved at the last
minute by one of these miniature
predators, and I’m always
incredibly grateful! And with
that, I’d seen enough. Coate
Water Park is probably not the
best place to catch your first
fish… that doesn’t mean it’s
impossible, though.

River Ray
Nothing brings me more joy
than harking back to the good
old days when, after school
pretty much every night, I
would rush home, jump on my
bike and head off to a small
stream near my house called
‘the canal’.
The River Ray at Mouldon
Hill Country Park towards the
western edge of Swindon is a
perfect place to get away
from the hustle and bustle of
urban life and carve out your
own slice of jungle.
Choosing to stay fairly close
to the path as I’d forgotten
my trousers (stinging nettles
are not great with shorts), I
found a swim with a fairly
deep hole near to a long
stretch of shallow gravel.
Spots like this are always fish
magnets and simply feeding a
small pinch of maggots every
few minutes, I soon had the
fish boiling on the surface of
the water. Setting up with a
small river float I trotted
down in the hope of finding
out what species live in such
ick
Bites came th
fa st on th e
and
er Ray
intimate Riv
a pretty little watercourse.
The mottled sunlight
filtering through the trees,
coupled with fish-a-chuck
action, made this little
stream the perfect place to
wile away an hour or so in a
morning. With just the
bickering squirrels and
occasional dog walker for
company I caught so many
fish that I quickly lost count.
A quick snap with the four
different species and I was on
my way to the next venue.
Raychem
Lagoon
Last, but certainly not least,
on my whistle-stop tour of
urban fishing in Swindon was
the wonderfully unique
Raychem Lagoon. This pond
A pristine rudd
from Raychem
Lagoon
Mike is a wealth of
knowledge on
fishing in Swindon
is wedged between a huge
office block and the railway
line, for which the town is
famous. The pond is long,
deep and clear – which
makes the fish that bit
more beautiful. Fringed
with mature hedging and
lilies, this pretty pond
holds some impressive
specimen carp, bream and
tench, so I’m told, but I was
there for the rudd.
The lake is run by a small
and friendly angling club,
Raychem AC, with day tickets
available too at the local
tackle shops.
Once more, armed with a
box of red maggots and the
rudds’ favourite, corn, I set
about fishing a lovely swim
just behind some lilies. With
bites coming thick and fast
from the start, I couldn’t help
but wonder why I was the
only person fishing. Due to
the clear water, each fish was
a gorgeous golden colour
with those characteristic
blood-red fins – what a place
to end this chapter and tick
off yet another one of our
fish-filled towns!
Raychem can be
fished on a club
book or day ticket
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 35
Conclusion
I came away from Swindon safe in the
knowledge that there is yet another
large urban area featuring a multitude
of different angling venues, all of
which offer their own unique
challenges and rewards. It never fails
to amaze me just how much quality
fishing we have on our doorstep. All
you quite literally need is a whip, some
rigs and a pot of maggots – the world is
your proverbial oyster!
That said, there was a small shadow
of melancholy as I departed on the M4.
Upon first checking Google Maps prior
to my visit, five or six river tackle shops
served the area; sadly though, things do
not last forever. Perhaps the fact that
these shops are still on the map serves
as a reminder to us anglers that if we
don’t use them, we will lose them…
Ticket info
Rod licence: Anyone fishing in
England over the age of 13 requires a
rod licence. Juniors (13-16) are free
and over-16 prices can be found on the
www.gov.uk website.
The River Ray at Mouldon Hill
Country Park is free fishing, but always
check with the local tackle shop in
case that changes. Day and season
tickets are available for the ponds
from Wiltshire Angling, and also the
local Angling Direct store.
Links
Instagram: www.instagram.com/
tomhumphs_angling
Tackleshop Project: www.instagram.
com/tackleshop_project
 ROOKERY WATERS
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 TACTICS
Steve Ringer’s
10 deadly
late summer tips
The England star reveals the edges that will help you maintain
your bagging rhythm at the back-end of the warm season
Words & Photography Richard Grange

I
S THERE a better
time of year to fish
than at the back-end
of summer? The weather
remains warm, and the
fish are still well and
truly on the feed.
For me, the real beauty
of getting on the banks
of commercial fisheries
at this time of year lies in
the sheer number of
ways you can catch fish.
From the pellet
waggler and long-range
feeder to just a few
sections of pole, all will
work, and there’s a wide
range of baits still doing
the business as well.
While it is easy enough
to get a few bites with a
very basic approach, as
ever, it’s those anglers
who work a bit harder,
give what they’re doing
some thought and do
something different to
the rest who will catch
better and for longer.
I could list hundreds of
tips for catching well on
commercial fisheries
but, instead, I’ve
condensed them down
into a Top 10, each one
based around a method
or a specific bait.
All of them are simple
to do, and don’t need the
best tackle or mountains
of bait. Best of all, I
guarantee that they’ll
catch you more fish!

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 37
 FEED THE
1 MARGINS
CORRECTLY
Feeding the margins isn’t
hard to begin with – it
becomes trickier once
you’ve caught a few carp
and need to put more bait
in. How much should that
be is normally the main
thing to get right, and the
answer to this can vary!
You could try putting a
big pole cup of bait in, KNOW WHEN
catch a fish and then feed
another big pot.
Or, you could do what you
2 TO GO
SHALLOW
There will be times
when very little
wants to feed on
did at the start and drop in the bottom, and shallow fishing becomes the
several pots in one big hit only way to catch, but what about those days
and try to catch several when fishing both on and off the deck will work?
fish off that. There are Which approach is better?
really no golden rules – For me, the first thing I look for when deciding
experimentation is the key. whether to fish shallow is the weather. If it’s
warm, there’s always a chance that carp will
want to be up in the water. That said, the second
thing is perhaps more important, and that’s if
CATCH THE
3 CRUISERS
you can see any fish moving. When I say ‘see’,
I’m talking about carp swirling or boiling, or
even topping. If they’re up in the water in
numbers, they normally like to show
themselves. It’s very rare that you won’t see a
carp move, then go on to catch shallow. Warm
weather and carp showing go hand in hand as
far as the perfect shallow fishing situation goes.

Whether you’re fishing the margins
or the far bank of a snake-type lake,
shallow water and feeding carp are a
nightmare when it comes to keeping
your pole rig in position. As the fish
twist and turn, they create a washing
machine effect in the water, swirling
it all over the place, and this can
easily move a light pole float several
feet away from where it needs to be!
Only a heavier than normal float,
despite looking totally wrong, gives
you the stability required, so don’t be
afraid to use a 0.4g or 0.5g float in as
little as 12ins of water. It just needs to
stay in place long enough to get a bite.
KEEP BITES

THINK BIG When carp are out of long pole range but
4 COMING ON THE TIP

5 IN SHALLOW
WATER
swimming about close to the surface, there’s little
to beat the pellet waggler. But, on the odd
occasion when the fish are just under the surface,
normally in very hot spells, traditional pellet
wagglers aren’t right. They dive too deep when
landing and immediately put the hookbait below
where the fish are. That’s where ‘stealth’ wagglers
come in, short floats made of very buoyant foam
that don’t dive, sitting up in a split-second ready to
show a bite, but perhaps, more importantly, not
dragging the hook and bait down the water column
too quickly. Instead, they allow them to fall
naturally – greatly increasing your chances of
catching those fish just under the surface.
38 IYCF | 407
The key to catching on the feeder for long periods,
whether in open water or up to an island, is to be
positive. This basically involves being busy and
attacking the swim with a view to building it up by
introducing plenty of bait.
This means that while I will vary my casting times
during a session, at the start I will look to cast every 90
seconds. Bites on the feeder in summer tend to come
instantly anyway, often within seconds, so regular
casting makes sense. A long cast at this time of the
year would be three minutes! By fishing so fast I’m
building up more and more bait in the swim so, when
the carp do start to arrive in numbers, I’ll have a better
chance of holding them in the swim.
 TACTICS

CATCH
6 SKIMMERS
OFF BOTTOM
Skimmers are a brilliant fish
to catch in commercial
fisheries, being of a good
average size and present in
numbers – but, like carp, they
will happily come off bottom
to feed. If you are finding it
hard to get the fish settled on
the deck, then you need to
target them by deliberately
fishing shallow. After all, if
that’s where they want to be,
why not catch them there?
Unlike carp, though,
skimmers don’t tend to come
really high in the water,
preferring to sit that little bit
deeper, meaning ‘deep
shallow’ is the perfect way
to target them, typically
fishing at 3ft in an 8ft-deep
swim, for example.
Pellets can be good, but one
bait is a real winner for me.
That’s meat, both on the hook
and as loosefeed.

We all like to catch fish with the

KICK OFF ON
7 A TOP KIT
minimum of effort, and in the
opening 30 minutes of a session
on a commercial fishery, that’s
easy enough to do by arming
yourself with just a top kit! This is what I like
to call getting a fast start, nicking a few carp
before you’ve even thought about fishing your
main lines further out in the swim.
If you are quiet setting up, there’s a very
good chance there will be a few carp feeding
short straight away. This doesn’t tend to last
long, maybe 20 minutes, 30 at the most, but it
can lead to two, three or even four early carp
in the bag. Look to fish a top kit and perhaps
one section of pole, aiming to be just on top of
where the marginal slope begins.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 39
 PIMP
9 YOUR
PELLETS

Carp must see millions of

pellets every year, and
when they all look the
same, it’s easy to
MAKE YOUR understand why they

8 LOOSEFEED
STAND OUT
don’t always want to eat
them! Doing something
different with a standard
plain hard pellet that’s
going to be loosefed is so
Groundbait isn’t used that much in summer important, and all that’s
on commercials, and I tend to reserve it for needed is a bottle of
either catching skimmers or going for carp salmon oil.
and F1s in shallow water. A strong fishmeal I’ll douse my pellets
mix that’s high in food content is a good with the oil, especially
starting point, but when it comes to colour, I’d when fishing shallow, and
want to be using something that’s going to often a few days in
stand out a little in what is likely to be advance of fishing so that
coloured water. the oil fully penetrates
Forget about using a dark mix – there are no the pellets. They now give
real predators such as pike in commercials, off a huge fish-attracting
so there’s no real reason why fish won’t feel slick in the water, which
confident feeding over a light-coloured not only helps to pull carp
groundbait as they would on a river or canal. into the swim but helps to
Look at using light brown or green, or even hold them there longer.
mixes with a yellow tinge to them.

MAKE
10 LIFE EASY
Just because you have a 14.5m pole, that
doesn’t mean that you have to fish at this full
length – in fact by doing so, you’ll be missing
out on some great fishing! In winter, then yes,
I would be looking to fish well away from the
bank, but carp in late summer will happily
feed close-in. I’d definitely try to find the spot
in the swim where the marginal slope meets
the main depth of the lake and then have a
swim just a metre past this point.
Match anglers call this the ‘5m’ or
‘throwing’ line, where they can keep throwing
in a few pellets regularly by hand, building
the swim up for a brilliant final few hours of
the session.
On a pleasure session, however, there’s no
reason not to catch here from the word go.

40 IYCF | 407
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 HOW TO TROT A FLOAT
Get to grips with the flow early-on in the session and you’ll soon be

F
LOATFISHING on rivers is
relatively easy, but there are
several things that you need
to get right if you want your session
to be a total success.
The flow makes it a whole different
ball game to floatfishing on a
stillwater. For a start, unless you’re
using a centrepin, you’ll need to
leave the bail arm open so that the
rig can work its way downstream.
Then, maintaining full control of the
rig and feeding the right area are key
if you want to string bites together
on running water.
Follow these simple yet essential
steps and you’ll soon master the
satisfying art of trotting on rivers.
PICK THE
PERFECT FLOAT
The pace of the flow will dictate which style
of float will perform best on the day. It’s
important to select one that will offer a
good level of sensitivity, while also
remaining stable on the surface when it’s
running through your swim.
A stickfloat with a slight shoulder and quite
a fine tip will serve you well in reasonably
slow-paced swims, stepping up to a loafer
or large Avon that has a much chunkier tip
when there is a little more pace on.

FEEDING TRICKS
It’s important to feed in the same spot to build up
a bed of bait in your swim. Almost all your
loosefeed will run downstream with the flow and
if you stick to introducing it straight in front of
you, you’ll soon work out where it is settling.
If you start pinging bait further upstream or
downstream, you’ll risk splitting up the shoal.
Casters are a brilliant bait because they attract a
good stamp of fish. Hemp is equally effective,
SWIM CHOICE especially for big roach, because it’s
Your float will probably be on the move for 30 slightly heavier and will get down
seconds to a minute, and that can only be to the deck quicker.
achieved in certain swims.
There needs to be a weed-free channel that
continues downstream. Just one snag in the
middle of that run is likely to render it a
no-hoper when it comes to trotting.
Analyse the pace of any potential swim before
you settle down. It needs to have enough flow to
pull the float through with ease, without being
so turbulent that the float is constantly being
dragged under the surface.

42 IYCF | 407
THROUGH A RIVER SWIM
reaping the rewards of working a peg with a stickfloat

VARY THE
PRESENTATION
How the fish want the bait presented will change as the session
progresses. Start by allowing your float to run through the peg
unaided, retrieving when it gets to the end of your run.
If that fails to produce or bites suddenly tail off, start holding the
rig back for short periods. Do this when it reaches a stage of the
run where you expect to catch, using your finger to trap the line
on the reel spool for a few seconds to stop the rig in its tracks
before letting go and allowing it to run again. You can repeat this
two or three times on a single run on a lot of swims.
When you get a bite, pin the line on the spool with your
forefinger to create tension and if you
hit it, turn the reel handle to
engage the bail arm.

ADJUST
THE DEPTH
It’s tricky to get an exact reading of the swim’s
depth at the start, simply because you are
covering a lot of ground and the depth will
fluctuate slightly throughout the run.
Your rig needs to be set so that it can trot
through the whole swim without being
hindered and this means setting the depth to
the shallowest point of the peg.
If the float keeps going under at a certain point
and you never connect with a fish, you’re
almost certainly tripping bottom. Shallow up
by a couple of inches and continue to do this
until the rig runs through cleanly.

