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editorial AUGUST 2021

J

amie Hughes has made it on to the front cover this month and it was a pleasure for me to able to sit behind him for the duration of a five-hour match. If you turn to page 8 you can see how the day unfolded and how he goes about scratching around for fish when it’s tough. Jamie’s only 38 but he seems to have been around forever and at the time of writing he’s about to fish in another Fish ‘O’ Mania final, although it has to be said he’s not had the best of draws.

In his career to date, Jamie has amassed a small fortune in match winnings from these big money events, and he’s currently won somewhere in the region of £250,000!

If anyone would have said that to me 20 years ago, I would have dismissed it even though Fish ‘O’ Mania was up and running but, if my memory serves me correctly, you could ‘only’ win £25,000 back then.

The riches have become a reality because not only are there more of these events, but anglers like Jamie, Andy Bennett and Andy Power are so focused on getting to these big money finals, and they’re unbelievably good anglers, that there’s a

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very good chance that they will qualify for at least one of them every year. And apart from the obvious talent, they now have the experience to handle the pressure and now once they get a good peg in the final you might as well start writing one of their names on that massive cheque before a fish has even been weighed in.

At the time of writing the Fisho final is only a couple of days away and Andy Bennett is on the same peg he won from a couple of years ago, so he’s the clear favourite to make it three in a row. If he does he’ll be catching Jamie up on the winnings!

Whether you’re fishing for £50,000 or £50, I hope you catch plenty of fish and enjoy the competition because the money doesn’t really matter. Does it?

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| 05

Contents

A u g u s t 8 Against The Clock

COVER STORY

We follow Jamie Hughes, arguably the hottest talent in UK match fishing, during the recent first qualifier for the Preston Innovations UK Pole Championship, at Aston Park Fisheries.

26 Avoiding A Festival Blowout The constant pressure of a five-day festival will have an affect on the fishing and as Craig Edmunds discovered in a recent event, what’s the alternative when the carp switch off?

16 Andy Power’s Diary It’s been a month of close calls for Andy Power but his month finished with (surprise, surprise), qualification for the Golden Reel Final after numerous attempts.

80 Make The Banker Pay

20 Packing A Punch

86 No Roach, Same Approach

Packington Somers is one of the most varied commercial fisheries in the country and we join venue expert Phil Canning for an insight into his successful tactics there.

We join Mark Pollard on the River Great Ouse at Newport Pagnell for an early season river practice session when it is still too early to rely on roach.

06 | Match Fishing

While most baits come and go in terms of effectiveness, Tom Pickering knows that there is one super-cheap ‘banker bait’ that is worth easy fish all year round…

c o n t e n t s 92 Preston Innovations UK Pole Championship – Qualifier One Wednesday June 30th saw the inaugural match of the Preston Innovations UK Pole Championship take place at Aston Park Fisheries near Sheffield.

102 There’s More To The Pellet Waggler Than You Think The pellet waggler may not be the most delicate of approaches, but Dan Hull reckons it’s unbeatable for catching wary carp as long as you do things correctly.

108 Matt’s Month 96 Garbolino Club Angler Of COVER It’s been a month of riding STORY the flow for Matt Godfrey, The Year Final A field of 43 of the country’s best club anglers lined the banks of Barston Lakes for the Grand Final of the 2021 Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year, and it turned out to be an eventful day.

100 Dynamite Bait Clinic More of your bait related queries are answered by Dynamite Baits’ panel of top match anglers.

as he’s been on the quest to qualify for the RiverFest Final while adding a proud festival victory under his belt too!

112 Makin’s Memories More fishy tales and plenty of banter from top match angler of yesteryear Billy Makin.

TO SUBSCRIB E

TO

TURN TO PAGE 94 FOR GR BAIT AND MO EAT NE SAVING OFFE YRS! 36 36 Long Range Education

COVER STORY

Nick Speed takes a trip to Worsbrough Reservoir where fishing at distance and perfect presentation are the keys to catching the venue’s wary carp.

44 Practise, Practise, Practise

COVER STORY

England Feeder team regular Phil Ringer takes us to Larford Lakes to show us how his Ringer Baits team destroyed the opposition on the recent Sonubaits Feeder Masters Super League.

44 44

50 Feeder Essentials Match Fishing takes a look at the flagship Tournament SLR Feeder Rods from Daiwa. You used to be able to buy a quality pole for this sort of money!

POLE FISHING

50

54

54 I Predict A Riot!

We meet up with Darren Cox on the Warwickshire Avon at Stratford-uponAvon for an informative lesson in how to target big river fish on the pole.

60 Venue Detective

78 Up Close & Competition: MAP

60

This month Andy May gives you a glimpse into what’s on offer at the popular Birch House Lakes in Derbyshire.

66 Paste Fishing With A Difference There are lots of different types of paste on the market but Sean Cameron always likes an edge, so he makes his different from the norm.

72 New Gear We’ve got a shedload of new tackle and bait for you to check out this month in our dedicated tackle section.

66

A look over and into the new MAP Parabolix Layflat Black Edition 3-Rod and 6-Rod Holdalls, plus a chance to win one of them.

JU NE ISSU E Pellet Waggler Rods & Reels 1st Scott Ellis, 2nd Jason Flatman, 3rd Paul Williams, 4th Harry Barron www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 07

Match Fishing Live

, arguably the hottest This month we had the privilege of following Jamie Hughes for the Preston Innovations talent in UK match fishing, during the recent first qualifier UK Pole Championship at Aston Park Fisheries.

ASTON PARK FISHERIES Sheffield, S26 5EP 07743 845737 www.astonparkfisheries.co.uk

JAMIE HU GHES Age: 3 Lives: The 8 Sponsors: Wirral Mat Sonubaits rix/ MF says: The man fo r the occasion big

09:00

Pic courtesy of Preston innovations hen the opportunity of getting a ticket for the new Preston Innovations UK Pole Champs came about I jumped at the chance to have a crack at the first qualifier, fished at Aston Park Fisheries near

W

Sheffield.

It’s bit of a different format this one, compared to say Fisho or Match This where you have to win the match to qualify for the final. It’s a 60-peg match and 20 anglers will qualify for the final at Woodland View in September so the

odds are favourable.

But rather than just have the top 20 weights on the day qualify, the match has been broken up into mini sections of three and if you win your mini section you qualify for the final so everybody is in with a big chance.

The lakes included in today’s match are Lanta, Bills and Butts and I felt I wanted to draw Bills or Butts to be in with a chance of getting in the overall frame or winning the match. There was the usual buzz at the draw and I was fairly happy when Dave Wesson drew me Peg 3 on Butts, although I didn’t really know anything about it.

Obviously, a low number meant I was very close to the end of the of this snake style lake and that could be a good thing or a bad thing… only time will tell.

“The best approach for where I am is not to go in all guns blazing and take it very steady with the aim of hopefully catching around 50lb.”

08 | Match Fishing

09:45 Arriving at my peg it’s a very narrow and ‘pokey’ swim and obviously not knowing the venue very well, I’ve had some advice from the lads in the on-site shop. They’ve informed me the best approach for where I am is not to go in

all guns blazing and take it very steady with the aim of hopefully catching around 50lb. So it could be a bit of a scratchy day but I don’t mind that, as long as I know what I’m fishing for I don’t mind if it’s not a bagging match.

So the plan is to fish

several lines across to the far bank for carp and catch one fish from each before swapping to another. I’ll also loose feed maggots down the middle just in case and I’ll feed some down the edges too. The last time I was here I drew on Bills and caught down the edge all day to win

the match, but it’s not going to be like that today with all these anglers on it.

It’s going to be a bottle job of sticking to the plan and setting traps and most importantly of all, being patient and capitalising on those mini runs of fish when they hopefully come along.

10:12 My bait for this match is very simple and I’ve got some 2mm pellets, some 4mm pellets, a few expanders for the hook, maggots and finally some groundbait which is just a ‘garage’ mix made up of some open bags I had left over. It’s the right colour and that’s the most important thing for me. Almost forgot, I’ve also got a tin of meat, which I’ll use to pick off better fish if I’m getting bothered by small fish, but I’m not sure whether my line down the middle should be fed with meat or maggots for small fish.

Because I’m expecting a relatively low weight, I think I’ll feed maggots down the middle so the meat might not even get a look in today. I’m expecting the carp to be either tight across or tight down the edge.

10:19 My rigs for this match are for three lines: across tight to the far bank, down the slope across to the far side with hard pellets and down the middle on maggots. For the far bank I’m using Malman Goldie floats and these are my mudline rigs for when a little more sensitivity is required. I’m using a 0.3g float for the shallow water shotted with a bulk of No10s above a 3in trace, which is 0.14mm to a size 16 Matrix MXC-1 hook. Main line is 0.16mm.

The slim blue floats are Tim Moore’s Carbon Slims and I’m using these in size 4x12 for fishing hard pellets down the slope in two and a half feet of water. Main line is once again 0.16mm Matrix Power Micron X to a 0.12mm hooklength and the hook is a size 16 MXC-6. This rig is shotted with spread No10 shot.

Finally, the slim grey float is a 4x12 Tim Moore’s Carbon Maggot for fishing maggots down the middle. Lines are the same as above but the hook is a size 16 MXC-5. Shotting is again No10s spread down the entire rig.

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 09

Match Fishing Live

10:25 I’m going to start the match across and feed very little just to see how the fish respond. If that doesn’t work I’ll come down the track a bit into the deeper water with hard 4mm pellets and then finally I’ve got that maggot line down the middle. I will feed some maggots down the edges to my left and right but I won’t be interested in those until much later.

It could be one of those days today where I end up making new rigs during the day because I’ve got no idea what to expect. My target to begin with is to catch 30 carp and because of the stamp, that should get me somewhere around that 50lb mark.

10:30 Away we go and I’m filling my small pot with a few micros and three or four 4mm pellets and then capping it off with some groundbait. I’m definitely not going to feed very much at all to begin with. Like I said earlier, because of the low target weight, today will be all about setting traps and then after catching one, moving to another line and setting another trap.

Hook bait to begin with is a banded 4mm pellet and first chuck I hook a small barbel, which is immediately followed by a couple of small carp on double red maggot, which is an encouraging start. It’s important not to get too carried away though and even though I’ve had a couple of carp in the first 10 minutes, I’m sticking to my plan of setting traps and rotating lines.

10 | Match Fishing

10:57 As I predicted I’ve not had another carp since catching those two I caught early but I’m still feeding with a pot of groundbait every drop in. I’ve changed lines and not had any fish so far from my second swim tight across with a banded pellet on the hook. I’ve noticed the angler to my right has caught four or five carp now and he looks to be fishing paste across, but down the shelf into the deeper water.

There’s no way in the world I’m going to fish paste, but I think my next move is to come down the shelf a bit and into the deeper water to see if that’s where the carp want to be. It’s still early though and the fish haven’t settled yet because there are so many of us fishing. It will be another half-hour or so before I can gauge more accurately how it’s fishing and what I need to do for the rest of the match. Not messing my peg up is the key thing at this stage.

11:28 I’m starting to get a bit more of an idea now of what I need to do for the rest of the match. I foul hooked a carp about 15 minutes ago but managed to get it in and I’ve also tried fishing the maggot down the middle. There are small fish to catch on the maggot and it could definitely be worth dropping on to this line every now and then to catch a quick pound of fish, but I need to catch carp to do any good. After an hour though, one thing is clear, it’s going to be tough and fishing negatively is going to be the best way forward for me and it’s even more important now not to feed too much bait and blow the peg.

After catching some small fish on the maggot I’ve now gone long again and I’ve hooked a big fish straightaway. It turns to be a carp about 6lb and that certainly makes a dent into those early carp he caught next door on the paste (which have now fizzled out). I’ve adjusted my target weight to between 30lb and 40lb because of how it’s fished in this first hour.

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| 11

Match Fishing Live

11:58 This last half-hour has been very slow for me, and everybody else that I can see. I foul hooked a carp about 10 minutes ago that took me straight into a snag and I ended up losing the rig, and that’s been the highlight since I last checked in with you! I’ve also lost a carp from my left hand swim and it seems that when you drop in on a swim you get one chance and that’s it. I’m seeing signs of fish all the time though, so they are in the peg but I just can’t catch

them at present.

I’m going to move into the shallow water in my right hand swim but with pellets this time to see if I can get a fish there. It’s the same mantra at this point, just plod along and don’t do anything silly and if I don’t get a bite in my right hand swim across, I’ll have another go down the middle to see if I can catch a quick pound of small fish.

12:24 I’ve finally had a run of four carp that got me all excited but then I hooked one that took me straight into the far bank and stole my rig! I’m fishing the maggot down the middle at the moment just to give the far bank a rest, but tight across is the only place I can catch a carp. I can’t consistently get bites across though, so it needs to be rested regularly and it’s important I do that because I’m relying

12 | Match Fishing

on them entirely today and I don’t want to risk blowing it.

This middle line for small fish is important though, and if I can catch 5 or 6lb on this line then it’s going to be worth a couple of extra carp at the end of the match. I’m still feeding the same as I was at the start of the match and I’m not prepping any lines at all, I’m just potting in a small pot of micros and groundbait before lowering my rig in and feeding maggots regularly by hand down the middle.

13:30 Two hours to go and the last hour has been pretty uneventful. I’ve changed lines and given plenty of time on each to try and catch another carp or two but it just hasn’t happened for me. Every time I do hook one it’s foul hooked and I lose it, so it’s been frustrating to say the least. The problem is when I foul hook and lose a fish, it creates so much commotion in the peg that there’s no way I’ll be able to go back across and expect to get a proper bite and a carp.

I’m sticking to the plan though, and setting traps by

feeding a small pot of groundbait and pellets before lowering the rig in. I can’t really see anybody catching although the angler directly behind me has a peg full of carp in the corner – you can see them just under the surface. He’s trying to mug them so he should get one or two doing that.

What’s more frustrating is that the angler to my right has had another three fish in the last 20 minutes on the paste.

I’m now thinking I’d like to catch another eight to 10 carp before the end of the match.

14:00 This last half-hour has been just as bad as the previous one and apart from one foul hooked carp, I haven’t had another one despite trying all my lines across. What I’m doing now is trying to catch as many silvers as I can before I think it’s time to go back across to try and catch another carp. The carp are so tight to the far bank and because I think that far bank is undercut, they’re sitting right under the far bank cover where it’s impossible to catch them.

The silver fish line though, isn’t really good enough because of the stamp of fish – I can’t catch them fast enough to persuade me to stick with it for a while. It’s very hard to know what the right thing to do is because I don’t know where I’m going to get my next bite from a carp. I’ve even tried down the edge for a few minutes and only had tiny fish so I’ve had to cross that off as an option for now. I’ll stick with the silver fish for now because that’s all I can catch.

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| 13

Match Fishing Live

14:55 I’ve had another couple of wellhooked carp over the last hour but there’s not really a lot to report back on because it still feels just as hard as it has been for the last couple of hours. I’m scratching around on my far bank swims and it’s largely uneventful, but every now and then I hook a carp completely out of the blue. There’s no real pattern to it, it’s more of a case of having the rig in the right area at the right time, although selecting the right area is more down to luck than anything else.

I’m hoping I can get another two carp before the end of the match, which is only another 30 minutes away. I have managed another 2lb or so by having another spell on my silver fish line down the middle and that’s worth another carp in terms of weight.

I’ve cut the feed right back on the silver fish line as doing that seemed to produce a better stamp of fish, and I know I can catch another 2lb from there in the last 10 minutes of the match if I need to.

15:25 Well, the last half-hour has been okay and I really didn’t expect it to be. I’ve had three carp across and another three from down the middle, and up to the last few minutes of the match I didn’t have any signs of a carp on my silver fish line. As I said earlier, the fish have been in my swim all day but it’s only in the last half-hour that they’ve decided to open up and feed.

Not knowing the venue well has probably cost me fish today because I’ve not had the knowledge of where to move next, but even though it’s been tough I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s felt like a fair match because there haven’t been that many fish about, meaning everybody is in with a chance.

My biggest mistake has been not spending long enough cutting my far bank pegs out. I’m sure if I could have poked my rig tighter to that undercut far bank, I would have been able to tempt a few more during those tough periods. But overall very enjoyable and hopefully I’ve done enough to get my spot in the final in September.

14 | Match Fishing

15:51 I’ve managed to put 47lb on the scales, which is a few pounds more than I thought I had. That late run of carp has done the trick and not only have I won my section, I’ve also finished third in the match with 85lb winning and 52lb was second. I could definitely have caught enough to finish second had I known the venue a bit better, but I was never going to catch enough to win the match.

Roll on the final at Woodland View in September, where the Match Fishing cameras will once again be with me so keep an eye out for that one.

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Andy Power

ANGLER FILE • Age: 31 • Lives: Wells • Sponsors: Preston Innovations, Sonubaits • MF says: Always in the big matches

Close but no cigar has been Andy’s story in the big money qualifiers this month, but it’s not all bad news. sn’t it strange how often we can catch hundreds of pounds of fish in a match, yet come the weigh-in there is so often just one or two fish that separates us? This month has been one of those that has been very tight at the top, and has made me analyse each match carefully, wondering where those extra fish could have come from. It’s matches like this I feel I can learn from and improve the most. After all, if it was always big margins between winning and losing, we would never feel the need to do anything different!

This month I have fished five qualifiers; here is a run through them, as well as a few lessons learnt.

I

The Glebe Fishery – Golden Reel Qualifier To start off I went back to the Glebe for another Golden Reel qualifier. When I turned up in the morning it was a warm muggy day, so I expected a lot of fish to be near the top, cruising around. I was told by a few people that I needed to look at Peg 1, the peg I actually qualified for the Maver Match This competition from earlier in the year. I knew there would probably be a lot of fish there, as there are always one or two to be seen, but what I saw was quite unbelievable! There were so many carp there on the top, enjoying the sun.

I knew it would be too much to ask drawing there

again, but I was fairly happy to draw on the consistent Pool 7 for once, on Peg 101, around a third of the way up this 30m wide strip lake. The plan was to alternate between the long pole shallow, and a pellet waggler. I had some casters to loose feed on the long pole, a great bait for catching up in the water, and some 8mm Fin Perfect Feed Pellets for the pellet waggler.

It was actually a really slow start for everyone on my lake as there weren’t many fish cruising around to begin with. But slowly things improved and I was catching on both the pellet waggler and the pole shallow. On the pole I was

fishing a 4x10 Carp Shallow float, set between one and two feet, with three maggots on a size 14 GPM-B hook, 0.15mm Power and a 13 Hollo elastic.

Towards the end of the match I caught really well on the pole, I think helped by a steady ripple and an increase in temperatures.

I weighed 205lb, which comfortably beat everyone around me, and was looking like a possible match win. That was until Peg 1 weighed in! I was actually told Ken Portas on Peg 1 wasn’t catching. But that was obviously bad info, as he weighed 219lb to just pip me! A very well done to him.

I, on the other hand,

My peg at The Glebe…

… and the float I used.

16 | Match Fishing

A typical Glebe carp.

was gutted. Running back through my match I wish I had fished for bream when things went slower. Paul Cook next to me had 40lb of then while fishing shallow, so I wish I had gone a bit deeper, with a lighter rig, or maybe even tried the margins too, which I had dismissed for being too deep for carp! On the other hand, I still did well, as deep down I thought Peg 1 would win at the start, so I wasn’t too disheartened on this one!

Monk Lakes – Fish ‘O’ Mania Qualifier My next match was at Monk Lakes in Kent. This was my first visit back to Monk for probably 10 years. It looks so much greener! The draw the night before had put me on Peg 134 on Lake 3. This one used to have the bigger carp in and still does. My peg was one away from one of the end pegs, with anglers both sides of me.

The talk before the start was that Zac Brown had a good chance, as somehow the Angling Trust had left two extra pegs in the bag after knowing two anglers

weren’t coming before the draw. Zac had drawn Peg 68 on Lake 2, next to one of the best pegs on the complex, which had not been drawn!

It was an overcast day and I didn’t really expect to catch many fish shallow. So, I decided on a really simple approach of Cad potting and loose feeding 6mm Fin Perfect Pellets and go from there. I also plumbed up the margins, for later in the day.

I felt if it was a low weight

couple. I started a new line with meat instead to see if this got me quicker bites, but it didn’t so I went back on the long pellet line and was just patient, waiting for bites. When I got one it was a decent sized carp. I kept expecting my shorter line to come back to life, but it never did. Then in the last hour I had a decent spell in the margins catching six fish on meat and corn.

Just before the end,

“That was my third second place in two weeks and the second on the trot in Fisho. I was thinking maybe it was just not meant to be!” sort of day, then around 120lb was achievable, so I took things steady with the feed, and fished for one bite at a time.

I had a really good start at six metres, and I was surprised how big these fish were; many of them were over 10lb, so they had certainly grown a bit! As this short line slowed down I then moved out to 14 metres doing the same and caught a

willing my float to go under, it shot under with a proper bite and yet another big fish – it looked around 12 to 15lb and was just wallowing towards me, then two seconds before the whistle went the hook just pulled out for no apparent reason. I just sat there with my head in my hands, thinking that will definitely cost me winning!

As it turned out the end pegs on my lake didn’t really produce, and I had clearly won my lake. I was last to weigh in the match. Zac was winning with 163lb. I knew he had just beaten me but I didn’t expect it to be quite so close!

I weighed in 157lb 14oz, just one small fish short! Well done to him of course!

That was my third second place in two weeks and the second on the trot in Fisho.

I was thinking maybe it was just not meant to be! I felt really happy with how I fished, but there was one thing I wish I had done, which was to add a section on the long pole line during the slower parts. I was reluctant to in case the wind got up, but in hindsight it might have caught me a

Peg 134 on Lake 3 at Monk Lakes.

[INSET] The Fin Perfect Feed pellets have been getting plenty of use this month.

My section on The Glebe.

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 17

Andy Power

Back on the Golden Reel and Peg 21 on High Pool at Woodland View.

???.

???????

I’ve been lucky enough to catch plenty of these this month.

Casters were the bait at Woodland View.

5am, buy take-away food, fishery pellets depending on the venue, plus other bait and use up dozens of rigs and hooks. I don’t blame anyone for not going to their peg. It gives those anglers in the poor areas a better day’s fishing, and those that don’t go a chance to do something better with their day.

I do not however, agree

It was very tight at Monk Lakes.

couple of extra fish.

I don’t have a problem with anglers not going to their pegs after the draw.

Often these matches are very crowded, with lots of poor areas. You can draw an area that you know you can only win your section from, in this case the night before.

You then put £60 of diesel in the van, get up at 4 or

18 | Match Fishing

make it a fairer match! I did notice on the next draw that they had two pegs down as redraws, so hopefully this has been rectified.

