Fishing On A Budget

Those that have read my posts on the Maggotdrowning.com forum will have worked out that I am, let's say, cautious with my money. I'm not poor, far from it, but I don't like wasting money. So I do tend to look for bargains. Today we probably have the cheapest tackle available ever. And quality even at the budget end is mainly good.

Fishing does not have to be as expensive as some people make it. You should never be intimidated into parting with cash just for the sake of a brand name, having the latest evolution or to save face amongst your pals. The fish cannot read the name on the rod, they don't know its age either and if you take coin from your mates they will soon stop laughing.

The way I look at it is that if I win a match using a rod & reel that cost £30 (see later) and pick up £60 then I am £30 ahead already. Had the rod & reel cost £130 I would still be £70 down.

At the moment there are, I believe, some silly prices being asked for certain items of tackle. Poles costing thousands, boxes high hundreds and even thousands. The last box I bought cost £40, the last pole (9.5m margin) £50 with two topkits. In between that and the top end there is something to suit everyone's budget. And that word budget is important.

You know what you can comfortably afford. If you can get what you want cheaper then great, but never be tempted or talked into spending more than you have allocated. On Maggotdrowners recently someone asked for a reel recommendation in the £60 price range. I advised spending £12 on a budget reel and going down the pub with the other £48. OK tongue in cheek but why spend £60 on a reel when a £12 or £25 one will do the job?

I accept the dearer one may last longer and run smoother. For a few years now I have been using Vigor reels. The first I bought cost £5 and lasted three years. It landed thousands of pounds in that time and paid for itself many times over.

These reels can be bought on Ebay for roughly £12 now including delivery (sadly the price just went up from £10). Let's say you bought five for a total of £60 and each lasts three years. That's 15 years fishing. Would the £60 reel still be in use after that long? One thing is certain that after 12 years you would be using a brand new reel while the more expensive one would be 12 years old and possibly showing signs of fatigue and wear. And that timescale assumes you would be fishing as frequently as I do currently. That is 2-3 times a week. Less frequent outings would see the reel last longer.

I fully understand why the top anglers use expensive gear. Forget sponsorship because there are very few who are fully sponsored and have to buy nothing. I'm sure though that those that are sponsored would still buy top quality gear. Reason is two fold. First they are probably fishing 4+ times a week. Thus they need gear that will stand up to that level of use. Second, at the top level there is probably a difference that would put you at a disadvantage were you not to spend the money. Just look at Formula 1 racing and see what a difference the budget makes.

But for the average angler like myself I think there is a lot more to be got right and perfected before the tackle makes a measurable difference. If you get to that level and want to step up into the ranks of the Raisons, Scotthornes and Shipps then you will need the best gear.

Having top quality branded tackle gives some anglers confidence. Great if you can afford it. Personally it doesn't work for me but its horses for courses. Would a £1000 pole improve my fishing? I suspect not to the extent that would make me want to spend that sort of cash.

Lets look at some specific items where I have made savings and, I believe, not to the detriment to my fishing.

I have already mentioned reels. The Vigor reels I use in both the 40 and 60 sizes cost around £10-12 on Ebay. I admit they are probably not the smoothest but that has not stopped me catching plenty of fish on them. There are plenty of acceptable reels around for under £25.

I can't claim to have any knowledge of current pole prices and relative quality. I'm still using a MAP M16 that must be around ten years old. I have managed to source a few spares and so shouldn't need to replace it for a few more years. It does the job so why replace it? But I am willing to bet that even a “cheaper” pole from a noted brand name will be better than those available at higher or similar prices ten to fifteen years ago.

I have recently bought a Maver Abyss X margin pole. Actually I was that impressed that I bought a second so I had it for spares and lending out. The topkits from my old margin pole fit perfectly so that's a bonus. But I got four new topkits with the two poles. I have just picked up a third for a mate who wants to get some gear together for £47.99 from Dragon Carp Direct (no extra topkit though DCD sell universals for £10). I have to ask the question therefore why, for a margin pole you would want to pay more.

Rollers. A couple of years ago I got a double roller from Dragon Carp Direct. Great piece of kit and cost £20. When you see branded rollers for as much as £100 I have to ask why.

I also got an Avanti bucket set (bucket, lid, bowl, riddle, hoop) for around £20. The set is exactly the same as the Preston one for double the price. Only difference is the brand name on the side.

Keepnets from Keepnets Direct. £40 for two carp nets. Going strong after two years.

Carp feeder rod by Grandeslam, £38 including P&P.

Floats. A few years ago I found an online tackle shop called Buygoodtackle. I fell in love with the price of the floats, mostly under £1 each with minimal or zero postage. The floats turned out to be great value and have caught me loads. Unfortunately Bryan who runs it is retiring so I will have to source a new supplier. I have been looking at Syntra floats. I have found a shop online that sells most of the patterns for 76p. Obviously plus postage. But buy in bulk and you should save money. I haven't used these floats yet but I have bought some for the mate who wants to get some gear together. I may try them before handing the rigs over. They look OK.

Universal topkits. Again Dragon Carp Direct, £9.99 each (£10 elasticated). I have a few for my margin pole, one used as a cupping kit on my MAP pole. Landed plenty of fish, a bit heavy but on a margin pole not an issue. I suspect the match kits would still cope with heavy elastics and possibly be lighter. They are also a generous 22mm bore at the butt end so would fist most poles.

Tackle shows can be a great place to source new, affordable gear. You may be buying end of lines and old model stock. But if it caught fish last year then it will do so now. Be prepared to haggle. At one show I spotted a Middy carp feeder rod and a Vigor reel on one stand. The two separately would have been £40, I asked if they would take £30 for the two and got a yes. That combination caught me plenty and paid for itself many times over. But don't do what I read one lad did once and ask a stallholder if he did a deal on spools of line marked £1.50 each. The stallholder said yes - £5 for three, the lad bought them.

Another way I save money will have the purists up in arms. I recycle rig line into hooklengths and margin rigs.

When I strip down an old rig I save the line on a spare spool and then use that as either hooklengths or margin rigs. If you have read my blog on my simple approach to pole fishing you will know that I use just two line strengths for pole rigs, 0.17 and 0.13. Once I have cut down a seven foot 0.17 rig I re-make it with fresh line and save the old line for making margin rigs (4 & 2 ft). If too short for that then it goes on a different spool for 0.17 hooklengths. Same for my Winter rig line, 0.13, it too will become hooklengths.

I also rarely throw away a hook unless it is damaged. I really can't see what can blunt a hook and if it penetrates my thumb then it should penetrate a fish's mouth. So all hooks are saved and re-used.

I will also repair damaged floats. I always give them a fresh coat of nail varnish when re-making rigs. If a float has to be binned then I will save bits for future repairs. One precaution I take to help prolong the life of a float is to fit spring eyes to those that will be used for carp in Summer. It is these where the eye is likely to be ripped out at times. So a few pennies spent on some springs and superglue (£ shop) will save money in the long run.

My blog on Bits & Bobs details some of the home-made stuff I use. All cheap to make or free.

Finally, bait. I am lucky enough to have my own bait fridge and freezer. Most left over baits are frozen and perfectly good for use when defrosted. I also prepare my expanders in batches of three or four lots and freeze these. Only a small thing but as I use gelatine and the solution needs microwaving to make it liquid I only have to run the microwave once in order to prepare enough pellets for three to six outings.

On the subject of expanders. Unless you are planning to feed them then don't do too many for a day. Fifty will be plenty and make a bag last ages. As I take four and six mils I do around fifty of each. In Winter I add two mils. Even then I find that after a weekend match I have plenty left over for a midweek pleasure session. And they will survive freezing. My gelatine solution is also kept in the freezer. I buy the gelatine in bulk on Ebay, cheaper in the long run than the small sachets in the supermarket.