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 43
 Fool them with
a feeder tweak
Alex Dawson shows how switching what you load
your Method frame with can fool carp that have
faced a summer of angling pressure
Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs
T
HE flatbed Method feeder was simply
unbeatable as a carp-catching tool
when it was first released commercially
around 20 years ago.
Having been ‘invented’ by match ace Andy
Findlay, it presented loosefeed in a unique way,
with the carp confidently eating the whole pile
of freebies – as well as the hookbait – in one go
because of the lack of danger they associated
with the set-up.
As ever more anglers cottoned onto the
tactic, however, the Method’s effectiveness
began to wane as the fish became increasingly
44 IYCF | 407
used to seeing it, and modifications were
required to maintain the device’s bagging
potential. One of these modifications was to
use coloured micro pellets around the frame,
and this is something that top commercial
angler Alex Dawson has dabbled with.
However, he’s done things differently than
most, and when you look at his results, there’s
no question that he’s onto a winner.
“Simply dying your pellets another colour
would have worked a few years ago, but that
alone isn’t enough now,” explained Alex.
“It’s something the fish have seen a lot and
 TACTICS

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 45
 “Once you have an array of
colours on the bottom, it
becomes a lot harder for the
fish to spot the hookbait and
sense any danger”
you therefore need to take things to the next
level to keep the bites coming.
“That involves using a range of colour
combinations throughout the session to
make sure the nugget of food in front of them
looks different to the last one.”
Switch it up
There’s no need to undertake long hours of
preparation before you hit the bank, but Alex
makes sure his pellets are the first thing he
tends to when he arrives at his peg.
“I’ll start by dampening my micros because
once they’ve softened up, they’ll take on
colours more readily,” he said.
“My advice is to carry several different
liquids with you and make up small batches.
There really are no rules when it comes to
which colours are best, as the whole idea is to
Firing pellets over the target zone creates a
little more noise to draw fish from elsewhere
46 IYCF | 407
mix and match them throughout the session.
“You might load your feeder with pink and
brown micros on one chuck and then switch
to orange and red the next.
“Even if you catch a few fish, it’s often worth
switching on the next cast as it’s amazing how
quickly they can wise up,” he added.
The same applies with hookbait choice, and
Alex will rotate between different shapes and
sizes, often making a number of casts with an
offering that blends in with the micros, while
at other times going down the ‘stand-out
hookbait’ route.
Waste no time
Although the summer temperatures are
slowly dropping, we are still nowhere near the
time of year where the fish are turning their
noses up at a decent free meal.
Take a range of additives with you to create
batches of different coloured micro pellets
TOP TIP
Alex uses a 10ft 6in
Maver Reactorlite
rod but cuts a
small length off
the tip section. This
stiffens the rod’s
action, producing
less bend to help
haul big fish away
from features. If
you try this, make
sure you carefully
file down the cut to
remove any sharp
edges that could
damage the
mainline
Noise is still a major form of attraction too,
with the carp’s inquisitive nature forcing
them to gravitate towards anything that
breaks the surface.
“Regular casting is still very much part of
the plan. Not only does it make a bit of noise
that draws fish in, but it also adds to the
multicoloured bed of pellets,” he said.
“Once you have an array of colours on the
bottom, it becomes a lot harder for the fish to
spot the hookbait and sense any danger.
“I’ll look to recast every three minutes, and
this helps build the peg and pull carp in from
elsewhere.”
Alex also relies on his catapult when fishing
at short range, firing out half a dozen 6mm
pellets every so often. These create different
‘acoustics’ to the feeder going in, and force
the fish to investigate, while also providing
something extra for them to browse upon.
Go conventional
A lot of anglers these days have transitioned
over from a traditional Method to a Hybrid
style feeder. The walls of the latter protect
the bait slightly better, holding the pile
together for longer.
However, in Alex’s eyes, this isn’t necessarily
a good thing at this time of year, and he
prefers to rely on the conventional Method.
“Staffordshire’s Izaak Walton Fishery is
where I do a lot of my summer commercial
fishing, and I’ll have to cast 25m at the very
most, he explained: “The feeder is landing in
shallow water too, so I can feel confident that
the micros will still be attached when it hits

HOW TO MAKE A
MULTI-COLOURED
METHOD BALL
1 Nothing happened for three minutes, and he
Place your Method mould inside a food
bag. This will prevent the micros from
sticking to the feeder mould
2
Half fill the mould with your choice of
coloured dampened micro pellets
3 Preston Innovations
Place your hookbait into the middle of
the coloured micros in the mould
4
Take a small handful of another colour
of micros and fill the mould to the brim
5
Push the feeder into mould, release it
and your multi-coloured Method is ready
bottom. They’ll then peel off, slowly blending
in with the other pellets and adding to the bed
of freebies that encourages the fish to keep
grubbing around.”
Alex set his stall out on Bottom Pool when
IYCF joined him, selecting a swim with a gap
in the island directly in front.
“I’m not going to lie – it’s a known hotspot,”
he said, “but having fish there and keeping
them coming are two very different things.”
He moulded the feeder with an even blend
of yellow and brown micros and chucked out,
with a pink wafter as hookbait.
was soon winding in, this time going for pink
and orange pellets with the same hookbait.
“There’s no real reason for choosing each
combination – it’s all about keeping on ringing
the changes.”
Within a few casts the liners kicked in and
the rod soon wrapped round aggressively.
The strong kit that he had tooled up with
allowed him to pile on the pressure from the
off, and although the 5lb common didn’t give
up easily, it was never going to win the battle.
Alex regularly rung
the changes to keep
the carp coming
TACTICS
Regular rotation made sure
that bites came approximately
every three casts. At one stage
Alex stuck with a pink and brown micro
concoction on the feeder for a period and
bagged two carp in quick succession.
“Watch what happens now. The bites will
dry up, but the liners won’t,” he said. “The fish
will wise up to it and avoid the trap until I put
something else in front of them.”
After he had caught another couple, that’s
exactly what happened, before trying a
different colour combination brought an
almost instant bite.
He’d caught well over 80lb of carp in just
three hours, a weight that he’s adamant he’d
have got nowhere near had he simply gone
down the traditional brown micros route.
“Some anglers don’t give fish enough credit,
but carp that are targeted every day aren’t
totally stupid,” Alex said.
“They learn by association to avoid things,
and this way of working with different colours
on the Method makes it almost
impossible for them to spot my trap.”
Alex’s
tackle
ROD: Maver
Reactorlite Feeder
10ft 6in
REEL: Shimano
Aernos 4000FA
MAINLINE:
Sinking Mono 6lb
FEEDER: Guru
Method 24g
HOOKLENGTH:
Guru N-Gauge 4in
of 0.21mm
HOOK: Guru QM1
Size 12
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 47
48 IYCF | 407

Slow down your
shallow fishing
Mat Linforth shows how deviating from the rule book can pay off
when bagging on the pole in the upper layers during late summer
Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs
S
HALLOW fishing is often billed as the
most hectic commercial tactic of them
all, and rightly so.
The rig rarely spends more than a few
seconds in the water, with a near constant
‘lift-and-drop’ rhythm being maintained for
hours on end.
There’s no let-up on the feeding front either,
with the catapult pinging several times a
minute to keep the loosefeed rattling in.
It’s sometimes seen as a ‘non-negotiable’
way of fishing, with any slowing of the pace
leading to a drop in catch rate. But is that
really the case? Mat Linforth doesn’t think so,
especially at this late stage of the summer.
Anglers that stick to the rulebook will often
abandon their shallow fishing approach as
soon as the frequency of bites starts to tail off.
Do things differently though, and you can still
tempt carp to feed well off the deck, says Mat.
Two shot under the float cock it quickly, so Mat
sees any ‘rogue’ bites high in the water column
TACTICS
“The days of catching a foot under the
surface may be gone for this year, but go just a
fraction deeper and you’ll find that there are
often plenty of fish sat waiting,” he explained.
“So, how you feed and present your rig needs
to change if you want to continue experiencing
the success that you did during the height of
mid-summer.”
Optimum depth
As the air temperature starts to fall away, so
will that of the water itself. It’s a slow process
though, and the fish will still currently be more
than happy to feed off the deck.
“Fish rarely sit on the bottom, even in the
depths of winter,” said Mat. “They’re still
looking for food right now and setting your rig
2.5ft-3.5ft deep is a great starting point. On
most commercials, that equates to fishing
around half-depth.”
The bottom two help bomb the bait down, past
any nuisance tiddlers sat just under the surface
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 49
SLOW DOWN YOUR SHALLOW FISHING

With regards to how far out from the bank to
adopt Mat’s ‘deep shallow’ approach, he
pointed to the fact that there’s still plenty of
colour in the water at most venues, meaning
the carp will remain happy to feed at the
same distances as a month or so ago.
He believes that anywhere between 11m and
14m is best, although offered a useful tactical
tip on the subject of range.
“Always start at least a section shorter than
your maximum,” he said.
After you’ve caught a few, the fish may push
out a little way and if you can’t chase them,
bites will dry up. If you’re comfortable fishing
After slapping the float on the surface, Mat lets
it cock and then leaves it for up to two minutes
at 13m, kick off at 11m-12m to give yourself
that leeway.”
Rig presentation
Lifting and dropping the rig several times a
minute is often the way forward with shallow
fishing. The idea is to keep the hookbait
moving, tempting the carp to swoop in and
instinctively snap it up. Mat has fished like
this for most of the summer, but feels now is
the time for change.
“You’d think that suspending a bait in
mid-water wouldn’t work because it looks
unnatural, but it’s amazing how many bites
Using 6mm pellets for both loosefeed and
hookbaits helps to keep the fish guessing
you can get by doing this now,” he explained.
“The fish have been caught a lot in recent
months and this is a presentation that they
haven’t seen very often. I’ll slap the rig on the
surface, let it settle and then leave the float
in place for up to two minutes.
“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve
been just about to lift the float out to reset
the trap and I’ve had a bite.”
Rig set-up is also critical, with Mat relying
on a shotting pattern that allows him to spot
bites at any stage of the hookbait’s descent.
“I place two shot directly under the float
and another pair just above the hooklength
knot,” he said.
“The top two cock the float instantly,
making sure I see any bites that come almost
instantly from ‘rogue’ fish taking the bait high
up in the water column.
“The bottom pair help to bomb it down to
the depth that the rig is set to, and stop the
hookbait from being pecked at by any
nuisance fish sat just under the surface.”
When carp are the prime target, Mat’s
elastic is a grade 10-12 Mosella Ozone, with
0.19mm mainline to a 0.17mm hooklength
and a size 16 hook.

“You’d think that suspending a bait in

mid-water wouldn’t work because it looks
unnatural, but it’s amazing how many
bites you can attract by doing this”

50 IYCF | 407
 TACTICS

Mat’s box of 4in-6in

hooklinks of different
gauges, all ready to go

Mat’s
tackle
POLE: Daiwa
Connoisseur G90
ELASTIC: Mosella
Ozone hollow
Mat will still fire in pellets with the catty, just Grade 10-12
not in the same numbers as in high summer MAINLINE:
Preston
Innovations
Powerline 0.19mm
FLOAT: PR Floats
Margin Chimp 0.3g
or 0.4g
HOOKLENGTH:
Guru N-Gauge
4in-6in of 0.17mm Proof of the pudding.
HOOK: Guru SLWG More than 70lb of carp
Size 16 taken at mid-depth

Budget bait bill these would be hooked every drop-in.”

TOP TIP
A bristled float is better than
a dibber when fishing the
depths that Mat does. It
provides better rig stability,
making sure your float can be
slapped in and remain in the
same place without
underwater tow dragging it
out of the target zone
There’s nothing fancy needed on the bait
front to get to grips with Mat’s approach, with
an outlay of £5 ample to cover costs.
“A bag of 6mm pellets is more than enough
to last you a full session,” he said. “I use them
both as hookbait and feed, making it
impossible for the fish tospot anything
amiss. The catapult still gets plenty of use,
but nowhere near as often as when it is hot.
“I’ll feed half a dozen pellets twice in quick
succession and then slap the rig over the top.
Doing this creates noise on three occasions,
increasing the chances of fish in neighbouring
pegs coming in to have a nosey,” he added.
Mat headed to Marston Fields near
Birmingham to show off his tactics, setting
his stall out on Laurels Lake. Shipping out to
12m, he slapped the rig in before firing out a
double dose of 6mm pellets.
Instant action was unlikely, and it took 15
minutes before he registered his first fish, a
hand-sized carp of a few ounces.
“The fish have bred incredibly well in here
and it is full of these. If I used smaller pellets
and didn’t bomb the hookbait through, one of
Remaining patient was key, and the float sat
motionless for a minute and a half before the
tip finally went under and the elastic
streamed out of the pole.
A 4lb common was Mat’s reward, with the
suspended bait trick working on this
occasion. A steady stream of chunky resident
carp followed, with 70lb of them going into
the keepnet over the next few hours.
Slowing down his tactics both on the
feeding and rig presentation fronts had
clearly worked, with all the fish being taken at
between 2.5ft and 3ft deep.
“Shallow season isn’t over yet, but you
definitely need to use this approach in a
different way if you want it to remain
fully effective,” Mat said.
Important information
This feature was shot before Laurels lake
was closed due to a KHV outbreak.
The rest of the fishery remains open and
unaffected by the disease.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 51
 CHUBBER
FLOAT RIG
There are few more satisfying – or effective – ways to target
big fish on an autumnal river than trotting with big baits

A
S THE weedbeds begin to die back at
this time of year and clear channels
open up, anglers have the
opportunity to run a float unhindered for
some considerable distance down the peg.
One thing we need to remember is that the
flow near the riverbed, where we expect to
find most fish, is slower than that at the
surface. Therefore, if you were to run the
float through at the surface speed it would
appear unnaturally fast from the fish’s point
of view. As a general rule-of-thumb, to
match the current speed at the bottom, hold
the float back and let it run down the swim
at what you consider to be about half the
speed of the surface current.
Holding a float back is far easier when you
use a large float with good weight-carrying
capacity. Position the bulk, or better still a
streamlined olivette, about 60cm above the
hook and you have the perfect set-up for
targeting bigger fish on the float.
Don’t be tempted to fish with light lines
and fine wire hooks. Use big baits, such as
luncheon meat, sweetcorn and bread, on a
size 12/14 hook to a 4lb hooklength. Go
stronger if there is a good chance of barbel.
It can feel like fish are fighting much harder
on balanced float tackle, so every bite
will result in a memorable battle!