Woodland View – Golden Reel These chances seem like buses! Yet another small chance went by at Woodland View. I had drawn Peg 21 on High Pool, which is an end

hour. A change to natural baits was like a light switch and I caught well, alternating between two different margin swims. I was feeding casters through a Cad pot, with maggots on the hook. By potting and not loose feeding I kept foul hooked fish to a minimum. I fished with a 4x10 Maggot float, strung out as I was getting a few bites while the rig was dropping

“If it doesn’t happen, I’ll know I have given it a good shot, and at least learnt a bit for next year.” with what happened on this match. The Angling Trust already knew two anglers weren’t coming before the draw, so it would have been easy to ask the fishery for a list of half a dozen poor or crowded pegs, any of which could have been taken out to

peg with a bit more room than most to fish down the margins. They plumbed up quite deep so I thought hard pellets would give me a good chance of catching them, as I felt maggots or casters would cause foul hooked fish. Well, I got it wrong for the first

through. It’s interesting how some fisheries are switched on to natural baits, probably due to the fish eating spawn at this time of year.

I ended up with 148lb 8oz, enough for fourth overall, with Steve Openshaw winning with 183lb on Arles.

Peg 51 at Barston

I’m always smiling when I’m catching carp!

Big hook baits were the order of the day.

They are big fish at Barston so no point in messing around.

I’m loving these new pellet wagglers.

I don’t really think there was much chance of catching Steve’s great weight, but knowing what I know now, I might have been close!

Barston – Golden Reel My latest weekend I fished another Golden Reel match, this time at Barston Lakes. Barston holds many qualifiers throughout the year, as well as a round of the UK Champs, so I get to fish it a few times a year. I drew Peg 51, which is next to a peg on the point, 52, a peg I have always wanted to draw. So, I felt I had a chance. As I drove to my peg, I couldn’t believe the number of fish I could see, all around the lake. I was expecting a day on the feeder or bomb, as it was cooler and overcast, but the fish were showing themselves everywhere. It looked good for a pellet waggler!

As I got to my peg the lake was flat, and most of the

fish I could see were either in the middle, or on the other side of the lake. I set up a pellet waggler, shallow pole rigs, a bomb and a Method feeder, as well as rigs to catch skimmers on the pole. The match a few days before was won with 70lb, so if it was a hard day that weight was achievable with just skimmers alone on this venue!

As the match began however, a nice ripple started, and it was pushing into my bank. It looked perfect.

Although I couldn’t see any fish, I decided to start on the pole, shallow with 6 and 8mm pellets. I fished with a 4x10 Preston Carp Shallow float with all the shot under the float, set 18 to 24 inches, a 13 Hollo elastic and a strong 0.17mm Power to a size 14 KKH-B. The fish in this lake can be very big with carp up to 30lb, and they tend to charge off, so I fished heavier

than I normally would!

I got off to a great start and caught nearly 100lb in just an hour and 20 minutes! I found it was important to fish with a big hook bait to make plenty of noise when it hit the water.

I fished with either an 8mm Fin Perfect pellet or an 8mm red Power Scopex Band’Um on the hook. Feeding was important to draw fish into the peg, then cutting back to induce bites.

Next door to me on Peg 52 a young lad called Jack Fuller was also doing well, using the same tactics, and for a while we were neck and neck.

Mark Stainsby the other side of me was also catching on a bomb with pellets. As the match went on though, the fish drifted off, and I resorted to fishing a pellet waggler to keep on catching, which is when I pulled ahead.

I weighed in 216lb 8oz which was thankfully enough to finally win the match. After

all those close matches, it made me make sure every fish counted. Mark was second with 157lb and Andy Kinder was third from Peg 122.

It was such a relief, and all of those close calls can be put to bed! As for big finals, the only one left is Fish ‘O’ Mania for this year. The next day I fished my last Fisho qualifier; it was on a crowded lake, 230 miles from home, and I ended up packing up just before the end, which can often be the case on these matches.

I thought that was my last chance, but as I write this, another new qualifier has been released, which I have just purchased a ticket for, so I guess the dream is still alive!

But if it doesn’t happen, I’ll know I have given it a good shot, and at least learnt a bit for next year. With any luck, by the time you read this we will have won the football too!

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| 19

Commercial Tactics

PACKINGTON SOMERS Somers Road, Meriden, Coventry CV7 7PL

PHIL CANN ING Age: 2 Lives: Che 8 lm Wood, Birm sley Sponsors: ingham NuFish MF sa Hard to be ys: at on commercial any

Packing A Punch Packington Somers is one of the most varied commercial venues in the country with a variety of methods working across its complex of established lakes. We recently joined venue expert Phil Canning for an insight into his successful tactics there.

20 | Match Fishing

Phil is catching lots of fish on meat at present.

On hot days it pays to keep your baits in the shade.

Phil’s floats.

iving in Birmingham I’m blessed to have some great venues right on my doorstep such as Barston, Tunnel Barn, Meadowlands and Lavender Hall, but the one that draws me back more often than the others is Packington. It takes me seven or eight minutes to get here from home but apart from the convenience, the reason I love this venue so much is because of the variety of fishing on offer.

I was probably 10 or 11 when my dad started bringing me here and I first began fishing matches with his club when I was 13. As soon as I was able to drive I started fishing open matches here and since then I’ve got to know this venue better than any of the others I fish.

L

Phil starts short on the meat.

The odd bigger F1 fell to the meat.

It has changed a bit over the years too and that’s mainly since the F1s were introduced and the way we fish Molands, Little Gearys and Siblings (where I’m sat today) has had to change too.

There are a lot of big carp in Molands now as well and I’m talking 20lb-plus fish, so that also has to be taken into account with your tactics. A record F1 was caught from there last week and it was weighed at 11lb so that’s a massive fish, and the F1s generally are of a big average size and there’s not

as many of them as you get at venues like Tunnel Barn.

Tactics need to reflect that you could easily have 20 F1s for 100lb on this venue so it’s F1 fishing with a difference.

Variety What I really like about the venue though, is the variety of fishing. If you fished four matches here in a week you will most likely be fishing a waggler, bomb and pellet, Method feeder to the stumps on Gearys, caster shallow, meat short, long pole tight to the far bank, you name it you’ll likely have to do it at Packington! What it has done for me is stand me in good stead when I go to other venues and the one that springs to mind is White Acres, which is very similar in that its lakes offer a great deal of variety when it comes to methods, tactics and the species in front of you.

Today I’m sat on Peg 9 on Siblings B and I’d say in this lake it’s 70 per cent F1s, 20 per cent carp and 10 per cent silvers. The F1s range from 8oz all the way up to 5lb and the carp from 1lb up to double figures with 7 to 8lb being the average. The margins are 16 inches to two feet deep and then at three to five metres out there’s between four and five feet of water. It’s then level all the way across until you get to the far shelf, where it’s again between 16 inches and two feet deep.

Siblings A is very similar to this in its topography but it’s slightly different in terms of fish as the carp are generally a bit bigger and there are a few more of them compared to Siblings B.

The Approach To win matches on these pools you’re looking at around 50lb in the winter and between 80lb and 130lb during the warmer months.

My normal match plan on here at this time of year is to start short and then work my way over, and then I

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| 21

Commercial Tactics

“It’s best not to target the carp too early so my approach of working my way across will hopefully keep fish going into the net.”

The F1s were a small stamp to begin with.

tend to work my way back as well if I need to.

Meat or hard pellets work well short but at the moment meat is definitely the most consistent bait so that’s what I’m going to fish today.

There are no bait limits at Packington but two tins of 6mm meat and a tin of 8mm is more than enough for a match. The 8mm cubes are there if I get silver fish problems and I need to fish with a larger hook bait to get to the better fish. I’ll fish the meat on a top kit

Hooked perfectly in the top lip. on a long No4 section, so that’s about three metres out and I’d fish this line until it was dead. It might only last 10 minutes, but it could last an hour or more depending on how many fish are in the swim and how they’re feeding. Once it starts going, I’ll then begin adding sections and following them out to the middle with either meat or hard pellets.

I’ll then work my way across to the far bank in the shallow water and that’s where you tend to catch the

carp. It’s best not to target the carp too early so my approach of working my way across will hopefully keep fish going into the net while giving the carp plenty of time to settle and gain confidence on my far bank swim.

I tend to feed groundbait across with maggots because I think it works better with that cloud in the water and I like to fish a bunch of maggots on the hook for carp. Also, the

bottom tends to be quite uneven over there and maggot is one of those baits that I don’t mind fishing overdepth if the bait drifts on to an area that’s shallower than where I plumbed up. If small fish become a problem I’ll stop feeding maggots and just feed groundbait.

You can also catch some bigger F1s on this far bank line too. If I can carry on catching over there then

THREE LINES, THREE BAITS Short line – meat.

22 | Match Fishing

Middle line – hard pellets.

Far bank – groundbait (and maggots).

Phil fed and then lowered his rig into the feed.

A bunch of maggots ????????????? is Phil’s favourite hook bait for fishing across.

These plummets from NuFish allow you to plumb easily with a hair rigged bait band.

Phil goes out to the shallow water across.

great, but if not I’ll try shorter again. That’s why it’s so important to keep feeding your other lines, even if you’re catching across. It might not last until the end of the match and that’s when you need to come back on your shorter lines.

The other consideration, especially if the carp are reluctant to feed, is that fish might be the same size across as I was catching on the inside so in that case I’m better off catching close if I can because it’s faster.

Rigs The F1s there were much bigger.

Starting with my short rig, which today is for fishing with meat, the float is a 4x12 on 0.17mm main line down to 0.13mm hooklength with six No10s strung out. The hook is a size 16 Guru Super LWG and my elastic is a 10-12 NuFush Zipp, which is perfect for all the fish I’m likely to encounter in this lake.

On my pellet line down the middle the rig is identical but I’ve got a size 18 hook with a band hair rigged tight to the

hook for fishing a 6mm hard pellet.

My rig for going across is a bit different and even though it’s a lot shallower over there I’m using a short, dumpy 0.4g float for fishing in 12 inches of water. When you get a few fish move into the swim over there they can cause a lot of disturbance so the heavier rig helps keep everything steady in the turbulence. I’ve got a 3in 0.15mm hooklength and a bulk of No9 Stotz right on the hooklength knot.

I have a quite a long line between the float and the pole tip and for that reason I’ve also got a couple of small back shot on the rig to help with control. It’s a hot day with very little wind so if I can keep my pole tip away from the rig as much as possible in the shallow water I’ll do it. Main line is again 0.17mm and the elastic is also 10-12 Zipp on this line.

The Session I started short on meat and I had decent spells of catching 8oz to 1lb F1s, but

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| 23

Commercial Tactics

Here we go!

The pellet line also produced I also had a lot of trouble with small fish like rudd and the fish trying to come off bottom. The small fish were a problem because they were giving me bites that I couldn’t hit and that meant the meat was coming off the hook every time I struck. I’m not one of these anglers that can gently lift the pole when I get a bite so I was finding myself spending way too much time rebaiting.

I don’t like to fish meat too far away from me for the exact reason I’ve just mentioned – if you start missing bites on it, it can become a nightmare to fish.

The meat is reserved for the inside line and that’s why I switch to hard pellets down the middle.

After 40 minutes fishing I then moved out on to my pellet line down the middle and had a decent run of F1s. I would probably have fished this longer in a match because I was catching but since the start of the session

24 | Match Fishing

I had been feeding a large pot of groundbait and maggots across every 30 minutes or so and I could see there were plenty of fish over there.

The action was instant across from a bigger stamp of F1s and every time I shipped back out I would fill my small pot with dead maggots and groundbait. I’ve only had the odd carp though, but the size of the F1s I was catching over there was double what I was catching on the meat or pellet lines.

Once I moved into the shallow water I never looked back and although I had a couple of periods where I seemed to miss a few bites, I’ve caught really well over there.

I’ve caught some carp and the average size of the F1s has been 2lb,

Proper weight building F1 s in

Siblings.

fish.

which was much bigger than I could catch on either the meat or pellet lines. The bites have been instant too, and as soon as I’ve fed my bait and lowered the rig in I was getting bites within seconds on most occasions.

There has been the odd quiet spell though, and the fish seemed to be moving into the peg in numbers and then moving out of the peg together as well. During the quiet spells there were no signs of fish moving then all of a sudden they’d move back in again and I’d start catching.

It’s worth noting that if you have more than one hole across and can feed more than one line it’s definitely worth doing so. You can’t do that on a lot of pegs but where you are able to it can help keep the fish coming for longer if you’re swapping and resting swims.

It’s been a great session and working my way across

has worked a treat. Just remember there will be plenty of occasions when that far bank swim will die and then you need to work your way back. As long as you keep feeding your other lines this won’t be a problem and quite often when you need to do this, you’ll find that you have a great finish to the match on the short line on meat because the fish have moved in and settled there.

PHIL’S VENUE MENU (for a normal match during the summer) • 2 x tins of 6mm meat • 1 x tin 8mm meat • 2 x bags of fishery pellets (1 x 6mm, 1 x 4mm or 2 x 4mm for fishing shallow) • 2 x bags of fishmeal or crushed expander groundbait (mine is Spotted Fin Milled Micros and Milled Expander) • 1 x pint of red and white dead maggots

A great net of F1s and carp for Phil.

Mixing It Up

CRAIG ‘T R EDMUNIGGER’ D Age: 40 S Lives: B Pole: Bro ristol wning Sp Sponso here PT rs: Brow Spotted ning, Fin M West C F says: ountry b machin aggin’ e

a g n i d i o v A t u o w o l b festival Martin Words and photos: Steve

IVY HOUSE LAKES 4JU Grittenham, Wiltshire SN15 www.ivyhouselakes.com

ormer Parkdean Resorts Masters winner Craig ‘Trigger’ Edmunds had just won a five-day festival at Ivy House Lakes near Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire when Match Fishing met up with him at the popular West Country venue, so you would have believed that he would have been over the moon with the result.

You’d be right, but he only finished at the top of the 50-angler event after his nearest rival Jamie Read

F

26 | Match Fishing

lly al will have an effect, especia tiv fes ay -d ve fi a of ure ss pre red in a The constant d as Craig Edmunds discove an , ed lud inc are ols po all sm ? when ative when the carp switch off recent event, what’s the altern

had a poor last day – fifth in section, and that came after Craig had thought he had blown his chances with a section fourth the previous day on the same lake.

“I had an almost perfect first three days with two section wins and a second in section, which put me level with Jamie,” said Craig, as he relayed the events of the past week. “It all fell apart, or so I thought, when I was on Kingfisher. Having caught well fishing really positively on the previous

three days, I knew from the previous day that fishing casters shallow had been the tactic, and so I set out to fish them for the lake’s better fish before moving to the edge later.

“I started well enough, but the carp backed off and I started to chase the better fish. Before I realised, I found myself playing catch-up during the middle part of the match. When I think back now, I was not in the best area and made the mistake of not just putting

fish in the net.

“Had I looked to catch the bread and butter fish on the deck, I could have caught a good weight of skimmers and the odd small carp before looking down the edge. At the end of the match I had 93lb, which was only good enough for fourth, and well off the winning weight in my section.

“However, I was only 8lb off second, and had I not spent that time trying to catch carp, I believe

“Before I realised, I found myself playing catch-up during the middle part of the match.”

When the hard pellets pla n goes out of the window, get on the natur als, plus a few micros.

A ball of corn, casters, chopped worms and sticky micros.

A small nugget was fed after every two or three fish.

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| 27

Mixing It Up

Fish on!

Top up regularly, and after every fish.

[1] The skimmers just couldn’t say no to a big worm head.

[2] Double up when targeting big edge monsters.

1

2

“I want to see just how good the silver fish sport would have been if I had just concentrated my efforts on the deck for a period of time.” that I could have beaten that weight and taken the pressure off for the last day, with Jamie having won his section.

“Looking back, it’s like the carp in Kingfisher didn’t cope with the pressure of a five-day

28 | Match Fishing

festival, as on the last day Jamie suffered, as I did, on the lake. He could only manage fifth in section, which let me in as I had won my section to finish on nine points to Jamie’s 10.”

That mid-match conundrum is the reason the

Browning-sponsored rod had returned to the venue: “I want to see just how good the silver fish sport would have been if I had just concentrated my efforts on the deck for a period of time.

“You can get too hooked

on a specific tactic, and don’t get me wrong, hard pellets did dominate the festival, except for catching edge fish, which was worms over a dumping of casters and dead red maggots. On Kingfisher it was casters shallow, but it’s now clear that, on that lake at least, you needed a Plan B, and that was natural baits.

It’s not the total solution, because if I’m going to ensure that I catch on the bottom, I’m going to need a feed that sinks quickly and prevents fish feeding up in the water.

“To get around the problem – I hope – I’m going to feed a cocktail of chopped worms, casters, corn and micro pellets.

The latter are important, as they will soak up all the worm juices, and once they become sticky, they will bind the other feed, so

that it all sinks to the deck before breaking up.

“Once I start to catch, the only topping up will be via a toss pot, as any loose feeding will scatter the fish, and as well as the fish coming off the bottom there’s more chance of foul hooking them. I’m looking to catch skimmers, so I’m not adding any maggots, as they would only attract the small roach, which would defeat the object.”

Dead red maggots were still part of the day, as Craig pointed out that over the week natural baits did play a big part when it came to catching in the margins, so as part of his session he would explain when to fish them, and that came down to depth.

Craig was actually going to fish the venue’s old match lake, and to tackle the session he set up three rigs. The first was to target the skimmers, and that setup was a 4x14 Malman Roob Carbon float, set on

Don’t ignore the shoals of skimmers.

Better than going to the gym.

“If you plan to catch edge fish on natural baits, you don’t want to be fishing in more than 24 inches.”

0.18mm Browning Cenex Hybrid Power mono.

Shotting was a bulk and two droppers, and a 6in hook link of 0.14mm Hybrid Power and a size 12 Browning Sphere CPF LS hook. His elastic was a No10 Stretch 7 hollow.

The first of the two rigs for fishing down the edge was a 0.4g Malman Mojo float set on 0.20mm Hybrid Power, with a bulk set above the 4in hook link, which was 0.18mm Hybrid Power and a size 13 Browning Sphere Beast hook. The second setup had a 0.2g Mojo on the same main line and an identical hook link. However, the shot was well spaced. Craig indicated that he would fish

it overdepth – laying the rig out as a kind of ‘stealth’ rig.

Elastic for both edge setups was No14+ Stretch 7 hollow.

“I’ve plumbed up and found a good depth at 13 metres. I’m going to ease my way in, and so the initial feed will be a golf ball-size ball of feed.

I’ve chopped up plenty of worms and the added micros have soaked up the juices. I’ve also plumbed the edge to my right, by a tree, but will check again before I start to feed it. I’ve found around 24 inches, which in my book is about as deep as you want when fishing natural feeds and baits in the margins.”

After cupping in his sticky feed ball, Craig

shipped out with a worm head on the hook. It was quiet at first, but within five minutes he had his first skimmer. A second quickly followed and then it went quiet. That prompted Craig to clip on a toss pot and on the next look he dropped in a small nugget of feed before repositioning his rig.

“Looks like I will need to keep a little feed going in every few bites. I have to be careful though, as too much and that could pull too many fish in too quickly and, with the silt, the clouding would prevent the skimmers from finding my bait, and there’s more of a possibility of foul hooked fish and fish off the deck. I’m going to add

a nugget every third fish to see how that goes.”

After a good run of quality skimmers, the action started to slow. It was not what Craig had expected, but he believed he had an idea as to why.

“It’s started to ‘fizz’ and I’m getting lots of movement on the float, and that can only mean a lot of smaller fish and too many coming off the deck. I’ve foul hooked a few skimmers, so I need to rethink my tactic. I was

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Mixing It Up

CRAIGU’SSE IVY HOMER SKIM G RI

CRAIGU’SSE IVY HOGE ED RIG 1

CRAIGU’SSE IVY HOGE ED RIG 2 Hybrid Power mono is a good choice for bagging rigs.

4x14 Roob Carbon

0.4g Mojo

0.2g Mojo

0.18mm Hybrid Power

0.20mm Hybrid Power

0.20mm Hybrid Power

Spread No10s Bulk

6in 0.14mm Hybrid Power

Two droppers

4in 0.18mm Hybrid Power

Bulk Size 18 Sphere Beast 4in 0.18mm Hybrid Power

Size 12 Sphere CPF LS

wary of the silt, but think the bottom might be a little harder a bit further out.”

With that, Craig added an extra section and plumbed a large area at 14.5 metres for a more suitable bottom.

To try and gauge the amount of silt, he would let his plummet drop like a bomb, so that it stuck in the silt. Then, if it came up easily, then there was less silt, so a harder bottom.

“I’ve found a much better area slightly to the right of my original line, and so I’m going to fish there and ditch the shorter line. I don’t feel I need to add a pot of feed, as there are plenty of skimmers in the area, so I’ll toss pot everything to avoid pulling in too many fish too quickly.”

It turned out to be a good call, as not only did his catch rate improve but Craig also caught bigger skimmers. He continued to catch skimmers for about two hours and with an estimated 20lb in the net, he

30 | Match Fishing

turned his attention to his margin.

“I mentioned at the start that if you plan to

The first carp from the edge.

Size 13 Sphere Beast

catch edge fish on natural baits, you don’t want to be fishing in more than 24 inches, as any deeper you

Stretch 7 has plenty in the tank to tame angry fish. risk attracting small fish that will scatter the feed everywhere.

“Heavy feed like hard pellets and corn are better in the deeper water.

However, especially in the summer months, carp are happy to come into really shallow water to feed, and will aggressively mop up maggots, casters and micros, as they look for

Here’s why you should look to catch ‘bread and butter’ fish when the carp action stops.

Craig kept the skimmers coming when the carp weren’t playing. bigger offerings.

“You do need to be mindful as to when you start to look down the edge – if you’re too early you might hook a fish but if the carp haven’t fully gained the confidence to come close you could kill the swim and not get another bite.

“If you are catching well elsewhere hold back as long as you can, especially if the water is really shallow, but keep topping up and looking for signs.

“Keep an eye on others around you, and if they start to catch in the margins then it’s a good indicator.

Still, the longer you can leave it the better chance you’ll have of catching big bonus carp. The last 60 minutes is often the golden hour.”

After rechecking his 0.4g rig, Craig primed his edge with a big helping of dead reds and casters and continued to concentrate

on his skimmer line, but all the time looking for any indications that fish had moved in. An hour and two more top-ups later there had been no sign, and looking at the surface of the lake it was not that surprising.

“It’s a really hot day, and just look at all those carp on the surface. Should have been a dobbin’ day! I’m not surprised that my margin is quiet but I still feel they will come in before long. It’s a good example as to why you need to avoid looking too early.”

With 30lb in the net and with the session in its final stages, Craig had a first look to his right. The result was a big skimmer, so he topped up again and put two big worms on.

