100lb BAG FISHERIE!S HOW & WHERE TO CATCH YOUR FIRST 100lb ON FIRE EXPERT INFO TO CATCH YOU MORE
March 12 – April 9, 2019 £3.90
ISSUE 348
step-by-step breakdown of a perfect session
TESTED BROWNING'S NEW 7ft FEEDER RODS
INSIDE Issue 348 March 12 – April 9, 2019
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Use the full length of your pole to catch further out, says Jamie Hughes
GREAT BRITISH FISHING 8
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‘Natural’ commercials – Darren Cox Spring into action with a ton – Will Reynolds
TACTICS
24 Catch further out on the pole – Jamie Hughes 30 Boost groundbait with glug – Ade Mansfield 34 It’s time to get pinging – Mark Poppleton 38 Three feeders to bank on – Sean Cameron 4 • IYCF Issue 348
42 Bait types: Groundbaits 44 Celebrate with silver on speci carp lakes – Andy May 48 Quickfire tips for crucians 51 7 tips for spring – Steve Gregory 56 Combat the wind with diamonds – Chris Telling 60 Rig school: mini adjustable zig rig 62 Rely on maggots late on – Any Dyson 66 Day-ticket surprises – Stu Lennox
70 Light lures for constant action – Dan Brackley 74 Fish better with Des Shipp: Session management
CARP TACTICS
104 What a washout – Jake Lund 108 Rig of the month 110 Carp Q&A 113 10 ways with maggots
TACKLE
84 Preston Supera luggage 86 New gear
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51
Glugged bait is what you need when you’re after the bigger silver fish in commercials, reckons Ade Mansfield
Spring requires subtle changes to tackle and Steve Gregory reveals his top seven tips to boost catches
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Sean Cameron relies on just three feeders when he’s after silver species from big, open stillwaters
56
Chris Telling looks at the style of pole float that will help you combat windy conditions
88 Live test: Browning CK Carp & F1 Tickler rods 92 Buyers’ guide to... brollies 94 iceTackle 2019 96 Live test: Mitchell Impact Feeder rods
YOUR IYCF
20 Subscribe and get a free Shakespeare reel 100 Your letters 102 Mission: your catch shots 116 Crossword 118 Bob Roberts’ diary
88
IYCF tackle editor Mark Sawyer gets out on the bank with Browning’s new 7ft feeder rods
104
Find out how you can trick wary carp by soaking your boilies in water for a few days
IYCF March 12 – April 9, 2019 • 5
Spring into action with a ton There’s no need to wait for the summer feeding frenzy to bag 100lb. Guru’s Will Reynolds reckons fish are already on a serious munch at a commercial venue near you Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs
14 • IYCF Issue 348
FISHING ● H S Ac
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EAT BRIT I GR
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FISHING ● SH
IYCF March 12 – April 9, 2019 • 15
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THE LONG POLE
Former Fish O’Mania champ Jamie Hughes reveals the simple techniques you need to unleash your pole’s full potential Words Tony Grigorjevs Photography Lloyd Rogers
24 • IYCF Issue 348
TACTICS
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ODERN technology has enabled manufacturers to make poles lighter and stiffer than ever before. Despite this, so many anglers still leave a couple of sections in the holdall, lacking confidence in their ability to wield one at its full length. Some don’t believe they have the skills to ship in and out without causing too much commotion, while others still think the weight of the pole with every section in place will be too much for them to handle. Jamie Hughes reckons that tweaking a few basics can make fishing at up to 16m a doddle. In his role as a professional angling coach, the Matrix and Spotted Fin star says the most common issues he comes across involve clients setting up in the wrong fashion. “There isn’t a pole on the market that can’t be fished at its full length for a significant amount of time,” explained Jamie. “It is all about making sure everything from your seatbox to your rollers is positioned correctly to give you the ultimate in comfort while bagging up on the long pole.”
TACTICS: POLE SPECIES: CARP/F1s DIFFICULTY:
IYCF March 12 – April 9, 2019 • 25
Three feeders to bank on Sean Cameron’s trio guarantees big nets of silvers if you use them in the right way
Words Tony Grigorjevs Photography Lloyd Rogers
38 • IYCF Issue 348
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here is a fine art to selecting the perfect pole rig. Bristle thickness, body shape and stem material are all taken into account when deciding which pattern of float is best for the job in hand. Several different types of rig are often created the night before a session, giving plenty of options to switch to should Plan A fail. Such detailed preparation is bound to give you an advantage on the bank, so why don’t rod-and-line anglers sort their kit in a similarly meticulous manner? There is a belief among many that feeder fishing merely involves flinging it out, sticking the rod on the rests and hoping for the best. This lazy approach can be a recipe for disaster, though, warns Sean Cameron.
tactics “It is imperative that you put some thought into the tackle you use when feeder fishing or there is no doubt your results will suffer,” explains the Dynamite Baits-backed star. “Although rod, reel, line and hook choice all influence how many fish you catch, the one item that plays the biggest part in your success rate is the feeder itself. “There are so many different models on the market these days but when it comes to catching roach, perch and bream from natural waters, I have narrowed it down to three that work a treat.”