Liquidised bread and prepared hookbait slices are also frozen. I will prepare a whole loaf of hookbait slices at the start of the Winter and freeze them in individual bags.

Buying bait like pellets in bulk can save a mint over buying branded pellets at the tackle shop. Most towns will have an animal feed store that stocks pellets in 20/25kg sacks. At around £33 per 25kg this works out to just over £1 a kilo. I store mine in dustbins. Same with brown crumb in bulk bags.

My home made groundbait, recipe in the Bits & Bobs blog, costs around £1 a kilo. Based on Tesco fish flavour dry catfood. It works.

I like to think my results are OK for an avarage club angler so my Fagin like approach doesn't seem to harm my fishing too much. It certainly doesn't harm my wallet and that pleases The Boss.

Some useful websites


http://www.dragoncarpdirect.com/coarse-and-match-fishing

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gelatine-Powder-250G-Professional-strength-240-Bloom-/280905940934?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item41674c7fc6

http://www.keepnetsdirect.com

http://nmpwholesale.co.uk/-floats-c-3217_3396.html (Syntra floats)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220850812126?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Vigor reels, two for £19.95, free delivery.

Random Thoughts

As one does I tend to muse while fishing. Sometimes new stuff and sometimes going over the past.

Margin Fishing

I still don't think I have really explained margin fishing. As I said in my original post it isn't as simple as throwing bait in the margins and then plundering the fish that rock up. It can be, but as with all techniques you normally have to work out what the fish want on the day to maximise your catch.

Having thought about this I believe the important thing is having the confidence the method will work. What then remains is having to work out how to make it work.

I have fed and caught in margin swims every which way from handfuls of micros to 6 cubes of meat or pieces of corn. Hookbait can be a 4 mil cube of meat to a 6 mil expander or two grains of corn, single red maggot or a 2 mil expander. The important thing is to change if what you started doing isn't working. I know it will eventually and so don't give up because what I try first doesn't work. I know that once sorted my catch rate will help me overtake most others that started well.

And the "last hour" thing is a total myth as far as I'm concerned. I have won plenty fishing the margins the whole match.

So what's the secret with margin fishing? As it is with all fishing - confidence. That and being flexible with feed, feeding and hookbait.

 

Match, Pleasure or Specimen Angler

A random thought about what each want from their day's fishing.

A pleasure/recreational angler will normally be happy just being there. Out in the open, away from the stresses of their everyday life. Catching fish is a bonus.

A match angler is fishing for bites. the more you get the more you catch and the greater the chance of winning. So a match angler works hard at maximising the number of bites they get in a day. No time wasted, no relaxing and an armoury of tools (weapons) at their fingertips to swing the odds in their favour.

The specimen angler is after THE fish. That special one that stands out from the average. They may not get many bites, they may have to wait ages for just one. But when it comes the heart will beat just that bit faster in the belief that this will be THAT fish.

Its all fishing and good luck whatever type of angler you are.

Eyesight

Something I'm not sure people consider enough.

In a way I have been fortunate. At around six years old it became obvious I had a problem in one eye. Long sighted and “lazy”, it had a squint. I was one of those kids with white tape over one lens of my NHS glasses. What that meant though was that from that age I have always had excellent vision with glasses. An eye test at least every two years and corrective lenses to bring me back to near perfect sight.

When I started pole fishing with bristle topped floats I took one to my optician and told him that this was what I needed to be able to see at around 10m. I left with a lens prescription that gave me sight two lines on the chart better than airline pilot standard.

I have also been fortunate that in over fifty years of wearing glasses I have had only five opticians. This meant that I have been able to establish a good relationship with a professional who understands my needs. Personally I would not be tempted into one of the high street chains. I much prefer the excellent service from my local independent optician.

I would therefore urge any angler to ensure they have regular sight tests and wear the lenses prescribed.

Plumbing Up

Sorting out my box the other day and I counted six plummets in one of the drawers and another three or four in a bits box I carry. These were a variety of weights and styles, some heavy, some light, some normal and some clip on. I have read of some anglers who don't posses one and just guess the depth, in my opinion crazy.

Depth and finding the contours is a vital contribution to a good day's fishing. It may seem like a time consuming task when setting up but ten minutes spent plumbing up will save you hours of frustration later. A couple of examples will demonstrate.

Last Winter I fished a match on one of Decoy's strip lakes. Plumbed up at ten metres and found the depth. There was a right to left wind and on these lakes that will set up a left to right tow. I plumbed up in the direction the float would travel and discovered that the lake bed shallowed up by around three inches over around ten foot. I set the float for the deeper part of the swim knowing that the bait would drag up the slope. By feeding to the left I expected to catch around halfway up the slope, so around five foot from where I fed. Sure enough the shallowing bed slowed the movement down as the bait dragged bottom and I caught exactly where I expected to.

Had I not found that slope I may have either fished too shallow had I plumbed up to the right to start with or I may have held the float stationary in the deeper water and not let the slope work in my favour. I came second in the match, top on my lake.

Again on the strip lakes at Decoy. I always spend time plumbing up the margins inch by inch. On one occasion I found a flat spot about the size of a large jam jar lid on what was otherwise a continual slope. That's where I caught and again as I recall managed second. Again in the margins on another swim on the strips I discovered a ledge just four inches wide 18 inches deep and the same distance from the bank. That shelf provided over sixty pound in the last hour promoting me from middle of the pack to a frame. One six pounder lost at the net cost me second. But I know where that ledge is if I draw the peg again.

With a plummet, particularly a heavy one, you can distinguish whether you are fishing over silt or gravel, find the contours and small variations in depth that on any given day could be vital. Fish will sometimes want to sit in the smallest of depressions in the bed. Occasionally such that when plumbing up you can feel the fish bumping the line. Find that spot, get your bait in there and it should be a happy day.

Never think of time taken plumbing up as tedious or wasted. It is an investment. And like all investments it should pay dividends some time down the line.

In my post on fishing the pellet I explain how I even use a large pellet or piece of corn to get my depth not just close but absolutely spot on. And trust me, the difference of an inch can make the difference between catching and not.

Once you have found the depth then make sure you mark it on rod or pole. But take care how you do it. On a pole do not mark the depth with the rig under tension. The elastic will stretch the line and give you a false position. With the hook in the butt end of the top kit grasp the elastic/connector and pull elastic out of the pole until the rig is snug but not stretched by the elastic. That will be the true depth. Always mark in the same way i.e. always to the tip of the float or another point of your choosing.

You can then easily transfer that mark to another topkit and get that rig spot on without having to plumb again.

During the day check your depth occasionally. Things can change, water level can alter, fish can root out a shallow depression. So worth re-plumbing particularly if bites tail off.

Finally

I seem to have run out of things to talk about.  So if anyone has any requests or suggestions let me know.

Meanwhile I'll continue with the monthly match reports. 