An explosion of water and plenty of orange elastic confirmed that the next bite was a big carp. The surface fish scattered as Craig quickly guided the fish

away from his edge. Once the carp was landed, he refed and dropped in over the top, again with two worms.

The action wasn’t as frenetic as Craig would have expected, and after two more carp were safely netted it was time to call it a day.

“Festival fishing is completely different from fishing open events, where you go full on to try and win. To coin a phrase, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Every day is a match within a match. It’s about winning your section against a small number of others.

“You have to focus on the fact that you might not be in a good area, and THE tactic might not work where you have drawn, and as a result if you go too positive too early, there’s a chance the fish will back off, as they don’t like the pressure.

“They say that you can only catch what’s in front

of you, but if, as was the case for me on day four, the shallow feeding fish backed off after 90 minutes, rather than chasing fish and wasting time, 90 minutes on the skimmers in mid match would certainly have put more weight in the net.

“It was also clear today that with so many fish mooching around on the top, there will be times when the carp will come in really late, so I was able to keep catching while I waited for them to arrive.

“Hard pellets shallow and for edge fishing are great summer tactics, but the lessons I’ve learnt from last week’s event is that you have to have options and manage each day differently. Natural baits work really well in the right conditions, and even if you don’t need them you’ll be put at a disadvantage if you don’t have them in your bag… just in case.”

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EAST ANGLIA’S Secluded away in the Cambridgeshire countryside, this complex consists of seven lakes, on-site tackle shop and café, caravan site and holiday lodges. All lakes are exceptionally well stocked with carp, F1’s, tench, roach, rudd, perch, and the odd ornamental, providing good sport for all match and pleasure anglers. There is a lake to offer sport for anglers of all abilities and ages, with staff on hand to make sure you pick the right lake for you.

As well as excellent fishing, the on-site café offers a freshly cooked Full English breakfast every morning, made with local butcher’s sausages – a big hit with the local anglers and non-anglers.

The café also offers a selection of sandwiches, snacks, hot beverages and even bottled beer to keep you going through the day. For club matches, the staff in the café can organise an after-match meal, followed by a presentation with tea and coffee.

Unlike many tackle shops located on commercial fisheries, Tackle & Bates offers the visiting angler the complete package. Not only do we carry a large stock all major brands, including rods, reels, nets, seatboxes and accessories, plus all terminal accessories that you’ll need for your next session, we also have a huge selection of brands for the more select match anglers, including Hayabusa, Colmic, Tubertini and Cresta to name just a few.

For all café and accommodation enquiries please call Becky on 07884 180 768 The new self-catering holiday lodges at Rookery Waters offer a great, relaxing breakaway with, of course, great fishing included in the price.

Situated overlooking the oldest lake on the complex, you can fish right outside your front door with views of the Cambridgeshire countryside beyond. All lodges have two twin/double bedrooms, kitchen, living area and bathroom. Rookery Waters also has a caravan site, each pitch has its own private fishing platform in-front, electric hook-up, water and Wi-Fi.

As well as offering a huge selection of tackle, we also have in store a comprehensive selection of groundbait, hook baits and liquids from all major brands including Sonubaits, Sensas, Ringers, Van Den Eynde, Spotted Fin, Dynamite Baits, Mainline, Match, Hinders and more.

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PLEASE CALL 07824 878492 TO SPEAK TO OUR EXPERIENCED STAFF FOR ALL ENQUIRIES OR TO PLACE AN ORDER. ROOKERY WATERS, ROOKERY FARMS, FEN ROAD, PIDLEY, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, PE28 3DF www.rookerywaters.co.uk

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36 LONG RANGE EDUCATION Nick Speed takes a trip to the iconic Worsbrough Reservoir where fishing at distance and perfect presentation are the keys to catching the venue’s wary carp.

44 PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE England Feeder team regular Phil Ringer is at Larford Lakes to show us how his Ringer Baits team destroyed the opposition on a recent Sonubaits Feedermasters Super League.

50 FEEDER ESSENTIALS Match Fishing takes a look at the flagship Tournament SLR Feeder Rods from Daiwa. You used to be able to buy a quality pole for this sort of money!

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

| 35

NICK SPEE D Age: 49 Lives: Sheffi eld Sponsors: Shi Dynamite B mano, aits MF sa Class act anys: d a big thinker

LONG E G N A R N O I T A C EDU rvoir rsbrough Rese o W to ip tr the key to a s re a ke on ti ta n se re p Nick Speed tace ct e and perf where distanvenue’s wary carp. catching the SERVOIR WORSBROUGH RE Barnsley, S70 5LL ng.co.uk www.barnsleyfishi

36 | Match Fishing

t’s interesting to look back on many venues, especially big wild waters, where decade by decade and often year by year they evolve, and the species we target within can change as much as the techniques we use.

Well, Worsbrough Reservoir, situated just on the outskirts of Barnsley, is exactly that. This venue was once classed as one of, if not THE, most prolific bream waters in the country during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, where consistent match weights of skimmers/ hybrids and roach were recorded throughout the yearly packed out match calendar.

For this reason, this beautiful venue was also the

I

breeding ground for some of the world’s best anglers, like Alan Scotthorne, Denis White, Tom Pickering and of course Dick Clegg, who formulated the formidable Barnsley Blacks team, which is arguably still one of the most consistent match teams in the world in my opinion. I may be a little bit biased though, being part of the team for the past 13 years!

But I suppose it makes it more special in a way as I remember as a teen sitting behind the likes of Alan, Tommy, and Denis at Worsbrough, watching them fish on methods such as the slider in a majestic kind of way. They allowed me to drill

them for information and they were my heroes, and then eventually I finally got to fish for the same team as them.

However, during the socalled transition in the mid 1990s where commercial venues started showing up, this pulled a certain percentage of anglers away from these natural wild waters and it was at this point when Barnsley & District Angling Association decided to start a stocking program, and that meant the introduction of carp into the reservoir. Since then they’ve thrived and as a result this has turned Worsbrough into what I would class as a ‘crossover’ venue; plentiful with both silvers and now carp.

Worsbrough Reservoir.

choice.

Nick’s line

One of Worsbrough’s sm aller carp.

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

| 37

THE SETUP

1

2

The Shimano Aero X7 Distance 100g.

4

3

5

Nick’s choice of hook.

NATURAL FOOD Now when it comes to an “eco” balanced water, Worsbrough has to be near the top of the list as this venue is riddled with natural food, which in turn results in prime conditioned fish. But, from a match

6

Confidence is key and for Nick that means a yellow Speedy’s Washter on the hook. angling perspective, it can be very challenging as there are days where you can witness hundreds of carp jumping out of the water at distance, but literally struggle to get a bite from one of these wary fish. That alone is

t rod!

Look at the compression in tha

38 | Match Fishing

This is how Nick attaches his shockleader.

The reel complete with long cast spool and superb line lay.

The hook bait laying on a flat bed of pellets before being covered with more pellets.

enough to make me love this venue; you just never know what lies ahead for the next five or so hours.

However, if there’s one thing that’s blatantly obvious it’s that these carp, and especially the larger strain of carp, much prefer to live out of casting range the majority of the time. In my opinion this isn’t necessarily down to bankside pressure, but more to the fact that this is where the main natural source of food comes from. The main feeder stream for this 60-acre reservoir is situated at approximately 180 metres (a fair old chuck!) and let me tell you this is a bloodworm haven and that’s why the fish congregate there.

On calm days I’ve often witnessed hundreds of carp all in a line at 200 metres feeding on a ‘hatch’, and for this reason, why would they even entertain moving on to our ‘match distances’ to feed on a less inviting food supply?

However, this is even more of a reason to test your wits as a match angler by inviting these clever fish to A) attract them into your feed zone

and then B) entice them to take your hook bait. These two factors are the main reason why I love the challenge of Worsbrough, as in my opinion there’s a lot more to distance fishing than casting a long way.

THE PEG To explain my approach on this wild water I met up with Match Fishing editor Dave Wesson in the ‘shallows’ on the Sheffield Bank. It’s only when I plan to do a feature that I ever get the chance to sit myself in Peg 1, as in all the years I’ve fished Worsbrough, I’ve never drawn this peg in a match!

Especially during the warmer months this particular area is the perfect spot to target carp, as for the first 10 pegs in the shallows the average depth is around four feet, which is ideal carp territory.

When it comes to a match approach on this venue, taking into consideration everything I’ve mentioned, I nearly always place all my eggs in one basket because in my opinion, fishing at range is the most consistent match winning approach on this venue, regardless of the

season. I’m not saying it wins every match, as often skimmers also play a big part in your weight but, potentially, every peg on this reservoir provides the opportunity to catch carp and by devoting your match plan to this approach you can also catch a bigger strain of bream as well as carp.

Over time, through trial and error, I’ve realised that there’s a specific way I need to approach this venue to stand a chance of catching carp. First and foremost is distance, as I’ve already mentioned, as more often than not it’s the distance that gets you among a larger percentage of carp. However, as with all feeder fishing, accuracy is just as important and I quickly realised that it was often the case that ‘laying a trap’ was the most effective way to get a Worsbrough winning weight.

This is where the tricky bit comes in. There’s a fine line between what distance you decide to comfortably fish and how far you can cast, because in my opinion it’s completely useless if you decide to fish at a specific distance that’s out of

your comfort zone. That results in a loss of accuracy, but more importantly a loss of control with each individual cast.

On these wild waters every cast you make at range is crucial, especially during the colder months where only a handful of casts may be made. For this reason every compression needs to be efficient and from the minute you let go of that line you need to be in full control of the

direction, but more importantly hitting your distance/clip positively. This allows you to land the feeder correctly on the surface, which in turn gives you better bait presentation and will result in lot more bites.

BALANCED GEAR This is without doubt one discipline of angling where choosing the correct setup is paramount as you need a balanced setup to do the job.

In this division of fishing those ultra-fine tweaks make a huge difference between your ability to cast 90 metres or struggling to reach 70 metres.

My distance setup for ranges between 70 and 100 metres is the 13ft Aero X7 Distance Feeder 100g, as this particular rod has a thin blank but loads of power in the butt section, which makes casting at range effortless. Combined with a Shimano Ultegra 5500XTC, I’ve

A superb Worsbrough mirror.

“Over time, through trial and error, I’ve realised that there’s a specific way I need to approach this venue to stand a chance of catching carp.”

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

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“If I’m sat there believing that my hook bait choice is correct this gives me the patience to sit there with confidence. “

got what is in my opinion the best long-range casting combo I’ve used to date.

Line choice is equally important as minimising drag is paramount; after all, you might have the correct rod/reel combination but if you’ve not used the correct main line then this could seriously hinder your distance and control. Over the past year I’ve started using the Aero Float line (0.17mm) for all my distance Method work and I’ve never seen a line that peels off the spool so smoothly.

As soon as I used it for distance work I was instantly impressed as it immediately added metres on my cast. The diameter of your main line is crucial and what puts a lot of people off from using a thin main line is the instant thought that carp are the main target species, but as bizarre as it sounds it’s amazing how strong even 0.17mm line really is under stretch at distance.

Shockleader-wise I use two and half rod lengths of Shimano fluorocarbon as the stiffness and minimum stretch allow me to compress the rod with less power, as opposed to a mono

40 | Match Fishing

line which has more stretch. The shockleader knot is definitely a subject that a lot of anglers struggle with, but in my opinion there’s only one for me and I use it on both braid and mono setups. I favour the traditional main line loop to a half blood knot as this connection is ultrastrong and reliable, but more importantly it’s really quick and easy to tie.

FEEDERS AND WEIGHTS Are are you using the correct weight of feeder to hit your required distance? For this particular rod setup the optimum casting weight for fishing at ranges between 70 and 100 metres is about 60g to 70g with a loaded Method.

The X7 Distance rod can cast heavier weights but I’m on about balance, and finding the optimum weight to gain distance from your specific rod blank is crucial.

My feeder choice is either a 50g or 55g Hybrid for this rod and once it’s been loaded with pellets it will weigh between 60g and 70g. With the above setup I feel I can maintain fishing at

range even in adverse conditions and, as I said before, it’s those small tweaks that make this this style of fishing a whole lot easier and more pleasurable.

BAIT PREPARATION Bait choice and preparation is crucial, like everything else, especially with Hybrid feeder work. I’m a massive believer in preparing my bait the day before, especially when fishing with micro pellets; you get the best out of the pellets if you allow them to soak in moisture at a low temperature, so soaking them overnight in a fridge is the only way for me.

First of all I use Dynamite Swim Stim 3mm pellets mixed with the same 2mm pellets, but over the past couple of years I been using CompleX-T as a food hydration because as soon as I started using this it made a big difference on the amount of carp I was catching. Why? Well, I believe, after being influenced

by Dynamite Bait gurus Mark Baker and David Spence, there are particular products on the market that really do help draw fish into your zone and this

hydration liquid does exactly that.

For my pellet prep I use four caps of CompleX-T to one pint of micros, which I then fill with water to just below the level of pellets before leaving to soak for 40 minutes. I then place them in a bag and keep them overnight in the fridge. You end up with the perfect spongy pellet that pushes itself out of the feeder after being compressed for the cast.

To me this approach is all about having a vast amount of confidence in your tackle, your bait choice, and last but not least, your presentation. When you’re sat there for sometimes 45 minutes per cast, you have to have complete confidence in your approach and that there’s always a chance of that tip going around at any minute.

When it comes to the business end of hooks, hooklengths and hook bait choice I’m very particular. However, if there’s one bait that is like night and day in my results it has to be the Dynamite Washters. During the development of what I regard as a wonder bait, we

BAIT

2mm and 3mm Swim Stim Green pellets.

CompleX-T is Nick’s favoured additive.

2mm and 3mm pellets mixed together.

Four caps of CompleX-T are added to both the 2mm and 3mm pellets.

used Worsbrough as the main testing ground as every bite is so rewarding on here, which from a testing point of view really did add clarity to certain popular colours. Without doubt the yellow Washter with the specific attractant always produced the most fish, hence the birth of the 5mm and 7mm ESL Speedy’s Washters. Since that point three years ago it’s been the only hook bait I’ve used for my Method work (apart from maggots) and not just for all my long range work, but more importantly across the whole venue board.

Again, there are some facts there with bait choice, but the bottom line is: confidence is key.

If I’m sat there believing that my hook bait choice is correct

this gives me the patience to sit there with confidence. The next balancing trick is hook and hook bait combination. When using critically balanced baits the correct hook pattern is essential, especially for long range work where a lost fish can be very costly on a tough day. At present I’m using the Preston circle hook size 12, tied to four inches of 0.19mm Aero Slick Silk which for a 7mm Washter is the perfect balance.

LOADING THE FEEDER Again another crucial process and for this style of feeder work I like to create a flat table for my hook bait to sit on. I therefore compress the base pellets right in as this not only helps to protect

your bait on impact with the water surface, but it helps slow down the process of the micro pellets expanding back out of the feeder. Once it’s settled on the bottom, this ensures that I’m creating a tight feeding table, which I believe invites the fish to intercept your hook bait quicker.

The feeder is finished off with a cap around the hook bait and as long as you cast correctly and feeder enters the water correctly, you will have a perfectly presented Method feeder.

THE SESSION My main aim, especially with this venue, is to pick a distance I can comfortably reach, but of course taking into consideration the weather forecast, paying

particular attention to wind speed and direction. So armed with that information I chose to fish at 82 metres, which then allowed me to fish a line to my left against the tree line, where there are always a large number of carp roaming about, and straight out in front with the same clip.

Timing is a massive part of any feeder session as it’s the first few casts that often provide an insight into how the venue’s fishing and, more importantly, are the carp having a chew? For at least the first two casts I will leave the feeder in for up to 30 minutes as it’s at the early stage of the match where the carp seem to be spread out more before they tend to back away

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

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to their ‘safe haven’.

How I look at Worsbrough is if I’ve had a carp within the first four casts then this is usually a good sign. In an ideal world, my main aim with the first four casts is to be as accurate as possible, as I’m a big believer that fish often settle over your feed zone early in the match, and by getting it right you can often be rewarded with a few crucial early bites.

Which was exactly the case on this day, as on the first two casts out in front I was rewarded with two stunning mirror carp, which both took the bait after 10 minutes.

Once I’ve caught a carp, I then stretch out each cast. What I mean by this is that I add a bit of extra time on to each cast, especially when there’s every chance you might get a bite.

However, during the middle hours of the match, I’m a big believer in cutting down my cast times to build up my swim

Nick stretches to net another carp . and on this particular venue this approach works really well. So, in the middle two hours I often cut my cast times down to 10 minutes. This is exactly what happened during this session and after two fish on my first two casts, I then experienced no bites on my next five casts so I did exactly that, and after a further five shorter duration casts I finally had my third bite. To be honest this is what I love about this

Another victim for the yellow Speedy’s Washter.

style of fishing as you’re always thinking throughout each individual cast.

I can remember on many situations in past matches where I’ve planned to retrieve my feeder after let’s say 12 minutes, but then the 12 minutes elapsed with no bites.

My natural reaction is to leave it in for one more minute, and then I start counting down when all of a sudden it goes round! To me this is a rewarding bite.

As bizarre as it sounds, although I was the only angler on the lower numbers, how and

when the fish fed were so similar to match conditions when every peg is in. The final two hours of the session produced the most bites; there was an attracting area for the fish, so for the final two hours each cast was planned to be left in for 15 minutes as the average bite time was around seven to 10 minutes. This isn’t hectic fishing, it’s fishing that tests your patience, confidence and knowledge. Let me tell you a net of beautiful fish like this is a truly rewarding day’s fishing.

A great net of long range carp for Nick.

42 | Match Fishing

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, E S I T C PRA ISE, PRACT ISE T C A R P

PHIL RING ER Age: Lives: North42 Sponsors: ampton Ringer MF says: Baits He’s a Ringe r, enough said!

arford er takes us toeLd the g in R il h P r la u m destroy r team reg England Feedwe us how his Ringer Baits tedaer Masters Super League.

Lakes to sho n the recent Sonubaits Fee opposition o LARFORD LAKES, DY13 0SQ ort, Worcestershire Larford, Near Stourp

44 | Match Fishing

oday I’m on sat on Peg 59 on the Speci Lake at Larford, and it’s the venue where my Ringer Baits team – consisting of me, brother Steve, Rob Wootton and Adam Wakelin – recently won a round of the Sonubaits Feeder Masters Super League with six points. That consisted of two first in sections and two second in section and when you consider the calibre of angler that fishes these matches, and the fact we have 15 peg sections, it was a result we were really proud of.

Steven was in the high 80s and had 82lb of silvers for

T

second in section (beaten by carp caught down the edge), I had 92lb of silvers from the same peg I’m fishing today for a section win, which was quite simply an amazing day’s fishing, Adam was virtually opposite me on the Burr and had 88lb for a section win and Rob caught 113lb on the Match Lake for section second.

So, how did we go about getting a result like this? Well, the answer is simple – practice, practice and more practice! We came to have a practice session the day before the event and as competitions like this get bigger and bigger and the anglers that

fish them get better and better, if you don’t practise you won’t have that crucial edge on the day. It’s even more important with this style of feeder fishing when the tactic was to fish close and target silver fish, compared to fishing at a venue like Boddington for example, where you’re casting a feeder 80 metres and then waiting for a bite. This style of fishing is completely different and the only way to get good at it is to practise and keep practising. Our team has done a lot of this fishing in recent years so our practice session the day before was all about refining our approach for the match itself.

A simple rig is best for fishing short.

A single dead red was the best hook bait.

[INSET] Phil’s groundbaits.

It’s more of a lob than a cast.

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

| 45

pellets, two pints of dead red maggots and finally 1kg or worms, and we were expecting not to have any of it left at the end of the match. I think when there are so many fish in front of you, whatever you’ve got in the feeder is gone within a few seconds. The aim was to cast in and get a bite within 10 or 15 seconds, get the fish in and cast out again as quickly as possible to get more feed into the swim.

For us, targeting the venue’s famous carp was too hit and miss because like on many venues now, they are getting bigger (and they’ve been huge in Speci Lake for a long time anyway) and more clever every day so although one of us might have been able to catch some carp and get good points, it was too much of a gamble when we knew if we got our heads down on the smaller fish we could catch big weights of them.

So, fishing short for small fish was the best way to get good points for the team and we opted to fish distances of around 10 metres because that would allow us to catch quickly, but we still had to have the right depth on that line to

What we found out during practice was that (in Adam’s words) there were “lots of mouths” in the venue in the form of small skimmers, bream and small carp, which we now call “peckers”! Basically, we needed to fish for these as close as possible and during practice we found that a distance of 10 metres was best and we also found fishing with a very short hooklength between six and 10 inches long was vital.

The most important thing though, was the need to feed a lot of bait and this was good, because on most venues nowadays, anglers try to feed as little as possible and use techniques like slapping to attract fish rather than feed.

But on this venue there were so many mouths to feed that if you didn’t introduce enough bait, you were never going to catch enough of these small fish. Even today I’m getting liners as soon as the feeder hits the water so there are a lot of fish there and you’ve got to feed them, it’s as simple as that.

On the day we mixed up two bags of groundbait (one bag each of Ringers Natural and Dark), two bags of 2mm fishery

You have to make the most of the bream when they arrive.

A big hook will enable you to hit more bites.

e If you can catch these in clos t. igh we you’re on for a big

Phil’s favourite rod.

THE FEED

1

2

Plenty of particles for the baiting up feeder.

46 | Match Fishing

4

3

A couple of these is enough at the start

Feed this amount of particles every cast.

It takes seconds for the fish to devour this lot!

make it work.

Finding the right depth is very important because if it was too shallow at that range the fish might not be there in numbers. You have to balance it up because although fishing close is great for small fish, when you’re catching them every chuck you tend to get greedy and want to catch bigger fish like bream, and that’s why it’s so important to find eight to 10 feet of water because the bream will happily come in and feed in that depth. If you can get those three-pounders turn up and have four or five of them in as many casts, then that’s a fantastic weight boost.

So, the distance wasn’t set in stone, it was about finding the right depth and on this venue there’s generally a good depth of water close in. That’s flexible

though, and once the fish are feeding you can then see if you can bring them closer by gradually casting shorter. If you can end up catching fish at six metres then that’s seriously fast!

Obviously with this specialised approach to feeder fishing, using gear that’s right for the job is very important.

Starting with the rod, I use an 11ft Daiwa Tournament even for fishing close in. I love this rod and prefer this length as it suits the way I fish, but other anglers might prefer a 9ft or 10ft soft ‘pecker’ rod for fishing this close. Each to their own.

Reel-wise I’m using a Daiwa Cast’izm, which is a big reel. I don’t mind using a big reel on an 11ft rod because I like to have the winding power. The reel line doesn’t make much difference in my opinion, and

Phil washes another batch of worms.