HOW TO TIE a float rig for chub and barbel

1lowest
Use three float rubbers on the float. To
prevent casting tangles, ensure the
rubber overlaps the end of the float
2 This should be slightly lighter than the 3 quick-change swivel on to the end
Thread an olivette on to the mainline.

overall loading for the float

Next, tie a small but strong micro

of your mainline.

YOU WILL
NEED
4g-8g Chubber
float

An olivette
slightly lighter

4grinnerTieknotknot,
a size 14 hook using a spade end
(line through the eye first) or
on to your 45cm hooklength
5 Tie an overhand loop knot in the other
end of the hooklength. This should be
just large enough to fit on your little finger
than
the float’s
loading

A single No4 shot

Size 14 forged,
round-bend hook

6lb mainline

6 Pinch a No4 shot onto the hooklength
about 15cm above the hook
4lb-5lb clear
hooklength line
7 Attach the loop to the swivel and pull
the olivette onto the barrel to secure

52 IYCF | 407
 FLOAT
A 4g-8g Chubber
style float is easier
to control and hold
back in the flow
than lighter floats

MAINLINE
Chub and barbel fight hard
so there’s no place for light
lines. A 6lb mainline to a
4lb/5lb hooklength should
ensure you land every fish

OLIVETTE SWIVEL
Fix an olivette which The use of a micro
is slightly lighter than quick-change swivel to
the loading weight of connect the mainline and
the float around 60cm hooklength allows for
above the hook quick tackle changes

HOOKBAIT
One or two small cubes of
luncheon meat makes a
great hookbait for chub
and barbel. Sweetcorn and
bread are also worth trying

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 53

From reservoir bream
to commercial carp,
Nick Speed shares his
extensive know-how to
help you put more fish
in the net every month
I
F YOU’RE thinking of abandoning the
margins now that summer has gone, then
you need to pause right there and read on.
Early autumn is still a fantastic time to
catch at close quarters, with many of the
principles that you relied on throughout
the warmest part of the year still being
highly relevant.
A few tweaks will be required to stay
on top of your game, but get your
tactics right and the late run of lumps
that you’ve been enjoying down the
edge in recent months will continue.
Bait choice is one of the biggest
elements that will sway how
successful you are. I am a massive
advocate of using groundbait, but it
needs to be used and fed in the correct
manner to get the carp interested.
LOOSE PARTICLES
I’ll always include a quarter of a bag
of dampened 2mm micro pellets in
with my groundbait. They are slightly
heavier, and I believe they hold the
bottom quite well. If your groundbait
is wafted away at any point, you’ll still
be left with a carpet of bait that will
give them reason to stay put over
your target zone.
54 IYCF | 407
HOW TO E
FEED THNS
MARGI
GROUNDBAIT
CHOICE
Big carp can cause a lot of commotion in the edge,
and one waft of a tail can send all your bait flying
out of your peg in an instant.
A heavy mix is required to make it stay in the spot for as long
as possible. It’ll never stay there for an age, but the correct
blend will be able to withstand a few fish nosing around.
I use Dynamite Baits Big Fish Sweet Banoffi, which is a very
biscuity mix. I’ll take a one-pint bait tub and fill it up three times,
chucking each boxful into a bucket. I’ll then use the same bait
box, three-quarters fill it with water and add it to the mix.
Blend it all together and you end up with what I call a ‘claggy’
mix that is quite stodgy.
I don’t run it through a riddle, preferring to bounce it
around a little in the bucket to break up the big
clumps. The small clumps act as food,
holding the attention of any carp that
are showing an interest.
TOPPING UP SWIMS
I top up a lot more than most anglers. If I see a fish spook out of
the peg, I’ll ship in and introduce a third of a large cup. This is
because the vortex created would have spread the groundbait
that was down there around, and I immediately want to build my
pile back up so that the fish gravitate towards where the
hookbait will be sat. I never use a small toss pot for these
top-ups, as I’m fishing in shallow water and any sizeable object
above the surface could easily be detected and spook the carp.
 HOOKBAIT OPTIONS
A hookbait that stands out and helps
anchor my rig in place is essential. I have
three options, and what is going on in my
peg will dictate which I use. Double worm
is my starting point, as it’s a heavy bait
and most bites are from the carp that you
are after. Once I’m confident that any
small fish have been bullied away and it’s
just carp left in the area, I’ll put seven or
eight dead red maggots on the hook. The
carp tend to prefer these, and you get
quicker bites. Double corn is the final
option, as its bright yellow colour stands
out when the carp have really churned
the peg up.

KICKING OFF
If you’re fishing a session between 10am and 3pm,
it’s best to put your first lot of bait down the
margins at around the halfway point. You can
bring this forward a little if you have the wind
blowing in, as the carp will be more inclined to
explore the edge.
Introduce four big cups to get things going and
start looking for indications straight away.
I’ll pack it into the cup like you would when trying
to build a sandcastle with a bucket. It goes in
loose but it all comes out in a clump,
sinking quickly and creating a cloud
through the water column. Refrain
from introducing the groundbait in
balls, as this could roll down any
slope and send the fish with it.

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 55
IDEAL DEPTH
A lot of anglers start looking to
fish in deeper water at this time
of year, but I’m a big advocate of
still concentrating on the shallows.
If you fish in 2ft-3ft of water, you’ll
draw carp in, but they won’t always
be feeding, simply curious and milling
around, which can lead to liners and
foul hooking. Fish will also be tougher
to spot, as tails or vortexes are less
likely to be seen n deeper water.
Plumb up quite tight to the bank to
find 15ins-18ins and you’ll get fewer
bites, but when one does come your
way, it’ll be a clean take.
It’ll be from a fish that has gone
into shallow water just to feed, not
just because it’s curious.
If I haven’t had any indications
within five minutes, I’ll add 2ins-3ins
to the depth and come slightly
further away from the bank to find it.

MARGIN
TRICKS
Groundbait choice is very important,
but there are several other elements
that you need to consider to catch big
carp down the margins. Swim location,
tackle choice and depth are just a few
of the things that you need to put
some thought into before
setting your stall out in
the edge.

SWIM SELECTION
If the wind is blowing into your swim, the
natural food in the lake will be coming your
way and the carp will naturally
follow it. It’s a good idea to pick a
swim with some cover close to the
bank. Don’t look for trees that
overhang several metres into the
lake, as the water underneath them
will be too deep. Try to locate reeds,
small bushes or the like that just
about protrude over the lake to offer
a little cover to the carp.
56 IYCF | 407
RIG CHOICE
You’re going to encounter big fish
down the edge, and you don’t
want to take any chances. If you
hook one, you want it to end up
in the net!
I use a grade 25-30 Middy
Reactacore (which is a lot more
forgiving than the grade
indicates), 0.21mm mainline to a
0.19mm hooklink that is 4ins long,
and a size 12 hook. My favourite
patterns are a Tubertini 175 or a
Drennan Margin Carp.
All your shot needs
to be bulked up just above
the hooklength knot, helping to
anchor your rig in place.
A stable float that won’t dip under because of the
slightest bit of turbulence is important.
I use a 4x14 Malman Adam that has a thick 2mm tip,
cutting down the long stem so that it doesn’t interfere with
where the fish are feeding below.
KEEP IT SHORT
A lot of anglers fish down to a platform that
may be 10m-15m away, but that makes it
impossible to read what is going on in your peg.
I like to react to what happening in the
margins, adding more bait if I see a swirl to
concentrate the shoal and then dropping in on
it immediately to try and catch the fish that
was getting stuck in to the feed.
If I am fishing a top kit and two sections
down the bank, I can spot any movements
immediately. Try to spot things when your line
is 13m away and you’ll really struggle.
Make the fish come to you – they’re still
hungry and are more than willing to do so.
CONCENTRATE
YOUR ATTACK
You might have two attractive
margins, but I will concentrate on
one from the off. If that doesn’t
work, then I will give the other a go,
but I never chop and change
between the pair as the session
progresses. That will lead to you
losing your discipline, chucking bait
everywhere and not being in control
of your fishing. Stick to one and
you’ll make far better decisions.
Autumn silvers
on the pole from
large stillwaters
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 57
Q What type of pole
rig should I use
when trying to
fish pellets on the
FLOAT
A rugby-ball shaped body
with a wire stem will help
to minimise the impact
bottom for carp or F1s that underwater tow has
on your rig presentation.
on a lake that is affected Start with a 4x14 or 4x16,
but step up to a 4x18 if it

by underwater tow? continues to push

through your swim
Joe Hartley, email

A
PELLET hookbaits must be nailed
to the bottom once in position or
they will look unnatural. Your rig
needs to provide stability, but it must also
help to fool the fish into believing that the LINE
hookbait is a loose offering. You can A strong and robust mainline
will aid presentation and reduce
achieve this by using a shotting pattern
the chances of breakages when
that helps it flutter through the bottom you are bagging up. Go with
layers of the water column. 0.17mm to a 0.15mm
hooklength when targeting a
mixture of carp and F1s

FEEDING
Trickling in a few 4mm or 6mm
pellets via a catapult will create
sufficient noise to draw fish into
your swim. Don’t do this too
frequently though or you’ll tempt
them up off the deck. Firing in a
dozen every three minutes is often
enough to attract and hold fish
SHOTTING
Spread your shot out over a
foot-long area, starting
from the hooklength knot
and working upwards. This
strung-bulk style bombs the
hookbait down through the
upper layers, before then
slowing its pace down when
it enters the feeding zone as
there are no shot on the
hooklink itself

HOOK
A medium-gauge wire hook
with a wide gape works best
with pellets and leads to
solid hookholds. Use a size
16 in a pattern such as the
Guru SLWG, which is ideal
when using banded pellets

58 IYCF | 407
Q What is the best way
to feed worms when
trying to catch a mixed
bag on my local club water?
Nathan Williams, email
A
WORMS are just as effective at
tempting quality silverfish as
they are at drawing in big carp.
As loosefeed they are best combined
with groundbait in order to get
everything down to the deck where the
bigger fish will be waiting, with a dark
mix complimenting the worms well.
HOW TO feed
worms properly
1
Mix your groundbait slightly on the wet
side. A blend of SonuBaits Sweet F1 and
Thatchers Original will attract all species
2 but you need to work out where the fish are
Put some worms into a cup and chop
them well, leaving a few chunky pieces
to help to maintain the shoal’s interest
3
Take a handful of groundbait and place
a bit of chopped worm in the centre.
Squeeze into a ball so that the worms
sit in the middle, then cup the lot in
4 On the flip side, venues that specimen
Top up the swim with tiny nuggets
when bites dry up, altering the ratio of
groundbait to worms each time until
you find out what leads to quick bites
Q What is the best shotting
pattern to use when the
fish are spread
throughout the bottom few feet
is 6ft deep and you believe that the shoal
are sat between half-depth and the lakebed,
you need to try to slow the fall of your
hookbait once it gets to that half-depth.
of the water column? To do this, your shot needs to be strung
Robert Hollins, email from the hooklength to halfway up the rig.
If the shoal goes a little deeper, tighten your
A
THIS is the best time of year to shotting up, spreading them over a smaller
catch ‘on the drop’, with the fish area so that the hookbait gets through the
often being close to the deck. A ‘barren area’ quickly, before then slowing
strung-out shotting pattern is the answer, down to provide a natural presentation
once it enters the vicinity of the fish.
sat before committing to the tactic.
For example, if you’re fishing a swim that
Q What baits should I
pack inside a large
cage feeder when
putting down a big bed
of bait to draw in both
carp and bream?
Luke Nolan, email
A
PROVIDING the fish
with the baits that
they regularly see and
are therefore constantly on the
lookout for is the best way to
reduce the time it takes to get
your first run of bites.
To do this, it’s important to analyse
the type of angler that prevails on the
fishery that you’ve chosen. If most are
fishing from a seatbox and using a
‘match-style’ approach, then baits such pellets that have probably been doused in
as micro pellets, sweetcorn and dead liquid attractants.
maggots are likely to fare best. If in doubt, feed two lines that are well apart
in a different manner, and have spells of
carp anglers regularly frequent will be fishing over both to work out which is the
dominated by lots of boilies and hard most effective.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 59
 Q I often catch a few quality carp and F1s at my local
fishery before the stamp dwindles. How can I keep
the bigger fish coming?
Wayne Allsop, Cambs

A
THE BIGGEST fish in the lake
are the first to wise up to any
commotion. They’re unlikely
to exit the area completely if some
food remains, but will switch their
position to prevent being caught.
Rather than feeding directly over
the main bed of bait, they’ll sit a few
feet away from it and then pick off
any scraps that come their way,
convinced they are safe to eat.
Start by fishing with your elbow
halfway down the pole section that
you are holding, leaving half a section
behind you.
If bites start to dry up, ship slightly
further out, but continue to feed in
the same spot as you did when you
kicked things off. Your hookbait will
then look like one of those scraps,
giving you a better chance of hooking
more of the warier, bigger carp.

Q What sort of swim should I look

for when fishing from my
seatbox for river chub?
Stephen Brakewell, email

A
A SWIM with a bit of cover is essential. Pick
an area that has a decent flow over the far
side, as it will allow you to run a float down
the full length of the feature or drop a feeder into a
likely looking spot close-by. If the trees are
overhanging, there’s every chance that the fish will
be deep within the snag to start off. Accurate
feeding is vital, making sure every morsel lands
either just in open water or right on the edge of the
tree line. Allowing bait to go through the leaves and
into the dense cover will give the chub a free meal
and they’ll have no reason to come out.