Index

Just to help find posts easily

Beginner's Guide to Pole Fishing (In 8 parts, Starting from scratch)
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/search/label/Beginner's%20Guide%20To%20Pole%20Fishing

Keeping Warm on a Budget
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/2018/10/keeping-warm-on-budget.html

Dotting Down (why you should try and get the float as low in the water as you can)
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/dotting-down.html

Backshotting Pole Rigs
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/backshotting-pole-rigs.html

Carp in the Margins - May 2014
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2014_05_01_archive.html

Starting Match Fishing - March 2015
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/starting-match-fishing.html

Breadpunch - Oct 2014
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/breadpunch.html

Bits, Bobs & Groundbait (bits of tackle I have made or adapted and my home made groundbait recipe) - Sept 2014
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/bits-bobs-groundbait.html

Winter Commercials - Dec 2014
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/winter-commercials.html

My Simple Approach To Pole Fishing - July 2014
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/my-simple-approach-to-pole-fishing.html

Fishing The Pellet - June 2014
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2014_06_01_archive.html

Tips, Tricks & Hints (some of those things I find work for me) - Nov 2014
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/tips-tricks-hints.html

France (My holiday fishing) - Jan 2015
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/france.html

Turning a Poor Day Around - Feb 2015
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/turning-poor-day-round.html

Millcotton Project (how I fished all 40 pegs on my local club lake in 18 months and what I caught) - Mar 2015
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/millcotton-project.html

Feeding
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/feeding.html

Memorable Matches (some matches that stick in my memory)
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/memorable-matches.html

Random Thoughts (on margin fishing, styles, eyesight, plumbing up)
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/random-thoughts.html

Fishing On A Budget
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/fishing-on-budget.html

Keeping Warm (On a Budget)
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/2018/10/keeping-warm-on-budget.html

More Bits Bobs & Tips
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/2019/04/more-bits-bobs-and-things.html

The Flat or Lollipop Float
http://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-flat-or-lollipop-float.html

Dotting Down

https://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/2017/11/dotting-down.html

Backshotting Pole Rigs

https://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/2017/09/backshotting-pole-rigs.html

Pole Memories (40 years of pole fishing)

https://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/2016/01/pole-memories.html

Feeding (Why, what, where, when, how)

https://neilofthenene.blogspot.com/2014/07/feeding.html

Memorable Matches

While I have your attention I thought I'd go through a few matches that stick in my mind. Some details like dates/years are hazy but the actual matches I can recall quite well.  There will hopefully be something you can draw from my experiences.

The first is memorable for a few reasons, and because of that I know the date precisely.  It was Wednesday June 16 1976.  First day of the new season and being a Wednesday the ABC match group in Tottenham ran the first of their midweek evening opens on the Lea just off the North Circular road.  This date remains my lowest point financially since starting work.  I quite literally spent my last few pounds on bait and the £5 match fee.  It was a week before pay day, going overdrawn wasn't an option as that was against the rules for bank staff.  So it would mean me having to ask for help from my parents to see me through the next seven days.  Something I didn't look forward to.  But I still entered the match.

The Lea at this point is basically a canal and was permanently pegged.  THE peg to draw was 40, and that's what I drew.  The problem was though that to catch the resident chub that would win a match you had to cast a waggler under the overhanging far bank brambles (no 14 metre poles then).  If you were two foot short you wouldn't get a bite.  This night it was blowing a gale straight down the canal from the North and very cold.  So much so that I hadn't taken a coat, being June, and I ended up fishing in my suit jacket.  The wind made it impossible to cast accurately or for the float to stay still long enough to get a bite.  So I had to fish the pole.  In those days that meant seven metres of Lerc fibreglass.  I hadn't bothered packing a feeder as it wasn't usually needed.

With around 45 minutes left the wind died and I was able to cast accurately at last.  Three or four accurate casts saw me land three or four chub and I won the match.  A close call.  My first ever open match win but more importantly £25 to see me through to pay day.

The next one is a team match on the upper Thames. I like team fishing. With a good captain and team around me I normally have orders to follow and that is when I fish best, when I don't have to take the decisions. Most times I have found the orders worked well for me and didn't have anything else to do but execute them.

The orders for this match were to fish maggot on the waggler about 15-20 yards out and keep catapulting maggots over the top. The peg I drew was best fished standing in the water. So I got myself comfortable with bait waiter and rests for the rod. The rig was simple, just a plain waggler with three No.8s half inch apart just above the hooklength dragging bottom to slow the bait down. I prefer three smaller shot as I feel that they have a better braking effect than one larger shot.

The day went like clockwork for me and I soon settled into a rhythm. Cast, rod down, feed, pick up rod, wait, strike, land, re-bait, cast. The fish were not big and as I recall I ended with between three and four pound for third in section. The team came third overall. But I was satisfied that I had done my bit. I love those days when you get into that fish catching routine and you can almost predict where the float will go under.

Another day when team orders worked to perfection was a third division national on the drains around Boston. This was the year that the venue was switched, I think from the Witham, at the last minute because the river was fishing so poorly.

Luckily we had a team practice planned for just after the venue change was announced. So we were able to switch our practice sessions onto the drains. We split our three days into five half day sessions on different parts of the drain system to be used on the day. Pretty soon we discovered an interesting if frustrating phenomenon. You would feed the usual balls of groundbait at the start and catch for two hours then bites dried. After a couple of sessions this was doing our heads in until one of the better anglers in the team worked it out. The fish were coming up in the water. So the team plan for the day was to fish on the deck until the bites slowed then switch to a half depth rig and feeding a loose, just damp groundbait. I managed to fish the practice sessions well and forced my way into the team. The captain told me that before the sessions he had me marked as a reserve.  Funny how I always seem to be underestimated, perhaps because I underestimate my own ability.

On the day I drew on the Sibsey Trader in front of the windmill that gives that drain its name. I fed the swim and put a staight lead out for ten minutes to see if I could snare a mug bream or tench but nothing materialised. From that point on the match went precisely to plan. I caught on the deck for two hours, bites slowed so I picked up the half depth rig, fed some loose groundbait and was soon catching again. It became apparent that after that the fish were moving up and down the water column. I got into a routine of catching five at half depth then five on the deck and back to half depth for another five.

Come the end of the match I had 75 fish including one skimmer of around four ounces (100 grams). I was going to be the second last to be weighed in on my bus (25 to a bus, three busses per section). Before the scales arrived I spoke to the guy on the next peg and he told me that his fish stopped biting after two hours but he had noticed I had caught the entire match. I told him of what we had discovered in our practice. When the scales arrived I asked what was best out of the first 23 to be weighed – 750 grams. A quick calculation had me smiling, I knew my 75 fish averaged more than 10 grams each. Weight was 1.4 kilo. So just about double the best so far. The last peg didn't have as much as me so I was top on my coach. A great feeling while travelling back to HQ. I ended up sixth in section, my best ever National result. Unfortunately other members of the team either didn't stick to the plan or it didn't work for them and we came middle of the table.

Interestingly a couple of years later I was speaking with someone who fished the same match. His team was gutted that the venue had been switched as they had sorted a team plan for the river. Apparently they had discovered that if you fed a kilo of chopped worm at the start the bream would move in after a couple of hours.

I have fished the Northants County Cup only twice. First time in 2009 I managed second on the canal near Market Harborough. This was purely down to some good if odd (for a canal) advice from a good angler. I drew a fairly tough section at Lubenham. The advice I had been given was to feed a line with pellets for the skimmers. I had never thought of using pellets on the canal and to be honest felt a bit foolish cupping them in. Four hours later and with just six pairs of eyes in the net I suddenly remembered feeding the pellets. I had got blinkered into trying for the small silvers and forgot the pellet line. I swung the far bank rig I was using round, it had a single pinkie on, and dropped it over the spot I had fed the pellets. Within thirty seconds the float buried and I was gingerly playing a skimmer of around a pound. In the last hour of the match I landed four more and weighed in 7lb. Enough for second (first was a team mate with 9lb). I had been put into a makeweight team comprising individuals who wanted to fish but didn't have a formal team. We placed second in the team event!

 

Second place to "teammate" Mark Lane. 

Not bad for my first appearance in the Northants County Cup



Another canal match proved to be the place I would finally win a trophy I had been looking to win for about thirty five years.  Each year I fish a two day event. The club I fish this with started life as part of Barclays Bank's sports & social network. Each region and head office department had its own team. Originally we just fished a one day team event. Quite a nice set-up as we were funded from sports & social funds and granted extra days off for events. In time an individual day was added and this has continued even after the company withdrew its S&S funding. A chance to meet up with old adversaries and friends. Due to lack of numbers from Northants I now fish with Yorkshire, and have the shirt and lock on my wallet to prove it.