“I don’t even put the rod on the rest if the bites are coming quickly.”

you can use anything between 5lb and 8lb, but it wants to be mono, not braid. You can’t use braid on the reel at Larford anyway, but it doesn’t offer any real advantage when fishing close in.

The feeder is on a running boom rig so at the end of the main line I’ve got a twizzled loop with a small bead against the knot for the feeder to butt up to. The feeder itself is a 16g Nisa Rocket; I don’t really need the rocket design for fishing this close but I like these feeders so that’s what I use. You can use the same feeder with a (20g) side lead on, no problem.

The hooklength is 0.15mm and the hook is a size 12 Guru Kaizen barbless, which is big when you think I’ll be fishing a single dead maggot on this!

Trust me, it doesn’t decrease

the amount of bites you get but you will hit more of them if you have plenty of hook showing.

You want to try and come back with a fish every cast so a big hook is very important. Double dead maggot also works well but in practice, and on the day, we all found a single dead maggot to be best. Finally, a shorter, two-piece landing net handle with a small pan net will also make life a lot easier and faster for you when it comes to netting fish.

After I’ve cast the feeder in, I like to hold the rod so I’m ready to react to quick bites. There are no Boddington style butt rests for this sort of fishing! In fact I don’t even put the rod on the rest if the bites are coming quickly and I’m hitting a large percentage of them, but if I am missing bites I’ll put the rod on

Worms were crucial for catching bigger fish.

You’d have a job to catch these without worms.

No problem swinging these on a size 12 hook.

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

| 47

the rest to slow it down and then wait for it to be pulled in! When your peg’s solid you often get a golden patch and you will get into a rhythm of casting, holding the rod while the feeder sinks and then striking at a bite. You could do this 10 or 12 times in as many casts and you start thinking to yourself what a great way of fishing this is. But then you will inevitably start to miss bites and that’s when you’ll be putting the rod on to the rest to slow things down.

Another very important thing on the day was the use of worms. Generally, I wouldn’t say worms were that important for this style of fishing and on most venues I’d be happy to feed plenty of dead maggots and micro pellets through the feeder because that’s what commercial fish are used to feeding on. However, here you’ve got to add bream into the equation and we found in practice that worms were key to catching the bigger fish.

It’s also worth noting that there’s no need to go mad at the start of the match and put a big bed of feed down. One or two baiting up feeders full of pellets, dead maggots and worms is enough to get the peg started and then you’re relying on the regular feed of the normal feeder, which you could be casting in a couple of times a minute.

During this session I began fishing at 10 metres and with hindsight I don’t think I was far enough out because it took me a while to get fish into the

48 | Match Fishing

If you’re missing bites put the rod on the rest.

You could say Phil did alright!

There are plenty of small carp to catch at Larford at the minute.

It looks wrong, but it’s right.

If he’d caught the bream all day Phil would have had a colossal weight.

G THE IN C U D O R T IN UCLEARE N IC M L O C NEW ER POLE CARPA POW

peg, but that’s the distance I started during the match so that’s what I did today. It just goes to show that not every day is the same and as soon as I went out to 12 metres I started to catch. There weren’t as many small fish today either and there were more bream, which really isn’t something to complain about.

Could be to do with the fact I was pleasure fishing but I would have thought in that situation small fish would have been more of a problem, but there you go!

Eventually though, the bream tailed off and the small fish took over so I tried bringing them closer and closer in, which didn’t really work so the best range was 12 metres. The idea though, is to try and come back with a fish every cast and when (and if ) the bream do show up you need to cash in on them.

The bream will feed at certain points during the session if they’re in front of you, so make the most of them when they do. It’s important not to get side-tracked though, and after catching a bream or two, the worst thing you can do is change everything to target

them. If they disappear get your head down and carry on catching the smaller fish until hopefully the bream turn up and feed again.

Worm has been important again today and the fish have wanted plenty of bait, and it was interesting that when I remeasured my distance on the sticks to reclip up, and had a short break for a drink and to chop some more worms, it was like starting all over again when I had my next chuck. If there’s no bait going in those fish will move on and that’s how important it is to feed plenty and feed very often. It’s a method that suits the busy angler because ideally you need to be casting at least once a minute and the only way to get good at this game is to practise, practise and then practise some more!

The following round of the Sonubaits Feeder Masters Super League was at Barston Lakes and Phil’s team once again showed the benefit of all the hours’ practising they put in. Phil’s second in section helped them to a 10-point total, which was again enough to win on the day.

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TOURNAMENT WINNERS Match Fishing takes a look at the flagship Tournament SLR Feeder Rods from Daiwa. You used to be able to buy a quality pole for this sort of money! aiwa’s astounding SLR rod blanks were already at the top of the tree for feeder and carp rods, but notwithstanding that the rod development team set about improving them further with a combination of the new X45X Full Shield and HVF nanoplus technologies and materials.

But what do those names and numbers actually mean?

X45X Full Shield is the next generation of Bias Carbon Technology, such that the innovative composition of 45-degree bi-directional fibre can now be applied further into the rod structure

D

50 | Match Fishing

Oozing with technology.

but maintain the amazing action of the blanks. Blended with the higher carbon density of HVF (High Volume Fibre) nanoplus, the gain is greater torque resistance and higher casting energy conversion. To the angler this means a more ‘energy efficient’ design with an exceptional amount of recovery, making these blanks perfect for big distance anglers and casting precisely and accurately time after time.

These rods have already found favour with many top anglers, including Will Raison and Adam Wakelin, who were key among the team of testers and

te Perfect for precise, accura . ting cas ul and powerf

There’s now a 12ft three-piece model. … Fuji reel seats…

Ultra-light SeaGuide rings…

developers at the prototype stage of these rods After rigorous testing and finetuning, the outcome is claimed to be exceptional. Each model now harnesses even more casting energy and is able to deliver bigger payloads, even more accurately, at longer distances – hence the SLR tag: Super Long Range.

The development team also extended the range by creating a new three-piece 12ft model. With a weight difference of just 0.1oz compared to the equivalent two-piece rod, Daiwa’s new V-Joint Alpha technology eliminates potential flat spots and added weight that occur at the joint; instead the end result is a fluent playing action and this option will find favour with many.

The ‘feel’ of the rods has been enhanced by the use of ultra-light SeaGuide TDG rings, which not only lighten the downforce but also sharpen up the rod recovery, and rapidly reduce

rod oscillation, which all adds distance to casts.

The cork and Duplon handle is set off by a sleek and secure Fuji VSS reel seat while the original cork Armlock provides added handling stability. Just to prove these rods are proudly made in the UK there’s a nice Union flag sitting on the blank just above the handle under the hook keeper ring.

There’s also a laser etched Tournament … get Will’s seal of approval. logo on the butt to set everything off nicely.

Even the quivertips have been improved from the original models. The guide positions have been carefully adjusted and there is now an additional guide applied nearer the tip. There are also two new versions available, in a 2.5oz and a 4oz edition.

However, with a price range from £490 to £565, quality certainly doesn’t come cheap.

… and SLR quivertips…

MODEL

LENGTH

WGT.

MAX CAST WGT.

LINES

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QUIVERS

RRP

TNSLRF1102Q-BU TNSLRF1202Q-BU TNSLRF1203Q-BU TNSLRF1303Q-BU TNSLRF1403Q-BU

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6.8ozs/190g 7.0ozs/200g 7.1ozs/200g 8.4ozs/240g 9.9ozs/280g

Up to 90g Up to 120g Up to 120g Up to 150g Up to 180g

3-12lb 3-12lb 3-12lb 3-12lb 3-12lb

2+3 2+3 3+3 3+3 3+3

1.5, 2 & 2.5oz 1.5, 2 & 2.5oz 1.5, 2 & 2.5oz 2, 3 & 4oz 2, 3 & 5oz

£490 £515 £540 £540 £565

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 51

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54 I PREDICT A RIOT! Darren Cox demonstrates the power of the pole as he takes on some Warwickshire Avon river monsters on a summer morning at Stratford.

60 VENUE DETECTIVE This month Andy May gives you a glimpse into what’s on offer at the popular Birch House Lakes in Derbyshire.

66 PASTE FISHING WITH A DIFFERENCE Many anglers shy away from paste fishing but Sean Cameron reckons they’re missing out on a great tactic.

POLE FISHING www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 53

POLE FISHING

AVON WARWICKSHIRE Seven Meadows von Stratford-upon-A

T C I D E I PR

DARREN C OX Age Lives: Strat : 55 ford-uponAvo Sponsors: n Garbo Mainline lino/ MF says: Adds a touc h to every m of class ethod

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T O I R A retch of the st s w o d a e M n ve e rget ox on the S We join Darren C t Stratford for a lesson in how to ta na Warwickshire Avo big fish on the pole.

near A lovely chub, but nowhere bel! bar a as big as

54 | Match Fishing

S

ummer river fishing can be very difficult at times; with stifling conditions and very low clear water levels, it’s not always as inviting as it can look. The fliers will often look after themselves, but there are times when, with a little bit of thought and preparation, you can be ready for the conditions you are faced with.

It is never easy when

approaching a very low summer river; it is almost inevitable that the fish won’t be that bothered about feeding all day, and with such bright conditions they will most certainly be out of the way, sulking. However, there are a number of ways in which you can give yourself a chance of catching one or two of those ‘game changing’ bonus fish from many swims.

Mapping out your swim is so important. The days where we’d turn up with a couple of float rods and a feeder rod are long gone, there are so many more ways to catch river fish now.

By planning exactly where in your swim you feel you can catch fish, it will help you decide exactly what tactics to use where. The pole is a fantastic way to catch bonus fish for many

reasons. People sometimes steer away from it as they worry about losing big fish.

In fact, it can have the exact opposite effect. Guiding big fish away from snags and obstacles can be much easier with a 13m-plus pole and the correct ‘riot gear’ rigs and elastic rather than a 3.9m rod! There are also many other reasons why the pole is the best way to target bonus fish.

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 55

POLE FISHING

A peg full of features, but very challenging to fish.

Pinpoint Accuracy The major benefit of using a pole is that you can fish and feed in exactly the same spot. This can be very hard to do with a rod and line, even with line clips. The pole will help you reach spots where you cannot cast, under trees or tight to snags.

It helps you to plumb up and find the contours on the bottom much more easily.

Today I spent 15 minutes mapping out the bottom in my swim. I am directly below the weir at Seven Meadows in Stratford-uponAvon, and the bottom is all over the place with deep holes, boulders in the swim and snags everywhere.

I have managed to find a deep hole seven sections out with nine feet of water and a very clear gravel bottom.

It shallows up very quickly to the right and goes deeper to the left so I only have a short swim to fish, but it is where I would expect the fish to be sat, especially barbel and chub. With a 3g round bodied and 4g flat float I can control my rig perfectly in this area.

Before I finalised where I was to fish, I tested my rigs here. The flow varied a lot, but I was able to present the rigs very well. I also used a large baitdropper to keep my bait in a very tight area. This really increases your chances of catching more fish as you can identify exactly where you need to be focusing all your attention. Get the presentation right in this area and you will catch the fish over the feed.

Again, a pole makes it much easier to slow your hook bait right down over this area. A feeder or

THE BAITDROPPER Always good to carry two sizes.

Chopped worm, casters, dead maggots and hemp.

Pack in as much bait as you can.

A cable tie is very useful.

Biggest barbel of the session at 11lb 8oz... what a fish!

56 | Match Fishing

straight lead rig largely means a static bait, and you cannot guarantee you are in a snag free area around your feed.

It is absolutely critical to be on your feed, as always. When I used to fish in Europe with England on some rivers with very heavy flows, we used flat floats up to 50g and it was so noticeable how you needed to be right on top of your feed to catch properly.

Another very important point is the amount of feed you need to put in.

When you catch a big fish, you need to be sure there is enough bait in the swim to catch more. They don’t usually swim alone

GEAR

The Warwickshire Avon at Seven Meadows.

The building work is a new marina.

The flat float for holding the bait still.

whatever the species, but hooking a big fish is likely to spook others away for some time. The next thing I will do as soon as I have caught one is re-feed, then I know there is still enough bait there to hold others, so if they come back they should stay long enough to catch another. Then you rebuild the swim again, repeating the process as often as you need to.

The good thing about being so accurate with the pole is that you can target different species or shoals of fish in different areas of your peg, also with different baits. This opens your peg up to a lot more options. A good example is when targeting perch.

Often perch will stay very close to cover, such as weed or snags. You can often set up two or three swims if you have different areas of cover. You are then catching different shoals of fish, meaning you can rotate swims, catch for longer, and normally end up with more fish in the net.

Always look for points of cover, which can be above or below the water line.

Careful plumbing up in likely areas should identify any snags, deeper holes, weed etc. This helps form a picture of the contours of the bottom and guides you as to where you should be

fishing.

Get Geared Up! It really helps if you know the venues you are fishing and what you are likely to catch. On most venues you are likely to need several rigs to catch different species or sizes of the same species. Size of fish will dictate the strength of the rig, but it is always better to make the rigs up on the heavier side as you can always use a lighter hooklength. This makes the rigs a lot more durable, which can be important, especially on heavier rigs due to depth and more flow.

With powerful flows, heavier rigs and barbel in mind, all my rigs are set up on 0.23mm Garbo line and Fluoropower hooklengths in 0.18mm to 0.23mm tied to Garbolino Hair Rig X Power or Guru MWG Barbed hooks in sizes 12 to 16 depending on what hook baits you intend to use. Garbolino Fighter Hi Stretch 2.8mm elastic has enough initial stretch on the strike yet powers up quickly to get the fish under control.

You also need to ensure that your pole is up to the job. I use the UK4 for this as I know I can put as much pressure on the pole as I need. Also, when fishing with flat floats

A more tradtional float for easing the bait through.

A barbel makes a last bid for freedom.

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POLE FISHING Darren feeds again after catching a barbel.

Another beauty on the flat float rig.

when I need to put the tip under the water for perfect static presentation, I can also strike hard without worrying about the pole as the tip of the pole usually fills with water when fishing like this.

I usually like to set up flat float rigs for holding still in the rest, or easing through very slowly, as well as round bodied versions for fishing at the pace of the river, or a little slower.

This gives all the variations of presentation I will need during the match. When and how you use them is down to trial and error on the day. Today I started on my 3g round bodied rig and caught perch straightaway. I also caught my first barbel on it, so immediately fed again and changed to my 4g ‘flattie’, which I could hold perfectly still over the area where I caught the barbel. This worked perfectly.

‘Fish Specific’ Baits Today my target fish are perch, barbel and maybe an

58 | Match Fishing

odd chub. Weir pools can hold some real surprises, so be ready for everything, even bream and the odd carp can be caught here. This makes things easy in terms of bait, and a combination of chopped dendrabaenas, casters, dead maggots and hemp will cover everything, and not offend

any fish. If small fish were a nuisance, I might have also put a few halibut pellets in, which would have helped be even more selective.

With this mixture of feed, I can then fish different permutations on the hook.

The most obvious starting bait for me is worms, and I

start on a big piece of dendra or lobworm tail on the ‘riot gear’. I’d rather go lighter later than hook that one big bonus and lose it! Double and treble caster, and bunches of maggots are also very good.

Today the worm did the trick, and with the deeper, darker moving water I could also get

He’s in again.

HOOK BAITS

Lobworm was best for barbel.

You can also catch plenty of perch with Darren’s approach.

Perch preferred a smaller worm.

What a net of fish for Darren! away with heavier gear and I am so glad I did as I would not have landed all the barbel I hooked today.

They gave a fantastic account of themselves but I always felt in control.

Today has been a redletter day with plenty of perch, a 3lb chub and five wonderful barbel with an 11lb 8oz beast stealing the show! In match conditions one fish half that size is an absolute game changer but one thing is for sure, if you don’t set a trap with the right bait, and the gear to get them out, your chances of hooking and landing one are absolutely minimal.

Don’t miss out, be prepared, set up those extra swims and kits, and now and again, but

not every time, you will reap the rewards for that little bit more effort.

This approach is so important on river venues these days and the perfect illustration is the recent RiverFest qualifier on the River Trent at Newark. James Robbins drew a flier on Peg 1 and destroyed the match with 110lb of barbel! On August 1st there is a qualifier on the same stretch of river I’ve been on today and if the right angler is on the right peg, those big fish will play a huge part.

Seven Meadows is a great length just downstream of Stratford-upon-Avon. It an extremely varied length with lots of different methods working. If you fancy a day out, then tickets are available at Stratford On Avon Fishing and Outdoors Ltd or Baileys of Warwick.

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This month Andy May gives you a glimpse into what’s on offer at the popular Birch House Lakes in Derbyshire.

Where To Visit

BIRCH HOUSE LAKES

Birch House Lakes started off as one small pool some 30 years ago and now boasts nine lakes and 14 acres of water. Part of an 800-acre arable farm, the fishery provides a mix of pleasure and match angling on new and established waters that should appeal to most anglers.

With plenty of car parking space, there is a small fishing lodge where hot egg, bacon or sausage sandwiches plus tea, coffee and cold drinks are served from 9am until 1pm in summer as well as sweetcorn and pellets whenever the lodge is open.

There is also a ladies and gents flushing toilet. Most of the waters are suitable for disabled anglers and bailiff Pat is always on hand to offer help and advice.

The fishery is open from dawn until dusk.

Birch House Lakes, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 3AB Tel: 07796 874058 (mobile) E-mail: dg@birchhouselakes.com

60 | Match Fishing

always get a little giddy when I know I’m going fishing in the morning (every day then) but today I was proper excited as I brought the cameras to a venue that I’ve been coming to for about 18 months, in Birch House Lakes. Some of you will recognise the fishery from our Winning Ways

I

videos where myself, Jamie Hughes and Richard Chapman have had some right ding-dong matches and also been serious… okay, only one-half serious video!

We absolutely love this venue to bits and the fishing is amazing. The reason the fishery is so good is down to

Andy May is a hugely respected, allround match angler, a silver medallist for England at youth level and threetime Matchman Of The Year! He is now arguably the top angling coach in the country and can be booked online at www.fishingcoaching.co.uk.

• 2016 Fish ‘O’ Mania champion • Three-time Kamasan Matchman Of The Year • Youngest ever Matchman Of The Year • World youth individual silver medallist • Full-time angling coach • All-round nice guy!

There were plenty of F1s as well as carp.

“There are 10 lakes in total on site and every one has something a little bit different to offer; the fishery is beautiful and right in the countryside, all the lakes look so special.”

Birch House Lakes.

fishery manager Pat, who looks after the maintenance, bookings and pretty much all of it. Her husband Mick I must say makes the most AMAZING bacon sandwiches too, so these are a must to have to start the day in the right way!

There are 10 lakes in total on site

and every one has something a little bit different to offer; the fishery is beautiful and right in the countryside, all the lakes look so special. I myself have only fished Lake One, which is probably the best skimmer water I have ever fished, but also has some right big wobbly carps in too – my mate

Gary Rodgers is holding silvers-only matches on here every second Tuesday so get booked on, the fishing is unreal – Teal, which is where myself and Jamie have had some right tussles with the head-to-head challenges for Winning Ways, and the lake I’m on today, Mallard, situated right behind Teal.

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I started short... but not for long!

BIRCH HOUSE LAKES

You don’t need much bait, this is all I fed in close.

“The lakes are so good, whatever you want to catch on if you fish that way you will catch.”

One shallow rig and one rig for close in, it couldn’t be simpler.

This lake is much clearer but holds lots of carps and F1s which are more than visible today… wohooo!

So, after a bacon butty I’m ready to get going. I must also mention how well kept this fishery is with not a sign of litter anywhere and that is all down to Pat managing the waters so well. There are waters we haven’t even seen on the other side of the complex as we can’t get over the fact there are sooooo many fish to catch in the other lakes, there really is a lake for every angler’s ability here!

Keep the feeding light but regular.

BAIT

The splash attacts carp instantly.

62 | Match Fishing

I had with me some 4mm and 6mm Dynamite F1 Sweet pellets and that was it! Ha-ha, you really don’t need loads of bait on these kinds of waters and you have to keep it simple. Basically the lakes are so good, whatever you want to catch on if you fish that way you will catch, and with me just wanting to target the carp and F1s it was an easy option. I don’t do anything with the pellets either, just use them straight out of the bag. If you want fishing to be easy and simple, it really is exactly that today.

RIGS Again, nothing complicated and I’ve set up a 4x12 float to fish on the bottom in four feet of water directly in front of me around four metres out, where I’ve got a lovely sloping shelf. I’m using 0.18mm main line and a 4in 0.13mm hooklength to a size 18 Guru SLWG hook with a little band hair rigged for my pellet. Shottingwise I’ve got seven No9s spread evenly over eight inches at the bottom of my rig.

Elastic is MAP Hybrid 12 to 14 and that should give me the insurance I need for those bigger carp as well as being soft enough for smaller carp and those F1s.

My second rig of course is the obligatory shallow rig; you all know how much I love this style of fishing and as the weather is so muggy I don’t think it will be long before we are on it and snarled up! There are already fish cruising around all over the place… wohoooo! Rather than go all out for the fast-biting F1s and fish a short line pole tip to float, I fish a longer line so that it’s more for the carp and to double up as a mugging rig. I’m using 0.19mm main line and a 3in 0.17mm hooklength with a size 16 Guru SLWG hook. I’ve got three No10 Stotz on the rig,

Not a bad way to start.

Hook bait was simply a banded 6mm pellet.

First fish of the day.

My pellet choice.

spread out to give me an even fall of the bait through the water, but if I want to I can also bulk them together to make more commotion and also act as a little bolt rig for the F1s. I’m using the same 12 to 14 elastic on this rig too. That’s it for the rigs, lovely and simple, let’s go and snare some lovely fishes!

THE SESSION To start with I pot in around 10 6mm pellets on my short line and then start to feed my long line immediately with 4mm pellets. I’m choosing 4mm rather than 6mm because of the F1s, but if I start catching more carp I will change it over to feeding 6mm pellets. Already there are lots of carp cruising around

It wasn’t long until the shallow rig came out.

and proper having a feed, but you will all be happy to know I don’t get giddy and do away with the short line, I manage a carp first put in around 4lb and then come off it immediately to go shallow, ha-ha!

Even though I literally catch that carp within 90 seconds short I know that I will catch some by mugging quicker, before they probably spook off.

I’ve written and spoken before about getting on the visible fish at the earliest opportunity as they don’t tend to last all session with you, due to usually being spooked by you catching a few, or it could be the wind that sends them in completely the opposite direction – it really is vital in match conditions that

you get on them asap. On with a 6mm pellet and I slap it right in front of one cruising through, cheeky! The carp nails the bait straightaway and makes a beeline for the lilies! After a short battle an immaculate looking common around 8lb comes to the net, what a fish!