60 IYCF | 407
Q A cage feeder works well
on my local bream water,
but I’m often smashed up
once or twice a session when
rogue carp turn up. How can I
land these bonus fish?
Simon Regan, email

A
A CAGE feeder is often better than a
Method because it presents the
hookbait away from the frame, giving
finicky fish more confidence to feed.
Tackling up with stronger gear may seem
like the obvious choice, but the thicker
diameters of line involved can sometimes
lead to fewer bites.
Using an inline cage with an elasticated
stem is a great way to add an element of
security, should any carp show up. The
stretch within the elastic will absorb some of

Q
the extra pressure placed upon the I visit a lake that has 4ft
hooklength, enhancing your chances of
deep margins and I often
banking the fish. However, always check that
the venue you’re fishing allows elasticated
foul-hook carp when
feeders, as they are classed as a ‘fixed rig’. fishing the long pole down to the
next free platform. How can I
stop this from happening?
Colin Rose, Worcs

A
LOOKING at the baits that you’re
feeding is the first port of call.
Lightweight offerings such as
groundbait, micro pellets and dead maggots
will waft off the bottom and the carp will
come up for them. They’ll brush against the
rig as they do so, the float will sink and you’ll
often foul-hook them. Heavier baits such as
6mm or 8mm pellets and corn are much
better in this scenario as they stay put on the
bottom, helping to keep the fish down.
If that fails, try fishing a little closer to your
position. The fish will feel comfortable if
you’re fishing 11m away as there will be no
pole wafting over their heads. Switch to
fishing just 4m-5m down the edge, however,
and they’ll sense your presence, be more
cautious, and stay on the bottom.

Q Where should I plumb up to on the pole

float body when trying to get my hookbait
just touching bottom on a commercial?
Allan Partner, email

A
THIS a topic that often divides opinion, but most of
the best pole anglers believe that having the bottom
of the float body just about on show when the
plummet hits the deck will leave your hookbait touching
bottom once you are fishing.
On the other hand, plumbing up so that only the bristle
shows will lead to inaccurate presentation, with even the
tiniest movement of the pole tip leading to the hookbait
bouncing around unnaturally on the deck.
If you are faced with a stiff breeze, however, try
plumbing up so that a couple of centimetres of the float
stem are showing when the plummet hits the bottom, as
this will make sure that the hookbait stays nailed in
position if a sudden gust of wind hits.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 61
 TACKLE
New Gear Revealed,
On The Bank Tests
& Expert Advice

Long, strong,
and remarkably
versatile!
Tony Grigorjevs runs the rule over Shakespeare’s
latest float rod, which promises to be far more
than a one-trick pony...
62 IYCF | 407
 TACKLE

SHAKESPEARE SKP CONCEPT-T

14FT FLOAT ROD RRP: £84.99

W
ITH the current cost of living crisis
putting strain on budgets, impulsive
purchases of big tackle items that may
only get the odd airing have been put on hold as
anglers seek true value for money in everything
that they add to their armoury.
As such, when it comes to buying new rods, many
people are starting to look for those that will prove
useful in more than just one setting. Shakespeare
seem fully aware of this trend, and their new 14ft
SKP Concept-T Float rod is a tool which certainly
seems to fit within those parameters.
Given its extra length and the manufacturer’s
promise of the rod being able to handle big fish, it
seemed to me like there would be no shortage of
fishing scenarios where it would deliver the goods,
not least when trotting for barbel and chub.
However, with the rivers running low and clear
during the late summer heatwave, I decided instead
to test its merits on the stillwater front.
A commercial water packed with hard-fighting
carp seemed like a good place to start, so I headed
off to Nottinghamshire’s Janson Fishery to see if
the rod would live up to its billing.

Action off the rod tip

As with the vast majority of long rods, this is a
three-piece offering, and on first glance its build
certainly seems tailored for doing battle with
larger-than-average fish. The butt section was
quite chunky, but not overly so, the rod rings were
of sufficient size to allow the smooth passage of
slightly thicker mainlines, if and when needed, and
the tip had a powerful look to it.
A quick ‘waggle’ without the reel attached
revealed the blank to be quite stiff, which is exactly
what you’d want when piling the pressure on to get
big fish away from cover, although there certainly
seemed to be an element of forgiveness in the top
half to help minimise hookpulls close to the net.
The colour of the blank is a little different, being
grey, rather than the more normal black. This may
prove a little ‘Marmite’ for some – you’ll probably
either love it or loathe it – but I was certainly in the
former camp, I found it quite the ‘looker’!
My plan on the day was to fish a pole float off the
rod tip on the prolific Tomo’s Pool. A shallow lake
with depths averaging 2ft-4ft, it’s heavily stocked
with carp in the 1lb-7lb bracket.
This set-up would allow precise presentation, and
is a style of fishing that we are sometimes guilty of
overlooking in this magazine because, go to any
commercial fishery in high season and you’ll see
dozens of anglers using a float on rod and line
tactics just a few metres from the bank.
An island sat around 10m away, with a few snags
jutting off its corner, so with that in mind I geared
up with 8lb mainline through to a 0.18mm
hooklength and strong size 14 hook. It’s a terminal
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 63
LONG, STRONG, AND REMARKABLY VERSATILE!
tackle arrangement I’ve used on countless
occasions, and I knew that, if the rod was up
to it, I’d be able to quickly stop any fish that
were heading for the cover of the island.
Packing a punch
A handful of 6mm pellets were thrown in
before my rig – baited with the same – was
lowered over the top. With so many carp
clearly milling around I didn’t think it would
take long to get a bite and so it proved, with
the float sliding away within just a few
minutes. The reel’s clutch sang sweetly as
the fish on the other end, as expected, made a
beeline for the branches opposite!
As it neared that sanctuary, I clamped down
and tightened the clutch slightly. Sweeping
the rod to my left, the blank took on a healthy
bend, before the power further down enabled
64 IYCF | 407
“It had passed this
test and there’s little
doubt it would do the
same on rivers”
me to turn the feisty mirror around. It was
soon within netting range and despite a few
angry headshakes, I was crowned victor.
The fact that the hook wasn’t dislodged in
those final moments showed the rod had the
capability to absorb sudden lunges, reducing
the chances of heartbreaking losses.
There’s no hiding from the fact that the
fishing was easy on the day, with small to
medium-sized carp dominating. Most fish
followed the same pattern once hooked,
darting towards the island at pace, but the
pairing of the extra 14ft length and stepped-
up terminal tackle put me in command every
time. Had I gone with a softer, more
traditional commercial rod there is no doubt
that some of the carp would have given me
the run-around on their headlong dashes to
their island getaway!
 TACKLE

Tech spec All-season appeal

LENGTH: 14ft Over the course of the session,
the rod had done exactly what I’d asked of it,
PIECES: Three and had I been fishing for bigger carp running
into double figures, I’m sure it would have
Full cork handle performed just as pleasingly.
It had certainly passed this test and there’s
LS Guides little doubt it would do the same on rivers.
Run a loafer float close to a snaggy treeline
LS Reel Seat for chub and this will soon bully them into
open water. It would even work for barbel in
all but the snaggiest of swims on all but the
biggest of rivers. Or, head to an estate lake in
spring and it will drag those tench safely
away from the lily pads in no time at all!
The combination of strength and just the
right amount of forgiveness is what makes
this rod a great option in all these settings. I
wouldn’t be using it when trying to put a net
of roach or dace together, as it is just that bit
too powerful when more finesse is required.
That said, it’s not particularly heavy, and I
Classy three-leg happily held it for the whole day while
guides adorn bagging up on Tomo’s with no issues at all.
the rod So, whether you’re heading out in summer,
winter, spring or autumn, you’ll find plenty of
ways to put the SKP Concept-T Float
to good use. It’s a cracking all-rounder!

The blank is an
eye-catching
grey colour

A quality
screw-down
reel seat

The rod tamed a

stream of Janson’s
carp with aplomb

Tony’s verdict
I caught countless carp on Tomo’s, and the 14ft blank oozed strength when I asked it for that
The keeper ring little more ‘grunt’, while also displaying enough forgiveness to rule out any hookpulls,
is a very particularly when the fish were having a final tantrum close to the landing net! It’s a rod that
welcome touch will suit anglers on a budget who like variety in their fishing, and will be equally as well
suited to short-range work on commercials as it will be to running floats down pacy rivers.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 65
 New Gear DAIWA N’ZON INLINE
DAIWA DVEC NEOPRENE SWIVEL BOMBS
BOOTS AND BOOT BAG RRP: £4.50
RRP: £69.99 & £29.99
Whether you are firing in pellets for a
The wetter autumnal weather is upon bagging session or trying to sneak a rig in
us, and a strong and durable pair of among a shoal of cagey carp when using
boots is an essential item to keep you popped-up bread in winter, these new
comfortable on the bank. bombs will do the job.
Designed for all-season use, these Designed around the ECS Easy Change
neoprene lined, rubber boots are ideal System, these lead-free ‘quad’ shaped
for shallow water and walking on all offerings are supplied in pairs, with an
types of terrain. They feature an in-line stem and swivel stem included. This
adjustable side strap, a waterproof lets you switch between a Method and a
gusset and deep cleated sole/heel. bomb without the need to break the rig
A storage bag is also available, and down and start again.
its vented panels allow for drying They come in a wide range of weights
when stored inside, while the solid from 10g-60g, so are suitable for short-
base assists stability when not being range flicks on commercials or longer
worn. Features double-zip easy access, casts on bigger stillwaters.
a carry handle at the top and www.daiwasports.co.uk
pockets with Velcro
closures on each side to
store accessories.
www.daiwasports.co.uk

RAPALA PRECISION
XTREME PENCIL LURES
RRP: £13.59 AND £14.15
Predator-fishing season is lurking just
around the corner, and these new pencil
lures look nailed-on for fooling big perch,
PRESTON INNOVATIONS SUPERA X TWO-ROD HOLDALL pike and zander from a wide variety of
RRP: £84.99 & £89.99 different venues.
The colours alone (there are 12 options in
Transporting your kit from A to B in a safe and secure fashion is hugely important, and these total) are sure to catch the eye of any
new holdalls are designed to accommodate two made-up rods. nearby fish, but the lures have also been
Built using a hardcase outer shell, they offer plenty of protection while also looking really designed with an added ‘audio’ element to
stylish. The zips are very strong, and both enhance their attraction.
the shoulder strap and carry handle are This is created by the internal weight
padded for added comfort. sliding along the ‘railing’, hitting a plastic
They are available in two sizes: the 175cm pillar and a stainless steel weight in turn,
version will fit rods up to 11ft long, while the resulting in a sequence of high- and
195cm is more suited to 12ft versions. Both low-pitched noises being emitted.
have two external pockets for landing net They are available in 8.7cm and 10.7cm
handles, bank sticks and rod-tip tubes. versions to cater for all sizes of target fish.
www.prestoninnovations.com www.rapala.co.uk
66 IYCF | 407
 TACKLE
PRESTON INNOVATIONS CELCIUS ZIP HOODIE
RRP: £54.99
As the temperatures begin to fall away, warm and comfortable
clothing is vital if you are to continue to fish efficiently.
Constructed from two layers of soft yet hardwearing
material, this stylish garment has elasticated cuffs and
internal pull cords in the hood to prevent the cold air from
seeping in. A front zip makes it easy to get on and off, with
zipped pockets providing safe storage for essentials
such as car keys and phones.
Created with black as its primary colour, with a
distinctive blue trim, it will help you look the part and
perfectly complement any other Preston Innovations
gear that you wear on the bank. Available in seven
sizes, from Small right through to XXXXL.
www.prestoninnovations.com

DYNAMITE BAITS
BIG FISH SWEET
BANOFFI GROUNDBAIT
RRP: £7.25
This highly-attractive mix is rich in
finely-crushed biscuit and pellets, TACKLE TIDY PHONE
with the hint of sweet banana and AND CUP HOLDER
toffee releasing highly-enticing aromas RRP: £8.99 - £12.99
underwater.
It has been designed primarily for MATRIX PLASTIC Concentrating on your fishing can often lead
commercial fisheries, and can be mixed ORBIT FEEDERS to mishaps such as spilling a drink or, even
numerous ways to suit a wide variety of RRP: £2.50 worse, dropping your phone into the lake!
applications, whether that’s using a This super-simple but clever little
Method feeder in open water or cupping in Feeder fishing at range has become contraption creates a secure home for both
groundbait loose down the edge late-on increasingly popular in recent years, and your beverage and mobile, removing the need
in the session. these brand-new creations will help you hit to stash them loose on your side tray.
It comes supplied in medium-to-long range marks It is available in nine different colours, and
a whopping 1.8kg bag, with unerring accuracy. there are clamp options to fit 25mm, 30mm
so should easily last The conical weight provides a and 36mm box legs, or a quick-release
more than one highly aerodynamic shape, while version which will fit a third party’s clamp.
session, providing the gap in the base allows bigger The 80mm phone slot is wide enough to
decent value for particles like corn to escape. The take most models on the market, and the
money in the plastic construction ensures it locking knob is reversible to suit your
process. rises through the water quickly on individual box or chair.
www. the retrieve to help avoid snags. Sold direct from the website, you can either
dynamitebaits.com Available in four different sizes, buy just the cup holder or the phone and cup
with weights ranging from 15g-60g. holder combination.
www.fishmatrix.co.uk www.tackletidy.co.uk

KORUM ALLROUNDER TELE-HANDLE

RRP: £29.99 & £34.99
If you are in the market for a super-strong telescopic
landing net handle that will scoop up big fish with ease,
then this well-priced offering is well worth a look.
It’s available in both 2m and 3m lengths, and has a
solid spreader block that won’t buckle when you haul
your prize from the water.
The shrink-wrapped sections at either end of the
handle provide better grip to make sure it doesn’t slip
out of your hands at the vital moment!
A great bit of kit for when you are on the move and
roving your local river, but equally suited to landing fish
from commercials and other stillwaters.
www.korum.co.uk
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 67