In recent years the matches have been on commercials but in 2010 we somehow found ourselves on the Calder & Hebble canal at Brighouse. I had never fished it before and was startled to find it as clear as tap water and very few boats. I am used to the always coloured Grand Union. Luckily one of the organisers took me on a tour of the sections the day before so when I drew “Kossets” I at least knew the bonus fish were tench. I set up to fish two lines. One would be a silver fish line about half-way and just short of an overhanging willow. I would feed the swim with sloppy groundbait laced with a few squatt & pinkie. Hopefully the cloud of groundbait would hang in the clear water and give the fish confidence. The second line was under the willow with chopped worm for the tench.

I fed both lines and was fairly quickly putting a few fish in the net from the silvers line. Not many but better than anyone around me. A bankwalker who fished the canal with the organisers and knew about the match told me that my eleven fish were probably winning the match, it was hard everywhere. After around three hours I got to eighteen fish when the silvers line went dead. So time to try the tench line. I had tackled up for this using one of my carp margin rigs – 0.17 line, 0.2g float and a fairly large hook. Half a worm on the hook and the float settled for a second or two before disappearing. It was one of those comedy moments when I wondered what had happened until it registered in my brain as a bite. Lifting the pole saw me contact something large and angry. I shipped back safe in the knowledge that the rig was plenty strong enough and soon had about 10 metres of 12 hollow yellow elastic stretched across the canal. Two minutes later and I was netting a dark tench of just over two pound. I cheered.

I don't think I had another fish for the remaining 90 minutes or so. But I need not have worried. My total of 4lb 6 ½ oz was enough to see me picking up the trophy as individual champion. I had been third three times previously but at last my name went on the trophy alongside a lot of anglers whom I had admired and respected through the years.

 

Pleased?  You bet your life.  Thirty five years of trying finally snagged me the trophy.

A final canal memory completes the set. Again the works annual event, this time on the Stainforth & Keadby, or was it New Junction? I know it was the smaller of the two. At that time I was living in London and fished with the London East region. We were lucky enough to have a couple of really good anglers (Gareth Young where are you now?).  Arriving the afternoon before the match we had a brief watch of a local fishing the canal and then a couple of hours evening practice. Team captain instructed me to fish chopped worm.  I had never used chopped worm before. Caught a few fish on it including some roach and so I was told it was my tactic for the team event.

Next day it was blowing a hoolie straight down the canal. Impossible to hold a long pole I opted to fish the worm at around four metres. I caught steadily with bites dropping off as the match progressed, all small perch. Suddenly the elastic was streaming out of the pole and I was praying everything held. It did and I had a nice bonus of a chub around a pound. Not much but on a difficult day a welcome addition to my weight. I ended up second in section. The lad who was first would eventually become a team mate in Northampton. His bonus was a skimmer slightly bigger than my chub. In the team of six we had no-one worse than fifth in section and so won the team event for the first time. I have since won the team trophy twice more with Northampton and Yorkshire.

Finally my first ton. Whittlesey's Decoy fishery, Cedar lake, peg 13, July 2011. A corner peg with a nice 18 inch deep margin shelf towards the corner to the left. The right margin went straight down to around three-four foot. Started the match trying to catch shallow in front as it was warm, still day but soon realised that this wasn't paying off (not a method I am good at). Switched to the margins and soon was catching regularly. Most fish came from the left margin and I had a few bigger fish from the deeper right on paste but the bites were not coming quickly enough for me that side. Can't say too much really as for me it was simply a case of finding the right bait on the day – 6 mil expander and feeding soaked 4 mils. Even with my first ton recorded (107-10) I still only managed third. Winner had 205.

So, some good memories, a couple of trophies and some coin. But most importantly some really enjoyable days fishing. Makes up for the mid-Winter blanks.

Starting Match Fishing

Many anglers will, at some point, want to test themselves against their peers.  For others it is just about the camaraderie of going out with a bunch of lads (and lasses) for a bit of banter, some fishing and some laughs.  However for many the thought of getting into that first match, just knowing how to do it, is daunting.  So here's my guide on how to get started on the competition side of the sport.

Getting Started

For now I will ignore open matches. By the time you are ready to fish these you will know what to do. Most people will start their formal match fishing at club level.  There are two basic sorts of club, those that own their own water(s) and those that don't and just book pegs on match/day ticket venues. You may already belong to a club that has waters, if so they probably run some kind of matches. If you don't then you can join either kind of club or, like me, both.

The club I fish with most often just books pegs and has no water of its own. There will be such clubs in your area. Either look out for reports in the local press or speak to your tackle shop. They will know the local clubs and probably be able to advise you which are the best for you to fish with. Contact the club secretary to enquire about joining. Most are more than glad to have new members. They may let you fish a couple of matches as a guest to see if you like the club/match fishing. Most clubs are friendly and there will always be members who will offer genuine advice and look to help you out.

Whichever type of club you join you will be asked to book onto matches in advance, this is so the club knows how many pegs to book/allocate for the match. In my opinion it is then bad form not to show up on the day unless its for a good reason. Even so I would always offer to pay my peg fee as an empty peg will cost the club money. You will be told who to book with and by when. All you have to do is turn up in time for the draw. This will be around 60-90 minutes before the match starts. Always ask the organiser.

Rules

Every match is different but there are a set of universally accepted rules published by the Angling Trust. Just search on line for "model match rules". These are a basis but may not be entirely correct for the match you are going to fish so always check with the organiser for any local amendments or oddities. Read through the MMRs so you have a broad understanding of them.

Some of the vital ones you should make sure you know.

• No bait in the water before the start. You can set your nets, get water for groundbait/pellets, plumb up and cast a ledger to clip up to the right distance. Though check whether you are allowed to use an empty, unbaited feeder or if it should be with a lead only.
• Understand what constitutes your swim. You should not allow your tackle or bait to go into another angler's swim. You may need to get information on the day about what features are yours if pegging is tight. Rather than get into a dispute with another angler ask the organiser for guidance or have a friendly chat with the guys around you.  Also if anglers are on the opposite bank check with them to confirm you are not casting over halfway.  Strange how perspective can alter your estimation of that distance.
• Know the net rules - size/type of fish in each, weight limit per net.
• Most matches do not allow using two rods and that includes feeding with a pole while ledgering or placing a ledger rig out using a pole cup. The rods/poles not being used should be on the bank unbaited.  But ask, as my main club do allow baiting with a pole while ledgering.

Tackle

Do not be intimidated by the guys with loads of gear. I was once pushed down to third by a guy sitting on a wooden folding kitchen chair. On the other side of the coin in a Fishomania qualifier I drew next to Mr Maver. Every piece of tackle and clothing was Maver. With my complete mish-mash of tackle I beat him by ten pound. End of the day the fish don't know what gear you have. I have done well plenty of times fishing top four of my 10m pole. No one knows the length of the pole if you are just using the top four or five sections. The important thing is to fish well with what you have.

Before The Day

Old saying time - Fail To Prepare, Prepare To Fail. Never more true than in match fishing. Two types of preparation really, tackle and venue knowledge.

Many good match anglers will spend as long preparing tackle for a match as they do actually fishing it. I don't but then I tend to fish similar venues and, as my post on my approach to pole fishing demonstrates, I do things as simply as possible. And that means I don't have to spend too long before each match preparing tackle. But I will have sessions every now and again re-making rigs, tying hooks, checking/replacing elastics, preparing new floats (adding spring eyes and painting with nail varnish).

The thing you are looking to do is

1. Making sure you waste as little time on the bank as possible, wasted time can lose you a match.
   
   
   
2. Making sure your tackle is up to the job, no weak spots, floats in good condition that sort of thing
   
   
   
3. Making sure your tackle is suitable for the venue.

At first and as you are learning you will make mistakes about what can and can't be done in advance to help make you more efficient on the day. Make sure you have plenty of spare rigs, feeders, hooklengths. Things that are liable to stop you in your tracks if you run out. I remember just a couple of years ago when first trying out the pellet feeder. I bought one to try. Was easily leading a match when I snagged the far bank and lost it, and with it the match. I now carry at least six of each type of feeder.