Next put in I have a go for a ghost carp, but it waddles off uninterested in the bait. I decide to have a look on my feed, which has been going in for around 10 minutes and I’ve already got fish fizzing, walllllopppp! I’m straight into an F1 that hooks itself and goes nuts, a lovely fish around 2lb. Back in the feed and I miss five bites ones after another before I catch a lovely looking mirror carp around 4lb. You’re always

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BIRCH HOUSE LAKES

of the day.

Biggest wobbly carp

meant I could try Fishing a longer line w and then. and mug one every no

Got to keep those pellets going in..

A stunning net of fish from Birch House Lakes.

64 | Match Fishing

going to miss bites with this method but it’s important to stick to your guns and carry on because when a fish has the bait properly, there’s no missing bites!

Back out and I’m after another cruiser, which looks massive; it takes the bait immediately and decides to head straight for the lily pads. It does go through them a bit but by this time I’ve shipped back to my top kit and submerge it straight under the water before deciding to pull and eventually the fish comes back towards me and I net another immaculate looking common, this time around 9lb.

I manage another smaller carp straight after around 4lb before the fish vanish out of range and this is what I mean about making the most of it when you can see them! Luckily

though, I’ve got fish feeding on my pellets long and put together a run of eight big F1s and another couple of carp. The water is really clear so tells you where the fish want to be, errrrr, not on the bottom!

The wind changes direction and blows more in my face but still the carp won’t follow, and I don’t catch another one but do catch some more on my feed. I only fish for around two hours and end up with just over 60lb, the fish are all absolutely stunning just like they are in the other lakes I’ve fished here. There were some massive fish swimming around and some lovely looking ghost carp, but they proved difficult to tempt on the day.

I absolutely love this venue and with Pat as manager you can really see why the place is so popular and always has people coming back for more. Definitely try Gaz’s matches on Tuesdays as the the skimmer fishing on Lake One really is brilliant, I’ve fished three matches and won two and had a second, all with 30lb-plus bags of skimmers, lovely! We also love filming here and can’t wait to come back soon.

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POLE FISHING

g n i h s fi e t Pas e c n e r e f f i d with a Pictures Mark Parker

m paste but Sean Cameron fro ay aw y sh rs gle an ny ma Too a great tactic… reckons they’re missing out on

Park Hallcroft Fishery & Holiday Retford, Notts DN22 7RA .uk www.hallcroftholidaypark.co

s a fishing tactic, it is rather like Marmite – it’s one of those methods that anglers either love or loathe.

Personally, I’m in the first group, although it wasn’t always this way if I’m honest.

To love it, you need to learn how to fish it properly. All too many anglers disregard it as they don’t fish it correctly and as a result they miss bites, which leads to frustration.

But, once you have mastered a couple of small issues, it is a very easy and, more importantly, on its day one of the most deadly tactics you can use.

A

Paste And Me Like I said, I was originally in the ‘don’t know how to use it’ camp when it came to fishing with paste, but that all changed quite a few years ago.

At the time, Woodlands at Thirsk had stocked a load of 3lb carp, which saw a couple of regulars winning pretty much every match. And they were using yes, you’ve guessed it… paste!

One of the lads that was winning was Mal Bailey and he knew my dad very well, so

66 | Match Fishing

SEAN C AMERO N Age Lives: S : 49 Sponso herburn rs: Dynamit Shimano/ e MF s Baits Likes a ays: sim approac ple h

“With paste, it is the only bait in the swim, so the fish don’t have any other choice over what to pick up.”

as well as allowing me to sit behind him and watch what he was doing, he also took me under his ‘paste fishing wing’, teaching me all about how to use this brilliant bait successfully. As long as I didn’t tell anyone else, of course!

I remember him telling me: “If I don’t get a bite within 30 seconds, I’m in trouble.” He had a fish on within 10 seconds and then went on to walk the match.

Once I had learnt a few things, I also started to win a lot of money using a paste approach and I’ve not looked back since.

The Advantages Of Paste

Sean uses a BB back shot to help keep everything tight.

A good way to stop the fish coming up in the water is to press hemp directly into the ball of paste.

The beauty of paste is, especially after spawning, the fish want a big gulp of protein rich food. This is why paste works so well and why the bites are so quick and positive.

By only fishing paste on the hook, feeding the swim by striking the hook bait off after a minute or two, the fish don’t have any option but to take the hook bait.

With other baits, such as pellets, corn and meat, they have more options as to which particle they pick up, so this doesn’t guarantee that it will be the hook bait that will be always taken.

With paste, it is the only bait in the swim, so the fish don’t have any other choice over what to pick up. I have also found that the more fish there are in the peg, the brisker the action will be. If there are two carp looking to feed, they will see the paste dropping through the water and will compete with each other to get to the food first.

Looking at the other advantages of paste, the main appeal is that is has a very soft texture, something that all fish adore. It is all about texture really. The perfect paste needs to be soft enough so it bursts into nothing in the fish’s mouth, but not so soft that it falls off the hook.

The second advantage of paste is that it has instant appeal. As it has no outer skin, like a boilie or a pellet, paste

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POLE FISHING STEP-BY-STEP

SEAN’S PASTE MIX

1 Start by pouring off the liquid from two tins of hemp.

2 Next add a pint of Green Swim Stim into a clean bait tub.

3 Then add a further pint of Marine Halibut to the same tub.

4 Mix the two dry groundbaits together well.

5 Now, pour the dry groundbait into the tub containing the hemp juice.

6 Mix all three together well and allow the mixture to sit for around 10 to 15 minutes.

starts pumping out attractors, smells and oils as soon as it hits the water. This pulls fish in from miles around, attracted by the huge scent trail.

The third benefit of using paste on the hook is that you are using quite large chunk of paste (20mm or so) for hook bait. This is very attractive to the feeding carp as it is so obvious in the swim.

The fourth benefit of paste is derived from the previous three advantages. Because it is so obvious, soft, smelly and attractive, it is a bait that brings instant action. If fish are in the peg, look for a bite within minutes, if not seconds of lowering the bait in.

Just as Mal told me all those years ago, If I’ve not had a bite after two or three minutes I strike the paste off the hook, bring the rig in and re-bait with a fresh chunk.

The beauty of this it that you are constantly topping up the swim as the session goes on.

68 | Match Fishing

The Disadvantages Of Paste As with many things in life, if it looks too good to be true, it very often is. Paste is a real killer bait, but it does have a couple of slight drawbacks.

The first problem with paste is that it needs to be very soft in order to work effectively.

This makes soft pastes very difficult to fish with a running line.

You can use a stiff paste, mould it around a bead or paste cage, but the hook-up rates are not as good with these products. I much prefer to mould it around the hook and present it using pole tactics. This allows me to strike through the bait and straight into the fish’s mouth with no other bits to get in the way of the strike.

A second disadvantage is that some pastes can take a little trial and error to achieve the correct consistency. Some commercially available powdered pastes have a water level printed on the

7 The finished paste mix should be light and fluffy like Mr Whippy ice cream!

packaging so you get the correct texture every time.

There are also a number or readymade pastes available but I would steer clear of these as they tend to be too stiff or stringy to use effectively on the pole and as a result are very difficult to strike off the hook.

How Do I Fish With Paste?

When it comes to fishing with paste, I do it differently from a lot of anglers in that I keep the rig tight to the ball of paste, so I’m able to actually feel the bites. More importantly, this allows me to differentiate the difference between a real bite and a

liner. To do this, I have a BB shot around three to four inches above the float. The float itself is then set up so it is undershotted by at least a couple of No9 shot.

This means that without the paste hook bait, which acts as a plummet, the rig will naturally sit in the water with its entire bristle sticking out. By adding the ball of paste on to the hook, this trims the float so that only around 5mm of bristle can be seen. So, when the paste has come off, the float’s bristle will rise very positively and obviously, indicating the hook bait has gone.

The best way to imagine

This is small for a paste fish.

“By holding the rig tight to the back shot and not the float, I am able to feel the bites without even looking at the float!”

Sean and a Hallcroft common.

Having the pole pot well back up the top kit helps to prevent tangles. this is to think of the float as a balloon and the ball of paste as the weight holding it down. Once the weight is removed, the balloon is free to rise. It makes the fishing of paste almost idiot proof.

Back to the rig mechanics, and by holding the rig tight to the back shot and not the float, I am able to feel the bites without even looking at the float!

This is further exaggerated by using a strung-out shotting pattern of No9s down the line. These are placed on the rig in reverse though. By having the first dropper shot sit just below

Drop the paste in carefully and then drag the float over that line.

the float and then stringing them out down the main line, so that the last two feet of rig has no shot at all, it allows me to keep the rig straight and tight, so I can again feel for bites. This is what gives me such a massive advantage when fishing paste.

It is also more subtle than using a bulk or olivette, like many anglers do. By having no shot in the last couple of feet, it gives a much more natural presentation.

The float I use is a Preston Innovations Paste Float, although floats are a very personal thing. My favourites used to be Dick

If the fish do come up in the water, dump potting hemp can often drive them back down.

Clegg ones, but he’s stopped making them now, sadly.

As long as it has a long and very buoyant bristle, which will rise quickly once the paste comes off, you can really use what you are comfortable with.

Mine is 0.3g. Again, I have found paste floats to be very heavy generally, around 1g plus. This is fine as they are very stable but be careful that you don’t go too heavy as it will ruin the presentation, as well as if the bulk shot is heavier than the paste hook bait, the hook will be ripped out as the rig descends, meaning you are

fishing with a bare hook!

My main line is 0.20mm to a 0.17mm hook link. Really, paste is a big fish tactic, so there is no need to go too light. Also, this heavier, thicker line is more robust and less prone to tangles, so it’s a win-win.

The hooks I like to use are KKMBs in a size 12. These are eyed, which I prefer when fishing larger hooks as I find spades can cut the line on occasion. I like a big wide gape hook for paste too as it gives me a good anchor to hold the ball of paste. Apart from these few little bits, the rig is very simple.

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POLE FISHING A nice Hallcroft mirror ca rp.

??????

Marine Halibut adds a rich oily consistency that the fish adore.

I also mix my paste differently to others. Rather than using water, I like to use the liquid from tins of hemp. By draining off the water from two tins, I then add a pint each of Swim Stim and Marine Halibut. If there is not quite enough liquid to make the the on ch cat n’s Part of Sea consistency paste. of paste that I want, I will add just enough water to bring it to where I want it to Paste Mixture be. Ideally, I want the paste For many years, Green Swim to be the consistency of Mr Stim has been hailed as one Whippy ice cream! of the best groundbaits to Although I like to fish make paste with. I like to add paste with loose fed hemp, equal quantities of Marine the hemp liquid seems to do Halibut to mine though. As something to the groundbait. well as being a proven mix, I’m not sure if it is the natural I find the addition of the

70 | Match Fishing

sugars etc, but when I mix it with hemp juice the paste takes on a different texture, becoming so much easier to fish with. There must be a chemical reaction that happens when the two mix?

Also, by adding all that goodness, you have all the pulling power of hemp oils and natural favours in the paste too, so what’s not to like?

Paste Fishing With no pellets in sight, the fishmeal ‘cherry’ comes in the form of the paste hook bait.

The addition of the hempseed gives me something to help hold the fish in the swim for longer, as paste is a one bite, one fish tactic really.

I also think that hemp is without doubt the best big carp bait you can use as they love it but never get caught on it. Once they start eating it, they simply can’t stop! The other advantage is that if you find your paste is sticking in the pole pot, by adding the hemp seed first and then placing the paste hook bait on top, everything comes out with ease. I find though, that

once there are a few fish in the swim, it pays to cut back on the hemp and just fish paste.

Alternatively, if the fish start to come up in the water, which they very often do when loose feeding hemp, the best way is to squeeze the seed directly into the ball of paste. This means that the paste naturally carries the hemp to the bottom, driving the fish back down again. It is always worth counting the paste down as the fish can even come up and intercept the ball at times also.

Apart from this though, there is very little to fear regarding paste fishing.

The golden rules are: keep as tight a line to the ball of paste as possible without pulling the rig out of the ball, so you can feel for proper bites; undershot the float, so it’s obvious when the paste has come off, and loose feed hemp with it to hold the fish in the swim.

Once you have mastered these three things, you will be well on your way to becoming a paste fishing master!

New Gear

MATCH FISHING CHECKS OUT THE NEW PRODUCTS YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS MONTH…

SHIMANO | ULTEGRA C5000XG REEL fish.shimano-eu.com The Ultegra FB series of reels was an established and popular range sitting below the Stradic, but the new Ultegra cranks things up a notch. Performing as good as it looks, it’s what’s inside the reel that makes it different from and improves upon its predecessor.

Starting with the external upgrades, these include the one-piece bail arm found on all of Shimano’s high end reels, a long-stroke spool, folding single aluminium handle and a large, comfortable handle knob. The G Free body reduces weight and improves balance, shifting the reel’s centre of gravity closer to the rod, which helps to reduce fatigue and enhance casting comfort.

Inside, the HAGANE Gear withstands the toughest conditions and means there is no optional anti-reverse, so playing fish is always from the drag, with X-SHIP for increased cranking power and smooth rotation under heavy load, resulting in a reel with an ultra-light handle rotation that is very powerful at the same time.

The Aero Wrap worm gear oscillation system gives excellent line lay for mono and braid, layering the line on to the spool in a precise criss-cross pattern that reduces friction when casting, while the AR-C cold forged aluminium spool lip design provides longer casting distances than a standard spool, also preventing backlashes and wind knots.

With a whole host of other improvements it weighs 200g, has 5+1 bearings, a 6.2:1 retrieve, line capacity of 240 metres of 0.30mm, retrieves 105 centimetres per handle turn and has a maximum drag of 11kg.

RRP: £144.99

DYNAMITE | MILLED EXPANDERS www.dynamitebaits.com As used by Fish ‘O’ Mania finalist Jack Danby, Dynamite’s expander pellets are milled down to create an ultra-fine groundbait mix containing Swim Stim’s unique Koi Technology THESE DYNAMITE and special feed triggers. This can GROUNDBAITS AT be used on its own when fishing WWW. MATCHFISHINGMAGA ZINE. methods like the slop, or added COM to groundbait mixes as a low feed content, or for dusting maggots and hook baits.

Milled Expanders are a great low-feed bait in cooler conditions when targeting species like F1s, helping to draw fish to your swim and then hold them, without overfeeding.

Now in recyclable packaging and available in Betaine Green, Red Krill, Amino Original, Amino Black and new F1 Sweet.

RRP: £4.45

WIN

72 | Match Fishing

BROWNING | SPHERE PRO-FILE TRIPLE ROLLER www.browning-fishing The unique design of this high quality pole roller allows it to be adjusted and adapted to suit every bankside situation.

Features include: • Special leg design enables the roller to be used at all heights, from flat on the ground up to maximum height • Can be used with the legs completely removed or folded • Heavy-duty build ensures the roller is ultra-stable • Large sectioned telescopic legs with reliable cam-lock fittings • Profiled EVA roller design eliminates the need for vertical rollers • Roller sections fitted with multiple bearings for smooth operation • Fitted with a spirit level and a hook for attaching a heavy bucket or bag to prevent the roller blowing over • Height 16 to 130cm, width 87cm, weight 3.46kg RRP: £119.95

NUFISH | CYCLOPS ‘BIG EYE’ PLUMMET www.nufish.co.uk The Cyclops plummet gets its name from the large line friendly eye at the top that allows you to pass a large hook, or a hook with a band or bait spike on through it.

The neoprene section in the base doesn’t damage the hook when you stick it in nor go mouldy, and the large diameter of the base means that if you’re fishing on a slope it will sit on it, not fall away down the incline, allowing you to ascertain the true depth first time in.

A little thing that makes your fishing a lot easier.

RRP: £1.25

GURU | 2.5M COMMERCIAL KEEPNET www.tackleguru.com This lightweight, compact keepnet is 2.5 metres long, with soft, super-fine mesh to keep fish safe and calm. The compact top ring helps to maximise space when multiple nets are needed and features a durable and reliable adjustable screw lock, enabling anglers to position it at whatever angle they wish using a variety of attachment methods. The rings are weighted and sink very easily, ensuring the net lays perfectly on the lake bed.

The base ring is an external one to help prevent wear and notably there are no handles on the inside of the net, to protect fish from damage as they are returned. It is a simple matter to grab a lower ring and pull that through the top ring when it comes to the weigh-in. The net has an embroidered logo band around the top with Guru cosmetics.

RRP: £49.99

MAP | OPTIMUM POWER LINE www.mapfishing.co.uk Sounding like a character from the Transformer films, the new Optimum Power is an ultra-strong Japanese monofilament line from MAP that’s just as versatile and adaptable, and can be used for both pole and feeder fishing. Replacing and improving upon the popular Power Optex and combining ultra-low and accurate diameters, this new line is ideal for pole main lines and hooklengths and feeder hooklengths. It also offers incredible knot strength across the range of eight diameters.

Clear in colour for low visibility, it is very supple to ensure good presentation. Supplied on 100m spools and available in: Dia (mm) BS (lb) Dia (mm) BS (lb) 0.09 0.11 0.13 0.15 0.17

2.1 3.2 4.3 5.7 7.1

0.19 0.21 0.23

8.6 10.6 13.2

RRP: £5.99

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New Gear

PRESTON INNOVATIONS | OFFBOX SIDE FOOT REST www.prestoninnovations.com If you’re right-handed, sometimes fishing the pole down your right hand margin can be tricky, as you have to swivel around on your box taking your feet off the foot rest, meaning your knees are no longer at the right height to support the pole (left handers will have the same problem on their left hand margin). The Offbox Side Foot Rest solves this problem as it provides a raised rest for your feet at the side of your box – no

more upturned maggot boxes doing half a job badly!

With its super-strong moveable knuckle, you can position the rest exactly where you need it and on either side of any seatbox. Once the rest is in position, it allows you to rotate around on your seatbox and rest your feet at the correct position and height to face down the margins, making it far easier to fish.

The two 36mm legs supplied can be extended to the correct height and also used for housing additional Offbox accessories if required.

RRP: £99.99

BAIT-TECH | SPECIAL ‘G’ GROUNDBAIT

OCTBOX | DOUBLE WHEEL KIT www.octbox.co.uk This angled wheel kit fits the latest Octbox footplate and is fitted with two large 41cm diameter PU foam puncture proof wheels, attached to independent pivoting arms that set the wheels at an angle like sports wheelchairs, to increase stability and make it more difficult to tip over.

Adjustable shock absorbers have also been fitted to reduce the vibration caused by the non-pneumatic tyres and can be adjusted by the angler to create a setup that is perfect for the load they will be moving.

The barrow can be tilted to approximately 30 degrees without the wheel going past vertical, which makes a big difference when moving across sloping ground.

RRP: £115

74 | Match Fishing

www.bait-tech.com Bait-Tech’s Special ‘G’ range of groundbaits has been popular and successful for a number of years and remains many top anglers’ first choice of premium fishmeal groundbait.

The reason for its success is the inclusion of a special ingredient – GPS90, the most powerful super-soluble fishmeal available.

Combined with other top quality fishmeals, ground pellets and attractants, Special ‘G’ has forged a reputation as a brilliant fish catcher, whether that’s for Method feeder fishing, cupping, balling, as a stick mix or as a paste.

Already available in: Gold – a tried and tested mix perfect for fishing as a slop or paste as well as mixed up normally to be cupped in or moulded around a Method feeder.

Green – Bait-Tech’s best selling groundbait, the colour lends itself to pretty much everything: not too light, not too dark, but ideal for a whole host of fishing situations.

Dark – a recent addition to the range, in a darker, less obtrusive mix.

Perfect for fishing in colder weather and ideal for silver-fish fishing, especially on commercials.

And now in Red – a vibrant mix containing crushed Xpands that stimulates carp into feeding, especially in the warmer months. Makes an awesome paste and a worthy addition to the ever growing range of Special ‘G’ products.

Available in 1kg bags.

RRP £4.69

SONUBAITS | SUPER CRUSH KRILL & SQUID www.sonubaits.com If you’re fishing for big fish down the margins, you need a big fish bait, and this is certainly that!

Part of Sonubaits’ Super Crush range, Krill & Squid groundbait has been developed to offer a potent mix of crushed pellets, fishmeal and krill along with the addition of super-attractive squid meal, an incredibly high quality ingredient that not only adds to the mix’s incredibly potent smell and fish pulling attraction properties but also adds increased levels of protein, a vital dietary requirement of all fish and something they actively seek when feeding.

It makes a superb big-fish mix when potted in down the margins but can also be used in the feeder or on a Method feeder, fed using a pole mounted cup or by hand.

RRP: £7.99

KEEPNETS DIRECT | XCROSSOVER ELASTIC www.keepnetsdirect. co.uk Combining the versatility of hollow elastic with the strength and low diameter of solid elastic, this hybrid type solid latex elastic has a high stretch factor of 6 to 1, almost like a hollow elastic but with no flattening, giving a new level of fish control when hooking and playing large and small carp as well as all types of silver fish.

It is available in seven sizes, which are all colour coded. From the 6-10 for decent sized silvers on rivers and stillwaters to the 10-12 for F1s and small carp, and from the 14-16 for light carping on commercials to the 18-20 for margin hauling, there’s a grade to suit your angling.

With a narrow diameter for its strength the Xcrossover has high durability and an extra smooth finish. Sold in 3m lengths, all at Keepnets Direct’s usual fantastic value price.

Size Colour 6-10 Green 8-10 Red 10-12 Pink 12-14 Yellow 14-16 Blue 16-18 Black 18-20 Purple RRP: £4.99

Diameter 1.4mm 1.6mm 1.8mm 2.0mm 2.2mm 2.4mm 2.6mm

NUFISH | SMOOTH HOUND SOLID FEEDERS www.nufish.co.uk A ‘solid’ version of the Smooth Hound Cage Feeders, these open-ended feeders have a rigid plastic body teamed with the same smooth weight system. The plastic feeder body has been moulded so the external diameter at the bottom widens slightly to enable the streamlined lead to sit flush with the body of the feeder and remain totally smooth. They sit completely flat on the bottom and because there are no edges or protrusions from the lead, it makes it very easy for you to twitch the bait without the feeder catching on the bottom. This also helps to produce precise, long casts with no wavering in flight. The solid body ensures the payload reaches the bottom without any loss of contents from the feeder.

The long-lasting plastic, flexible swivel attachment and workmanship are top quality and the feeders have been designed by the team at NuFish who have a wealth of knowledge of feeder fishing including former England international Wayne Bartholemew.

Available in sizes/weights: Small – 20, 30, 45g; Medium – 30, 45, 60g and Large – 30, 45, 60g.

RRP: From £1.90

COLMIC | TECK STREAM www.colmic.it This high quality pole rig and hooklength line from Colmic is made in Japan and has been treated with a Fluorine Process that guarantees the make-up of the product will remain unaltered and totally waterproof, meaning it won’t take on water while fishing and affect your rig even when catching plenty of fish, so your bait will be presented naturally throughout your match. Electronically checked accurate diameters on the spools ensure extreme suppleness and light weight, plus it has high knot resistance.