SEATBOXES
SHAKESPEARE
SUPERTEAM
SEATBOX
RRP: £299
Well-built and
lightweight, at just 11kg,
this new offering from
Shakespeare comes
with a fully padded
pole-style seat. Key
configuration features include a
full width cross drawer, two front
drawers, plus under-seat storage
that combine to offer more than
enough space for winders, hook
boxes, shot, accessories and even
feeders. Easy-grip catches all round
mean no problems opening them in
cold or wet conditions.
A rugged 'slide-under' footplate
with pull pin retention and positional
fixing makes this a compact seatbox
to both store and transport gear,
while still allowing plenty of
movement around it when the
footplate is extended.
Easy-to-use handwheels secure
extendable legs in place, providing
68 IYCF | 407
great stability with no
chance of slippage.
Wide mudfeet help with stability in
soft conditions, and screw-threaded
tops in the front legs will take pole
socks and tulip rests.
It comes with a removable and
reinforced padded shoulder strap.
We predict this super-lightweight
seatbox will find many friends
among match and pleasure anglers
on a tight budget. Functional and
compact, but with plenty of storage
room for all your bits and bobs, this
seatbox’s well-considered design
makes it ideal for those with smaller
hatchback cars.
www.shakespeare-fishing.co.uk
I
T DOESN’T matter if you’re a top-end match
angler or a long-standing angling veteran, most
people have owned a seatbox at some point.
Although chairs are becoming increasingly popular
for feeder anglers, the seatbox remains the
ultimate choice for the pole angler, especially
when fishing at longer lengths. This month we take
a look at eight great options to cover all budgets…
PRESTON boxes, pole winders or any
INNOVATIONS larger accessories. There is an
INCEPTION empty shallow tray situated
STATION between the drawers and the
RRP: £499.99 pole seat which, again, is
perfect for storing pole rigs.
The new Inception Station The cassette under the frame
seatbox builds on the success of includes a 26mm tray and lid,
the other Inception seatboxes where extra units can be added
and boasts many of the same if required.
features, such as Mag-Lok clips, The box comes supplied with
footplate locking plungers and six telescopic legs that enable
soft-touch handwheels. fine adjustments on the bank to
Built on a super-strong and be made effortlessly.
sleek looking frame that’s www.prestoninnovations.com
available in either white or
graphite, the Inception station
has an abundance of
storage space.
The deep
compartmented
side drawer unit
is perfect for
accessories, while
the other side
drawer has
removable dividers
and can be used
for hooklength
 DAIWA D90
RRP: £496
For some, a box with a wealth
of storage isn’t necessarily
their cup of tea – and Daiwa
has recognised this by adding
the 90 model box to its new
Tournament range.
Although extra trays and units
can be added, it already features a
single 20mm perforated winder tray,
two shallow side drawers with adjustable
dividers and a removable 140mm deep base
unit. That’s ample for most anglers, especially those who fish canals.
All trays and units are totally interchangeable with the ‘ridge/
recess’ compression seal feature and, of course, the brand-new
SYSTEM 36 rotating handwheels on each 36mm telescopic leg.
Supplied with a pole seat and shoulder strap, stability is ensured
through the combination of steel and aluminium in the frame.
www.daiwasports.co.uk
DECATHLON CSB
ADJUST STILL
FISHING STATION
RRP: £169.99
A super budget option designed
as a practical, stable and
compact fishing station at an
unbeatable price. Rated to 110k
(17 stone), the whole box weighs
just 9kg.
You get four fixed and two
adjustable 25mm legs, allowing
you to use most market-leading
accessories and side trays,
including the pair of balling
arms and the keepnet
attachment.
The top of one of the legs even
has a removable bung, allowing
you to insert an umbrella pole
inside – perfect for when hard
banks make ground spikes
impossible. Fitted as standard is
a full width side drawer and a
deep tray. The comfortable seat
includes a pole hook. If weight
and ease of transport are most
important, you won’t go wrong
with this box, especially on flat
commercial pegs. Stability and
build quality might not be the
best, but just look at that price!
www.decathalon.co.uk

GARBOLINO MAP ELITE Z36 MK2

COMPETITION RRP: £749.99
36-31
RRP: £725 The recently revamped MK2 Z36 features machined aluminium
blocks that make it extremely lightweight, yet offer ultimate
A new addition to the strength. The new stacking system allows deep or shallow tray units
D36mm leg range, this one to be stored underneath the box in any order without the need for a
features a ‘Monobloc’ runner on the bottom tray, and can also be removed from either the
black arched lightweight front or rear of the box.
frame which reduces the MAP has added a new PU fully-moulded and waterproof pole seat,
weight of the box significantly yet which features an aluminium base frame, preventing pressure being
retains the important strength. It comes with two fixed back legs, added to the drawer units below when sitting on the box.
four Pinlock extending legs, carrying strap, cushion seat, a pre- The footplate has also been improved, and
compartmented 30mm side drawer and a 30mm AIRVENT winder tray. it now features two removable
All Competition boxes are built around a space-saving ‘Spider’ leg threads that enable the
design which brings the legs and attachments closer to the angler. It also footplate to be fully
makes it easier to get the box in and out of your car! The 36mm legs are detached. The stacker lid has
longer than the norm at 560mm unextended, and the handwheels been upgraded and now
feature 8mm internal threads for more torque and minimal slippage. It’s features an aluminium
all finished off with a robust non-slip footplate that’s oversized for big skeleton within the mould,
feet – there are even built-in keepnet supports and spirit levels. Drawers which will carry as many extra
and stacker trays are equipped with Garbolino’s unique locking units as you can carry.
mechanism. www.mapfishing.co.uk
www.garbolinouk.co.uk

MAVER REALITY MATRIX XR36 COMP

RRP: £188.99
A compact box with a
surprising amount of
storage, this great value item
will suit beginners, those on a
tight budget, or anglers that
want a simple, easy to use seat.
The 25mm legs mean
accessories and side trays from
most major manufacturers will
fit, as will the Reality footplate which can
be bought separately if required for around £80.
All four legs have a height marker stud above the large swivel
mudfeet, making lowering the box for transport or storage dead easy.
Key features include a padded seat cushion, single cross drawer,
two front drawers, deep base unit, storage beneath the seat,
easy-grip handwheels and a padded shoulder strap.
www.mavermatch.co.uk
RRP: £580
The strength and stability of the
XR36 Pro can be found in this
lighter and more compact Comp
version. A single-handed footplate
release mechanism, textured non-slip
footplate with built-in spirit level, hardwearing PU
coated cushion cover and stylish H frame all make for
a lightweight, premium seatbox. Matrix does some of the best trays
and drawers on the market – sturdy and spacious.
The build quality of this box is impressive, with a superb levelling
system with D36 legs. The footplate can be opened, secured or
removed completely with just one click!
We particularly like the wide footprint of this box and larger cushion,
ideal for the bigger and taller angler. As standard you get a deep side
drawer and a deep base unit inside the frame, all at a weight of
16.64kg. Avaiable in choice of Shadow or Lime colour schemes.
www.fishmatrix.co.uk
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 69
 THE ADVENTURES
OF A FISHING FAMILY
From charity matches to holiday sea fishing excursions,
it’s been another busy month for the Cooper gang!
T
HIS month has been a crazy one,
even by our standards! We started
by spending a few short evenings
fishing Blackroot Pool in Sutton Park, as
Cosmo and I went in search of the carp
that reside there.
To be honest we targeted the park as it’s
so close to our house, and we often only
had an hour or two available to us. It
wasn’t kind to us, and despite a couple of
screaming runs we failed to land
anything! It’s fair to say we’ll be back
continuing our search, though. On the
most recent visit Max and Milo joined us
with their drop shotting gear and
70 IYCF | Issue 407
managed to winkle out some small perch,
which kept them entertained while
Cosmo waited out another blank in search
of the carp.
Wraysbury woes
Next, we headed once again to the
legendary Wraysbury for the Lucy’s Bowl
event to help raise funds for guide dogs.
We fished the South Lake in a peg called
Root Nightmare on Douglas Lane, which
Milo quickly renamed Weedy Nightmare.
Wraysbury has many challenges, but
the weed was savage this year, and
seemed to shift regularly. One cast you’d
 Our swim on
work due to maWraysbury was hard
sses of drifting
weed
Milo and his friend Francie (left) with top carp Small perch saved the day at
angler Lee ‘Mozza’ Morris Blackroot Pool in Sutton Park

“By the end of the weekend it was

amazing to see that we’d helped raise
over £53,000 which is an incredible
amount for such a good cause”
Max got busy with the drop
shotting gear, while Cosmo
and I blanked!

upon
of all ages descendedday
Anglers ry for the charity
Wraysbu

find a clear spot, but a recast would leave us

struggling to find it again. After some
discussions with anglers far more
experienced than us we figured it was
because of either drifting weed, or the
undertow pulling the huge lengths of weed
over the spots as the wind changed.
We struggled and spent the weekend
blanking but enjoyed the challenge, as well
as the more important aspects of socialising
at the BBQ and raising money for guide dogs.
By the end of the weekend it was amazing to
see that we’d helped raise over £53,000
which is an incredible amount for such a
good cause.

Off to the coast

We headed home from Wraysbury and had a
short amount of time to sort out a very
different set of fishing gear ready for our
summer holidays. We were heading for the
south coast, and in particular a week near
Weymouth and a week in the New Forest.
I think it’s important to try different types
of angling to hone your skills, and these two

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 71
 weeks would certainly do that.
Week one got started quickly.
After arriving at our campsite, we
got the tent up and headed for a
supermarket. While Meg and Milo
headed inside Cosmo and I got our
drop shot rods and ventured to the
marina in Weymouth. We kept getting
unhittable bites, and then I managed
to land a tiny gilthead bream, but as
the light levels fell the bites dried up
and we headed back to the campsite.
Each day followed a similar pattern;
normal holiday fodder such as fossil
hunting from the morning into
mid-afternoon, at which point we’d
head to Weymouth. We fished the
stone pier and Cosmo managed a
small pollock but generally we found
ourselves struggling.
One afternoon we got chatting to a
local angler who suggested using
much smaller hooks. We scaled
down and immediately caught some
tiny sea bass (probably 2ins long at
most) and sand gobies. Cosmo then
spotted a flounder swim past and
cast a small sandeel lure in its path.
It ignored the first couple of casts,
but on the third attempt it nailed it
and Cosmo soon had his target fish.
Catching a Baillon’s wrasse was
certainly a first for any of us!
“We really had ticked wrasse
off our wish-list, with ballan,
baillon’s, corkwing and gold
sinny variations landed”
72 IYCF | Issue 407
We spent a couple of afternoons on the
wooden pier with slightly heavier gear
(we just used our spinning rods), but
this time we went armed with
ragworm. All I can say is wow! We
really wanted a wrasse, and we
caught loads – four different species
in fact, as well as lots of pouting and
pollock. We really had ticked wrasse
off our wish-list, with ballan,
baillon’s, corkwing and gold sinny
aim of
se t off afloat with the s possible variations landed. All of this was
We ies a done using the lure rods we use for
many spec
catching as perch and pike fishing, often with
standard hooks-to-nylon and a few
SSG to get the bait or lure down.
All aboard!
Week two was reserved for more
holiday and less fishing, and for once I
managed to resist temptation (to an
extent). We were on the same campsite
we’d visited last year, which offered
lots of activities for the kids. I spent
time with them climbing high ropes and
zip lining, and Meg went out kayaking
and paddleboarding with them. While
they were on the water, I was able to get
the carp rods out for a couple of hours.
I’d had good success there last year and
managed to get the same peg (which
 Cosmo boated a
surprise conger eel
when we tackled the
reef, hoping for bass
I’ve since found out is the best on the lake).
The key difference this year was many more
anglers. I cast out a pop-up along with a
small PVA stick of Hinder mini combo pellets
and it wasn’t long before I got my first bite,
only for it to fall off as it neared the net. I
recast and it wasn’t long before the rod was
away again, only this time it managed to
shed the barbless hook in a lily bed!
Eventually I managed to land a small one
before packing up to go and scare myself
with the kids again.
Meg had suggested we try boat fishing at
some point, but we struggled to find a vessel
Heading back into Weymouth
harbour at sunset
I managed just
one sma
with sufficient capacity and a
the campsite la ll carp from
willingness to let our dog Snoop on ke
board. Trident Charters in
Mudeford came to the rescue, and we
chartered the boat for four hours with
the aim of catching as many species
as possible, plus the added bonus of
getting to watch the Bournemouth air
show from the sea!
Unfortunately, the bass were absent
from the sand bar we visited so we
headed to a reef in search of black sea
bream. It took just a few minutes for the
action to start and we caught loads,
while Cosmo managed a conger and Milo
also caught a pouting.
For the last hour or so we went in search
of plaice, but we struggled as we were
plagued by small bream. However, I did
catch a few mackerel so that was another
species for the trip. All this was undertaken
while watching various planes and and
helicopters performing acrobatics sea bream came thick
overhead, which helped to make it a truly The black on our charter trip
memorable experience.
fast
Like I said, August was a crazy month, but
we managed to take advantage of every
opportunity. We tried new techniques and
learnt new skills, and caught lots of new
species – so what’s not to like!
A gold sinny
wra
tiny pouting (lsse for me, and a
eft) for Milo
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 73

MR CRABTREE REVISITED
Andrew Gibson, email
The date is 1953 and my dad has just been
discharged from the army following his
National Service.
To fill his spare time he decides to try fishing
as a hobby. He purchases a Wearside split cane
rod from the local tackle shop for five shillings
and six pence (equivalent to around £9 today)
and his neighbour gives him a Nottingham
centrepin reel. Armed with basic tackle, off he
goes on his first fishing trip.
He is now 91 and cannot remember how he
got on, but he used the knowledge gained to
teach me on my first fishing adventure in the
early 1960s on the Norfolk Broads when I was
five. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Fast forward 70 years. Dad is now in a care
home and, while clearing out his shed, what
should I find in an old dust-covered tin but the
Nottingham reel. It’s a bit the worse for wear.
And hanging on a hook was his old rod.
74 IYCF | 407
I took them home, dismantled the reel, and
cleaned it up.
The rod, despite being in a near-rotten rod
bag, was still in pretty decent shape, so I
decided to give them one more session for old
time’s sake.
I visited my local commercial which has a
lot of small to medium rudd and roach (as
well as some big carp). Armed with a tin of red
maggots I enjoyed a short spell and caught a
lovely little specimen first cast. This was
followed by many more. Thankfully, no big
carp, as I’m not sure how the rod and reel
would have coped!
I had a really
enjoyable ‘Mr
Crabtree’ session
and not a pole,
Method feeder or
bite alarm in sight.
A session to remember
Jake Hartop, email
This is my son Charlie Brennan who, as
an avid reader, is desperate to see
himself in the magazine. He’s been
coarse and carp fishing since the age of
four and now enjoys being able to carp
fish properly himself.
Charlie made the most of the recent
bank holiday weekend, spending
Saturday tackling Willow Lake at Lawn
Farm in Cambridgeshire.
After a slow start he changed swims to
a small, quiet corner where there was a
freshly fallen tree lying roughly 25ft out
into the lake, which he had baited on
arrival as a back-up peg. He fished right
off the end of the tree, using scaled-
down carp tactics with small leads and
simple hair rigs.
Baiting regularly with hemp and maize,
the action was instant. He went on to bag
a total of 18 carp, and outfished everyone
else on the lake! This included two new
personal bests, taking him from his
current of 10lb to 10lb 8oz.
Then, right at the
end of the day, he
bagged a
14lb 12oz
common (top),
another new PB,
which he was
understandably
elated with.

