save £8!
worth £9.99
coarse get a spool of wychwood coated braid for just £1.99
improve your improve
p.60
fishing on sale: nov 4 – dec 2, 2009 issue 226 £3.25
stick floats beginners’ guide makes
it easy
WWW.IYCF.CO.UK
p.36
roach on the whip
Catch more on the
bite-a-chuck action on the cheap! p.15
float
Will raison’s waggler tips to beat the cold
new series
p.110
fluoro liquids! the bargain potion to boost your s sW Wim sWim
features broads pike with john watson
IYCF Winter Pike Pursuit
WORDs: mark Parker PictuRes: lloyd rogers
PART ONE
22
IYCF Issue 226
“I’ve spent 28 years fishing these vast, wild waters... When the float goes under I still get excited because it could be a
40lb” pike john watson
moved hundreds of miles so he could satisfy his obsession for hunting down big pike and now he’s at home on the Broads in more ways than one g On sale November 4 – December 2, 2009 IYCF
23
features coolwater baits with ian russell
Pictures: kevin green
Bright is right ian russell
shows how to use vividly coloured baits to improve coldwater carp catches g On sale November 4 – December 2, 2009 IYCF
89
NEW SERIES {Tips to improve your fishing} Tackle that swim – stick float
Method of the Month
Day-Ticket Answers
Bankside Say hello to the new home of angling instruction
T
HERE’S a temptation at this time of year to put your fishing on the back burner – but that would be a big mistake.
Bible
Just because temperatures are dropping doesn’t mean that fish suddenly switch off. They may need less feed but they can still be tempted to take your
hookbait if you use the right tactics. And over the next 13 pages we’re exploring a couple of brilliant methods for ensuring your time on bank is worthwhile.
Both Jonny Watt and Alex Bones detail simple but effective tactics guaranteed to put fish in the net during the run-up to Christmas. Check them out.
Learn more...
Magic Meat
brings you XxxJonny xxx Watt xxxx xxxxx five meat-boosting xxxx xxxx xxxx xxx
recipes designed to catch in cool conditions
P45
Pellet Cone comes alive Alex Bones shows how tiny cones of moist pellets will draw fish into coolwater swims and stimulate them into taking your hookbait
P63
On sale November 4 – December 2, 2009 IYCF
35
862585, 01482 629911 Bankside Bible – Methodtel:of01724 the Month – Pellet Cone
small bait,
big fish How tiny cones of feed will liven up your winter catch rate
turn over
To find out how easy it is to make a Pellet Cone for yourself
N
OW’S the time to get clever with your bait – try the Pellet Cone. Deep in autumn a nd with winter on its way, the and greedy fish of summer become ‘picky’ and feed more cautiously. Piling in mountains of food and using big hookbaits is likely to bring you fewer fish because they move around less, burn less energy and therefore require less food to refuel. Even carp, which some anglers wrongly view as robotic eating machines, have subdued appetites at this time of year.
To stand the best chance of catching the most fish you need to scale down your tackle and bait up far more sparingly. Devised to deliver a pinch of pellets or groundbait right next to the hookbait, the Cone sticks to two key principles of coldwater fishing – it limits the amount of free offerings and places them with pinpoint accuracy. In this feature our ‘Method of the Month’ man Alex Bones reveals how to get the most out of this brilliant tactic, a style of fishing that is a virtual ‘banker’ at this time of year…
On sale November 4 – December 2,2009 2009IYCF IYCF On sale ??????,
63 00
Bankside Bible Five magic meat secrets
autumn meat treats Meat may now be second best to trendy fishmeal but Johnny Watt shows why it’s great at this time of year
turn over
To see how Jonny boosts meat baits to improve catches
On sale November 4 – December 2, 2009 IYCF
45
reader offer
save £8!
Get a spool of brilliant Wychwood coated braid for just £1.99!* * Plus 40p postage
I
F YOU’VE ever fancied trying the kind of coated braid hooklinks used by top specimen hunters, but baulked at paying £10 or more for the privilege, now’s your chance! Whether you’re a budding big-carp angler, or just a pleasure fisherman who likes to stick out a ‘sleeper’ rod while pole or waggler fishing, we’re offering you a spool of Wychwood Hidden Deception, with a usual RRP of £9.99, for just £1.99, plus a self-addressed envelope with a 40p stamp on it. This 15lb breaking strain coated braid has a stiff, neutral brown outer coating that can be easily stripped back with a thumb nail to reveal a limp and supple inner braid. The
60
IYCF Issue 226
combination of stiff outer and supple inner core means you can create some of the most effective bolt rigs ever devised – and they’re surprisingly easy to tie (see sequence, right). There’s enough material on each 20m spool to tie dozens of rigs so you could be getting several season’s worth of specialist fishing for an investment of just a couple of quid. And you don’t have to use boilies if you don’t want to. These rigs will also work with meat, corn, cheese and pellets. All you have to do is fill in the form (right) and return it to us enclosing a cheque or postal order for £1.99, made payable to ‘Improve Your Coarse Fishing’, and a self-addressed envelope, with a 40p stamp on it, to cover postage. IT MUST BE 40p!