Available on 50m spools in mm/kg: 0.064/0.62; 0.070/0.77; 0.8/0.94; 0.09/1.1; 0.103/1.49; 0.115/1.9; 0.125/2.39; 0.145/2.95; 0.165/4.05; 0.185/5.4 and 0.2mm/6.8.

RRP: £5.99

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| 75

New Gear

CADENCE | CR10 11FT MATCH #3 ROD FJUKA | 2 IN 1 BAIT https://fjuka.store Fjuka bait is proving to be a popular bait choice among a growing number of top match anglers, including Tommy Pickering and Tom Scholey. The super-attractive pellets are also the perfect hook bait and can be hooked directly with no need for drills or bands and no soaking or prep needed.

Fjuka 2in1 is made from only high-quality human grade food ingredients (wheat and corn flour, starch and proteins with sugars and a little salt) with no plastics, gums, waxes or resins. It’s a healthy, nutritious bait, infused with the pulling power of Sensate micro-attractants for instant action. These disperse further, carry faster and give off 3,000 times the flavour and taste of ordinary oil-based attractants.

There are over 1,000 pellets in each 195g bag and once opened Fjuka will stay soft for up to 12 months in a sealed bag or container. This Natural version comes in 5mm size and looks just like an ordinary pellet – be warned though, these are very strong smelling baits, so be careful where you open them!

RRP: £1.99

PRESTON INNOVATIONS | REVALUTION N-20 HOOKLENGTHS www.prestoninnovations.com This range of high quality hooklengths is specifically designed for feeder fishing. Each spool has 10 1m long rigs that can be simply unwound and attached to your main line. The next rig can then be secured in place using the rotating pin on the spool, eliminating the need for any independent pins.

76 | Match Fishing

www.cadencefishing.co.uk Part of the CR10 range covering most UK coarse rod applications and popular for both commercial and natural venues, the twopiece CR10 11ft Match #3 has high quality blanks constructed from a blend of 40 and 36 ton carbon and the components used include AAA cork, Fuji guides and Fuji reel seats.

The most powerful of three 11ft models, the #3 is a great commercial float rod that can handle big carp and match-sized carp on heavier gear with ease thanks to its strength and non-locking progressive action.

Every purchase of a Cadence product helps get more kids outdoors and fishing through its slogan – Go Fishing, Give Back!

RRP: £120

High quality N20 Barbed Hooks have been used, tied to the tried and tested Reflo Power line. The rigs can be stored in the Revalution Storage System, perfect for keeping all your rigs in order and away from the damp and direct sunlight.

The N20 is a great pattern for all round skimmer and bream fishing, with baits ranging from maggots through to pieces of worm. Available in sizes 12 and 14 to 0.13mm, and 16 and 18 to 0.11mm.

RRP: £3.99

MK19 COMPACT FROM £225

THE ONLY SEATBOX YOU’LL EVER NEED MATRIX | PELLET WAGGLERS www.fishmatrix.co.uk Designed in conjunction with the legendary Jamie Hughes, the new Matrix Pellet Wagglers not only cast with unrivalled accuracy but also hit the water with minimum disturbance. Manufactured using new techniques and materials, these might be the most durable wagglers available today.

The unique ultra-durable aerated plastic body has a high visibility moulded flighted cap and a flat brass weighted base, so no additional shot is required. The size stated on each float is the total weight of the float, not the amount of weight the float needs to sit properly in the water. The built in X-Strong swivel provides easy and secure attachment.

Available in 12g, 10g, 8g and 6g sizes.

RRP: £7.99 (two per pack)

The new Octbox MK19 range takes the design of seatboxes to an even higher level. Stronger than any other system whilst remaining one of the lightest…

D25 MK19 SYSTEMS FROM £475

WWW.OCTBOX.CO.UK TEL: 0800 6124036 SALES@OCTBOX.CO.UK

Up Close: MAP

Up Close: MAP

THREE IN ONE (OR EVEN SIX!) These new MAP Parabolix Layflat Black Edition Rod Holdalls make carrying multiple made-up rods to your peg a walk in the park. hen commercial rods began to be made in two-piece designs rather than the traditional three pieces, it didn’t take long for anglers to realise that they could break down the rod and carry the sections with the reel still on and line through the rings to save time when setting up at the next match.

Using anything from a plastic bag to rubber bands, string or eventually Velcro neoprene bands to hold the sections together, these were somewhat tricky to transport around, as there was always the danger that exposed rod rings could be damaged when packing in the car or van, and reels would clash together or line get damaged when tangled with other items.

Some manufacturers then produced individual ready-rod holdalls to solve this problem, and solve it they did, but with two, three or more rods being taken to a match it was still often a chore to carry so many single rod bags. Enter the multi ready-rod holdall.

Three now seems to be a popular amount of rods to carry, and these two new additions to the stylish Parabolix Black Edition luggage range are designed for that amount and twice as many, coming in 3-rod and 6-rod versions.

Padded for protection, they are the perfect vehicle to carry your rods in any vehicle. Being stiff walled means

W

WIN!

the holdalls carry the rods, rather than the rods providing the stiffness to soft holdalls. Manufactured in a quality ultradurable 1680 denier material they also feature an ultra-tough hard plastic base to prevent wear on the bottom of the holdall.

With dimensions of 195 x 28 x 16cm (3-rod) and 195 x 27 x 22cm (6-rod) these giants will easily accommodate two-piece rods up to 12 feet in length – perfect for longer waggler or distance feeder rods.

When loading the holdall opens wide, very wide, hence the Layflat name, so it’s easy to stash your rods quickly and safely. Padded dividers keep reels apart to protect against damaging other reels or rods. Another nice touch is that Velcro straps keep the rods in place within the holdall so there’s no rattling around in transit. It also means there’s no need to band your rods before putting them in the holdall and you can be confident nothing will get damaged.

Oversized durable double zips make access easy from either end and an adjustable strap enables the holdall to be carried over the shoulder, or there is a carrying handle situated at the balance point of the holdall for ease of carrying in the hand. The 6-rod version has two zips, and is in effect two 3-rod holdalls joined together.

RRP: 3-rod £69.99, 6-rod £99.99

Here’s your chance to win a Parabolix Layflat Black Edition Rod Holdall from MAP. First prize winner gets the 6-rod version and the second prize will receive the 3-rod holdall.

HOW TO ENTER For your chance to win, simply visit www.matchfishingmagazine.com, click on Win and answer the following question. Good luck!

Q: WHAT SORT OF HOLDALLS ARE THESE? A: Flatbed B: Flatpack C: Layflat COMPETITION TERMS AND CONDITIONS: To enter visit www.matchfishingmagazine.com. The winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received between midday Friday, August 6th, and 11am Friday, September 3rd, 2021. Alternatively, you can enter by post: Parabolix Holdalls (August), Match Fishing, DHP Ltd, 1st Floor, Nene House, Sopwith Way, Daventry, Northants NN11 8AE. The editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

78 | Match Fishing

FA N TA S T I C R E TA I L E R S + I DY L L I C V E N U E S = N E T B U L G I N G CAT C H E S !

Pellet Fishing Edges

Make The Banker Pay...

TOM PICK ERING Age: 6 Lives: Don 6 Sponsors: caster Fjuka MF sa A legend of ys: the sport

While most baits come and go in terms of effectiveness, Tom Pickering knows that there is one super-cheap ‘banker bait’ that is worth easy fish all year round…

DRENNAN LINDHOLME LAKES www.lindholmelakes.co.uk

80 | Match Fishing

A pellet that offers the best of both worlds.

Tom just loves catching fish. ven for a world champion, and an angler who has fished for more species in more countries than I care to remember, commercial bait choice can be a minefield at times.

Furthermore, it hurts the pocket, and being a proud Yorkshireman, it does make me feel slightly queasy buying gallons of live bait that I may or may not need depending on the fishes’ mood.

There is a bait however that doesn’t break the bank, and can be relied upon to work 99 per cent of the time on our commercial fisheries… and that is pellets.

Whether it’s bagging 200lb of F1s shallow in a bumper summer bagging fest, or ekeing out a hardearned 30lb on a cold winter’s day, the pellet is the one bait that every aspiring commercial angler

E

Feeding micros was best. should understand – as it is just so damn versatile!

Getting The Basics Right One thing that bears a mention straightaway with pellet fishing is the importance of having your setup just right. Generally, feeding is done via a pole-

So seatbox positioning and roller placement are more important than ever. I like to position my seatbox slightly tilting forwards (with the back half an inch higher than the front), with my knees flat and feet firmly on a level footplate.

This relieves pressure on the back and means you can easily control your pole, even at long lengths.

Roller placement is always offset at a slight angle, so I can ship back

left-handed angler. At long lengths ensure there is no bumping or jarring when shipping out, so you can deliver the contents of your pole mounted pot exactly where you want it quickly and efficiently.

Depth Of Water This is the big variable when it comes to pellet fishing, and the biggest tip I can give here is to keep an open mind, and be prepared to experiment. For sure,

“The biggest tip I can give here is to keep an open mind, and be prepared to experiment.” mounted pot, and good pole control is very important.

Likewise, you need to be patient while waiting for bites, and comfortable while doing so.

without looking behind me. For the right-handed angler, generally around 11 o’clock on the clock face is correct, with one o’clock being the equivalent for the

there are some very broad rules of thumb – the warmer the weather, generally the higher in the water column the fish will want to feed so targeting shallow water

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Pellet Fishing Edges

“Pellet rigs should have three key characteristics to my mind; strength, stability and sensitivity.”

You can squeeze the ok Fjuka pellets then ho them.

is normally the key, and more than likely in cooler weather, the fish will hang in deeper water.

But the real advantage when it comes to knowledge of depths of water can only be exacted on the day. It is about reading the water and taking note of what your peg is telling you.

For example, you might start fishing in two feet of water up to an island, but if you are getting line bites and not hooking fish in the mouth, you need to come shallower. As with most kinds of fishing, it’s the angler who spots these

82 | Match Fishing

changes and responds to them the quickest that gains the edge.

Hard V Soft It used to be the case that anglers only had two real choices when it came to pellet hook baits: hard pellets, that are banded, or soft expander pellets which are pre-prepared by soaking in water on the bankside.

These are both great options for entirely different situations. Hard pellets really score well when it comes to shallow fishing, as a banded pellet is so resilient that it can withstand the slapping

of the rig on the water.

When fishing at length up to islands, hard pellets are also outstanding, as being mounted on a band, there is never a chance of them coming off the hook.

By contrast, soft pellets offer an entirely different set of qualities. They are great when small or shy biting fish are the target, as they are easily slurped in and digested. They can be a bind to prepare, but I would never go to my peg without some.

What there has never really been until very recently is a middle ground – a bait that offers some

of the qualities of both baits, with some unique advantages of its own. That was until Fjuka launched its new ‘Fjuka Naturals’.

If you’ve never seen Fjuka before, it’s a really interesting texture, almost like putty or Play-Doh, which means it stays on the hook brilliantly, and can be easily rubbed together or broken apart to make a bigger or smaller bait.

So why do I like them, and what do they do? It’s the consistency that’s the biggest thing. They are heavy and sink, just like a hard pellet, but without any need for preparation. Plus,

The last dropper sits on the hooklength knot.

A tidy bulk.

The perfect size of float in water shallower than three feet.

their colour means that they blend in with feed pellets brilliantly.

I will always take all three hook bait options with me to the peg, but very often I find myself just using Fjuka Naturals on the hook when fishing on the bottom.

Rigs Pellet rigs should have three key characteristics to my mind; strength, stability and sensitivity. Obviously the targets are carp, F1s and skimmers, so robust, balanced tackle is a must.

You should always match the tackle that you use to

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| 83

Pellet Fishing Edges

Tom makes sure all his gear is set up perfectly.

A great net of fish using mostly Fjuka 2in1 Natural pellets on the hook.

Feeding little and often is the key to catching these.

the size of fish that you are targeting, so for me here today at Lindholme it’s 0.16mm main line to a 0.14mm hooklength.

Stability comes from float choice and shotting.

Again, you have to consider conditions, but as a rule of thumb in water shallower than three feet it’s a 0.3g or 4x14 float with a ‘444’ showing pattern. That is a bulk and two droppers spaced evenly four inches apart. In depths deeper than three feet, it’s a 0.5g or 4x16 float with a ‘666’ pattern, so a bulk, and two droppers spaced evenly six inches apart.

Finally the sensitivity aspect. Take your time when plumbing up with pellets, and try and find a nice flat area to present your bait.

Think carefully about the length of line between pole tip and float, to ensure that your rig is always

84 | Match Fishing

presented below your pole tip. Some anglers like to use back shot to help with this, but generally if there is no wind as long as you don’t have too much line you should be able to achieve great presentation.

Finally, plumbing up.

My general rule of thumb is to plumb up to the bottom of the float body, so I know my bait is resting on the bottom, but there isn’t too much line laid on the deck, which may cause missed bites or foul hooked fish. Again, this is something that you should be prepared to experiment with through the course of a session, and tweak to get just right.

Feeding Most venues these days insist on anglers using the fishery’s own feed pellets, which in many respects makes bait choice easy.

I will always cover my

options where possible and take a range of different sizes. So today, I have brought micros, 4mms and 6mms. I will feed the micros to start with to gauge what fish are present, and then I have the option of feeding bigger pellets to be more selective if I need to be.

I always say to my coaching students that ‘little and often’ is the key with feeding, and this is particularly true with pellets. There really is no advantage to piling it in – it’s all about feeding to catch one fish, then repeating the process.

The Session Today has been the perfect demonstration of the power of the pellet! It’s been a hard day – baking hot, and not a lot was being caught around the lake. With no island to go at, I fished one line on the bottom at around six metres in front

of me. Early in the day, it was clear that the dominant species was skimmers, and I’ve caught some lovely fish – some in excess of 2lb, and very few smaller than 8oz.

As the day has gone on, the bigger fish have decided to have a feed, and I have caught some real quality F1s and carp. Feeding just micros has been great today, and although I did experiment with bigger pellets, the micros have definitely been king.

Likewise, the new Fjuka 2in1 Naturals have been an outstanding hook bait. Prior to these, I think this might have been a hard pellet day as the fish have fed so confidently, but these new baits definitely outscored them today. Not only do they stay on the hook much better than most expanders, but they can be hooked a lot quicker than a banded pellet, meaning they offer the best of both worlds.

EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR MATCH FISHING MAGAZINE

FORGET BANDING IF YOU USE FISHERY PELLETS DO THIS INSTEAD 1. Fjuka 2in1 hooks straight from the bag; 2in1 Natural is a perfect match for fishery pellets – but unlike hard pellets they hook perfectly without any prep – so you don’t need bands or banders.

NEW 2in1 Naturals - hook directly

2. SensateTM Attractant System. Unlike hard pellets, Fjuka 2in1 is loaded with Sensate™ - Fjuka’s own patented attractant that’s irresistible to match-lake carp, silverfish, roach, rudd and all freshwater species. And unlike other pre-prepped pellets, Fjuka 2in1 Naturals taste great!

3. Match-winning on lakes, rivers and canals: incredibly fast to hook and naturally sinking - with no soaking, squeezing or other prep needed. Top match-anglers are finding it an irreplaceable part of their armoury.

4. The most versatile bait on the market. Fjuka is not just a brilliant hook bait, it’s far more flexible. It’s such good value you can chuck a few 2in1 Naturals in the water - to attract the fish. Just as you would with maggots or corn. Or you can mix Fjuka 2in1 Micros into your groundbait to keep the fish in your peg.

5. Super long-lasting. there are over 1,000 5mm 2in1 Baits in each bag of Fjuka Naturals, plus over 3,000 3mm hookbaits in a bag of Micro 2in1 Baits. Better still, once opened they will stay soft for up to 12 months (as long as they’re kept in a sealed container).

“This latest bait is a real winner – ‘cos it were my idea!”

Tommy Pickering World Champion Angler

When Dave Preston and I first re-united at Fjuka, I said to him – you’ve got to do a hookable bait that you can fish over standard fishery pellets. Well it here is – Fjuka 2in1 Naturals.

It’s a perfect match for fishery pellets and it catches absolutely brilliantly. Try some for yourself!”

FJUKA NATURALS STARTER PACK JUST £14.99!

ER E OV SAV

£8

E USIV EXCL OFFER DER REA

•

New Fjuka 2in1 5mm Hookable Bait, Triple Pack Natural

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Fjuka 2in1 5mm Hookable Bait in Red

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Fjuka 2in1 3mm Hookable Micros, Black.

•

Fjuka 2in1 3mm Hookable Micros, White.

•

Fjuka Neeonz 7mm Hyper-Fluoro Hookbait ‘Lightening White!’

•

Fjuka Neeonz 7mm Hyper-Fluoro Hookbait ‘Well Hello Yellow!’

TO ORDER USE CODE ‘MATCH22’ WHEN YOU CHECKOUT AT FJUKA.COM OR CALL 0121 400 0087 Phone lines open 9am - 2pm Monday to Friday Offer ends midnight 1st October 2021

River Tactics

MARK POLL AR Age: 57 D Lives: Bed Sponsor ford Hinders Bais: Matrix, ts, Sta Sports njay MF says: Small fish supremo

No Roach, Same Approach RIVER GREAT OUSE, NEWPORT PAGNELL Newport Pagnell Fishing Association: 07516 537558

Pagnell for an early We join Mark Pollard on the River Great Ouse at Newport rely on roach. season river practice session when it was still too early to

This is what you catch when the roach don’t feed.

86 | Match Fishing

Mark’s Bait

Home cooked hemp.

Fresh casters.

Fresh pinkies.

Bronze and red maggots.

here’s nothing quite like getting back on the rivers again after an enforced three-month layoff, and typically the fishing on most river venues can be described as iffy during the first few weeks of the season. This year has been a little different with a lot of natural behaviour of animals and plants being a month behind compared to what they typically are because of our strange weather patterns.

That means the roach have yet to switch on on one of my local stretches of the River

T

Great Ouse near Newport Pagnell and as I’ve got a ticket booked for the open match here next weekend, I thought I needed to get on the river and have a practice.

I’m fishing the Sherington stretch and the matches on here are usually every two or three weeks and are normally sell-outs but limited to around 45 pegs. It’s probably one of the most idyllic looking stretches of the Ouse, with plenty of reed beds, gravel runs, shallow areas, deeper areas, streams entering the river, overhanging bushes

and trees… you name it, this stretch has got the lot. After the Sherington stretch the river then runs downstream to Olney, which is the most noted stretch of this part of the Ouse with match anglers and they run opens on that stretch every Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Peg The peg I’ve chosen today (or more accurately Dave the photographer has chosen!) is the peg running on to Sherington Bridge and it’s one of those pegs that you’d run to in a match. However, without

the roach feeding at the minute, it becomes a different proposition and I’ll be fishing for small dace, small chub and perch mainly, and the target weight realistically is between 8 and 10lb.

Even though I’m not expecting to catch roach, I don’t change my approach with regards to baits and feeding and I’ll fish and feed the same as I would if roach were the main target species.

For me that means feeding groundbait and pinkies and then loose feeding casters and maybe some hemp over

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River Tactics

STEP-BY-STEP

ADDING PARTICLES

1 Add a handful of hemp…

the top. The groundbait will concentrate the fish on the bottom and the loose fed casters will hopefully draw fish up from downstream.

I could possibly feed a chopped worm line as well for perch and if it was a match I’d probably do this, but today I want to try and see what weight is possible by targeting the small dace, chublets, bleak and hopefully the odd roach too in close.

Normally though, once we get further into the season it would be out and out roach here but like I said, my approach to baits and feeding would be exactly the same in that scenario. There are odd skimmers here too but enough to target them, and if any do show up I’ll catch them on my groundbait and pinkie approach.

2 … a handful of casters…

important to offer the fish some food content in the groundbait, which helps them settle over the feed for longer.

My mix is 1.5kg of Supercharged Natural Black from Hinders Bait and 0.5kg of brown crumb. The Natural Black has some food content in the form of crushed hemp and other particles, and the brown crumb provides extra food content, which I feel is important. The result is a nice smelling dark groundbait that’s sticky and heavy enough to carry plenty of loose offerings and get down to the bottom before breaking up.

I’ll add pinkies, casters and hemp to the mix before making up the balls for feeding. I’ve also got some maggots with me for a change bait but I don’t expect to feed any.

The Perfect Mix There is a tinge of colour in the river today and it looks perfect, but even if it was clear I’d still go with the groundbait and pinkie approach. I like a dark coloured mix and I think it’s

The Great Ouse at Newport Pagnell.

88 | Match Fishing

Apart from perch, the biggest fish of the day.

3 … and a handful of pinkies.

4 Four balls ready to cup in.

Rigs

boils and swirls, and that’s why I’ve decided to fish this line because the fish will prefer the steadier flow.

Both rigs have an olivette but on the lighter rig I’ll push that up to around one-third of the depth because I’ll be loose feeding casters over the top and this will give me the opportunity to catch on the way down and down the peg if they’re responding to the loose feed. The heavier 2g rig has the olivette pushed further towards the hook and this will get my bait down faster, so I can drop straight in on top of the groundbait and then ease the float down the peg.

You might be wondering why I don’t just feed groundbait and fish over it but in my mind I want to feed the casters to draw fish from further downstream on to the groundbait. The loose feed is probably going down past the bridge before it gets to the

I’ve set up two rigs for the session – a 1g and a heavier 2g rig. My plan is to try and catch these small fish in close at four and five metres and see what happens. This will give me a better idea of what to do across and whether I’ll be better off feeding chopped worm over for perch or whether it’s best to turn it into another small fish line by feeding groundbait and pinkies come match day.

However, in a match I’d be looking to feed chopped worm close in but down the peg in the slacker water.

I could set up a third rig with a strung bulk but I think with the pace of the river today I’d be out of my peg before the rig settled. The water at four and five metres is quite steady whereas further out into the river the float is more uneven with

“The roach are still noticeable by their absence and I’m trying various ways of presenting the rig to see if anything increases the stamp of fish I’m catching.”

The long pole came into play later in the session.

STEP-BY-STEP

THE MIX

1 Polly’s ingredients.

bottom but I believe the fish down there will find these and then come upstream looking for the source. There’s a nice depth in the swim of five and half feet and it’s the same pretty much all the way across to the large tree that’s fallen in the water on the far bank.

So, my 2g rig has the olivette and then I’ve got four No10 Stotz spread a couple of inches apart down to the hooklength knot. On my lighter 1g rig the olivette is much further away from the hook but still with four No10 Stotz spread further apart below. The elastic on both rigs is a No4, which is perfect for these small fish and the

2 ALWAYS riddle your mix.

main line 0.12mm to 0.08mm hooklengths and size 18 Matrix MXB-2 hooks.