It may be extreme, and I have the time to do it but before a big match I will make sure all my pole rigs are perfectly shotted by having a pleasure session where I will use each newly made rig and get the shotting right, hopefully catching a fish before putting it away and putting on another new one. Tiresome at times but means that on the day if a new rig is needed it is fishing as soon as it hits the water. No wasted time getting the shotting right while others are catching.

If you haven't fished a water before then find out as much as you can in advance, even go and have a practice if possible, more on that later. At the very least you need to know what type of tackle will be needed. Is the venue exceptionally deep? I always have to remember that Toft Farm near Coventry is a deeper than normal commercial. I have been caught out with having rigs a few inches too short for the depth when full of water. Are the fish exceptionally large? Stronger tackle needed? How many nets will you need? You may need at least three on a commercial so you can split fish between silvers/small carp and large carp. And with net weight limits you may just need a third or even fourth net on a really good day. Don't think it won't happen to you, it will one day.

Information can be found from the water's owners, local tackle shops, other anglers, and of course online. The first time I fished Stockton reservoir I found a club match report that recommended fishing paste at 5 metres. I did this and won the match. Never be afraid to ask.

If a new tactic is required then don't wait until the match day to do it for the first time. Even if you practice it on an unsuitable water and don't catch at least it will not be alien to you on the day.

Matchday Eve

The day/night before make sure that you are ready. Take things out of the freezer, make sure you have petrol in the car and know where you are going and how long it will take, know what tackle you need to load up. I recommend making a list including wallet, bait out of the fridge, clothes & boots, food & drink. The match day nerves will almost certainly mean you will forget something.

And do not have a skinfull and be hungover on the morning.  You will never fish well in that state. 

Entry Fee & Pools

Most match entry fees will be "all in".  This means that the stated fee includes the peg fee plus an amount for prize money or pools.  You normally have no option but to pay the total.  If you are fishing as a guest and newcomer to match fishing some clubs may let you pay just the peg fee for a couple of matches.

All of the pools money should be paid out as prizes.  Most often this will be to the top anglers overall in the match.  The actual number may be variable depending on the number fishing.  So the more that fish the lower down the list prize money will be paid.  Typically though it will be top three.

Some matches will include section prizes.  The match is split into smaller sections or probably between five and ten anglers.  This way there is something to fish for even if you are drawn on a poor part of the match length or lake.  There are two ways of paying sections - by default or not.  By default means that any angler that wins a prize overall cannot also win their section.  That will go to the next best weight in that section that did not frame.  So if the top three come from one section it will be the fourth in section that takes the section prize.  Other matches will pay the section winner even if they have framed overall.  To "frame" means being in the overall prize money.

The importance of paying sections by default is that even if you think you have not done well its always worth weighing in as the match winners may all be in your section.  I have seen people lose money by not weighing when they could have had the section prize.  

So in a match with section prizes you first aim is to win your section.  Not only does that ensure a prize but also you cannot win the match without being best in your section.

On The Day

I tend to get up two hours before leaving time. This is plenty of time to have a cup of tea and do any bait preparation. I do soak my pellets before setting off. Saves time after the draw and makes sure they are fully soaked. Leave in plenty of time and despite how you may feel have breakfast, either at home, en route or at the fishery. You will use up a lot of nervous energy so make sure you are fuelled to go.

Once there make sure you know who the organiser is and find out when they want paying. Try and have the right money please. As an occasional organiser I can't change twenty twenty pound notes or split them for the pools. One reason I always carry a bag of pound coins. The draw will be announced and the organiser should mention any odd local or club rules. If you are not sure then ask. Then its time to draw. Just wait your turn. There is as much chance of the flier coming out last as first. I normally wait until there are three or four pegs in the bag.  If you inadvertently draw out two pegs drop them both back in the bag showing you haven't retained one and draw again.  Either wait until someone else has drawn or ask the bag holder to mix up the pegs.  You don't want to start your match career being accused of cheating. 

Having drawn then make your way to your peg. Make sure you are fishing the right peg (even the right lake - I have seen someone start to set up on the wrong lake). You will probably have around an hour to set up, it will go faster than Usain Bolt can do 100 metres. So make sure you don't waste a minute. But take time to study your peg and work out a plan of campaign. Mix groundbait and soak pellets first to give them time to absorb the water if you haven't done this at home.   Having set up box, side tray, landing net, keepnets I then normally get any feeder rods set. Once they are done I know I can start at the whistle even if pole or float rods are not ready. Work efficiently but don't rush around. Better to start a little late than break or forget something in your haste.

If things are quiet during the match you may be tempted to go for a walk to see how others are faring.  I would advise you not to.  Match anglers can be funny about people walking around, me for one.  I hate people stepping over my pole or standing over my margin swim.  If things are quiet just observe what you can from your own peg.  The time for questions is after the match.  If things are quiet then that's the time you need to be working hardest to make things happen.  

If there are net weight limits you will need a way of monitoring your catch so as not to exceed the limit and have all or part disqualified.  I use a set of clothes pegs (see my Bits & Bobs blog).  You could buy a clicker/counter or just use a pencil & paper.  I am useless at estimating fish size over three pound so I carry a small spring balance and weigh larger fish in the landing net for accuracy.  Takes seconds but keeps me safe within the limits.

At The End

If you are playing a fish when the end of the match is signalled you need to let anglers know this. The cry of "Fish On" is enough. You will then have ten to fifteen minutes to land that fish. Pack up and if possible take bank sticks etc. off your nets to speed up weighing in. You may find it worthwhile following the scales round. Look, listen and ask the occasional question. Remember though you have two eyes, two ears but only one mouth. Look, listen and learn.

When your turn comes there is a technique in getting the fish into the weigh sling that separates the experienced match angler from the newbie. Most modern keepnets have handles inside on the second from bottom ring. They are there for a purpose. Also the bottom three rings should be slightly smaller than the rest. It is worth practising this technique at home with a few pounds of potatoes. Reach inside the net and grasp one handle, with a slight twist bring the half of the second to last ring through the top ring so one side is now outside the net. grasp the bulk of the opposite side of the keepnet to the one you have pulled through with your left hand and the bottom ring on the same side with your right (opposite way for lefties). You should now be able to tip the fish out into the weigh sling like pouring water out of a bucket.

DO NOT TUMBLE FISH DOWN THE LENGTH OF THE NET.

If you are not sure get someone to show you how.

 

Post Match

I record all of my matches on a spreadsheet.

 

 

You may think that you will remember what happened.  Trust me you won't.  I find it useful to be able to go back and jog my memory about what happened on a particular venue/peg.  Things like underwater features, exactly what bait and feed used, what length of pole.  It at least gives me a clue how to start next time there.  I would suggest that if you are going to continue matches then you do something similar.

 

 

 

 

And Finally

As a true matchman you have to follow these rules

1. When you draw moan about whatever peg you get. Get your excuses in early.
2. When asked what weight you have - halve your estimate
3. When asked what bait you are using always say something other than what you are actually using, or alternatively for the extra points say something ridiculous like "pork pie on a size 20"
4. When you don't do well always say it was too hot, too cold, wind in the wrong direction, too sunny, too overcast, ripple on the water was too choppy to present a bait well, too calm.

Most important though is try and enjoy the day. 

And no day is a failure if you learn something.

