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WIN MAP FEEDER ROD & REEL COMBOS,WORTH £749.94! £4.75 JULY 2021

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SLIDER SUCCESS

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WELSH INTERNATIONAL RICHIE TOMALA’S FLOAT TACTICS FOR DEEP SWIMS

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J U LY 2 0 2 1 read with great interest Darren Cox’s article on page 88, where he reports back on some of the important lessons he learnt during the recent four-day feederonly West Fest on Upper Tamar Reservoir.

It got me thinking about just how far feeder fishing has come over the last decade, with so many feeder only matches and festivals now available for match anglers to enter.

Feeder Masters, Feeder King, Golden Rod – it’s become a highly specialised sector of our sport and indeed we now have top anglers who do nothing else except fish the feeder. It’s almost become a sport within a sport in a similar way to how Rugby Sevens became its own sport with Rugby Union players breaking away to become specialist Sevens players.

It’s not quite at that stage yet though and you get anglers like Darren and Des Shipp to name a couple, who have the talent to dip into the feeder scene when the mood takes them and compete (and win) with the very best specialist feeder anglers out there. Conversely, the very best feeder anglers like Steve Ringer can also pick up a pole every now and then and compete with anybody, but that’s not what he chooses to do. Class all-rounders like Darren and Des will always be able to compete using any method on any venue and in Darren’s article this month, you can read about how

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technical and tactical feeder fishing has become and that’s all down to feeder only matches. When anglers can’t fish anything else, or feed with anything else, they have to think about how to keep two or three feeder lines going, how best to catch fish on what would normally be the pole line, how to keep the fish exactly where you want to catch them and even how to catch them if they don’t want to feed on the bottom, how to feed and fish for bonus fish… the list goes on.

Apart from Darren’s fascinating read, we have other great feeder only features for you this month with Des Shipp fishing for hybrids on Wales’ mighty Llangdegfedd Reservoir and Rich Wilson shows you his go-to feeder tactics that have served him well on lakes and reservoirs in the north.

So whether you consider yourself a feeder specialist, a pole specialist, a float specialist or an all-rounder, I hope you enjoy this month’s magazine and keep catching plenty.

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| 05

Contents

j u l y 8 Slide Your Way To Success

The slider float is often COVER dismissed as being too STORY complicated to bother with but Richie Tomala wants to repel that myth.

14 Andy Power’s Diary

It’s not all been plain sailing for Andy Power this month as he continues his annual quest to reach all the big money finals.

18 Out Of The Comfort Zone

Richard Chave makes a rare visit to a commercial venue to fish a match where silver fish are the target.

06 | Match Fishing

c o n t e n t s

26 Separate The Wheat From The Chaff Small fish can be a big problem at this time of year and avoiding them is the key to catching better quality fish, as Amer Jawad demonstrates.

88 Taming Tamar’s Skimmers

Darren Cox has recently COVER returned from a four-day STORY feeder only festival at Tamar Reservoir and shares some valuable lessons he learnt during the week.

94 Paste Perfect

Paste fishing can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it and Andy Findlay shows you his simple and effective way to fish this deadly bait.

100 Dynamite Bait Clinic

All your bait-related questions are answered by Dynamite Bait’s panel of match fishing experts.

104 Matt’s Month

More tales from the riverbank (and the odd commercial) with our Ginger Ninja Matt Godfrey.

108 Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year

We report back from the Midlands qualifier at Tunnel Barn Farm and the Northern qualifier at Lindholme Lakes.

112 Makin’s Memories

More witty tales and banter from former top match angler, float maker and fishery owner Billy Makin.

TO SUBSCRIB E 36

36 Hybrid Theory

COVER STORY

We join Preston Innovations and Sonubaits-backed Des Shipp at Llandegfedd Reservoir for a feeder fishing session on this huge expanse of water.

TO

TURN TO PAGE 102 WH ER HAVE A BRAN E WE D-N BAIT OFFER F EW ROM BAIT-TECH!

44

44 Rich Pickings NuFish-backed Rich Wilson shows us the two-pronged feeder approach that has helped make him one of the north’s top feeder anglers.

44

50 Feeder Essentials We check out the new Dual XD Distance Feeder rods from MAP.

POLE FISHING

50

54

54 Small Talk One angler who relishes the challenge of catching big nets of small fish is Stu Redman, and we caught up with him to see his whip fishing approach that he’s refined over the years.

60 Venue Detective

COVER STORY

80 Up Close: Daiwa

60

Check out all the latest gear and bait that you can see now in your local shop.

87 Up Close: Preston Innovations

COVER STORY

Will Raison gets aggressive as he reveals his natural-baits tactics for catching summer F1s up in the water.

Tom Scholey gives the new MATCHWINNER MW1 Power Margin Pole a workout at Heronbrook Fisheries.

82 New Gear

This month Andy May travels to Worcestershire to visit Cob House Countryside Park, which is now under new management.

66 Natural Aggression

51 Competition Your chance to win one of three fantastic MAP Dual feeder rod and reel combos, worth a total of £749.94!

66

Need a trolley but not got the room in the car? Take a look at the new Offbox Wheel Kit – it could be the solution.

72 Marginal Differences For Edge Perfection Garbolino-backed Dan White explains why it’s essential that you take plenty of time when you plan to fish marginal features, be it down the edge, against an island or to the far bank.

72

MAY ISSU E Colmic Skydek Reels James Holyland, Darren Evans, Michael Robinson

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 07

Slider Fishing

Slide your way to success!