Off We Go To start the session I take four good handfuls of loose groundbait and then add my casters, hemp and pinkie particles before moulding four cricket ball sized balls that I’m going to pot in for maximum accuracy. I’ll start with my 1g rig with a single maggot on the hook just to see what’s about before I start refining rigs, presentation and feeding to suit how the fish are feeding on the day.

I’m expecting bites to come straightaway because I’m

3 Push the stubborn bits through with a brush.

4 A fine, dark mix that still has food content.

targeting small fish and as soon as my rig is in the water I begin to loose feed seven or eight casters regularly over the top.

I’m lowering the rig in on a tight line because I want the hook bait to get ahead of the float before I start to ease the float through over the groundbait. It’s important when feeding the groundbait that you make sure it’s introduced slightly downstream so it’s easy to run the rig on to it. If you feed directly in front of you your hook bait will have gone past the groundbait before it gets to the bottom. It’s a simple thing to remember but you’ll

be surprised just how many anglers don’t do this!

It’s surprised me just how slow it is to begin with, with only the odd bite on a maggot and after 20 minutes I’ve only caught two or three small dace. Normally when you feed groundbait like I have the small fish are on it immediately and you get a good run of fish early, but that’s not happened today and it’s not even a match!

I’ve also tried caster on the hook but that never produced a bite. I then started to miss bites on maggot so I put a pinkie on the hook to try and it was like pressing the on button. I began to get more

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Mark’s Rigs

River Tactics

A net fish at last for Polly.

Polly’s hook choice.

The shotting pattern.

The ideal shape of float.

Polly’s 1g and 2g rigs.

A nice bonus perch. bites and I started connecting with them, which was great.

Only small fish as expected but I wish I’d started on the pinkie instead of wasting the first part of the session with maggot and caster on the hook.

Double Pinkie Switching to double pinkie proved to be even better and although the fish weren’t that much bigger, the bites were better and the float sailed away in an unmissable fashion rather jab under quickly.

Every time I felt the bites slowed and the swim needed a boost, I topped up with another ball of groundbait and the bites returned immediately for a while before tailing off again, signalling the introduction of another ball. Sometimes it would be 20 minutes before another ball of groundbait was required, at other times it was 30 or 40.

Occasionally the reintroduction of groundbait didn’t work and I couldn’t work out why initially, then I hooked the first of three

90 | Match Fishing

pike and that answered my question! It’s frustrating getting the fish feeding how you want only to then have it all ruined by the presence of a pike. But that’s something you just have to deal with if it happens and on the positive side, if there are pike in the swim it normally means there are lot of small fish too.

No roach, but still a great net of small fish.

The main species I’m catching is dace, but there is the odd small roach and chublet. Also when I feed another ball of hard groundbait, I manage to get one or two perch and they’re worth three or four dace in weight. The roach are still noticeable by their absence and I’m trying various ways of presenting the rig to see if anything increases the stamp of fish I’m catching. The best way seems to be to swing the rig out into the flow and then hold tight while the rig straightens up before letting it go and easing it over the groundbait. This results in better bites but there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do to increase the stamp, so it’s a case of getting my head down and catching as many as I can.

Moving Out The swim did go on me towards the end of the session and even another ball of groundbait failed to get the fish back. I put this down to pike being in the swim, so what I decided to do was plumb across to the tree on the far bank and feed a ball of groundbait there. The

fish were straight back on it over there with double pinkie on the hook but obviously it was much slower because of the distance. I managed to keep catching there until the end of the session and apart from one or two quiet spells, which I put down to pike, I’ve had bites all day long from small fish. The roach are still missing but with my groundbait and pinkie approach I don’t need to change anything in my tactics.

If the roach were feeding I would have fished and fed exactly the same and that’s the beauty of this method, it will catch whatever is feeding on the day and quite often outfish other tactics like loose feeding hemp and caster or maggots.

Editor’s note: Something happened during the match that doesn’t happen very often – Polly drew ‘the bomb hole’, which is arguably the worst peg on the stretch! It was a top five deep but he still managed 7lb 9oz, with 12lb winning the match.

Events

PRESTON INNOVATIONS UK POLE CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER ONE Wednesday, June 30th saw the inaugural match of the Preston Innovations UK Pole Championship take place at Aston Park Fisheries near Sheffield. This was the first of three qualifier rounds and successful qualifying anglers would then advance to the final, to be held at Woodland View in September.

The draw gets under way.

Bills and Butts were both used.

92 | Match Fishing

It’s definitely a pole match !

Matt Thompson on his way to winning the match.

PRESTON UK POLE CHAMPS Q1 – ASTON PARK 1st Matt Thompson Bills 16 85lb 5oz 2nd Tim Booker Bills 28 52lb 2oz 3rd Jamie Hughes Butts 3 47lb 0oz 4th Alan Smith Butts 43 45lb 6oz

QUALIFIERS: LANTA Lee Blagden Kev Stalley Ian Larnder-Cox Danny Bennett BILLS Neil Byrne Robert Lockett

John Pearson Matt Thompson Tom Davenport Tim Booker BUTTS Jamie Hughes Darren Minto Harry Tait

Dean Evennett Tim Goldsby Stuart Gould Roberto Verdi Jamie Needham Alan Smith Graham Ramsdale

Lanta was included in the match.

Matt Thompson with his winning catch.

Netting a carp was an uncommon sight for most. his was the northern qualifier and the way anglers can qualify is different from a lot of other matches because out of this 60-peg match, 20 anglers would go through to the final. So what’s different about that, you may ask? Well, instead of the anglers with the 20 best weights progressing to the final, these matches are split into 20 ‘mini’ three-peg sections and the winner of each mini section advances to the final. It gives every angler a big chance of qualifying and you can’t get much fairer than that.

The lakes used at Aston Park were Lanta, Bills and Butts and with this being a pole only event, most of the

T

field wanted to draw Bills or Butts, which are canal style lakes where the far bank can be reached with a pole.

However, although there are the usual favoured pegs on all the lakes, the venue was sure to fish harder than normal because of the amount of anglers competing. It was always likely to take the fish a while to settle down so a cautious approach to start with was likely to pay dividends rather than going on the attack.

Serial big money winner Jamie Hughes was definitely the angler to keep an eye on but after drawing Peg 3 on Butts, he probably went down to equal favourite rather than the clear favourite! You can read how Jamie’s

The top four all qualified for

the final.

day went on page 8 as he kindly allowed us to sit with him for the whole match.

Overall it did fish harder than most anglers were expecting and it was clear that Matt Thompson on Bills 16 had enjoyed a good match and had caught fairly steadily throughout, compared to the anglers around him. His 85lb 5oz was easily enough to win the match.

Tim Booker on Bills 28 was second with 52lb 2oz and he was just about dead opposite Jamie Hughes who had to work very hard for his third placed 47lb. Alan Smith on Butts 43 made up the top four (who also won their ‘mini’ sections and qualified for the final) with his 45lb 6oz.

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The Grand Final – Barston Lakes A field of 43 of the country’s best club anglers lined up for the Grand Final of the 2021 Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year event, and it turned out to be an eventful day.

T

here was a buzz around the car park, as the 43 finalists gathered (social distanced) for the 2021 Garbolino Club Angler of the Year – hosted again by Barston Lakes in the West Midlands, and the good news was the poor weather

of recent weeks had moved off to be replaced by bright, warm conditions.

Darren Cox of event sponsor Garbolino greeted the field, and after a brief reminder of the rules and fishing times, he announced that the winner would walk away with a top Garbolino

Barston Lakes is a great venue to host the final.

Dean Haymes wins this battle.

96 | Match Fishing

pole. The runner-up would also receive a pole, plus there were pellet waggler rods for the other frame winners.

The top five in the frame would also pick up a cash prize, as would the nine winners of each of the four/five-man sections, so there was plenty to fish for

during the five-hour event.

The small field meant that the pegging was also very generous, with five sections on the river side of the lake and four on the golf course bank, so with less pressure on the water it was hoped the venue would provide plenty of action for all.

Peter Boggiano feels the power as he leans into another big fish.

Greg Welsby lands one of his section-winning carp.

It was too little, too late for Brian Duckett, but what a lump!

Darren kicked off the day by drawing the peg numbers, and each competitor received an exclusive Garbolino cap and 13-litre groundbait bucket.

With many in the field coming from the far corners of the country, the venue would be unfamiliar to them, and prior to the 11am start Darren and Garbolino sponsored angler Glen Picton took time out to chat with each angler as they were setting up, to offer advice on the best tactics to get the most from their draw.

The all-in saw much of the field start on long feeder tactics, but a few fed their

pole lines, and then picked up the pellet waggler and started pinging big pellets to 25 metres.

The stiff north-westerly breeze had been pushing into the early pegs on the river bank side and the consensus was that the teens and twenties might be the anglers to watch. However, there was always “the best peg on the lake”, Peg 124, to keep an eye on.

It’s often the case that Barston can be a slow burner, and after the first 90 minutes there had only been a few carp caught, with skimmers providing most of the action.

The golf course bank was the

slower side of the lake. Ernie Sattler (Peg 120) had two early carp on the tip, and that was the best until Dan Warman (82), who had three carp on pellet waggler.

The river bank side had been a little better with more carp and F1s being caught, and as predicted, the best of the early period came from the pegs where the wind blew towards. Andrew Wiffen (28) had three carp and two F1s, claiming that “he only really fished the pole”, but he seemed to be getting it right.

Terry Oldfield (26) and Dean Haymes (20) with three carp apiece were other early

pace setters, but already there was a front runner, Peter Boggiano (18) with six carp. All three had gone on the bomb line early and had started to catch the odd good fish.

The story of the day had started to unfold, and by the mid-point of the match it had become clear that the competitors on the golf course side were fishing for their section, as a few had switch to the pole to either catch skimmers or the odd carp ‘slapping’. Both Luke Ward (110) and Greg Wesby (112) had picked up two carp each on shallow tactics.

The action on the

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| 97

The best of the bunc h for Andrew Wiffen.

Peter Boggiano nets another carp on his way to the title.

Jamie Cowling had his gear tested to the limit when this munter snaffled his pellet.

Unfortunately Dean Haymes lost this brute, but it didn’t cost him in the end. river side had become patchy in the 30s and 40s. Better in the 50s, but as the match moved into the final 90 minutes, a battle developed with three anglers, Andrew Wiffen, Dean Haymes and Peter Boggiano catching regularly; all three pulling away from the rest of the field.

It would not be an easy call as to who had the advantage, but when Andrew landed a monster common it tipped the scales his way with an hour to go.

That all changed, as the carp turned up in numbers for Dean and Peter, and that produced a

98 | Match Fishing

crazy final 60 minutes, with it impossible to call which angler would come out on top, so as the all-out was called, the result was in the balance.

The weights on the golf course side were, as expected, on the low side. Dan Warman won his section with 44-10-0; Michael Moore his with 202-0, while Greg Welsby won his with 36-10-0 and Wayne Rooke his with 24-0-0.

The competitors on the river bank fared far better, and the weights were vastly improved. Stuart White (54) made the decision to go for skimmers from the off, and his net of 55-5-0 earned him a

section win. Jamie Foster (52) cracked the secret to catching carp when others around him struggled, and his 63-1-0 was good for a section pick-up.

Another finalist who took the skimmers route was David Hodson, won tipped 40-11-0 of silvers on the scales.

For an angler who doesn’t fish the tip often, Andrew Wiffen’s final total of 89-8-0 was enough for third after he held off a late run from Dave Wilmot (22) with 82-11-0 in fourth and Terry Oldfield (26) 78-0-0 in fifth.

All the weights in the 20s were good enough to earn a cash prize, but all eyes moved on to the last section,

and had Dean Haymes (done enough to claim the top prize?

After three weighs Dean’s total was 104-1-0, so he was assured second place at least.

And so it was on to the next peg where it became clear as Peter Boggiano lifted his first net out that he had a lot of quality fish, and after the first weigh, the chatter was that if he had the same in his second, he would win.

The second haul confirmed the result, as Peter’s total was 145-6-0, a clear winner in the end.

It was back to the lawn in front of the Clubhouse for the result and presentation,

A great net of silvers earned David Hodson a section win.

and as the finalists gathered, keeping to social distancing, Darren Cox thanked the anglers and Match Fishing magazine for supporting the event, and to Nigel Harrhy and his team for hosting the final and their fantastic hospitality in testing times.

He then handed out the section winners with their prize money, before announcing the top five in reverse order. Terry Oldfield (fifth), Dave Willmott (fourth) and Andrew Wiffen (third) each received a Garbolino Essential 11ft 6in Match Carp rod, plus prize money and super pools.

Runner-up Dean Haymes received a Garbolino UK5 Carp Match 13m pole, plus prize money.

Last, but not least, was Garbolino Club Angler of the Year Peter Boggiano, who was presented with the trophy, a keepsake, plus the amazing prize of a 16m Garbolino UK3 Match Power Plus pole, as well as prize money and super pools totalling a fantastic £770.

A full list of results can be seen on the table here.

Once again Barston delivered, and although it had been a testing day for some, it also provided some edge of the seat action in the closing stages.

Match Fishing would like to add its thanks to all the anglers who supported the event, also Nigel and his team for hosting the final and their hospitality, and to Darren Cox for his and Garbolino’s continued support of the event.

Part of Andrew Wiffen’s third-place 89-8-0 haul.

Dave Willmott claimed fourth on the day.

RESULTS Peg Name 12 Carl Harvey 14 Tim Goodson 16 Brian Duckett 18 Peter Boggiano 20 Dean Haymes

Weight 32-9-0 72-4-0 42-4-0 145-6-0 104-1-0

22 24 26 28 30

Dave Willmott Jamie Cowling Terry Oldfield Andrew Wiffen Chris Parkin

82-11-0 63-2-0 78-0-0 89-8-0 13-0-0

32 35 38 40 42

Matt Greaves Kevin Shellie Tom Newton Dave Edwards David Hodson

28-6-0 13-4-0 21-0-0 DNW 40-11-0

Section

44 46 48 50 52

Jonathan Firth Steve Hunt Harry Bullock Jack Stamp Jamie Foster

12-1-0 DNW DNW DNW 63-1-0

Section

54 56 59 61

Stuart White Matthew Vater Neil Rogerson Kevin Simson

55-5-0 40-6-0 27-0-0 13-0-0

70 72 82 84 87

Dave Burns Ben Dutton Dan Warman Martin Wiffen Phil Taylor

43-15-0 33-12-0 44-10-0 DNW 11-3-0

90 93 96 99 102

Matthew White 13-3-0 Not Drawn Michael Moore 20-2-0 Andrew Mitchell 13-2-0 Steve Simmonds 7-0-0

105 108 110 112 114

Dave Langton 20-9-0 Roy Penkethman 18-10-0 Luke Ward 29-14-0 Greg Welsby 36-10-0 Ian Gladders DNW

116 118 120 122 124

Tom Calladine Wayne Rooke Ernie Sattler Tony Picton Matthew Banks

16-2-0 24-0-0 18-1-0 23-3-0 12-13-0

Result Section (D)

1st 2nd 4th Section (D)

5th 3rd

3RD

He broke the 100lb barrier, but it was second overall for Dean Haymes.

2ND

South Manchester-based Peter Boggiano claimed his best-ever match win after qualifying for the final in the Lindholme Lakes Northern Qualifier earlier in the year, and when Darren Cox drew him Peg 18 in the morning, he knew he was in traditionally a good area.

“I’m totally over the moon to win today. When he drew my peg, Darren said that he would fancy it or Peg 16, so I knew I would have a chance if it fished well,” he explained. “However, to win it is great. Having fished the final two years ago I had a simple plan; set three rods up – dead simple. I’ve not even got my pole with me. I fished the long feeder at the start to see if I could get a few early fish, and pinged 8mm hard pellets at 30 metres from the start to prime a short bomb/waggler line.

“I fed a lot of bait today, 11 pints of 8mms in all, and gone through five catapults too! I only had one fish long, so I dropped short after an hour and had two more carp. It then went quiet, so I switched to the pellet waggler and had a couple more, but from the third hour I concentrated on the bomb. I caught steadily, but the bites were really funny. Not real pull-rounds, more ‘dink-dink’ indications and even drop backs. I caught some big fish too, especially in the last hour when it really kicked off, and I think that helped me get over the line.”

Peter Boggiano with part of his matchwinning haul.

Section

Section

Section

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Bait Clinic

GET YOUR QUESTIONS IN! Check out the Match Fishing Magazine Facebook page regularly for your chance to enter your questions for our panel of bait experts!

WHAT YOU CAN WIN! The top question wins a Dynamite bait package worth £25.94, and three runnersup each receive a pack worth £12.97.

Bait Clinic We’ve teamed up with Dynamite Baits and its team of top anglers to answer your bait-related questions and help you catch more fish.

DEEP AND SILTY I am fishing a deep quarry in Scotland with depths up to 25 metres. It has a very silty bottom and I have tried various baits and methods to catch the bream and tench.

Problem I feel is that feeders sink into the silt, along with heavy baits like pellets or corn, so what I would like to know is what groundbait and hook baits should I use to hold the fish in my peg?

Tony Hamblin

ROB WOOTTON SAYS This sounds like a really interesting and unique venue and it’s very rare to be fishing in such depths.

However, there was one

water that did give us a few similar headaches and that was the Sas van Ghent Canal in Holland. We were fishing the venue a lot leading up to the World Feeder Champs in 2015; this big shipping canal had some huge obstacles to overcome and depth was one of them. We found that fishing closer in the shallower water and slightly harder bottom was a good way of targeting fish, so I would first try to find a shallower area even if it’s just 15 metres out from the bank.

If the fish don’t want to come close I would seriously look at using a very active mix to create a column of feed that will hold fish at all

RUNNERPRIZE UP

1ST PRIZE WINNER

depths and then I would try and pull a couple of fish down with a tightly packed window feeder. I wouldn’t worry that the feeder is going into the silt as I want the fish to follow the feeder down and then have no alternative bait on the

bottom to pick up, except my hook bait. A great mix for this would be the Dynamite Baits Skimmer mix. This mix is a fantastic bream and skimmer attractor but also has plenty of active particles that will hold fish well.

FLAVOURING MEAT RUNNERMeat in the margins – what would you combine PRIZE UPwith this and what flavourings would you use?

Ian Hughes

AIDEN MANSFIELD SAYS Meat in the margins can be great with a couple of different combinations. When fishing for F1s I like to feed riddled meat and Swim Stim Amino Original groundbait in a sloppy form, which is great for holding fish in your peg.

For proper carp, where rules allow, the classic combination of meat and hemp (normally a 60 per cent hemp to a 40 per cent meat ratio) is a good starting point and 6 or 8mm cubes will be perfect if you’re trying to tempt some of your venue’s bigger fish.

Finally on the flavours front, I don’t like to commit to flavouring the meat that is being fed and would much rather have a stand out punched hook bait soaked in Robin Red, or you can try the new Robin Red meat from Dynamite, which saves you the hassle of having to do it yourself.

100 | Match Fishing

PERFECT PASTE

RUNNE PRIZRE-UP

When paste fishing, how do you prevent small fish from knocking it off?

Steve Law

THE PANEL

TONY CURD SAYS When fishing paste I always like to have the bait as soft as I possibly can for the best results, but if small fish are an issue then stiffening the mix up is a must, which will enable you to keep the hook bait in place long enough for a bigger fish to pick it up.

Of course though, if small fish are getting a look in there may not be many carp present in the swim and this can often be down to the time of day. So, if you’re fishing a short pole line, or in the margins with paste, then I’d probably look to fish this later in the match or session, only feeding it once you’re ready to fish there. Paste is pretty instant so bites are

NICK SPEED Speedy is not only a top angler but also a high-level chef.

likely to follow soon after feeding if there are fish your peg.

Another aspect to look at if small fish are an issue is feeding larger items – sweetcorn or larger 6mm to 8mm pellets are great options to help avoid the silvers.

COLOUR CODE

ROB WOOTTON A serial big-match winner, Rob is one of the very best anglers around

ALEX DOCKERTY Young angling coach who is forging a great career in angling

RUNNE PRIZRE-UP

Are there any colour baits that you think would be more visually attractive to fish than others and why?

Mark Watson

JACK DANBY Top angler from Nottingham who also works for Dynamite Baits

SAM COLLETT SAYS When it comes to choosing different coloured baits, I personally think it comes down to water clarity, or if you are fishing up in the water, a silhouette against the sky. So, when the colour of the water is clear, normally a paler bait such as a white coloured bait, or yellow, stands out very well. When it comes to coloured water however, a white or yellow bait might not stand out very much, so a darker colour like

TONY CURD Been around for years and one of the best attacking anglers out there

red or orange can be better.

When it comes to fishing off the bottom, where the fish has to look up at the sky to find the bait, a bait that stands out again is normally better.

So, when bright, a darker bait will stand out more than a lighter bait with the silhouette

of the sky. However, when it’s a dark, overcast day, a paler bait will stand out against the darker sky, so it’s all about thinking about the conditions you are faced with and having an experiment on the day to find what the best bait is.

ROB PERKINS SAYS For barbel fishing the best type of pellets to use have always been the Marine Halibut pellets – barbel simply love them! I would always try to feed a mixture of sizes from 3mm to 8mm pellets which helps to confuse the fish into taking the hook bait. Using the same type of pellets in larger sizes on the hook, I would try different sizes and combinations on a hair rig.

MATT PILLAY Never afraid to attack a swim with a bit of bait

BEST FOR BARBEL What pellets do you recommend (both as feed and on the hook) and meat to use for barbel fishing?

Barry Jones

AIDAN MANSFIELD Rising match star destined for the top of the commercial fishing tree

Sometimes a single or double 8mm pellet is the way to go while at the other end of the spectrum it may be that the fish want the 15mm or 20mm gobstoppers!

With regards to meat for barbel, then my go-to would be the Frenzied Luncheon Meat Specimen Tuff, either with single or double 8mm to 10mm cubes or with a big ragged chunk torn off the block of meat on the hook.

It can be worth trying different flavours or colours and the ones I would look to try would be the Robin Red, Krill or the Meatcorn versions which offer bright colours and flavours that barbel are known to like.

ROB PERKINS The all-rounder, Rob will turn his hand to all styles of fishing

SAM COLLETT A real star for the future and current England international

ANDY GELDART Been there, done it, won it

| 77

Pellet Waggler

There’s more to r e l g g a w t e l e p e th than you think!

Photos: Mark Parker

DAN HULL Age: 3 Lives: Shear0 Sponsor: M sby iddy MF sa Midlands m ys: and fisheryatch ace owner

SHEARSBY VALLEY LAKES Saddington Rd, Shearsby LE176PX www.shearsbyvalleylakes.com

The pellet waggler may not be the most delicate of approaches, but when it comes to bagging up on carp, Middy’s Dan Hull reckons it is unbeatable, just as long as you do things correctly…

he pellet waggler is without doubt one of my favourite tactics. To be honest I only really like to go to venues where I can fish it too! It doesn’t always work – that is all up to the conditions on the day – but when it does, it can be deadly.