 

 

Millcotton Project

Millcotton is the name of a Wellingborough & District Nene AC club water about a ten minute drive from home. It was created to be like a commercial style snake lake. Forty match pegs plus five disabled. So it makes a complete circle (though not circular) around a central island. Pegs average 14m wide though there are some that are 16 and three that are 11-12. The stocking is a mixture with carp (ave. 3lb but enough larger ones up to 10 to keep you interested), plenty of skimmers (ave 8oz, some to 1 1/2 lb, roach, rudd, crucians (some to 2lb), and some small tench, barbel, chub, perch and at least one goldfish (2lb). And this is just one lake on the club's £35 a year card. 

 

 

 

 

In the Autumn of 2013 while recovering from my brain haemorrhage I fished it quite a bit. I couldn't drive so a member of the family would drop me off and pick me up. A chance remark by my son set me on a mission. When picking me up one day he said that I must have fished every peg on the lake (bar the disabled ones). I realised that I actually had not. I had my favourite pegs and even fishing the annual Summer evening matches there were still pegs I had missed. So I set myself the target of fishing all forty pegs.

 

It has taken me about eighteen months to complete but I have at last managed it. I had always believed that there were certain areas that fished better than others so I decided to record every session. Keepnets are not allowed so I recorded all my catches in a notebook, noting what species and weights. This information was then recorded on a spreadsheet. I thought I would share some of the highs & lows of the journey.

I have a very simple, if possibly lazy way of fishing this lake. Most people will put out 14m of pole and fish the far bank margins. Holding 14m of pole all day is tiring and I believe that the fish have got wise to this and shy away from the pole over their heads. And as I started this task when not in good health I chose a simpler method. I nearly always start on the pellet feeder. I can get this set up and fishing quickly and then take my time with the pole. One of the main reasons for doing this is that even if I don't catch I hope to see indications via line bites that the fish are active. That gives me a clue as to how to start feeding the pole lines. It also means I can put the feeder out when I want to have lunch and again while packing the pole away. Over the time I have been doing this it has brought me some bonus fish.

On the pole I generally start on six or seven sections depending on the width of the peg. A couple of the wider ones will see me going to 8 if I get no bites shorter. Feed is always micros and/or 4 mil pellet (groundbait not allowed). Hookbaits are expander pellet (2, 4 & 6 mil), corn, meat, and maggot in the Winter. I have found you need to go through your baits if you are not catching.  One week they want 4 mil pellet, the next corn skins and a week after that its single red maggot.  I have described my standard rigs in other posts so won't repeat myself here. If conditions allow then I look to fish three spots with the same rig at top 6/7 distance and then add a section and look for three more. I am looking to fish with the bait just touching bottom but a variation of an inch or so in depth across the three spots is acceptable, I just plumb up to the deepest.

 

One alteration to this will be on pegs that have lily beds either side.  On these I have found it is worth sticking to around six sections of pole.  I look for an imaginary line between the furthest edge of the two beds of lilies and fish on that line.  I believe that the carp patrol from one bed to the next along this line.

The strangest thing I find is the amount of feed the fish will accept.  Even in mid-Winter I have managed to get through three pints of pellets or more.  My theory on this is that unlike a true commercial I don't think a lot of food goes in the lake as it is mainly fished by pleasure anglers.  There are occasional club matches and the Summer evening open series but most of the time it sees little pressure.  So I think the fish are hungry.  Also the head of silvers means that the carp have competition for what food there is. 

I compare that to Decoy Lakes at Whittlesey and I  have fished both in the same week and used roughly half the amount of bait at Decoy to catch a bigger weight than I had used here.  There are Winter days on Millcotton when I can get away with feeding a full 200 mil pot at the start and catch quickly.  Though I usually build up to this as the day progresses and the fish tell me what they want by their reactions.

The best day by far was on peg 31, 27 September 2013. I had 27 carp, 20 skimmers and 2 crucians for an estimated 70lb. Second to that was peg 36 on 3 December 2014. That day I had a stellar start with the air temperature at just 3 degrees. I had four carp inside the first eleven minutes, another ten minutes later and then struggled for 2 1/2 hours with one fish every thirty minutes. The end of the day saw the fish switch on again and I ended with seventeen carp, two roach and a crucian for around 57lb. the temperature stayed low all day but the fish were obviously in a feeding mood.

My worst day was on 8 December 2013 when I sat on peg 19 without a bite for three hours. I moved to peg 31 and had one carp, five skimmers and two crucians for about 8lb. On 4 Feb 2014 I sat on peg 40 and had one solitary roach. But I put that down to someone standing behind me for the first two hours. I have since re-fished both pegs and discounted those first attempts as one-off poor days.  Finally re-fished peg 40 at the end of February 2015.  Managed 29 carp, but 21 of those were six inch stockies that had gone in the week before.  I didn't see any decent sized carp until after 4:30pm when the larger ones bullied the stockies out and in around 45 minutes I had four fish between 2 1/2 and 4lb.

Peg 19 on 12 February this year produced 26lb with six carp and ten skimmers.  Two of the carp went 6 & 7 lb.  The first came first cast on the feeder, the heavier one on the pole as I was deciding to call it a day.  I had been getting tiny indications all day on the pole with a float dotted down to just 1 or 2 mm showing.  Finally hit one and it produced this best fish of the day.

Below are two graphs showing my weights across all the pegs. The second shows an adjusted weight for Summer sessions. For dates between May and September I have halved my weight. A very rough way of comparing Winter & Summer weights.

 

 

 

Actual Weights 

 

 

Summer Weights Halved
 

In total I caught 980 fish weighing 1130 lb. That averaged out to 24.5 fish and 28.25 lb per session.

That may not seem much but 31 of the 40 sessions were between October and April.  If I look at just the nine Summer dates then they averaged 40 lb, the 31 in Winter were 24.  Probably fishing what I consider the poorest pegs in Winter wasn't the best idea, particularly when I had to break the ice on one of them.  Still caught though. 

The graphs tend to support my belief that the best pegs on the lake are between 27 & 37. They have produced good days even in Winter. I have a target when fishing the lake in that I consider catching ten (proper) carp to be a reasonable day. More than twenty is stellar.  I fished pegs 20 & 40 just a few days after a stocking of six inch carp.  On both days I had twenty of these to boost numbers of carp caught.  Hopefully they will survive and thrive.  I have not failed to reach the ten carp target on any of pegs 27-37. The reason these pegs stand out I believe is that I think they get more sun than any others. They may also be slightly deeper but not by much and have some lily beds between some of the pegs giving the fish cover.

The totals for my own "fishing race" are

Carp - 391

Skimmers - 349

Crucians - 55

Tench - 29

Roach -114

Others - 42

Pegs 21-25 can be hard to fish and catch carp in any numbers from. I think this is because they are furthest from the car park, don't see much if any sun in Winter and thus don't get as much feed as other areas. Meanwhile there looks to be better results from 1-20. Probably because there are entrances at pegs 1 and 12. 37-40 get fished a lot but results from here are not as good as you may expect. May again be due to the amount of sunlight and possibly just a bit too much pressure forcing fish towards the mid 30s.

One interesting thing is the changes I noticed over the eighteen months. The skimmers definitely got bigger. Initially I estimated them to average six ounces, by the end they were certainly half pound or more with some noticeably bigger ones.

Another change is that when I started I could almost guarantee catching one or two carp on the pellet feeder while setting the pole up/packing away. Since mid 2014 this has not been the case. I struggle now to even see a few line bites.

I have also caught more roach in the Winter of 2014-15. Perhaps because I fished maggot a bit more.

In 2014 the margins didn't produce as they had done in previous years. Disappointing for me as I love this style of fishing. But I had a bad 2014 everywhere when margin fishing. I don't think I committed to it and didn't put my confidence in it enough. Must do better in 2015.

I didn't specifically record my best fish from the water. But I have had a few at 8lb and probably one or two touching 10. My best ever from here is 11.  Strangely, almost as a parting gift my last proper carp of my last session on 28 Feb. on peg twenty was 9 lb.  A good scrap on 14 elastic, 0.10 hooklength and 18 B611. 