Photos: Mark Parker

RICHIE TO MALA Age: 46 Lives: Sponsors: Sleaford Ev & Drennan olved Bait Leicester MF sa Can turn hi ys: s hand to anything

HAVERHOLME PARK LAKE, Lincolnshire

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The slider float is often dismissed as being too complicated to bother with but Evolved Baitsbacked Richie Tomala wants to bust that myth…

hen it comes to tackling deep water venues – 10 feet plus – beyond pole range, you only really have two options: feeder fishing, or break out the slider float.

As an international angler – I fish for the Welsh team – I don’t have a choice really as feeder fishing isn’t allowed in international float fishing competitions.

So the slider is a tactic that I have had to learn and master! Although, having said that, once you get a few little bits right there is very little to master really.

Plus, in my opinion, there is no better way to spend a day’s fishing than catching bream on a slider float.

Having grown up in South Wales, I spent my salad days fishing on venues like Llangorse and East Dock in Cardiff, all places that are very deep and so the slider became the ‘go-to’ tactic.

I think that fishing it a lot in my formative years is why I love it so much these days.

08 | Match Fishing

The Beauty Of The Slider Long forgotten and rarely used these days, due to its wrongly perceived difficulty to fish well, slider float fishing is almost like fishing the feeder, but with more possibilities available to the angler I reckon. There is much more you can do with a slider than you could ever do with a feeder setup.

For those of you that have never encountered the slider, briefly it does what it says on the tin! The slider involves the use of a large, heavy, bodied float, which once cast is set up in a way so it is able to slide up the main line, allowing you to easily fish deep waters with

all the sensitivity, flexibility and sheer enjoyment of watching a waggler.

As a tactic, it has received a lot of bad press over the years, as many anglers reckon it’s too difficult to bother with. True, the feeder is an easier method in this situation, but it is also very one-dimensional. You can only fish hard on the bottom and you’re forced to feed every cast too. Unless of course, you swap over to a bomb.

Using the slider float gives you many more presentation options. Also, as long as you follow a few simple rules, the slider is as easy to fish as a standard waggler. The main problem

I find is that anglers tend to look at it as another float setup and so try to fish with complicated shotting patterns or too light a float. These easily rectified problems are what see these anglers tangling every cast prior to throwing the rod up the bank before going back to their trusty feeder rod. By making just a few tweaks, you can cast a long way all day without a single tangle.

The Advantages Of The Slider?

Known as a deep water (generally any swim over 10 feet) technique, the slider can also be used to great effect on shallower lakes if they are badly affected by tow. You can even fish it on

the river too if you want. It’s a very versatile tactic.

Like I said, the method involves using a semiloaded, large, bodied float, which, once cast in, slides up the main line to a stop knot tied at swim depth, enabling the angler to fish deep water easily.

A bulk of large shot, or an olivette if you prefer, provides the main weight to pull the main line through the float’s bottom eye so it ‘slides’ up the line. Once the stop knot is reached, the bulk will register; cocking the float then the dropper shot will allow the hook bait to fall naturally to the lake bed, trimming the float’s bristle perfectly.

A nice Haverholme Park Lake bream.

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 09

Slider Fishing

Richie’s slider floats.

Simple dropper shot.

10 | Match Fishing

The main bulk shot.

Micro swivel to attach the hook link.

Fishing this way offers a number of advantages. The first is that you are able to fish well beyond pole range.

Today I’m at Haverholme Park Lake in Lincolnshire, where I’m fishing a swim around 40 metres from the bank. The beauty of the slider is I can fish at range, but unlike a pole, which sees you missing bites very often in deep water when the fish feel the weight of the float, the slider, although much cruder, is much more sensitive. As well as ‘sailaways’, you also get very positive lift bites too.

This is certainly an advantage when targeting skimmers and roach, which can give very delicate bites.

These will be positively registered on a float, whereas feeder tactics may see you missing bites or reeling in the dreaded skinned maggot hook bait!

The second advantage is that feeder tactics are very static, as the hook bait is laid hard on the bottom.

With a slider float, you can move the shot about to create a faster or slower fall of the hook bait through the water, tailoring the approach to the way the fish are feeding and giving the perfect presentation for any given day or swim. You can also flick the line, so twitching the float and the hook bait to entice a bite also.

Thirdly, unlike feeder/ bomb fishing, the slider can be fished from well overdepth to three feet under the surface, depending upon where the fish are.

And finally, I find there is a pleasing aesthetic to be had from watching a float and the water, rather than having your eyes cast down, staring at a quivertip.

It is just more enjoyable to watch a float and work for bites, altering shot and feed patterns, rather than chucking out a feeder and waiting ages for it to ‘maybe’ wrap around.

Long tags on the stop knot help prevent the float going over it.

Another bream hits the mesh.

A swung in skimmer!

Dedicated slider floats have small diamond eyes.

Richie feeds his groundbait balls with a Drennan Groundbait catapult.

Slider Tackle Starting at the rod, I use a 14ft Acolyte Plus float rod.

The extra foot brings a lot of advantages, especially when casting I find. Plus, it has a lovely soft tip but plenty of backbone for playing bigger fish. The beauty of the longer rod is it also allows you to lob the cast rather than punching the float out.

Casting like this helps to prevent tangles.

The next step is the main line. I use 5lb Drennan Feeder line as it sinks well

and, being a little stiffer, it also helps prevent tangles on the cast and when the float is sliding, particularly in very deep water.

When it comes to floats, I tend to use three different ones. I like DJK sliders, Daiwa Slider Carpers and Drake floats. The important thing is to use a dedicated slider float if possible, the reason being they are designed for this tactic.

They are part loaded, very buoyant – so they slide well – and heavy. You need

all these things so the tactic works well.

Regarding the size of float, this all depends upon where you are looking to fish and the depth of water.