Keep on sliding!
Barry Hedges, email
I have been trying slider float fishing for some
time, but kept getting loads of tangles. So I
was really pleased when Matt Godfrey had an
article in issue 399 detailing just how to use
this tactic in deep water.
Usually, on the lake I fish in Wiltshire, the
Method feeder is best, because in places the
water can be as deep as 18ft, but this season
the fish have become wary of feeders and
many anglers are blanking. So out came the
Quick-change
quick tip
Peter Kuznik, email
Just thought I’d send you a little tip
regarding the river bream feeder rig
which was featured in issue 406 of IYCF.
I have been using the quick-change
swivel detailed in the article for several
years. From experience I have found the
addition of a small length of silicone tube
prevents the sleeve from being pushed back,
releasing the hooklength. This can happen
when playing sizeable fish if they dive for
cover, as the line slides over weed.
slider float again after I’d read Matt’s article.
It’s taken this long to get the tactic right and,
with Matt’s help, I have perfected the art, with
a few tweaks of my own.
I can now hold my head high when I catch
good nets of bream and tench, while my
mates catch very little on the feeder.
A big ‘thank you’ to Matt Godfrey for his
article, which I have laminated for safe
keeping. It was the breakthrough I was
seeking. Take my word for it, fellow anglers,
the slider is a must in your locker. And thanks
to IYCF and Matt Godfrey, it’s easy to master!
This addition does not seem to hinder
the rotation of the swivel but does give me
extra peace of mind!
Hopefully, my experience may be useful
to other readers.
Improve Your Coarse Fishing, Media House,
Lynchwood, Business Park, Peterborough, PE2 6EA
EDITOR
James Furness, Tel: 01733 395104
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 Toby Follett 11lb carp John Thorpe 7lb 8oz carp
Higher Kingcombe, Doncaster Birkwood Fisheries, Normanton

E
ACH month you can win great prizes
for your catch shots. Just send them
in, and if they meet the Mission
targets you will receive a Mission
Accomplished badge.
And that’s not all – each month one reader
will be awarded the first prize of a selection
of Daiwa tackle worth more than £500
(winner chooses from carp, coarse or
specialist), while the runner-up will receive
£250 worth of tackle.
To enter, either email us the photo, plus
full details, to daiwamission@bauermedia.
co.uk, or complete the entry form and post
it to: Daiwa Mission,
IYCF, Media House, Lynchwood, Jonny Evans 27lb 2oz carp Callum Davis 4lb 10oz perch
Peterborough, Cambs, PE2 6EA or on social Tippings Lane, Reading River Thames, Berkshire
media with the hastag #iycfdaiwamission

YOUR MISSION TARGETS

Barbel: 4lb+ Specimen Barbel: 8lb+
Chub: 3lb+ Specimen Chub: 5lb+
Perch: 1lb+ Specimen Perch: 2lb+
Roach: 6lb+ bag Specimen Roach: 1lb 8oz+
Tench: 4lb+ Specimen Tench: 6lb+
Bream: 4lb+ Specimen Bream: 7lb
Pike: 10lb+ Specimen Pike: 15lb+
Carp: 5lb-15lb Specimen Carp: 15lb+

* Daiwa reserves the right to supply substitute items of a high-

er value in the event that some tackle prizes are out of stock

76 IYCF | 407
James Stinson 19lb 8oz carp Steve Evans 2lb 8oz perch Finlay Skipper 10lb 12oz barbel
Oasis Lakes, Louth River Nene, Peterborough River Trent, Laughterton

Will Jennings 10lb 1oz barbel Jack Culpin 23lb 15oz pike Ben Taplin 5lb 8oz chub
River Thames, Windsor Fenland drain River Great Ouse, Cambridgeshire

Stephen Clark 21lb pike Marcus Wenn 10lb 4oz carp Sarah Norris 41lb 8oz carp
Loch Awe, Scotland Furnace Brook Fishery, East Sussex Pavyotts Mill Carp Fisheries, Yeovil

Liam Spurr 5lb 5oz bream Chris Stanley 23lb 9oz carp Paul Martin 8lb 8oz bream
Local canal, West Yorkshire Linear Fisheries, Oxford River Kenn, Clevedon
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 77
 Dylan Daniels 17lb 2oz carp Daniel Ruickbie 14lb carp Rowan Tilley 20lb carp
Peterstone Lakes, Newport Apley Woods, Telford Berners Hall Fishery, Ongar

Ian Berridge 17lb 8oz carp Glyn Jones 16lb 9oz carp Adam Thomas 10lb 9oz barbel
Northview Lakes, Gedney Hill Bramalls Pond, Sheffield River Thames, Oxfordshire

Logan Raynes 16lb 12oz carp Reuben Woodcock 2lb 1oz roach Peter Brett 12lb 8oz carp
Bramalls Pond, Sheffield Lyons Gate Fishery, Dorchester Syndicate water, Billericay

Bradley Wilkins 4lb 8oz chub Oliver Moxley 21lb 4oz carp Hannah Hudson 10lb carp
River Avon, Melksham Wilderness Lake, East Grinstead Lovells carp lake Lincolnshire
78 IYCF | 407
 Ted Rowe 19lb 13oz carp Rad Kamola 21lb pike Isobel Berridge 7lb 8oz carp
Peatmoor Lagoon, Swindon The Highlands Northview Lakes, Gedney Hill

William Drury 24lb 9oz carp Simon Gilligan 35lb 4oz carp Mark Raynes 19lb 4oz carp
Private venue, Lincolnshire Holme Fen Fisheries, Huntingdon Bramalls Pond, Sheffield

Charlie Clift 10lb 8oz carp Abe John Lister 22lb carp Ethan Britnell 32lb 6oz carp
Willow Park Fishery, Surrey Drayton Reservoir, Daventry Railway Pit, Turnford Consortium, Herts

Peter Hudson 6lb carp

Lovells carp lake Lincolnshire
 SPOT THE
DIFFERENCE
CAN YOU SPOT THE FIVE
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
THESE TWO PICTURES
OF KORUM’S MARK
DUNWELL?

A R T H U R B P H E W K Q H N M K
WORDSEARCH K W G G Q H E U A W O L V A H E C
CAN YOU FIND ALL 16 O X I V L C G V J L G T M W A E O
MAVER MATCH THIS
FINALISTS? F U P D X H I D O A M D G R A R C
W A M H E G S I Q L E E N B A B Y
n Alexander
n Arthur K O J S M E T J J R Y E R W U D A
n Bailey A V T B N P O K O O Y E B P R P L
n Bennett C O O E O O N C K N Y O L S N D T
n Brooks
n Brown W Z V D T W E X P B E O I L K D G
n Fulleylove F O N V E E N F T B L S I R U X O
n Hughes K K W G R R P W T P I D S P N F S
n Jones
A M X R M Q I N O V A Q F M H K S
n Kearney
n Laycock N A L L I M C M J R B T N B O N V
n Mcmillan B N E H I R G E V M B J D O X S W
n Palmer
V P M W D B E N N E T T R D G N A
n Power
n Redman N I R E D N A X E L A B J K U Y H
n Stone R L X O X B N Y D I Z T G F O B R
 ’

Across
1 Cloudy condition – lobbed
fishing line out too far! (8)
5 Bream like this bait additive
with a caramel aroma (6)
9 Catch ... in Wilstone,
tremendous! (3)
10 They're often used with 'shirt
button' shotting (5,6)
12 A bottom-fished rig with
weight above hook (4,5)
13 Nickname for dedicated
big-fish hunter (anag. of 'epics')
(5)
14 Preston's river flowing to the
Irish Sea (6)
15 Swallows hastily ... Bob's leg,
somehow! (7)
18 Used a floatless, weighted rig
(7)
20 A fire-cooked haddock (6)
21 A river becomes ___ at its
estuary (5)
24 Such a hook has a wide gape,
good for large baits (5-4)
26 Two of its tributaries are the
Stour and Avon (5,6)
27 Make a knot (3)
28 Brought a fish to the bank
using a 9 across? (6)
29 They each measure 10,000 sq
metres (anag. of 'cast here') (8)
Down
1 River Nene market town – in
part around Leeds! (6)
2 Making (e.g. a pole) longer (9)
3 Angling centre town of County
Mayo (anag. of 'last brace') (9)
4 Small pebbly composition of
beach (7)
6 Small brooks – hidden by brill,
salmon (5)
7 Use one to dig up lugworms? (5)
8 Largest members of pike family,
correct name muskellunge (7)
11 Set-up named after Kenny
Dorsett (2,3)
16 Used to join two lengths of line
(anag. of 'not bold, OK') (9)
17 East Midlands city on River
Soar (9)
18 A fish's ___ line picks up
vibrations in the water (7)
19 Blackburn's river, that joins the
Ribble (anag. of 'wander') (6)
20 e.g. use pliers to tighten crimp
(7)
22 Rivers Exe and Dart are in this
county (5)
23 No tiddler ... sort of regal! (5)
25 Prepare a fly for e.g. trout
fishing (5)

ISSUE 405 WINNERS

David Goodier, Chesterfield. Anthony Carter, Evesham.
Stephen Illingworth, Peterborough

405 ANSWERS 406 ANSWERS Win a Fjuka bait bundle

CROSSWORD WORDSEARCH To be in with a chance of winning, complete the crossword and
M K N L I G N G A A F A S W S H C send it to: Crossword (Issue 407), IYCF, Bauer Media, Lynchwood,
Across: 8 Trophy, 9 Bale,
M A T C H T H I S G I R U G R S E Peterborough, PE2 6EA, by October 28, 2023.
arms, 11 Nick Speed, C M V M P E U B H N F G P W E I B
12 Sugar, 13 Swell, A E W E C W X M A J O Z E L T F Z

14 Dragonfly, 16 Towel, 18
Sieve, 21 Parasites,
N
A
L
F
M
B
M
C
J
A
X
U
R
F
D
Z
P
H
Z
O
A
M
D
E
R
D
L
L
I
M
B
R
V
U
R
P
R
C
U
Y
I
C
S
A
M
R
E
V
U
J
G
THREE
M J X L S Z N I B F U E P H R L R TO BE
23 Ithon, 24 Nacre, A R R I S R T C R V V X R H E I B WO N
26 Grass carp, 27 Nibbling S E F S O H C B R S J H B F D S I
T P T D L E E R N E D L O G E U H
28 Freeze. E W O R L D C H A M P S A K E S Q
R Z C M V H K Z E A X D R L F Y T
S L A V I T S E F M A H S E V E J
Down: 1 Stones, P I K E C H A M P I O N S H I P S
2 Colchester, 3 Chesil, F R R E C I S S A L C S N I K A M
S I S H I M A N O L E G E R C U P
4 Sandra, 5 Pershore, 6 D
Rig, 7 Ospreys, 10 Kendal,
15 Freshwater, 17 Westerly,
18 Sessay, 19 Open-end, SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
20 Snapper, 22 Tag end, 1. Shoulder logo, 2. Towel colour, 3. Seatbox bracket,
23 Insert, 25 Cube. 4. Keepnet logo, 5. Reels
RRP:
£24.94
 CARP
TACTICSTips, tactics & Rigs
to catch more

82 IYCF | 407

KEEP THINGS
SIMPLE FOR
NEW WATER
SUCCESS
James Furness outlines the twin bait
approach he uses to cover all bases when
fishing a lake for the first time
Words James Furness Photography James Furness & Thom Airs
A
T SOME point or another you’re going
to have to fish a water for the first
time, whether that’s on a social with a
few mates to a bookings-only venue, joining a
new club or syndicate or trying out a different
day-ticket lake.
Knowing how to approach pastures new is
always a bit hit and miss. Sure, you can do a
bit of research online, and by doing so will
probably be able to find out relevant info
about most places. But, how often do you
hear experts extolling the virtues of doing
something different to everyone else?
I’ve found that while it’s always nice to
arrive at a new venue armed with a little
knowledge, it’s better – and far more
Halibut pellet wafters would perfectly mimic
the free offerings I was going to be using
CARP
TACTICS
rewarding – to work things out for yourself
and adapt to a situation as it unfolds. The
tactics which I’ll cover in this feature can be
used at pretty much any venue and are
perfect for getting to grips with a new lake.
Going in blind
I recently found myself fishing a particular
venue for the first time as part of a trip myself
and a couple of friends had booked.
All I really knew was that it was around six
acres in size and that it supposedly held a
decent head of carp to over 30lb. It was by no
means a ‘runs water’, but if you got the tactics
and location right it sounded like you could
expect to catch a few fish. A peek on Google
Earth showed that the lake was long and
narrow, around 70yds at its widest, with
reedbeds and lily pads scattered throughout.
The first question in my mind was what baits
to take. It’s easy when fishing somewhere
new to fall into the trap of taking a huge
selection of different offerings with the
intention of working through them until you
stumble upon something that works. I find
with this approach, however, that you
invariably end up half-heartedly trying
multiple options, without ever really giving
any of them sufficient time to work.
So, these days I rely on just two baiting
approaches that I’m confident the carp in
pretty much any venue would be happy to eat.
The first is pellet-based. Taking into account
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 83
the fact that the fish stocked in most modern
carp fisheries will have been raised on pellets,
I always incorporate them in some way as the
fish will regard them as a natural food source.
My second option is a boilie-based approach
as, let’s be honest, what carp doesn’t like a
good quality boilie?
In terms of hookbaits, I’ve recently started
using the new CC Moore Halibut wafters when
fishing over pellets, as they perfectly mimic
the free offerings, and I also carry a tub of
pop-ups to match the boilies I’m using as well
as tub of hi-viz pop-ups or wafters. I use the
latter less at this time of year as the fish will
have most likely been hammered on ‘bright
ones’ by now, but they still have a knack of
producing a bite when nothing else will, so I’d
hate to be without them.
It may sound like a limited bait selection,
but it still gives me plenty of options without
My opening gambit was to use halibut wafters,
on simple D-rigs, over the spodded area
84 IYCF | 407
“As the fish was making it last bid for freedom
in the margins, my left-hand alarm started
screaming as a second fish made a mistake”
overcomplicating things or discarding one
bait in haste just to try another.
Pellets for starters
Arriving at the venue late in the afternoon
there weren’t any obvious signs of carp
showing, so with the light rapidly fading I
decided to head to the far end which had a
gentle breeze pushing into it.
The swim had some tasty-looking
overhanging trees in both the near and far
margins as well as a thick set of lily pads to
my left – plenty of places where I could
picture a carp or two wanting to hang out.
Matching the hatch: a PVA bag of halibut
pellets was nicked on before each cast
Unsure whether there were any carp
present or not, I didn’t want to risk making too
many unnecessary casts. So, after a few
exploratory chucks with a bare lead I found a
couple of nice spots at 10 wraps (40yds) which
felt like smooth silt with the occasional ‘tap’
of gravel underneath.
Both spots received 10 spodfuls of halibut
pellets as an opening gambit, with a wafter
hookbait fished over each – one in a solid PVA
bag and the other on a simple fluoro D-rig.
Lying in my sleeping bag a little later I could
hear the occasional carp sloshing out in the
vicinity, so as I drifted off I was quietly
confident of a bite. Sure enough, in the early
hours of the morning I found myself stood in
the margins coaxing a double-figure common
towards the net. Then, as the fish was making
its last bid for freedom in the margins, my
left-hand alarm started screaming as a
second fish made a mistake!
Unfortunately, by the time I had the first one
in the net and had picked up the other rod, I
felt a couple of headshakes before the fish
came off. I was little disappointed to have lost
one, but at the same time delighted to have
got a fish under my belt on the first night and
pleased that the tactics I’d chosen were
clearly working.
A safe meal
After such a promising first night, I was up
before dawn, expecting to see more fish

