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.