Just like ordinary waggler fishing, select a float that will get to where you need it with an effortless cast without going too heavy.

The slider is just like waggler fishing really, only on a bigger scale.

The great thing about using a dedicated slider float is that the eye at

the base of the float is a diamond shape. This prevents it from slipping over the slider knot, which is the part of the setup that sets the depth at which the float will fish. If the float goes over the knot, there is nothing to stop it from sliding up the main line further, and so it won’t cock.

You can always place a small glass or plastic bead between the float and the knot to prevent this happening. Don’t use

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 11

Slider Fishing

Accurate feeding with a catapult is an essential skill.

“Big bream don’t like feed coming down on top of them when they are settled and feeding, so it’s better to prime the swim prior to starting.”

a rubber bead though, as these won’t slide along the main line very well, ruining the overall presentation.

Shotting Patterns This is where most anglers fall down. There is no room for finesse with slider fishing as this will only lead to tangles. Starting at the important part – the bulk – four to six big shot are ideal, or an olivette for neatness.

This offers a compact length of shotting ideal for smoother casting.

Importantly, the bulk must be pushed together as tight as you can get it. There don’t want to be any gaps between the string of bulk shots as this is also a tangle problem.

Plus, I like to taper my shot from largest to smallest towards the hook, again for neatness.

I set the bulk two feet from the hook, so I can cast very easily too. I then have one small bulk of dropper shot just over the length of the float, again to prevent tangles. This is normally

Evolved Baits’ Airflow systems allow the maggots to breathe properly so they stay fresh for longer.

12 | Match Fishing

three or four No8s. This is the slider and not a pole rig; there is no need or room for complex shotting patterns as this only leads to tangles again. Crude and simple is the way forward with this tactic.

I then cast ‘off the bulk’, with the float sitting on top of the shot, but, if your style doesn’t suit this, you can place a small shot just over a float length up the main line, so the float sits around 40 centimettess from the bulk if you find this easier to fish

Richie adds Silverfish Liquid Attractant to add flavour, smell and stickiness to his groundbait.

and cast. Below the small droppers I have a No8 swivel to prevent the hook link from spinning up, and this also acts as a final dropper shot too.

Bait Choice As I’m ideally after bream today, my tactic revolves around groundbait. My mix is a combination of three Evolved Baits’ groundbaits.

The first being a 50:50 mix of Sweet Fishmeal Black and Irish Gold. These make the perfect silver fish mix for

STEP-BY-STEP

MAGGOT BOOST

1 Evolved Baits’ Maggot Conditioner is perfect for freshening up your maggots.

2 Add a couple of scoopfuls to the maggots in a large mixing bowl.

3 Mix the powder through the maggots well and they will be as good as new instantly!

A proper bream on the slider. me regardless of the type of venue I’m fishing on.

But, as I’m fishing at range, I need to use a groundbait catapult to get the balls accurately into the swim as they are beyond balling in range. This means they need to be a bit stickier than normal, and so to the initial mix I add Evolved Baits’ Big River, in a 70:30 ratio. The addition of Big River helps the balls to bind and so as well as getting to the bottom intact, I can also lace them with particles to give the fish something to graze over.

To further increase this binding power, I have added Silverfish Liquid Additive.

This is quite thick so as well as the powerful flavour and scent trail it provides in the water column, it adds to the groundbait’s stickiness without affecting its overall breakdown rate.

Fishing The Slider The first thing to learn is that casting a slider is different to all other forms of float fishing. Always fish to the line clip so the rig lands in the same place every time and straightens out. As soon as the float hits the water, you then need to wind four or five turns of line on to the reel and then quickly open the bail arm, allowing the line you’ve just wound on to peel off. This allows the bulk to pull the main line through the base of the float.

When the stop knot hits

the float, the bulk will register and the float will cock, cocking further as the droppers take effect. Once the float has totally cocked, close the bail arm and you’re fishing.

To kick off the swim I then feed the groundbait. This will change every day, depending upon what you are faced with, but as today is hot and still I have erred on the side of caution and only fed 12 small balls at the start.

If I was in Ireland for example, or conditions were more favourable, I might kick off with two or three kilos of groundbait.

The thing with big bream especially is they don’t like feed coming down on top of them when they are settled and feeding, so it’s better to prime the swim prior to starting. The merits of every day need to be taken in and a decision made, which only you can do on the day.

The skill is now making the balls uniform in size so they catapult the exact same distance every time.

Accuracy is everything when slider float fishing. Once the swim is fed, I tend to re-feed after every fish, just to freshen the swim but not spook the shoal hopefully!

Apart from this though, the slider is no different from any other float setup.

It’s really easy to slide your way to success, as long as you keep things quite crude and don’t overcomplicate the approach, especially the shotting pattern. Once you start to fish the slider correctly and understand how it works, you will be fishing it like a pro in no time.

A highly enjoyable day’s bream fishing for Richie.

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 13

Andy Power

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

It’s not all been plain sailing for Andy Power this month as he continues his annual quest to reach more big money finals. his month has felt like I have spent more time driving to and from qualifier matches than I have actually fishing!

As I write this, I have just spent 16 hours driving this weekend, for 10 hours’ fishing! Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end.

I drew next to someone who said something to me that stuck: “It’s our passion, it’s just what we do!” I’m passionate about getting into these big finals, and I will put up with all the miles of driving, 4am starts, crazy fishery rules and bad draws because I want that one chance to get into another final and win. I have just needed to remind myself a few times this

T

month when things haven’t gone my way!

Fortunately, I have caught plenty of fish along the way too now that summer has finally arrived!

£100k Match Anyone!?