How to tie a specimen rig
1
2
Cut off a 8in (20cm) length of braid and strip 3in (8cm) of outer covering to reveal the inner braid
Tie a small overhand knot in the end of the braid to make the hair to which hook and bait is attached
7
8
Adjust the hair length to suit the size of bait you are using. It should just clear the bottom of the hook
Now whip six turns round the hook shank like this, whipping away from any gap in the eye
RRP ÂŁ9.99 order form
Send your entries to: Wychwood Offer, IYCF, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA
Name.................................................................................................................. Address.............................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................ .......................................................Postcode..................................................... *Email................................................................................................................. *Mobile.........................................Home phone ............................................. Closing date is December 4, 2009. No photocopied forms Bauer Media, publishers of IYCF, may also from time to time contact you by post or phone. Please tick if you do not wish to be contacted by us or carefully selected partner organisations f We will communicate with you from time to time with relevant offers and promotions from Bauer Media, publishers of IYCF. You can of course unsubscribe at any time and your details will never be passed on to other organisations. * To view how we store and manage your data go to: www.greatmagazines.co.uk/datapromise
3 Snip off a 4mm piece of rig tube and thread it on to the stripped braid
9
Push the tag end back through the back of the eye towards the point. Note rig tube placement
4
5
6
Now place your hookpoint inside the rig tube like this and carefully thread the hook through it
You will end up with the hook attached to the stripped braid by the rig tube like this
Now take the other end of the section and push it through the back of the eye towards the point
10
11
12
Tie a figure of eight knot in the end of the braid being careful not to break the rigid outer coating
Your rig will now attach to either a simple safety rig clip, or a quick change link
Add a swivel like this and you have your finished rig. Note the supple hinge of soft braid above hook eye
On sale November 4 – December 2, 2009 IYCF
61
GearUp {Live Test} Dave’s award Live Test 1
New Gear
prowla power!
How to use it
Specimen Test
A decent meal and these two big girls would have been ‘twenties’
New predator range will set the standard
Greys prowla platinum bait pike rod (RRP £109.99)
M
any anglers hate it when the temperature stars to plunge, but I look forward to the onset of winter because, for me, its pike time. There’s something about the size and streamlined shape of these prehistoric-looking predators that set them apart from any other UK fish. Add the fact that the sudden, raw, gill-flaring, tail-walking bursts of power they can generate tests tackle like no other freshwater species and you’ve got a highly worthy quarry. My second pike session of the winter turned out to be special for two reasons. I caught a lovely brace of near ‘twenties’ within minutes of each other, and I caught them on a new pair of exceptional rods. Earlier this year Anwick, Northumberland-based Greys released a comprehensive range of predator tackle under the new Prowla brand. Included was the 3lb test curve Prowla Bait rod which
I thought felt superb when I handled it in the showroom. The two-piece 12ft blank had loads of grunt to blast half a mackerel the realistic 80-yard range I usually fish at on big stillwaters, but it also had a degree of subtlety to fish shorter ranges for modest-sized pike on smaller rivers and drains. I’ve had the chance to use the Prowla Bait rod to blast out whole herrings with 3oz leads on the lakes and floatfish ‘joey’ mackerel on the Fen drains. Second outing produced a gorgeous, long but very lean 18lb fish and, while I was unhooking that, the other rod roared off on an equally long and lean 16lb pike which joined the first in the landing net. With a decent meal, both these fine fish will be decent ‘twenties’ this winter. l If you want a slightly less powerful rod that’s bang-on for the rivers, drains and smaller stillwaters, look at the 11ft Prowla Bait 2.25 lb test curve rod (RRP £99.99). It’s a stunner! More on www.greysfishing.com The delightful new rods will handle predators of all sizes on all methods
‘Got a question?’ Please email me at: dave.woodmansey@bauermedia.co.uk and my direct line is: 01733 395139
112
IYCF Issue 226
With Dave Woodmansey
“i love playing big fish on a good quality rod. and this is a corker!”
Attention to detail by Greys British designers is obvious. As well as the attractive metal butt collar there’s a line clip and hook-keeper ring
Rods like this take some stick and need top qaulity guides to survive heavy braid and mono mainlines. These won’t let you down
The 3lb test curve 12-footers will bang out big baits like mackerel or herring but will also fish smaller baits on float tackle at close range
On sale November 4 – December 2, 2009 IYCF
DaV Da aVe’S GearUp
The Prowla rods cover all angles
113
features
WORDs: mark Parker PictuRes: lloyd rogers
whip roach with andy botterill
roach on the whip andy botterill
goes back to basics to thrash the roach in Naseby Reservoir g On sale November 4 – December 2, 2009 IYCF
15