showing over my spots. However, as I sipped
my first coffee with the sun just starting to
break through the far bank tree line, there
was a clear lack of activity in the swim.
Nothing, not even a ‘bubbler’.
By late morning I decided to wind the rods
in, top up the spots with a bit of free food and
go for a walk around the lake while the carp
hopefully enjoyed feeding in the area without
any lines in the water.
Although the lake was quite heavily
coloured, the dark shapes of carp cruising
around just beneath the surface could be
seen here and there, but like the day before
there didn’t seem to be any one area where
they were present in great numbers. And with
the wind still blowing down into my end of the
lake, there was nothing to make me consider
moving swims.
During the afternoon there was a lot of
silverfish activity over both of my spots, so
assuming that most of the pellets had
probably been eaten by the ravenous small
roach, I topped up both with a further 12
spods before getting the rods back out after
the evening’s BBQ.
Time for a change
Waking the next morning, I was a little gutted
that nothing had materialised during the
night. The fish had obviously been happy to
feed there the night before, and clearly
enjoyed the pellet-based approach. Although
they hadn’t been showing, I remained
confident that there would still be some fish
lurking up at this end of the lake.
Scanning the far tree line through the
binoculars I could see a few bubbles coming
up just off one of the overhanging trees on the
far bank. These could have simply been
caused by gas escaping from the silt, as they
weren’t sheets of bubbles like you’ll see when
a carp is feeding heavily on a spot. But with
nothing else to go on and only a few hours left
before I had to starting packing up, I decided
to make a change.
Both rods were wound in and clipped up
Changing to a bottom bait, with a fake corn
topper and two-bait stringer, worked the oracle
tighter to the far bank, and both were set up
with D-rigs baited with bottom bait boilies
tipped with fake corn.
This is one of the advantages of starting
with the pellets. As they break down much
quicker than boilies, anything that the carp
don’t eat will be mostly eaten by other
species, so there’s no worry about random
piles of bait being left on the lakebed if you
decide to target a different spot.
As there wasn’t long left in the session I
didn’t want to start putting much bait out so
TOP TIP
Binoculars are essential, especially when
visiting a new venue. Even when fishing at
short range they’ll make it far easier to spot
signs of fish such as bubbling, lily pads rocking
or slight movements just below the surface -
things you can miss with the naked eye.
First light is THE best
time to spot carpy
activity, or a lack of it!
CARP
TACTICS
opted to cast each rig out
with a two-bait PVA stringer
and then use a throwing stick to
scatter a handful of boilies over the top.
When fishing with a ‘match the hatch’
style hookbait, I always like to give it a spray
with a bait booster liquid, just to increase its
attraction levels compared to the free
offerings. Incredibly simple, but a great way
to get a quick bite from any carp that might
be patrolling along the far margins.
Even so, I was caught by surprise when the
bobbin on the right-hand rod registered a
drop-back bite before I’d even sat back
down again, with this time an upper-double
figure common being the culprit.
As I knew nothing about the venue before
arriving I was happy to end the trip with
three bites and two fish landed, with both
the pellet and simple boilie tactics
producing fish.
So, if you’re heading somewhere new,
don’t overcomplicate things on the bait
front. Give yourself just a couple of basic
options and I’m sure you’ll soon find
yourself getting to grips with the lake!
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 85
 Fluoro D-rig
This simple presentation is tangle-proof and hard for carp to
deal with – so can you afford not to have a few tied up?
I
F THE carp in the lake you’re fishing are
heavily targeted with pop-ups, then
simply switching to a wafter or a bottom
bait is a quick and easy way to fool the fish
that have wised up to buoyant offerings.
This presentation is easy to tie and,
because of the stiff fluorocarbon material
used, it is almost impossible to tangle on the
cast. Another advantage of the material is
that it is virtually invisible when out in the
water. When tying the rig, it’s important to
use a hook with an out-turned eye. This
prevents the gape from being closed down
86 IYCF | 407
too much, as would be the case if a hook with
an in-turned eye were used.
This rig works best when fished on a
helicopter arrangement with a flexi-ring
quick-change swivel at the leader end of the
hooklink.
This enables the hooklink to settle perfectly
on the lakebed, although it is best to look for
firm, clear spots to present the rig over.
The rig will work perfectly well with a
bottom bait boilie straight out of the bag, but
it is at its most effective with a balanced bait
such as a wafter or a snowman set-up.
QUICK CHANGE
The hooklink loop is
passed over a quick change
swivel and fixed in place
with a crook bead
The use of the small rig swivel on the
D-section means that the bait will sit over the
top of the hook, which makes it harder for a
feeding fish to spot. The hookbait will also be
in the perfect position to be picked up by a
carp feeding close to the deck.
It can be fished over a bed of particles,
broken boilies or a small pile of whole baits.
As the fish inhales the hookbait, the
hookpoint will be in prime position to drop
and grab hold, and the stiffness of the
hooklink material makes it extremely
difficult for carp to eject.
HOOKLINK
The stiff material used
ensures a tangle-free
presentation and even if a
fish picks up and ejects the
rig, it will reset itself
 CARP
TACTICS

HOW TO How to tie a Fluoro D-rig

1 2 3
Cut off a 12ins length of a clear, stiff hooklink Attach an out-turned eye hook with a 10-turn Thread a micro rig swivel on to the tag end
material knotless knot left after tying the knotless knot

4 5 6
Pass the tag end through the back of the eye Trim the tag end and blob with a lighter to Tie a figure-of-eight loop knot in the other
of the hook secure the D end of the hooklink

7 8 9
Pass a length of bait floss through the rig Use a baiting needle to thread the hookbait Secure the hookbait in place by blobbing the
swivel on to the bait floss tag ends of the bait floss with a lighter

SINKER
A small blob of tungsten
putty keeps the hooklink
pinned flush to the lakebed

HOOK
As the hookbait will sit on the
top of the hook, you can get
away with using a larger
hook, such as a size 5

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 87
 Accuracy is a vital
ingredient of
successful spodding
Q I always seem to
struggle to catch in
autumn, despite it
supposedly being a
productive time of year.
The lake I fish is pretty
heavily pressured, so I’m
not sure whether the fish
have just seen it all by this
stage. Any advice on how
to sneak a few out would
be much appreciated!
Paul Jayne, email

Oz Holness
As autumn approaches, natural
baits come into their own. I’ve used
them for many years now, and I’d
advise ou to do the same. You don’t
need loads – just a small inclusion in
your mix is perfect, whether that be
maggots, casters or a bit of chopped
worm. This encourages the carp to
have a graze when they could be a

Q How can I be
sure my
loosefeed is
landing over my rig
little more cautious after being
caught repeatedly on boilies
throughout the summer.

when spodding? For

example, when fishing
at 50 yards in around
seven feet of water,
should my spod be
clipped up shorter
than the rods to Just a few maggots in
compensate for the your mix could work
wonders right now
rigs swinging back?
Geoff Wallis, email

Steve Cliff
This is a question that gets asked a lot. If you
spodding. You have to be on the money to catch.
It’s also worth considering what line you’re
Q I’m going to fish a lake
soon which bans
leadcore, but I’m not a
fan of using tubing. How can I
want a general rule, for every 3ft of depth you using, as some will stretch more than others.
ensure the line behind my rig
need to take 1ft off the distance at A good tip is to actually set up a
which you’ve set the spod rod to marker float on your mono/fishing
will be pinned down?
allow for the difference in the rod, cast it out, then clip up the Brian Whiston, email
swing back. spod and see where it lands
I’ve fished at various in comparison to the float. Scott Lloyd
depths on Elstow for over You can then really Two items will help… XL Tungsten
25 years now, and fine-tune it and get it to Droppers and tungsten putty. I’ve
accuracy is everything, go exactly where you always believed that the last 6ft needs
especially when want every time. to be pinned down and well out of the
88 IYCF | 407

This natural additive will pay
its way right through autumn
and into the colder months
Q What oils would be best to
add to a spod mix over the
coming weeks as the
weather starts to cool?
Justin Harding, email
Nick Helleur
Even though the temperatures may be
dropping, the water will still be retaining a
good amount of heat. I personally
have used Pure Salmon Oil and
Pure Hemp Oil throughout
the year, but if you
wanted to use
some liquids which
have far more
pulling power in
terms of attraction and
way, especially in gin-clear water where
the carp can see everything.
I don’t want them to feel that there’s
any danger in the vicinity of the rig.
Something as small as a fin touching
the line could easily raise their
suspicions and cause them to move off.
Ideally, if you can use other leader
materials, grab a spool of Thinking
Anglers Tint Link fluorocarbon, thread a
few XL Droppers on to it and wrap them in
putty. This won’t affect your cast, as
you’ll only be spreading them over a
5ft/6ft length, and it’ll help considerably.
These baits will work
however clear or
murky the water is
longevity throughout the year, I’d be reaching
for the Pure Sardine Hydro. It’s a very strong,
soluble liquid which I love to glaze my
baits with a few days prior to using.
It forms a super-attractive, tacky
layer around my boilies and really
gives them pulling power in the
water. Plus, because it’s 100 per
cent natural, I can’t overdo it,
and it’ll work throughout
the colder months
ahead too.
Q The water in the
lake I’m fishing is
much more coloured
than it used to be. Are any
bait colours especially
effective under these
conditions?
Terry Jones, email
Myles Gibson
Any highly visible colours such as
yellow, white and pink will help your
baits stand out. The Mulbz range
was designed to suit all degrees of
clarity, which is why two versions
were necessary, with the pastel and
fluoro versions.
From experience, I don’t think you
can go too far wrong with either a
white or pink – the best thing to do is
try different shades in the margin
and see which stands out best.
The enhancers and liquids inside
the hookbait will also help pulse
signals into the water, even if the
Fluorocarbon could be the answer to the clarity is failing you.
leadcore ban on your lake, says Scott Lloyd
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 89
 NEW! 132-PAGE LIMITED
EDITIO N GUIDE

IMPROVE YOUR CARP

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EASY-TO-
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and confusing tackle choices. show you how to do everything from
“Deep holes,
fairly small often
SEQUENCES
can indicate in size,
natural
feeding zones”

AND SWIM
DIAGRAMS
However, the easy-to-follow advice and stalking carp in the margins to catching

T SWIM
All you need to know
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GETTING
STARTED

Hook basics
The stiff rigger

KNOW YOUR HOOKS

EYE

BEST FOR
will cover every carp-angling
Together, these four main hook types CHOD
Learn their strengths to ensure RIGS
situation you’re likely to encounter. in hand a b c
you pick the right one for the task

The wide gape

POINT
At a glance

BEST FOR
SURFACE
FISHING
a b c

GAPE
a b

At a glance

SHANK

The curved shank

The long shank a b

FINISH

BEST FOR
BOTTOM TACKLE
BAITS
THAT

SMALL
AL
LL
LL BAY SWIM
If the main body
BEST FOR
HOOKING
WARY
FISH
At a glance
THE REEDS
At a glance
SWIM
a b c

dy of a llake
laake is busy, or a warm
ak
slip yourselff into a fe wind is blowing in, quietly
ffeature-packe
eature-packed
ea d bay swim to reap the
rewards
| 19
UNDERWATE
WATER
R SNAGS
SNAGS
OVERHANGIN
NGING
G TREES
TRE
TR ES
18 | S

THE NEAR MARGIN

“In some corner swims

you can creep through
the foliage and bait
up by

90 |
TEN TOP
RIGS

| 91

RIG
HOW TO TIE A NAKED CHOD

THE NAKED
CHOD RIG
Even newcomers to carp fishing may
have heard about the chod rig.
using ready-made components
Here’s how to tie a super-simple version,
VER the last decade or so, one rig
POP-UP HOOKBAIT