It also made a nice change this month to be fishing venues a bit more local to me! This year a new fishing competition has come along promising a whopping £100k for the winner in a knockout style event. Split into regions, mine covers the whole of Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall.

Anglers get drawn against and fish against each other within a normal open match of the ‘home’ angler’s choice. Eventually all the

entrants are whittled down to 20 anglers for the final, where the winner takes home £100k.

It seems too good to be true and the numbers certainly do not add up, but if it was to go ahead for this year at least, I would be silly to let the chance of £100k pass me by. The only trouble I have personally is having the time to fit in more matches at short notice without cancelling my other qualifiers. Also being from the Southwest, we are very limited with venues and open matches, with many selling out quickly. I also have the potential conundrum of the Feeder Masters Final I

Peg 36 at Todber…

[INSET] … my catch from it.

Map of Todber Manor

14 | Match Fishing

have qualified for being on the same day as the £100k match!

So far, I have had two rounds of these matches, both of which I drew at home, which kind of wasn’t an advantage as Viaduct was really the only local venue I fish, but unfortunately now has turned away from match fishing this year. So, with only a couple of Sundays free I chose to take my opponent to Summerhayes Fishery, a venue I have

only been to once before, around 10 years ago!

I decided to book on to an open match to familiarise myself with the place beforehand. I drew Peg 16 on a lake called Sellick’s Pond. It was a typical canal type lake with an island 13 to 16 metres away with plenty of carp between two and 6lb plus. I had some rushes on the far bank that were three feet deep tight to them so I felt it could hold some fish off the bottom, attracted by the cover.

I started the match with a 4x10 Maggot float set two feet deep with all of the shot by the float, and ‘dobbed’ around with either two maggots or a corn skin on the hook. I got off to a great start on this, catching plenty of carp for the first few hours. I then had a good run fishing down my near side margins. It was also three feet deep here, so I chose to feed F1 Corn to keep the fish on the bottom.

I ended up with 168lb, winning the match, and a nice little confidence boost. Best of all, it was a short drive home! As it turned out, my opponent

unfortunately pulled out at the last minute, so I went through to the next round without having to go fishing!

A shame as I was quite looking forward to it!

The next round I drew at home again. This time I drew against one of my old team-mates, Gary O’Shea!

Gary is probably one of the anglers I have learnt the most from over the years.

He used to be brilliant on canals and rivers, but now

forward to it. The weights at Todber are unbelievable, with 300lb regularly needed to win the match. It has become a really popular venue in the Southwest so it was about time I wet a line there and got my head around it. I also had a Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier there the week after, so at least it was a good chance to practise.

I drew before Gary and pulled out Peg 36 on Hillview, and was

“I ended up with 168lb, winning the match, and a nice little confidence boost. Best of all, it was a short drive home! “ mainly fishes commercials, in particular Todber Manor! I gave him the option of either Summerhayes or Todber since they were the only matches I could find! I wasn’t at all surprised when he chose Todber, as he does very well there!

I on the other hand have only been to the new match lakes at Todber once – so much for a home advantage – but I was really looking

immediately greeted with laughter and “good luck with that”, and “that’s the worst peg on the lake!”

Oh dear! Gary had drawn what was apparently a more consistent peg, 45. When I got to my peg however, there was a nice warm breeze hitting my end of the lake, which is usually a good thing, I also had Gary in my eyeline through a gap in the islands, so I could

keep an eye on him.

I had an island around 25 metres away, so I set up an ICS Method feeder for that, as well as multiple pole rigs to cover my options. The pegs on this venue are quite tight together, but it doesn’t seem to matter when there are as many fish in the lakes as there are! I plumbed up a top kit plus one section down the margins, as it was tight. I had rigs for different depths on the slope in two, three and four feet, just to see where the fish would feed best. After a bit of advice from a few friends, either pellets or meat were the baits. So, I chose to start by feeding 6mm Fin Perfect pellets and go from there. I also had some maggots with me to loose feed on a long pole, as it was ideal weather for shallow fishing.

To my left I had venue regular Craig Edmonds, aka ‘Trigger’. Trig got off to a better start than me, fishing meat down his margins.

He also had a much longer margin to his left, so I just decided to try to ignore him rather than copy him, and fish for a lower weight, trying to just beat Gary. I

My peg at Decoy.

My favourite elastics. www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 15

Andy Power

My peg on Wadmill at Todber Manor where I drew in the Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier.

My Decoy peg through polaroids... fish everywhere!

found it was best to feed by both throwing pellets and through a Cad pot.

Throwing bait would draw them into the peg, but a pot would focus them into one spot, getting me more bites.

My short rigs had 15 Hollo, 0.17mm Power main line, 4x14 Maggot Floats, with 0.15mm Power hooklengths and size 16 KKH-B hooks. I then had some shallow rigs with either a Tyson dibber or 4x10 Shallow float and a light 13 Hollo. Speaking of elastics, although I prefer to use hollows, I think if I was fishing this type of venue every week I may have to look into using the new Dura Hybrid elastic in a 13 or 15, as it does last that bit longer. I love the original Hollo though, so I will not change except for a bit of F1 fishing, when the 11 Dura Slip is nice!

Back to the fishing, and

16 | Match Fishing

???.

???????

I’m liking these new pellet wagglers.

after a couple of hours it looked like Gary and I were neck and neck. I had alternated between pellets short and the Method feeder when things slowed down.

The trouble was when I did catch on the feeder, the anglers around me would fish it too, and with it being tightly pegged it slowed my

best to feed before I shipped out then lay my three maggots on the hook in among the loose feed. Some of the fish were quite big too, with a couple around 10lb. Most of them were around 3 to 4lb though, so nice chunky weight builders.