So, venue expert now? In a way possibly yes though I certainly don't show that in the Summer evening matches.  Favourite peg?  Really anywhere 27-37 as I know I'm on a good stretch and can expect to catch well.

 

Happy to chat on the bank if you see me.  I usually have a blue Avanti bait bucket and sit on a very old blue Rive box with original Octoplus legs.  Meanwhile I now feel free to fish a few different waters, I've neglected my canal fishing for the last two Winters, though that's partly health related.  I may even return to the river, I fancy a few roach on hemp.

 

 

 

Turning A Poor Day Round

We have all had them, days that just don't go to plan. What can we do when that happens?

Before I give my answer to this problem I think I need to explain some background. If you have read my previous posts you will know that I talk of the three most important things that I believe will affect your fishing - location, presentation and bait. To me they are frequently more important than having the "right" or perfect float, line, hook, pole, rod etc. Lets look closely at what I mean for each of these.

Location

Where do the fish want to be, more importantly where do they want to feed. In its simplest form consider that you would not expect to eat dinner in your toilet. Even if it were served there and you may eat it my guess is that you would vacate the room as soon as you have eaten. Fish are no different. They will not hang around where they feel uncomfortable or at risk. As a consequence they like to be where food is likely to be and risks of predation are lessened.

What does that mean in practice? Fish love cover, something over their heads means they cannot easily be attacked from above. Hence we should know that any cover such as an overhanging bush is likely to be a fish holding spot. Also margin slopes provide a side from which it is unlikely that an attack will come. This may be why carp love margins where they can get warmer water in Summer along with that protection that the bank or marginal reeds can provide. Deeper spots in lakes can hold fish as they are as far from the surface as they can get. And to a fish the surface represents a source of threat. Before you shout, I can only assume that large basking carp understand their size makes them fairly safe from most predators.

In rivers fish will look to expend as little energy as possible while on the lookout for food. Hence

they will use obstructions, slacks and back eddies to sit and observe the stronger current pass by or where suspended food can settle out of the flow.

By understanding where a fish wants to be can improve our chances of catching.

Presentation

Consider all the ways we can present a bait to the fish - waggler, stick float, feeder, method feeder, Banjo, maggot feeder, straight lead, on the drop, nailed on the deck, midwater, shallow, bulk & droppers, spread shotting. I'm sure you can add a lot more.

Each has its day, even its moment in a day and just small changes can bring big results, or destroy a day.

Bait

A minefield with today's array of baits, groundbaits, additives, flavours, shapes & sizes. You also have a range of ways these baits and attractants can be introduced. Feeding, as I have said in another post, is an artform. There are multiple and probably an infinite number of ways you can alter what and how you feed.

Hard Work or Guesswork?

Get these three things right though and you are on for a good day, get even one wrong and your day could be one of frustration. So how do you turn a bad day into a good one? For me the simple answer to give is sheer hard work. Simple to say but difficult to put into practice and get the outcome you want.

With so many variables I have indicated in location, presentation and bait it is sorting out what to change when things are not going right that is difficult. Some anglers seem born with an innate instinct for those changes, the rest of us have to work it out by expending some effort. You have to cycle through changes. It can be a pain to change, swapping rigs, feeders, hooklengths, how we feed. But it is the person who can be bothered that will succeed.

The slightly less simple answer is that if you are not catching then change something. But what to change and to what? That is not something I can tell you because every day, every swim, every angler is different. Eventually though we will all have days when we return home having been defeated by the fish. And for most that merely increases our desire to get out again and put things right.

OK, let's assume that you are having a 'mare of a day. The first thing, as I have said is, don't just carry on doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same result. And really this is where experience plays a large part. In my 50+ years of fishing I have built up a store of experiences that I can draw on. But as I have said, even with that experience I can't give you a magic formula that will work on every occasion. Sometimes it is pure instinct that dictates how/what to change. Other times you cycle through the alternatives and things that have worked in the past until something clicks.

 One example that has worked just twice for me is fishing corn in the far margins at half depth. I was feeding corn that must have sunk to the bottom, but the fish would only take the hookbait at half depth.  It has no logic but it worked. So its in the memory bank for the future. Another was on the canal on a day when the temperature didn't get above freezing. I struggled all day until, in desperation I tried the far bank in 18 inches of water, and found the fish. Again my logic dictated they should have been down deep, not near the surface on a freezing day.

In Practice

A couple of examples of days I have salvaged. First was on Decoy's Horseshoe lake in Spring 2014. I had tried fishing on the pole at around ten metres but apart from one tench it didn't produce. On Horseshoe my standard approach is to concentrate on the margins and on this day I had plumbed up and regularly fed a couple of spots to my left. Weather had been mild so I suspected the fish would come close. Switching to these margin spots again produced sporadic fish but nowhere near enough to get me in the frame. It was a Winter league and I was leading having won the first three matches (three fliers) so a strong result was vital. The wind was coming towards me, diagonally right to left and I was allowing the float to drift along the marginal shelf I had found when plumbing up. I was feeding with the largest tosspot I carry. After a few hours it became obvious that the fish were backing off when I fed. So I switched to a pot about a third the size. At the same time I started to hold the float still and let it drift towards the bank rather than along it so it was halted by the underwater margin shelf. This meant the bait would be sitting at the bottom of the shelf up against the steep slope. It was only a step down of around 8 inches. Immediately I started to catch fish regularly. In the last 30 minutes of the match I landed an approximate 20lb out of a total of 47 and third place. The winner had 67, second 53. (I won the league with four wins a second and this third).

A match in 2010 on Waterloo Farm's main lake saw me being frustrated by fish showing close to the island but I couldn't catch them. I fished a Method feeder most of the day with groundbait. It occurred to me late on to try pellets on the feeder (now I would use a pellet feeder). The change was magical and I landed a quickfire 8 carp and one tench for 26lb and second. Winner had 30lb. That simple change of bait on the feeder was enough to transform my day.

Lastly, my first match on the Oaks at Sessay, Maple lake in September 2014. I landed a few fish on the pellet feeder but by the last hour my weight was not competitive. The whole lake had been fishing poorly for a couple of days. I had been feeding the margins fairly heavily with pellet through the day but not had anything. With an hour to go I decided to start a new margin line, adding one section of pole and feeding just 6 cubes of meat with a 6 mil cube on the hook. I had a run of fish that pushed me from average to a section win.

Its difficult now to recall what went through my mind in arriving in the changes I made. But when things are not working I do sit and think of the alternatives. And I have a saying, a mantra almost that I have to repeat to myself - Think It, Do It. If I think of something to try I will make the change immediately. After all I may as well not catch doing something else as not catching doing the same thing. But making that change may just work. Sometimes it can be worth actually stopping fishing for a few minutes and spending that time thinking of how to start again. I once came third in a match that halfway through I was nowhere. It was when I was having gut problems and had to go to the toilet. On the drive to and from the toilet block I worked out a change in feeding tactics. Put them into practice and made that third place.

Most changes though will almost invariably be in those three important areas I first mentioned - location, presentation, bait. Only rarely have the changes involved the actual tackle though on occasion it has had to be. A couple of examples of that are:-

Fishing a lake where barbel were the target I lost a few early on but a change to a larger hook saw me land every fish I hooked for a win.

Switching to a short dibber rather than my usual four inch long margin float in an ultra shallow margin swim saw me land fish that previously were spooking away from the float. Too late to help in that match but a valuable lesson learned and added to the toolkit I carry in my memory.