Winning trio
A lot of feeders are similar in appearance but they are very different in the job that they are designed to do.
The biggest variation lies in how they release the bait. “There is a huge misconception that this style of fishing is solely about getting the bait down to the deck quickly because that is where your feeder always ends up,” explains Sean. “On many occasions, however, there will be fish off the bottom and by using the right feeder you can get these fish to take the hookbait as well. “On most days it is a matter of rotating between my feeders according to the number of bites and indications I am getting at that stage of the session.” Sean uses three easily-sourced feeders and believes they each perform best under specific conditions.
tactics: Feeder species: mixed difficulty:
IYCF March 12 – April 9, 2019 • 39
Celebrate with silver on speci carp lakes Waters where specimen hunters set up camp are often a haven for neglected stocks of silver fish, demonstrates Andy May Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs
tactics: pole/wag species: silvers difficulty:
44 • IYCF Issue 348
tactics
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ozens of specimen carp waters have kept the banks busy in recent months by relying on silver fish anglers. The huge shoals of roach, perch and bream provide those fishery owners with an income when the carp refuse to play ball. But once the thermometer reading starts to climb, those silvers are often ignored again as the sea of bivvies reappears. But Andy May reckons that having a crack at these quality fish now will reap rewards that were tough to imagine in the depths of winter. “If you think the silver fish sport was great when it was cold then just imagine how good it is now that the weather has improved,” said the Dynamite Baits and MAP-backed star. “The carp have become a lot more active but if you use appropriate tactics you can minimise the disturbance from those lumps and have your best ever day of silver fish sport.
Lashing in bait
If there is one thing I’ve learned about Andy over the years it is that he can’t stand to be sat inactive for long periods. Give him the option of fishing bomb and corn for a day and there’s bound to be a grimace but ask him to get a shoal of roach into a frenzy and he’ll be uncontrollably giddy! “The beauty of fishing for silvers in spring is that they still want plenty of bait so I can pick up the catapult regularly and blast in bunches of maggots and casters. “I’d have no qualms with piling in two or three pints in a few hours and it’s important to fire a quarter of a pouch over the top of your rig every minute or so.” Andy starts on a waggler around 20m out but also primes a pole line around 8m, confident that it will come good within an hour if it is fed regularly.
Regular feeding is vital if you are to get the roach, perch and bream in to a frenzy
IYCF March 12 – April 9, 2019 • 45
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To transport detach tip like this
Hook fits into tube holder 88 • IYCF Issue 348
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REVIEWS
Two made-up rods will fit inside a pole tube. Use reels with fold flat handles as above
CAN TRU S OU
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HOSE tiny wands called Ticklers… did Ken Dodd invent them so his Diddymen could go fishing? Oddly enough no! These pint-sized, single-sectioned Carp and F1 models are the latest additions to Browning’s superb new Carp King range. There’s nothing new about short or indeed single-section rods, and few would argue against their having a place in the commercial match angler’s rod holdall. In the case of the Tickler rods, they stash away after a match in a tattyfilarious manner! Simply remove the quivertip, place the hook into its retainer and reel up any slack line. Then it’s just a matter of folding the reel handle flat before sliding the rod into its slim, protective tube. There are no bands, sleeves or broken tips to worry about, and the rods can be taken down and put up again in literally seconds.
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BROWNING CARP KING TICKLER RODS RRP: Tickler Carp £74.99, Tickler F1 £69.99
REVIEWS
Tackle editor Mark Sawyer puts Browning’s two new 7ft feeder rods through their paces
IYCF’s tackle editor Mark Sawyer has been reviewing fishing gear for more years tban he cares to remember
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Give carp & F1s a good tickling
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LIVE TEST
CAN TRU S OU
tackle
IYCF February IYCF March 16 12 – March – April15, 9, 2019 2016 • 89
TIPS, TACTICS & RIGS TO CATCH MORE
104 • IYCF Issue 348
CARP
WHAT A WASHOUT! Soaking your boilies in water for a few days before a session will increase your chances of action. Dynamite Baits’ Jake Lund reveals all... Words Jake Lund Photography Mark Parker
T
O THE untrained eye, taking perfectly good boilies and soaking them in water for three or four days might seem like an act of sheer madness. But washed out baits are a brilliant edge when tackling a range of carp waters. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, on tricky waters where the fish have ‘seen it all’, washed out offerings will resemble older baits that have been on the lakebed for longer and are therefore ‘safer’ to eat.
Secondly, especially with nut-based boilies, by washing them out, you start the fermentation process, which in turn makes the baits even more attractive! The final advantage is that it softens the boilies. Softer baits are easier for carp to eat and digest, particularly at this time of year when the water is still pretty cold. I have even had fish excreting my bait while lying on the unhooking mat – it has passed through them that quickly!
IYCF March 12 – April 9, 2019 • 105
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