At the end I had clicked

“I got to the venue to be told the fish were spawning in my swim and I had lads opposite, and we weren’t allowed to fish the margins!” catch rate down.

Luckily my shallow long pole line came to life in the last few hours of the match.

I even started to catch Trig up, and from what I could see Gary had slowed down. Regular feeding was essential, and I found it was

my weight at 270lb. Trig weighed in first at 258lb 2oz, then unbelievably I weighed in 4oz more with 258lb 6oz! So close for such a big weight! That gave me enough to come fifth in a close match, being won by Ben Hagg from

I had 100lb on these in an hour, fished 18 inches deep.

favoured Peg 47. Gary still did well with 192lb to win his section, but that meant I am now through to the next round. If my next opponent is reading this then please take me to Todber again, I just got very lucky!

Fish ‘O’ Mania & Golden Reel Qualifiers My chances at Fish ‘O’ Mania this year are quickly running out. I had a very close call at Moorlands Farm recently though. I drew Peg 2 on Bank, which seemed to be the best lake looking at recent results. I was on an end peg and although I had never fished this lake, I really fancied my chances.

That was until I got to the venue to be told the fish were spawning in my swim and I had lads opposite, and we weren’t allowed to fish the margins! My heart sank – £50,000 at stake and you are the only ones out of 100

Wadmill ghostie.

It might say F1 Maggot but these floats are good for carp on pellets too.

John Harvey

My 20-pou nder from Wadmill at

Todber.

anglers getting penalised!

I just got on with it and hoped there would be enough in front of me to catch shallow. I fished with casters most of the match, which was really hard work, but when I got one it was a decent size carp or F1. I weighed 101lb, which was agonisingly second in the match behind Lee Farmer, who weighed 114lb, a massive well done to him.

I just know that was a huge chance gone, but there was nothing different I could have done. I have fished when the fish are spawning enough times to know they will come in and feed in the margins on all the natural food. Apparently, it was to stop foul hooking fish, but in hindsight I think I foul hooked more in open water than I would have done in the margins where they actually wanted to feed.

It really was just a day to

delete from my memory!

Next was a Golden Reel Match at Decoy. I drew Peg 24 on Oak, one of the strip lakes. With the nights still being cooler with bright sunshine during the day, the carp have been popping up on the surface to take full advantage! It was an unbelievable sight across the whole venue, every peg was alive with cruising fish!

I had a surreal start to my match, catching around 100lb in the first hour alone, on the pole 18 inches deep on an 8mm pellet. As the match went on, the cruising fish disappeared. I then caught really well on a short pole on the bottom with worms on the hook, over the top of where I had been throwing casters.

I also had another 70lb of fish in the margins on F1 Corn. I weighed 260lb to come fifth in the match, with Jordan Holloway winning

with a whopping 364lb!

Next up was the Fisho’ qualifier at Todber, the one I had really been looking forward to. I actually drew one of the pleasure lakes, Wadmill, more aimed at carp anglers. It was going to be an interesting day at least, with potential 30-pounders and catfish!

I was greeted with plenty of fish on the top again, some of them massive, including a ghostie that was well over 20lb! I set up plenty of kit as I didn’t really know what to expect.

Starting the match I swapped between the pole shallow and various sized pellet wagglers to catch the cruising fish. I had a dream start with my first four fish going 60lb – at least one was over 20lb! After an hour and a half I had over 100lb

but unfortunately the fish drifted off and I caught no more.

Still, it was one of the most enjoyable matches I have fished in a long time, knowing the next fish could be something very special.

As qualifiers go, it has to be the best I have ever fished.

So many pegs were capable of winning and so many fish were caught, making it enjoyable for everyone.

It was also great to see my mate John Harvey qualify for the final after having some extreme bad luck in his life lately. Hopefully he can go on and win the final, the reason we all do it!

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| 17

Commercial Silvers

Words and photos: Steve Martin

Out of the comfort zone RICHARD CHAVE Age: Lives: Shaft52 esbury, Dor Pole: Colm set ic F66 Airon Sponsors: Colmic MF sa Commerci ys: al si No problemlvers? !

REVELS FISHERY (MAIN AND CANAL LAKES) Cosmore, near Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7TW www.revelsfishery.co.uk

es a rare visit to a Richard Chave puts on his canal angler’s hat as he mak boost his wallet. commercial venue to catch a net of silvers, and hopefully

Peg 20, in an area with historic silver fish form.

18 | Match Fishing

When it comes to bait, yesterday’s leftovers from the canal are perfect.

The odd better skimmer helped to boost the overall catch.

The short line is primed with a ball full of chopped worms and dead pinkies.

Richard’s 50/50 mix is a great recipe for silvers on any venue.

O

pen matches on commercial venues are not events that you would associate with Match Fishing regular Richard Chave, as he is better known as being one of the south of England’s top river and canal anglers.

However, during 2020 he was persuaded to have a crack at the regular Tuesday knock-ups at Revels Fishery, near Dorchester in Dorset, due to the format of the match.

“Knocking out carp for five hours is just not my scene,” Richard explained, as he waited for the 9.30am

draw to start. “The open matches at Revels have a silver-fish pool that’s not an afterthought, as with some venues. It’s a match within a match where the top two pick up as much as the overall winners. You can only win one pool. There’s no doubling up where you can frame in both pools.

“The lakes are full of small skimmers, roach and rudd, plus chub in places, so to do well you often need a double-figure haul to pick up the money, and the great thing is I can catch using my canal rigs, so there’s very little prep needed before

matches.