O above all others has dominated the

carp world. Highly versatile and
extremely effective, the chod rig
probably been cast out on every
venue in the country.
single carp
has

the chod
To those not familiar with its concept,
clever solution
can look a little alien, but it is a very
heavy silt. The
to the problem of fishing in weed or
and the
lead hits the lakebed first while the line,
behind, laying
short hooklink section, follow gently
or deeper the
over the top of any debris. The thicker
to make the
bottom detritus, the longer you need
gap between the hook and lead.
because it
This version is called the naked chod
WEIGHTED PUTTY no need for
runs solely on the mainline. There’s
can slide LEAD
tying leaders and the hooklink section
in the event a
safely off (unhindered by any knots)
breakage. MAINLINE
the stiff
The fiddliest part of the set-up is tying
but plenty of THE BUFFER
hooklink material into a short curve,
versions
tackle companies now offer ready-made
Fox’s new
that are expertly tied. We’ve opted for
others, also
range here, but ESP and Korda, among
sizes.
offer pre-tied options in a variety of

LOCKING BEADS

| 115

114 |

90 IYCF | 407
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 cent
is anglin g convales ng!
Th lo
tay away
couldn’t s
Week 1
I knew I was going to be grounded for
quite a while, indeed the transplant team
told me so well in advance. So no carp or
barbel fishing, or pushing loaded
barrows. Take your time, Bob, just be
patient and use that time wisely.
So what better an opportunity to
write that book I’ve been promising for
years? Boy, what a mammoth tome it’s
turning out to be. I’m not far short now
of completing 100,000 words of what is
effectively my life’s passion for the
River Trent. It will be called ‘60 Years A
Trent Man’, and in it I share my
experiences through the decades,
pleasure fishing, match fishing, targeting
specimens, the river’s history, fish
catching tactics and techniques and the
92 IYCF | 407
physical changes I’ve witnessed. It’s a bit
of everything, something for everyone, all
species and techniques covered. And I’ve
still some way to go yet.
One thing that disappointed me during
recovery was missing out on a couple of
matches run by Mark Gregory on the
Pads Lake at Alderfen Fisheries, near
Wroot. Pads has undergone a huge
explosion in its roach and rudd
population, so much so that the carp are
failing to reach the growth rates expected.
Test netting last winter revealed the likely
reason. It was over-run with silvers, but in
among the myriad tiddlers were some
real quality roach nudging 2lb. Mark
reckoned it would be a brilliant fishery
management move to remove a large
proportion of the smaller fish, allowing
both the carp and better roach to grow on
more quickly.
In order to selectively reduce the
silverfish population, Mark had organised
a couple of matches for the syndicate
members with a prize of a bottle of whisky
to the winner. After weighing in, the
smaller silvers could be transferred to a
stock pond on site for eventual
deployment elsewhere.
I arranged with Mark to fish my own
match. Just me, minimal kit, no lifting,
fishing a swim I could park next to and
have one of the bailiffs move my fish.
Perfect. Well, kicking off late morning
using a 4.5 metre whip I was into fish
straight away and the bites kept coming
till 4pm, when I decided to call it a day.
Loosefeeding maggots and a bit of hemp
to create a splash, it was a bite a chuck
from start to finish. Frustratingly, so
 yself
had Pads L ake all to mt roach
I lots of decen
and caught
many of the smaller fish bounced off the
barbless hook and I was pestered by
double-figure carp, believe it or not. No
fewer than five were hooked and lost.
I guess the best roach I had were
pushing a pound (these were returned to
Pads Lake), and there must have been
several hundred between half an
ounce and half a pound.
I can’t wait for my next outing.
Again, I’ll aim for something not
too strenuous, but it is so tempting
when there are big carp swimming
around not to have a go for one.
Perhaps I’ll have to compromise
and catch some big skimmers.
They look a decent size but aren’t
exactly physically demanding. In
fact I know just the place. My mate
Allan’s back garden!
Some of Allan’s roac
approaching the 2lb are now
rp is netted
A reluctant capshire oasis.
from this Shro
Week 2
It’s always a pleasure to spend time with
Allan Parbery and his partner Sue at
their home in rural Shropshire. He’s
certainly living the good life, as in the
old 1970s TV sitcom where Felicity
Kendall and Richard Briers quit the rat
race and create a life of self-sufficiency.
He’s bought himself five acres of land,
tends it with his mini-tractor and
digger, grows lots of fruit and vegetables
in his poly tunnel and greenhouse,
raises free-range chickens and has
expanded from one decent-sized pool
to several. It’s an oasis of calm wrapped
up in a slice of paradise.
The main pool has a mix of coarse fish
species plus some remarkably nice carp,
the biggest of which run to around 30lb.
Quite how big he’s not sure, because the
bigger ones are seldom seen and keep
evading capture. So far it has produced
h
mark
fish in the mid-twenties and upwards,
so perhaps it’s only a matter of time
before one of the big ones trips up.
When he eventually gets around to it
he wants to turn one of the smaller
pools into a tench and crucian water,
which will be fabulous. Water flows
through the site, so there’s a constant
stream of oxygenated water refreshing
the pools. Allan being a bait
manufacturer (Mistral Baits and Bag
‘Em) comes in rather useful, as he feeds
the lakes every other day with liberal
dashings of boilies and pellets.
This weekend it was my intention to
put all my effort into the main pool and
concentrate on its skimmer bream and
roach, which are doing remarkably well.
Last summer’s heatwave brought a
massive thunderstorm, causing a
sudden and catastrophic oxygen
crash, resulting in the deaths
of several barbel around 5lb
and what he thought were
most of the better bream of
about 3lb 8oz. That wasn’t the
case – the skimmer population is
far more numerous than he
thought and they’re packing on
weight, up to 2lb apiece, while the
roach are mostly in the 8oz-12oz
bracket. Lovely sport on the pole and
a gift horse too good to miss. I
probably had the better part
of 40lb of fish on banded
hard pellet. Lovely fishing.
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 93
 from
turally bred mirror ry
A na e
bery’s fish
Allan Par
Week 3
The following day was my birthday
and, against the advice I’d been given,
I couldn’t resist trying to catch a carp.
Although shallow, you seldom ever
see a carp in the main lake, thanks
partly to the coloured water and
several beds of dense lily pads which
they seem to spend a lot of their
time sheltering underneath.
What you do see if you wait
patiently is the judder of stems and
pads as fish push their way through
the rhizomes. Sit quietly for long
enough and they will usually give
away their presence, but only a fool
would fish into the pads, as they have
such thick roots that unsatisfactory
losses would be inevitable. I bait an
area a short way off the pads and hope
94 IYCF | 407
Week 4
It’s ironic... during recuperation from
my recent transplant surgery I received
a message from Rob Hubery wishing
me well and suggesting, when I was
ready, that perhaps I’d like to join him
in catching a few crucian carp.
As soon as I was feeling fit enough I
arranged a trip but, in the days leading
up to our session, my health took a
decided turn for the worse and my
kidney function dropped dramatically
from 46 per cent to twenty. That was
pretty concerning, as there could
potentially be rejection issues
developing, but we went ahead
anyway – although I spent
the morning expecting a
call from a specialist
at any time
asking me to
get myself
to intercept individual fish as they
enter or leave cover.
It didn’t look too promising until
late afternoon, when the bobbin
fidgeted, dropped backwards and my
Delkim emitted that familiar jittery
alert. Fish on, and what a fish!
Allan reckons it is one that wasn’t
stocked, more likely bred naturally in
the pool, and had benefited greatly
from his regular feeding.
Its fins were enormous and the tail,
something else. Thankfully, it swam
away from the pads and was relatively
easy to land.
Of course, I got a rollicking from my
wife: “You are not supposed to be
targeting anything heavy just yet. You
might damage your new kidney!” But
ned earlier
you know how things are. It’s easy to Why hadn’t I learcian secret?
resist anything but temptation. of Riverside’s cru
to the hospital straight away. Well, the call
came but I was told it would be okay to leave
things until the following morning. “But be
there for when the doors open...”
Oh dear. Concentrating on delicate crucian
bites might prove a tricky job today, but I
pressed on.
Turns out I knew the fishery Rob took me
to from way back. It was Riverside, near
Bawtry. It had originally been a match water
but is now run as a pleasure fishery.
Alas, I had been blissfully unaware of its
crucian potential, but let’s not get too carried
away at this early stage and just say I believe
they run to well over 3lb and are present in
decent numbers.
Today was about little more than a social
and getting a feel for the place. In fairness, it
didn’t exactly fish its socks off, but I saw
enough to recognise the potential. Fishing
along the margins, feeding lightly in order to
try and avoid the regular carp which
threatened to be a nuisance at times, I didn’t
catch a single
roach or skimmer,
although I was more than
chuffed to catch a lone gudgeon. Can’t
remember the last time I caught one of
these. It’s as if they’ve practically vanished
from the majority of my regular haunts.
I shall certainly return, that’s for sure, but
possibly not until next spring, as the nights
are drawing in rapidly and the
boys of summer will be thinking
about hibernation very soon.
It’s as if I’ve gone straight from
the three-month closed season to
winter and completely missed
out on the poor excuse we’ve had
for a summer this year.
Never mind. Next summer will
be a special one for me, as I’ll be
fully recovered and free of those
relentless hospital visits with a
bit of luck.
Fingers crossed.
A couple of cra
from Riversidcking crucians
e, near Bawtry
www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 95
 ESSENTIAL TACKLE
ROD HOOK
A rod could cost anything A piece of bait is
between £10 and £400 impaled on the
and generally range from hook and when
around 8ft to 14ft in length. the fish swallows
The longer it is, the further the food, they
it is capable of casting. A are hooked. Make
10ft rod is a good length sure the bait
SHOT to start with. Consider doesn’t cover
Small weights that whether you want to fish a the hookpoint
are pinched on the float or feeder, as rods for or you may miss
line when fishing each style are different. bites. They come
a float. They are REEL in sizes ranging
used to make the This is attached to the rod, and line runs off the from 2 to 26
float sit correctly. spool and through the rod rings. Sizes range and the higher
Use enough shot from 2500 to over 6000. To begin with, use a the number, the
so that half of the 3000 for fishing a float and a 4000 for a feeder. smaller the hook.
float tip is showing
when fishing.
HOOKLENGTH
FLOAT A short length of line that
A float is used not connects to the mainline. This
only to suspend your is a lighter breaking strain
baited hook, but it also than the mainline so it will
indicates you have snap first. This prevents more
hooked a fish when the expensive items such as the rod
coloured tip is pulled being broken, should you hook
under the surface. a fish that proves unstoppable.

VENUE TYPES

COMMERCIALS RESERVOIRS RIVERS CANALS

Widely regarded as the ideal
starting places for newcomers,
these venues have been man-
made solely for the purpose of
fishing, and numerous lakes
are often available on the same
complex. These are heavily-
stocked, often with carp, to make
it relatively easy to catch fish.
These large lakes were not
originally constructed as fisheries
but are often home to big numbers
of many species including roach,
perch, bream, pike and perch. Their
vast size lends them perfectly to
fishing a feeder, as the shoals often
stay well away from the banks and
the anglers sitting there.
All rivers in England are closed
to coarse fishing between
March 15 and June 15 each year.
This closed season is in place
to help fish stocks recuperate
and spawn. When you are able
to fish the rivers, chub, barbel,
bream, roach, perch and dace
could all be possible targets.
Originally devised hundreds of
years ago for transportation,
they have now become a popular
haunt for anglers. They were
initially seen as territory for
small silverfish such as roach
and perch, but big fish are now
booming with carp and bream
numbers increasing rapidly.

96 IYCF | 407
 A
RE you a non-angler who has
picked up your partner’s copy
of IYCF amid the boredom of
being stuck indoors? If so, there’s
every chance you’ve become a little
confused at some of the terminology
frequently used within the magazine.
But fear not, we’re determined to
help you understand our sport a little
more and hopefully inspire you to
give it a go as soon as possible!
Browse through our description of
these key aspects and you’ll soon feel
more informed on all things fishing.

POPULAR STYLES TOP BAITS

MAGGOTS
This classic bait will catch pretty much
any fish that swims. Fish with a waggler
and maggots and you will often get
bites all day long from small fish.

SWEETCORN
WAGGLER A couple of tins from the supermarket
are all you need for a day’s fishing. The
This is a type of float that is fairly large pieces give small fish little
used with a rod and reel. It is a chance to eat it, meaning it will be left
great tactic when you want to alone until bigger specimens arrive. Its
fish a float beyond pole range. colour makes it great in coloured water.

WORMS
Their wriggly properties
POLE make them too hard for
many fish to resist. They are
A number of sections are joined
especially effective for perch
together to create the pole. The
and bream. Chop up a few to
rigs used with it incorporate a
FEEDER float, line and hook and it can
loosefeed and release lots of
A small plastic device packed with flavoursome juices.
be used between 3m and 16m,
loosefeed and cast to your target. with shorter lengths best for
Types include maggot, pellet and newcomers. All sections slide PELLETS
Method. Watch for movement on back into one for storage. Fish in commercials are routinely fed
the rod tip to detect bites. pellets and regard them as ‘natural’
food. Use smaller sizes such as 2mm
WHAT IS A ROD LICENCE? and 4mm for bream, tench and F1s,
switching to 6mm and 8mm for carp.
Almost every coarse angler is legally required to hold a rod licence.
The only exception to this rule is for those under 12. Those aged 13 to
16 must possess a licence, although they are free to obtain. Bailiffs LUNCHEON MEAT
from the Government’s Environment Agency police the scheme and are
empowered to ask to see your licence. If you are caught fishing without A cutter bought from a tackle
one, you could be fined up to £2,500 and receive a criminal record. shop turns a block of luncheon
meat into small cubes. This
bait is particularly effective on
commercials in the warmer months
£33 £49.50 for a range of species. It is also a
£22 £33 great bait for barbel on rivers.

BUY A LICENCE GROUNDBAIT

Rod licences can be Comes as a fine powder and,
bought at the Post once water is added, it can be
Office, online by visiting moulded into balls. These can
www.gov.uk/fishing- then be fed by hand or catapult.
licences or by calling the Once on the lakebed, they will
Environment Agency on break down to create a carpet
03708 506 506. of feed to attract and hold fish.

www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 97
 October 24, 2023

TACTICS

Don’t dismiss the far bank!

Ian Giddins reveals why chucking a Method feeder to within inches of
the margins on the opposite side of the lake can keep big carp coming

TACTICS TACTICS TACTICS

How to score with hard Top tips to get Nick’s Speed’s approach
pellets in autumn newcomers off to a flyer for big stillwater silvers
98 IYCF | 407
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