NASH KNOWHOW
NASH KNOWHOW
GET A WRIGGLE ON The clocks have gone back and the first few frosts of the year have arrived. For me and Jack that typically means the end of overnight sessions for the year and the start of short day sessions. When fishing for only a few hours you have to work even harder than usual as you don’t have the security blanket of time on your side. There are many ways to do this but one of our favourite tactics is to start using maggots. They’re an amazing bait throughout the year but really come into their own as the temperatures start to drop. I wouldn’t go fishing without them at this time of year and they really can make the difference between catching and going home empty handed.
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www.nashtackle.co.uk
When fishing with maggots there are numerous rigs you could tie although we seem to keep going back to the same one every time. I’m not saying this is the ultimate all singing all dancing rig but we have so much confidence in it that it’s definitely worth giving a try.
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Cut a 12 inch (30cm) length of 15lb Combilink and strip around 4 inches (10cm) of the coating off one end
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Pierce a small piece of foam using a fine boilie needle. The needle needs to go through the foam at an angle so that later the hook point can be pulled into it.
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Place a no.1 shot 5mm below the foam. Tie on a small rig ring 10mm from the shot before feeding the hook through the ring and securing a size 8 Twister with a knotless knot.
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Remove the hook from the foam and thread 5 or 6 maggots onto the hook. Pull the point back into the foam.
Cut a small section of shrink tube and thread this onto the Combilink and over the eye of the hook before steaming at an angle so the tube finish in line with the point.
Tie size 14 barbless hook onto the stripped section of Comblink and carefully pull the hook inside the foam.
Tie a 5cm loop in the end of the Combilink to allow fast rig changes. Then finish the rig with a small blob of Cling-On putty around half way along the link to ensure it lies flat..
Finish the rig with a Webcast PVA bag containing maggots and a few micro pellets. The pellets protect the hookpoint from piercing a maggot when drawn back into the bag.
The finished rig is very effective as the foam ensures the maggots do not come in contact with the lake bed which is very important. Live maggots fished straight on the bottom can tangle the rig or even get caught up in weed or small bits of debris which hides the hookbait. The use of the small hook makes for a quick and easy way to attach maggots to the rig. This is something that is often not that simple and can be fiddly and time consuming, neither of which you want when your hands are freezing cold. I would also recommend having a few rigs tied up on different coloured bits of foam as some can prove more effective than others. Red and black are normally our favourites although yellow and pink and white have also produced lots of fish.
Lewis Swift and Jack Meyer
www.nashtackle.co.uk
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