“In my six visits last year I won five silvers matches and came second in the other, and if I’m being honest, it’s nice to have a bit of competitive fishing when the rivers are closed and with very few matches on the canals.”

We joined Colmic-backed Richard on his first visit of the year, and with 21 anglers in the field, including a few silver-fish regulars, a good draw would be key, as there are a few known pegs on both Main Lake and Canal – the two pools being used on the day.

There was an added twist to the match even before the draw, as the summer weather had finally arrived, and yes, the carp had started to spawn, so would that force more to fish for the silvers.

Richard was one of the last to arrive and register, so when the draw started he would be well down the list before his number was drawn for him. However, when Peg 20 on Main Lake was produced, there were the usual mutterings of ‘flier’ from the others and Richard couldn’t help having a wry smile as he set

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| 19

Commercial Silvers

“As tempting as it is, I’m not going to focus on the island as it’s likely to be carp central, so I’m going to keep things simple and focus on three main lines.”

off to his peg.

“It is a good peg, and one where I won from last year, but John Barker, who is ‘Mr Silver Fish’ here has drawn on Canal, and it’s going to be hard to beat him if he’s on the right peg.”

Peg 20 was in the shade of a big sycamore tree, and with the temperatures predicted to be in the low 20s, the shade it provided could be an advantage with the water still having some clarity. Richard also had the added bonus of a small island in front at about 18 metres. Did he have a plan?

“As tempting as it is, I’m not going to focus on the island as it’s likely to be carp central, so I’m going to keep things simple and focus on three main lines: one short, on a top kit for roach and perch, and two long, for the skimmers.

“I will also set up a shallow rig just in case the fish are up in the water, as it’s going to be hot, and I’ve caught well on it in past visits. I know that there are chub near the islands, so I will set up a light waggler, but I would have to be struggling if I do pick it up.”

Richard wasn’t joking when it came to his rigs.

He had set up three for the match. Two almost identical setups, but one with a 0.2g Colmic Merida float, the other with a 0.3g float. Both were set on 0.12mm Colmic Steel Resistance mono and

20 | Match Fishing

had 6in 0.08mm Colmic Stream mono hook links with size 20 Hayabusa 128 hooks. The shotting was a bulk and droppers on both, but Richard pointed out that he would ‘mess about’ with it during the match.

Those were for the longer skimmer lines.

“The Merida pattern is like an ‘upgunned’ version of our popular Jolly floats, but these have a thicker bristle and an inline body.”

For the short line, he had a 0.1g Carpa Tricky float (Colmic doesn’t do a lighter Merida), again on 0.12mm mono, but it had a 0.07mm Stream hook link with a size 22 Hayabusa 128 hook.

The shallow rig consisted of a 0.1g Colmic dibberstyle Sindy float, which was also set on 0.12mm mono with a 0.08mm hook link and size 20 128 hook.

Finally, Richard set up a light waggler rod with 0.14mm Steel Resistance on the reel. Float was a 3BB Drennan Canal Waggler – locked in place with a bulk of BBs, with a single No10 and a micro swivel – to which he attached a 0.08mm hook link with a size 20 128 hook.

Moving to the baits and feed for the match, Richard had the remains of the groundbait he had used for a canal match the previous day – a mixture of 50/50 Colmic Master Series Black Monster and Impressive mix, and once he had added

left line gler nd g a W f isla o

line ong LH l

A good spray over to the island had the skimmers feeding late in the day.

Cupped in fairly dry, a small amount created a cloud that kept fish local early doors.

in ater ine l l d r Thi match

kit Top

line

Red maggot was the best for skimmers on the pole and waggler lines.

line ong RH l

Redworm can be a devastating bait on its day, but only tempted a few bites this time.

a little extra water, it was ready to go.

The leftovers from the previous day were also on the bait table – red maggots, casters, pinkies and squatts, plus redworms and big worms; a feast for silvers, if ever there was.

“I’ve plumbed up all three lines and have found that my short line and the 11m line to my left are the same depth, so I’ve set all three rigs to fish just on the bottom. It’s a little bit shallower to the right by a few inches, but it gives me an option to fish slightly overdepth to see which works if the skimmers feed.

“The plan is to feed the skimmer lines and then start short while they ‘mature’. I’m looking to catch roach and perch initially, and then look long once the bites at my feet slow. It’s should be just a case of alternating lines, if all goes to plan.”

The all-in was shouted at 10.45am, and the match would finish at 4.30pm.

Not quite a six hour match – they do things a little different in darkest Dorset.

To get his lines going, Richard fed a ball of feed laced with chopped worms and dead pinkies short and then a ball each of groundbait, chopped worms, dead pinkies and casters on each on his 11m lines. He would then ping maggots over both at regular intervals.

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| 21

Commercial Silvers

To hollow 1.2mm elastic through top section 0.2g or 0.3g Merida

0.1g Carpa Tricky

3BB Canal Waggler

0.12mm Steel Resistance

0.12mm Steel Resistance

0.14mm Steel Resistance

Bulk and droppers 6in 0.08mm Stream hooklength

Spread shot

Size 20 or 22 Hayabusa 128 on all rigs

6in 0.07mm Stream hooklength

0.1g Sindy 0.12mm Steel Resistance 6in 0.08mm Stream hooklength

Droppers

No10 6in 0.08mm Stream hooklength

Micro Swivel

“I’m a little surprised that I didn’t catch short, as a run of early roach can put 2 or even 3lb in the net early on.”

The Match Hour One: Richard started short on the 0.2g setup, as he planned, but failed to get any action in the first 15 minutes, so he switched to a long line on the 0.1g rig, starting to his left to see if he could get an early skimmer or two. Still no action, and it was the same result to the right.