In Conclusion

If you are having a bad day - change something! Change anything. Think of those three areas I talk of and try and work out how to make changes. It may involve where you are fishing, how you are presenting the hookbait or in the bait or feed itself. I once transformed a margin swim that wasn't producing by switching from feeding by hand to feeding with a tosspot, result - second place.  And the opposite has also worked.  The changes don't have to be logical. For example a switch from pole to a feeder in the margins once saw me catch fish that would not take a bait on the pole. Sounds daft to drop a feeder off the end of your rod. But it worked.

Changing things is hard work, or it can be. It can seem to be a hassle. But do you want to catch or not?  Another example,  I framed in a club match a few years ago by eventually burying a small hook in a big expander pellet using a baiting needle to pull the hook through. When I told this to a clubmate who asked how I had caught he said "that's too much like hard work for me". He rarely gets the better of me.

Finally one example of a complete change. On the Winter canal pleasure session I chose to sit where there was a gap in the trees lining the canal towpath. The sun was behind me and on a chilly day would make the day slightly warmer. After two hours I had two fish. I upped stakes and moved 30 yards to where there was cover behind. In the shade but I caught first put in and carried on catching for the rest of the day.

So when you are not catching that's the time to start working harder, not give up and take it easy.

France

As a change from methods & tactics I thought I would share some of the fishing I have done on holiday in France. I am talking about family holidays, not specific fishing trips.  

We have been going to France almost every year for the last thirty years and it would be around twenty five years ago that I started to take some tackle. Initially space was limited as we had five of us in the car (wife, two children and my mother plus self). But I managed to cram in a pole, feeder rod, landing net and a four litre ice cream tub with tackle in.

At the time we were using a campsite in the Vendee region (half way down and left as you look at the map). The campsite had three lakes that the brochure reported held some carp. It was in the grounds of an old chateau and the three lakes had been made by damming a small stream. I soon discovered that the middle lake contained carp averaging two pound. It was fairly simple fishing but I discovered one odd thing about the carp. They would often refuse to take a whole grain of corn.

The lake wasn't too deep and a scattering of corn would produce bubbles around the float and eventually a bite. I had some very relaxing afternoons by that lake. The corn thing was strange though. One year I had forgotten about this and on arrival headed off to the lake for a couple of hours before dinner. I returned frustrated and fishless. It was only that night that I remembered that the previous year I could only get bites using half a grain. I had to cut the grain of corn in half with scissors. Next morning and with half a grain as hookbait I caught a few.

I guess that as the lake would be fished by occasional anglers using fairly crude tackle and corn as the main bait that the carp had wised up to a whole grain being dangerous. They probably worked out that once a grain had been ragged by the small roach & rudd in the lake it was safe to eat.

Another set of lakes I fish regularly is on the route down to Nantes from Rennes in a town called Nozay. The town has created a country park with one large lake for swimming & boating and then three smaller lakes for fishing. It has clean toilets and plenty of car parking plus picnic tables. For us it ideally located as a spot to break our drive and have lunch. I also get the chance to have two to three hours fishing.

 

 

Nozay

The results can be surprising. I never seem to catch the same thing regularly. On one occasion, following a thunder storm I had two tench that must have been between four and five pound. Other times I can struggle for a bite in three hours. 2012 and all I could catch was four inch catfish, each one fatter than the last as they gorged on my groundbait. I get the occasional roach and very rare skimmer and then 2013 a near four pound bream.

 

 

All in all though a pleasant spot to rest and have a picnic.

Now that the children have departed I can take a bit more gear and thus have a small seatbox (Badger, cost £40.50 from Ultimate Direct) which is useful as not all the banks are level. We now use a campsite just outside the seaside town of St Jean De Monts, still in the Vendee. The site doesn't have any lakes but I have discovered three spots within a thirty minute drive, each offers something different.

 

Ten minutes from the site is a lake on the outskirts of the town itself. The lake sits about a hundred yards behind the beach and is used to teach young children to sail. It has no facilities but is close enough for a short session. To start with I would fish this lake from the one comfortable spot I could find, a small area of sand where the lake dropped off to around 12 foot very quickly.

 I would catch small carp to around 2lb, skimmers and the odd roach – and the occasional blank. Though I once had a tremendous struggle with what turned out to be a sturgeon (sterlet?) of around three pound. Just like a barbel it took a devil's own job to prise it from the bottom, particularly on light elastic (four solid as I recall).

Then one day my favourite spot was taken so I had to find an alternative. Luckily the council had improved some of the banks and I found a spot next to some trees. The difference in what I was then catching was huge. Instead of the odd small silver and small carp I now found myself battling carp to double figures. I wasn't prepared for this and did get broken a couple of times before beefing up the tackle and landing one of eleven pounds. My latest surprise from this lake has been a grass carp “l'amour blanc” in French (white love?).

My second spot is a drain. The land in this part of the Vendee is flat like the fens and criss crossed with small drainage ditches running to larger channels. I have found a decent place to fish at a town called Sallertain around a twenty minute drive from the camp. There is a picnic area beside the drain and a nearby car park has just had new toilets built.

Picnic area is on the right bank

 The drain itself contains skimmers and small carp that resemble F1s (cralusso?), biggest I have had is around 2lb. Strangely I can catch them on maggot but they will not look at corn. Simplest method is to cast a cage feeder across the 20 yard wide drain to within a couple of yards of the far bank. Pretty soon the tip goes round. The skimmers tend to hug the near bank. It seems very difficult to catch down the middle.

Last is another country park around thirty minutes away in Bourgneuf en Retz. I first noticed the lakes when driving back towards Nantes at the end of a holiday. The next year we took a trip out and found the park complete with clean toilets, picnic tables and most of all people fishing. In all we discovered three huge lakes, two with well defined footpaths around. The third disappeared into a wooded valley with no paths. Over the years I have discovered that the first lake contains lots of skimmers to around two pound, though in 2014 the fish were noticeably bigger averaging 2 1/2, small catfish, small tench and some carp, biggest I have had being four pound but I get those rarely. This is an extremely comfortable spot for both myself and my wife. As long as we have good weather I can fish and The Boss can sit behind doing her sewing. A stop for a picnic lunch and all in all a relaxing day.

 

 

 

My normal approach on the feeder is to fish the Method with a home-made fishmeal type groundbait (check out my Bits & Bobs post for the recipe), corn on the hook.  I know the lake well enough now that I can predict that as long as I get four casts on the same spot the tip will go round on the fourth.  And bites are normally unmissable and self hooking.  On the pole I just feed the same groundbait and fish corn or worm section.  The skimmers tend to be smaller on the pole but I will get some decent roach and the occasional tench and catfish.

 

 

A typical Beauvoir skimmer.  One old Frenchman even gave me a recipe!

But I did get a surprise one day. I normally fish with a feeder rod and pole. Bites on the feeder while solid will not rip the rod from the rest and the baitrunner is free anyway. One day however the tip went round, stayed round and the baitrunner started to give line all be it slowly. I unshipped the pole and picked up the rod to feel a heavy resistance, obviously something large, mobile but not really fighting. The fish kited from right to left and all the time I gained line on what felt like a sack. Eventually the fish surfaced to reveal a zander I estimated at around 15lb. With no landing net big enough but the lake only 18 inches deep at the edge I took off my sandals and cradled the fish out of the water, still no fight whatsoever. It was neatly hooked below the jaw. A couple of photos and back into the lake.

 

 

One other possible surprise, though I have yet to hook one, is the occasional sighting of a turtle.

So nothing startling most of the time but some nice relaxing fishing with no pressure in pleasant surroundings. I take a very simple approach with corn being the main bait. I do take some maggots. Best way of keeping them I have found is to put half a pint in a 1 pint box and then fill the box with flour. Kept in the fridge they last two weeks. I think the flour excludes oxygen hence the maggots don't advance as quickly as in an empty box. On days I go out I transfer enough for hookers to a small pot and leave the rest in the fridge. I also take my home-made groundbait.

But it isn't always sunny