I like the fact that it is a tactic that requires you to be active all day, constantly working out how the fish want to feed and take your bait. The other great thing about the pellet waggler is that you tend to get signs from the fish all day and if you’re not then you are doing something wrong, generally.

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102 | Match Fishing

One other thing about the pellet waggler is that it gets a bit of bad press in the fact that many think it is a simple chuck-it and chance-it tactic. But it is so much more than that – over the past two hours, I have change my float twice and the length of the hook link three times in order to keep in contact with the fish and how they want things.

If you are not getting regular bites then there is a reason for it. There are either no fish in your swim, or you are not presenting the bait at the right depth. Simple things like changing the float pattern or the feed pattern can make

a massive difference.

The fish might want a big splash to draw them in, or that same disturbance could be what is spooking them out of the swim. Every day is different, but like I said, they will always give themselves away so you’ll get signs and indications.

For me, too many anglers fish the pellet waggler robotically. Simply casting, feeding and recasting without any great thought. But it is actually quite tactical. Unlike the margins where you cup in a load of loose bait then fish a large hook bait over the top until you get a bite, which can be quite repetitive,

Dan carrys a number of diiferent wagglers and even bombs.

the waggler will change constantly throughout the day.

For the first 30 minutes you might catch well at three feet, before the swim dies and you need to deepen off to four feet to find the fish again. Conversely, if you are getting a lot of missed bites, it generally means the fish have come shallower in the swim and so you need to fish a shorter hook link.

The pellet waggler is very much a ‘work it out on the day’ approach and that is why I find it so appealing as a tactic. It’s very busy, interesting and consistently evolving, meaning there is always something to think about when you’re fishing with it.

Advantages Of The Pellet Waggler?

Dan feeds little and very often.

Pellet wagglers, often referred to as ‘splasher’ wagglers, were originally large, cigar-shaped floats, similar to small pike deadbait floats. Their size meant that as well as being very buoyant – which means you can fish rather large hook baits – they make a large splosh as they hit the surface. It is this noise that attracts carp, because on heavily stocked waters where the fish are constantly competing for food, this clamour is like ringing the dinner bell.

However, move on a few years to where we are now and it’s a very different playing field! Commercial

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| 103

Pellet Waggler

Dan nets one of the day’s many F1s.

“The bites you get on a pellet waggler are what I would class as ‘proper bites’.”

Accuracy makes all the difference to catch rate.

A hard-fighting mirror carp comes to the net

Dan’s tackle for the day.

104 | Match Fishing

carp get fished for constantly and so they are very streetwise. Yes, a splashy type waggler may work on a given day, but it may also kill the swim stone dead. The fish have seen pellet wagglers for years and so they know what the splash means and represents, so it can spook them on certain days.

This is why I carry a few different types of waggler – like Middy’s Splash ’Ems, Magic-Ball Pellet wagglers or Soft Land Pellet Stubbees. It all depends how I want the rig to act and enter the water.

It is even worth casting off the main feed too at times as quite often the bigger, warier fish will sit here, picking off the odd rogue pellet.

A second advantage regarding the size of the waggler means this simple float setup acts as a selfhooking rig too. As they are all quite buoyant, the bites you get on a pellet waggler are what I would class as “proper bites”. If you are not getting a proper bite then you are undoubtedly doing something wrong and

you need to change either the float or the feed pattern generally.

Further plus points of this “far from refined” technique are that it allows you to perfectly present a bait in the upper layers, well beyond the pole range that most anglers are fishing.

At this time of year, the fish are much more comfortable swimming and feeding in the upper layers. They will follow bait down to the bottom, but often fishing on the deck, particularly in deep water, is never as successful as fishing shallow. That said, I will on occasion cast a bomb over the top of my pellet waggler line, just to see if they have followed the loose feed down.

Being a running line method, there is no shadow on top of the water either.

Even when using a long lash, the pole will still be evident of the fish are very close to the surface.

Finally, I find that it is a great tactic to quickly deduce where the fish want to be on that given day. But, when

Dan prefers lassos over bait bands.

Dan likes to fish his float in a loop .

The rod choice on the day.

A pellet bander tool makes the pellet easier to lasso.

changing things – float styles, hook link length etc – only make one change at a time, otherwise if things do go well, you have no idea what made the difference as you have done too much at once.

At the end of the day it might look crude to us, but to a carp, on its day it is a tactic that is truly hard to beat.

The Setup Starting at the rod, today I’m fishing on my own lakes – Shearsby Valley – and as it is

only a short cast, I’m using a Middy Arco-Tech rod.

These are very tippy so they are perfect when fishing for a mixture of carp and F1s.

If I were fishing on a much bigger lake, for larger carp, then I’d step things up to a Reactacore, which is longer and has more backbone.

The main line is important regarding the pellet waggler, requiring a mixture of durability and diameter. I’m using 5.2lb Carp Commercial Line, which is 0.18mm. This

is ideal as it is strong enough to handle the pressure I’m going to put it through, while at the same time thin enough to cast the required distance with ease.

Again, on a larger water – like Larford for example – I would step up to 6lb. It is

all about balance; it needs to be heavy enough to cope with fish up to 20lb but thin enough to allow me to cast the float the required distances I want to cast to.

Down to the all-important waggler and I have a number of different ones. A pellet

Now that’s a pellet waggler fish!

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| 105

Pellet Waggler

The perfect action for playing carp.

Dan’s go-to pellet wagglers.

Dan used 6mm pellets on the day

All smiles at the end of a hectic session.

waggler is not just a pellet waggler!

At the start of the session today, I went with a Soft Land Pellet Stubbee, as I was looking to make a bit of a splash on the surface. This worked well for the first hour or so, but either the bigger fish spooked or the F1s moved in en masse and the swim went quiet. At this point I changed over to a Fat Boy Straight. This saw the rig entering the water in a much more subtle way, making less disturbance on the surface of the water. I like to attach my wagglers with a snap-link swivel. This means I can very quickly change float as and when required.

106 | Match Fishing

When setting up the float, I have two ways of doing this.

The first is quite traditional, locking the float at depth with rubber float stops. This enables me to quickly and easily move the float up and down the main line so that I can fish at different depths and search for the fish. The difference being that the float is free running, with no float stop beneath it, only one above to lock it at the depth required.

The second way I set up my float rig is more aggressive. This sees the snap link swivel being tied into a loop at the depth I want to fish at. The advantage of the loop is that the fish don’t feel

the float on the take until it reaches the end of the loop and then this acts as a bolt rig.

My hook link is normally 0.16mm (5.2lb) Lo-Viz, although again, if I’m targeting bigger fish, I will up this to 0.20mm. I like a stronger hook link as they tend to be a little stiffer, so you naturally get a lot fewer tangles.

To complete the setup I tie on a QC-1 Method-Wafter hook. Having a rounded inturned point, you get a lot fewer foul hooked fish, which prevents you spooking the shoal.

As for mounting the pellet I am a fan of the lasso. As it can only tighten, the only way the pellet can come off is if it has been on a long time and is starting to break down. To make the rig easier to bait up, I use a Middy pellet tool to open the lasso.

This also helps to keep the knot round.

The Bait Menu Being a pellet waggler, it stands to reason that pellets feature quite highly on my bait menu! Although any coarse pellets will do, here at Shearsby there is a fishery pellets only rule.

The size of the pellets you use is dictated by how you

are looking to fish. You could cast a 10g pellet waggler to the horizon if you wanted, so it is the distance you can catapult your pellets to that dictates the range you will be fishing.

Today, I’m fishing at around 25 metres so 6mm pellets allow accurate feeding. If I need to cast and feed further, I’ll simply up the size of the pellet. If it is very windy or I’m on a bigger water, I will up it to 8mm or even 10mm or 11mm. Here you are looking to fish as far if not further than the rest of the field to get an advantage.

Every cast I’ll put out around half a dozen pellets, although at times I feed heaver just to see if it will trigger a few fish into feeding more aggressively, before cutting back and starving them on to the hook.

Conversely, you can feed less, but more often; all these little things can make a massive difference on the day. Like I said, there is so much more to the pellet waggler than just chucking and chancing.

It is a tactic that you have to constantly work at to get right and keep the bites coming all day. But, when you do get it right, you’ll need a few mates to help you lift out your keepnets at the end of the match!

SEPTEMB E ISSUE R

2021 AVAIL

ABLE

FRIDAY, SE

PTEMBER 3RD

LEVEL HEAD WILL RAISON KEEPS HIS COMPOSURE TO CATCH F1S ON PASTE BARBEL ON THE FEEDER NICK SPEED VISITS THE MIGHTY RIVER TRENT TO SEE IF HE CAN TAME A FEW BARBEL MEAT TREAT MARK CREE SHOWS US HIS DEVASTATING MEAT APPROACH AT FLOAT FISH FARM SHIPP SHAPE MORE TOP ADVICE AND PLENTY OF ACTION FROM PRESTON INNOVATIONS-BACKED DES SHIPP • CONTENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Matt Godfrey

It’s been a month of riding the flow for our Matt, as he’s been on the quest to qualify for the RiverFest Final, while he’s tucked a proud festival victory under his belt too!

Trent Festival, day one.

Nathan Watson beat me for the section on Day One of the festival.

Typical Trent bait tray

The Tidal Trent Festival You probably know by now that I love fishing the tidal Trent, as it’s where I grew up fishing with my grandad.

I was super-excited for this year’s three-day festival; it’s always a great craic with Alan Henry who runs it excellently and his crew, and I just love all the gang who fish it regularly. I was also itching to do well!

Day one and I was off to a good start on Peg 40 at Laughterton. It’s a reasonable area, and I quite fancied it to be honest. It was a simple feeder match for me really, down one line all day at about 30 metres where I used a groundbait feeder. The start was steady, and by constantly changing things throughout the match it just got better and better. I didn’t have any big fish, other than a surprise ide (yes a River Trent IDE!) of about 2lb. It amazes me how many of these are in the river now, I’d love them to start breeding in there.

108 | Match Fishing

Changing the length of the hooklength was essential on this day. I’d catch a few on a short one, say 50 centimetres long, then change to one metre and have another run of fish, and at the end I caught some on a really long one, six feet or slightly more even! I ended with 14-15-0, which was enough to finish second in the section behind Nathan Watson, who had two barbel and a few other fish for 15-7-0 on the end

peg. Nevertheless, a very good start to the festival!

Day two saw me on a tricky one, Peg 38 at North Clifton. This bit of river is totally different – wide, shallow and notoriously difficult. However, I had to think about section points for the festival, and really got my head down fishing both the feeder and waggler. In the first half of the match, the feeder was okay as the tide was high, but as it dropped it got worse and worse.

A Trent IDE!

A switch to the waggler halfway through brought millions of bites, but from micro fish that were far too small to build a weight. I had to find a way of getting through them, and with an hour and a half to go I got off the box and set-up a bolo with a 4g olivette on, which I slid down so it was a foot away from the hook. This

Day two, Trent Festival.

Day one section results. worked a treat in the final hour, and I enjoyed a Day three Trent Fessy match run of bigger roach on it, winning catch, 22-14-0. taking me to 9-2-0 on a tough day and a section win. It was hard-earned, and it proves that even towards the end of a match, it’s never too late to get up and set something up if you think it’s right.

Day three and heading to the Dunham section, I was praying for the top end upstream, and I got it. Peg 17 at Dunham Up, not the end peg, but the right end of the section. It’s quite deep here, and a steady flow, with lots of different species to catch.

To cut a long story a second gave me four short, I had one of the most points, which was enough enjoyable day’s fishing on a to win the festival overall, river I’ve ever had, catching a which I was really made mixture of roach, perch, dace, up with. I also managed skimmers and hybrids for to come second in the 22-14-0, which was enough separate weight pool that to win the match overall. It was run alongside the was an out and out feeder points, which gave us a day, fishing about 30 metres few extra beer tokens. halfway across the river, and Better still, top mucker again constantly ringing the and super slider Tom changes. Adding in some Noton was second, and finely chopped worms another young master brought a good response a Gav Butler finished couple of times, then trying third. Great to see the a feeder crammed with young ones winning on maggots, etc. It seemed like the big river! the fish would get used to one thing and you needed to keep changing it up to keep them RiverFest Quest! coming.

As well as the Feeder My two section wins and Masters Final that I was

Young guns smashing the tida l

A Trent roach!

Trent!

lucky enough to qualify for earlier this year, RiverFest is the final that I REALLY wanted to get in again… I loved it last season.

The campaign started on the River Trent at Caythorpe, a bit that I’ve only ever fished once before on Boxing Day with Rob Perkins. I didn’t know what my draw was like (and I can’t remember what peg I was on!) but listening with sharp ears I got the impression that a handful of big bonus fish would be needed to win the zone.

Covering my options with a pole line and feeder swim, things were very slow to start until word came down that three or four people all had a few bream for maybe 15lb plus in weight. At this point, the small-fish pole line got scrapped, my small hook and light line were bitten off my feeder rod, and it was time to ‘lig on’ for a big ’un. After ploughing some particles through my feeder for an hour or so, I hooked one… yes! A bream about 4lb, most welcome and there were still two hours left so I felt I had a chance.

Another came with about an hour to go, but that was all. My 10lb odd was worth a pat on the back, with 20lb plus qualifying from further to my right somewhere up river. Still, I felt I gave myself the best chance of getting through.

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| 109

Matt Godfrey

A 6-12-0 section win, 124lb off the zone win though!

Only 124lb Short… ON A RIVER! The second RiverFest qualifier was interesting, and I honestly can say on this one that I had no chance of qualifying… that would be unless I’d caught a huge 124lb catfish or sturgeon last drop in, and I’m not sure they inhabit the River Nene at Orton? It was said there would be bream weights somewhere in our section, but I honestly couldn’t see it with a gin clear river and bright sunshine.

My peg was beautiful, but weedy. I found a hole in the weed and settled on just one line there, targeting the skimmers, bream and small fish all down one hole. In the first 90 minutes I caught three skimmers and was getting odd bites, actually thinking I was doing well, looking around me. However, a gent came down the bank with two hours to go, only to tell me that a guy at the other end had 18 bream, all 4lb plus, and the gents either side of him had a dozen apiece too. I couldn’t change what I was doing, and my 6-12-0 was enough to easily win the section. However, a staggering 131lb of bream from Mr Luke Downing won the zone, match and took qualifying spot… what a weight off a small river. Plus the anglers either side had

110 | Match Fishing

peg, 15 Dunham Up… My zone-winning RiverFest

60lb and 70lb too – what a shoal and well done guys!

In The Final!

My chance to qualify came on the third attempt at RiverFest, on my favourite tidal River Trent. I drew the peg downstream of where I’d won the match in the festival some weeks earlier, and didn’t really know what to expect as the two pegs above normally run away with it. Still, I knew there were fish close by so it was game on. I had a similar match to before in this area, fishing just the feeder, but things were much harder. I had to fish small baits like a

Not a bad set of qualifiers!

… and here’s my catch.

qualify. It was a little nervous wait, but at the results I found out I’d won the zone and booked my ticket to the final, and finished third overall on the 80-peg match too.

I really was chuffed to bits to qualify so In the final! early, and it’s given me a little bit more time now in what was an incredibly intense season. single or double maggot to The line-up of qualifiers get bites, and looking up and wasn’t bad in this one either, down I could see everyone with fellow England teamwas struggling. It was simply mates Alan Scotthorne and a case of sneaking out fish Steve Hemingray winning steadily, nearly all small two of the other zones, roach and dace, with an odd and local legend Garry perch, to end with 12-12-0, Thompson taking the other which I really didn’t know spot too. if it would be enough to

Billy Makin

BEFORE

TIME PA RT

BEGAN

2 8

Billy Makin is a writer and novelist now semi-retired in Thailand, where he owns and runs a couple of ‘girlie’ bars for ex-pats and holidaymakers.

During his teenage years he became known as “The boy with the golden arm” and later became an iconic match angler of the 1970s and 1980s, winning both Matchman Of The Year and becoming BBC Hooked Champion. His commercial float-making business produced the famous Canal Grey and his fishery, a first of its kind, was the catalyst for the commercial water revolution. Still called Makins Fishery, it is no longer owned by Billy but is still a premier water to this day. Each month, Billy recounts his life and stories from the golden age of match fishing in these pages for us to enjoy.

I

t would have been a little over 70 years ago that two roach in the River Trent embarked on a passionate love affair that resulted in the not unexpected accident of pregnancy. The resulting infant roach grew in both size and knowledge and over time an accelerated evolutionary process resulted in the growth of both arms and legs.

Climbing out of the river, the by now Teenage Ninja Roach began to take on a human form and adopted the name of John Dean.

And so it was that some 30 years after the illicit love affair, I found myself sitting behind the roach/ man hybrid on the banks of the Trent as he conducted a conversation with a shoal of his relatives.

Conversation? Am I going crazy?

112 | Match Fishing

No, not at all; John Dean was deep in conversation with the fish in his swim.

He wasn’t communicating vocally, nevertheless he was asking them a neverending series of questions, and after each one he got a reply.

Is there anyone on board yet?

I thought not, so I will go on because the two hours that I sat behind John were every bit as instrumental in furthering my match fishing career as had been the lessons that I had learnt from my other two great mentors, Benny Ashurst and Ivan Marks.

So, what was John asking his relatives?

Well, the answer is not only an odd question or two, because for the entire two hours John never shut up.

“Are you happy with the

10 bronze maggots that I am feeding every cast, or would you like more?”

John asked the question by upping his feeding by 50 per cent. His catch rate slowed down – the fish had answered his question most emphatically.

“What if I deepened up and slowed the stick float down a little?”

His catch rate improved.

By asking a never-ending series of questions, he was building up a mental picture of the fish and their behaviour by observing their response to every minor change that he made.

JOHN DEAN COULD SEE INTO THE WATER. On one occasion, despite catching a roach almost every swim down, he deepened up, moved a couple of shot closer to the hook, cast out an extra

rod length, and promptly tagged a 2lb chub before his float had moved more than a couple of yards down the swim.

He then reversed the process and resumed catching roach.

I was in awe – perhaps that is an overstatement, as by now I was fully in tune with John. I had seen enough to recognise why the man was virtually unbeatable. Sure, he did the actual mechanics of fishing a little better than most of his contemporaries, but that didn’t explain his dominance over them.

It was the thought processes that elevated John to almost godlike status, and it always was and still is when one man emerges from the pack. Practice does not make perfect; it just makes better. Genius is a gift from the gods.

John Dean, part man, part fish.

Anyway, enough of this nonsense, where did the acquisition of this knowledge lead?

It was a lesson that I took on board once I realised that having the ability to “see under the water” is readily available to everyone, but firstly it is something that must be worked on throughout the duration of a match.

John Dean was not content with catching a steady flow of fish; his thoughts were always directed towards catching even more. He never stopped talking to them, testing them, asking questions. I doubt very much that he was even aware of it; somehow, I suppose that it came naturally to him and he assumed that everyone else was doing the same.

You and I however, know that we weren’t – we never were. If we are catching, we often work on the “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” approach. I certainly did right up until that eventful day when I sat behind the master.

Armed with this knowledge, canal fishing

took on a whole new perspective. I began to “look into the water” and see below the surface.

Why did I suddenly start missing bites? Why had the shoal of gudgeon or roach in front of me become nervous? I visualised a big perch sizing up his next meal so I replaced my single bloodworm with either a whole bunch of them or even a small redworm.

People often commented on how lucky I was, seemingly always weighing in a big perch in most matches.

I visualised no more than a dozen caster roach lying under the small bush on the far side of the canal, knowing that every time I hooked one, its actions would make the rest of the shoal nervous, and if I continued to catch them, they would move away. I caught one fish and then rested the swim for perhaps 10 minutes before recasting.

This way I could perhaps catch nine or 10 of the fish. If I had continued to plunder the shoal without a break, after the first few fish the rest would have been off and a match winning opportunity lost.

I learnt a lot that day from John Dean, and on reflection, both Benny and Ivan operated along similar lines.

Ivan could see beneath the waves when sat on a bream shoal. He could see how much disturbance hooking a fish in the middle of the shoal would cause and taught me to always work from the outside in, catch the fish on the fringes of the shoal and to always allow the fish time to settle between casts.

Benny visualised the hook bait landing on top of the Arlesey bomb when swingtipping; he taught me when to use a long or a short tail, and how to straighten out the line in order to make roach bites visible.

I took all this on board, but how many people who sat behind John Dean ever really understood the genius of what they were witnessing?

Did they notice that he constantly varied his feeding pattern, that his float and shotting pattern rarely remained the same

for more than a few trots down the swim, that he would for no apparent reason flick his stick float an extra rod length out into the river and that some swims down he would check his float and send it down at half speed and others he would let it go through at full speed?

I noticed, and the two hours that I sat behind him represented half a lifetime of trial and error saved, as did the masterclass I received from Ivan that fateful day at Attenborough Gravels, plus all those evenings spent in Benny’s kitchen as a kid.

The next time that you sit behind one of today’s master anglers, look for the things that others overlook – perhaps even talk to the fish yourself; you may be surprised at how often they answer your questions.

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Events

2021 Events Match Fishing’s events are bigger, better and more popular than ever – the Sonubaits Veterans Championship will be taking place when this issue hits the shelves, the Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year event has a new champion and the Preston Innovations UK Pole Championship Qualifier 2 will have been and gone by the time you read this. So, if you want to get in on the Subscriber Classic action, act now!

The Match Fishing Subscriber Classic is on Friday,September 24th, 2021 at Tunnel Barn Farm – don’t miss your chance of glory!

R GET YOEUT TICK NOW!

his popular event is open to subscribers of Match Fishing magazine, with anybody holding a valid subscription number able to enter, with 160 pegs available.

Winning the event would see you adding your name to a star-studded list of previous winners and will be no mean feat, with an impressive line-up of

T

114 | Match Fishing

anglers gracing the bank year after year.

The Subscriber Classic match allows us to give something back to our readers, in what is always an enjoyable day on the bank at a fantastic fishery.

The event wouldn’t be possible without the support that our faithful subscribers give us so it is another way to say thank you to them.

To enter, head to www.shopatdhp.com.

Tickets cost £35 with an optional £10 super pool on the day.

the special ones

Our best selling range of groundbaits, for a reason!

Packed with our Super soluble

gps90 fishmeal!

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ALL YOU NEED IS... ...IS ALL YOU NEED Browning’s Xitan luggage range combines very practical designs plus unique and useful features. Made in a very durable, wipeclean and waterproof material therefore practical as well as good looking. The range covers every need of the modern angler.

www.browning-poles.com