Were the fish up in the water? The shallow rig was grabbed and swung over the loose feed to the left, but again the peg seemed devoid of fish.

The banter around the lake seemed to indicate that, although it was early on, nothing was biting, with the carp making a mess of the margins all around the place.

The first skimmer turned up after 30 minutes from the right hand line after Richard switched to a double pinkie hook bait, and with no sign of roach he made the call to feed every put-in via a toss pot with a little of his original feed. The tactical change

22 | Match Fishing

worked and by the end of the first hour he had 11 skimmers and a perch.

“It looks like it’s going to be a hard one today.

I’m a little surprised that I didn’t catch short, as a run of early roach can put 2 or even 3lb in the net early on. I wouldn’t normally feed every put-in for the skimmers, but if they were feeding, I needed to keep them there.

“I’m speculating, but either the roach are also spawning, or they are gorging on carp eggs.”

Hour Two: Three more skimmers and a perch came in the next 15 minutes; pointing out that he didn’t want to overfish the line too quickly, Richard switched to the left. That gave up three skimmers and a perch in successive put-ins, but then went quiet. A switch back to the right added two more skimmers, but the bites were slow in coming.

“Groundbait is definitely right for these skimmers,

The carbonstemmed Meridas are Richard’s favourite for targeting silver fish on commercials.

Don’t do carp!

Richard prefers the cylindrical Micro Cut shot when he plans to regularly adjust his bulk and droppers.

Net everything, no matter how small, when bites are at a premium.

so I’m going to re-feed my right-hand line, but with a ball heavily loaded with chopped worms. I’ve only been loose feeding to my left, and I’m reluctant to feed any groundbait as I want to keep my options open, as it might come good later.”

The hope was that the added feed would improve the right-hand line again, but with 90 minutes gone, there was little improvement, with only the odd skimmer showing. A further look shallow confirmed that nothing was feeding up in the water, and by the end of the second hour the lake seemed to have switched off with very little being caught elsewhere.

“I’ve got 24 fish, but most of those came early in the second hour. I’ve got to be happy that I’ve caught, but I’ve no idea how Canal is fishing and I have to be wary that John Barker will have his head in the game,

and as it stands, he’s going to be my main rival.”

Hour Three: Richard had continued to loose feed his short line throughout, and to rest the skimmer lines he looked short once again. Nothing!

It had become clear that he would have to focus on his two longer lines and try and make something happen.

A single skimmer to the right in 15 minutes saw him reach for his little redworms and with a single bait on the hook, Richard dropped it in to his left. Instant success, but it was short lived as after a decent skimmer, all went quiet.

Just two more skimmers came from the right, and then for the first time Richard was forced to pick up his waggler rod. He had been loose feeding just short of the island for 30 minutes, and so he decided to take a gamble to see if he could snare a chub or two, at the

same time being mindful that carp lurked around the feature. Again, nothing!

The lake was definitely out of sorts now that the sun had hit its peak with the temperature in the 20s.

“It’s been a really frustrating third hour, only four fish and I’m at a loss as to where those skimmers have gone. It might just be the conditions, as this water is a lot clearer than it first looked. I feel that the fish are still somewhere in the area, as they were so willing to feed earlier, but it’s where.

“I’m going to start another line at 14.5 metres, directly in front to see if they have backed off closer to the island. I don’t want to get too close because of the carp factor.”

Hour Four After checking the depth, Richard shipped over to his new line with a single maggot and toss potted in some of his original

skimmer mix. Not expecting an immediate response, he gave it five minutes before adding neat chopped worms and dead pinkies to his right-hand line and loose groundbait via a toss pot to the left.

“I’m trying a few variables to try and force the issue. I’ve only been pinging loose feed to the left, so a little dry feed cloud might draw them in.

It certainly won’t kill it. The neat feed will put flavour in the water, which again might be all it needs to get the skimmers to switch on again.”

One last look short while the other lines settled failed again, so for the remainder of the period Richard rotated his lines to try and get a result, but like most of the others around the lake it was like a switch had been flicked.

“Well that hour came and went! I’m still not convinced that the skimmers have disappeared. I think they

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| 23

Commercial Silvers

That could be valuable today.

Mr Silver Fish netted 13-2-0 of silvers, so he is the man to beat.

The top two in the silver fish pool.

just don’t want to feed in the conditions, or a carp may have moved in and spooked them. Either way, I just have to keep trying variations of hook baits to see if I can pick off the odd fish in the later stages.”

Hour Five: There were clues that fish had moved on to the lefthand line as Richard had a few lift bites in succession, so he concentrated his efforts on that area. It paid off, as after a minor adjustment to the shotting – spreading them to create a slower-falling bait – he caught three skimmers in 20 minutes. Unfortunately, they were followed by a carp, which, after heading off past the island, parted ways as the 0.07mm mono gave in.

After the run of skimmers and the carp, the bites

24 | Match Fishing

stopped, so after another biteless 15 minutes, Richard re-fed the left-hand line with a big pot of chopped worm-laced groundbait – a last hurrah, as he put it, with 60 minutes to go.

“Having got rid of that carp, I’m going to gamble that I can catch to my left in the final 45 minutes, but while I wait I’m going to try the waggler a final time.”

Would the regular loose feeding to the left-hand side of the island pay off.

After 10 minutes, it did.

However, it was a 3lb carp, which Richard landed comfortably on a 0.08mm bottom, which showed that you can catch bigger fish on light gear when your tackle is balanced correctly. That was followed by a small perch.

“I guess you can say that it was a slightly better hour,

as I did manage a few fish.

Those carp don’t help if they are mooching around the peg. That last perch has me thinking that it might be worth spending a bit longer on the waggler.

“The wind hasn’t been right most of the day, but it’s calm now, so the presentation will be a little better. I’ve set the depth so that the hook bait rests well on the deck, to allow the rig to settle once on the ledge.”

Final 45 Minutes: A skimmer and a roach came quickly, and as a result Richard increased the frequency of the loose feed. The change of tactic saw a run of skimmers and the odd other silver fish continued until the end of the match to give him a total of 42 fish, and possibly a chance of framing, but much depended on how

Canal Lake had fish, as the chatter around the lake was that most had caught carp, and John Barker had a good bag of silvers.

“That was a lot harder than I expected it to be. I reckon I’ve got 6lb-plus, so with not many catching silvers on my lake I’ve a chance.

“It’s been a match of three periods. I really thought I’d got it sussed when the skimmers turned up, but the third and fourth hours were a struggle. I thought the fifth hour was going to get better, but that carp didn’t do me any favours.

“Really happy that I decided to set up the waggler. That was a satisfying has 45 minutes.

I’m just relieved that that one carp was all that spoiled it. I guess it’s just wait for the scales now.”

Richard’s 9-13-0 wasn’t quite enough, but he won the Main Lake in the silvers race and was good enough for second on the day.

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R E G N CHA The Result: The scales started on Canal Lake, and as expected John Barker had had a good match with a mixed bag of small skimmers and roach and placed 132-0 on the scales, so it was clear that he would be the man to beat. With carp now dominating the weigh-in, it was on to Main Lake, and as the scales reached Richard, no one was close to John’s silvers haul. Richard’s catch looked better than he first thought when he lifted his net out of the water, and as the weight was called it was better that he estimated at 9-13-0 – short of John, but enough to claim second in the silvers pool, so a welcome brown envelope.

“I’m pleased with that, with it being my first visit of the year. Those skimmers weighed a bit more than I thought. If I had been able to back them up with a run of roach early on, then I might have pushed John’s weight close.

“It’s been a challenge in the heat, but I’ve enjoyed the day, so well done to John, and here’s to the next match.”

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Skimmers On The Pole

Separate the wheat from the chaff!

AMER JAW AD Age: 5 Lives: Cam 2 br Sponsor: R idge iv MF says: e Top tacticia n

LAKE EWART Lower Cambourne, Cambridgeshire CB23 3PP

26 | Match Fishing

Small fish can be a big problem at this time of year and avoiding them is the key to catching better quality fish. We join Rive’s Amer Jawad at Lake Ewart in Cambridgeshire where he works out how to do just that.

ow the warmer weather has arrived, venues like the beautiful lake we are at for today’s feature start to awaken from the long cold winter. The reeds and grasses, insects and all forms of wildlife are active, and none more so than the lake’s fish population, especially the small fish!

Cambourne in Cambridgeshire is home to Lake Ewart, which is an irrigation lake that takes floodwaters away from the surrounding roads to this relatively new town. The lake is very well looked after by the local Cambourne Fishing club and matches are run throughout the year – only last weekend I fished an open match here and managed to win the event with just shy of 28lb of silvers.

I have named this feature “Separate the wheat from the chaff” as I found with so many different year classes of

N

silvers, particularly the target species (skimmers), it was a real challenge to get through the numerous small fish in this very shallow venue and pick out the bonus skimmers that are needed to win.

This is not unfamiliar to what I have seen over the recent years, following the warm summers and mild winters and many of my local waters have seen a sharp rise in the smaller fish stocks.

the water so I could keep low to the water to aid presentation, and it will also get me out a metre further into the lake. Normally at this time of the year you would select a swim with the prevailing wind blowing into your bank, but today I have deliberately selected a peg where the wind is blowing out from.

In fairness, it’s not a strong wind but on these open waters these are major pointers to a good day’s sport.

RIGS With this being a shallow lake I opt for two rigs.

Both are set up to avoid the nuisance fish, which are like piranhas in this lake! They will literally attack every bait thrown at them and follow it down to the bottom. So with this in mind, and after my experience from last weekend’s match, I set up my hero rig and this is the setup that caught me some bonus fish, but I only used it towards the end of the

THE SWIM Today I’ve selected a peg that actually isn’t a favoured swim on the lake, but it’s one that sits out on a point and offers me a way of showing how a catch of bonus skimmers can be amassed on average swims with the right approach.

With a fairly uniform depth of four feet, I’m also greeted with a gentle breeze and a heavily coloured tinge to the water.

I made the choice to position my seatbox in

Avoid the small fish and you can catch these.

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| 27

Skimmers On The Pole

THE INITIAL FEED 1 Place the loose offerings in the middle.

match! I didn’t want to be a victim of hindsight so my ‘think it, do it’ approach certainly worked on the day.

This rig is very unorthodox but worked a treat, with a 1g Sensas 1 float, a pattern I particularly like as it has a carbon stem, which means more weight is positioned down the line. This float is attached to 0.14mm main line with two No10s as back shot above the plastic bristle.

An olivette and shot are positioned right above the loop to loop knot and there are no droppers. A short 4in hooklength of 0.12mm and size 16 Guru Pellet hook

2 Cover with groundbait and mould a ball.

finishes the rig off.

This is a rig that will fall straight to the bottom with no finesse whatsoever, which is exactly what I’m trying to achieve. My second rig is lighter at 0.5g and is again attached to 0.14mm main line and a 0.12mm hooklength, but with a larger size 14 Guru Pellet hook. This is my corn rig and something of a back-up as I found corn was more of a bait that avoided the smaller fish but didn’t catch me as many fish as maggots. The maggot rig is attached to 1.4mm diameter hybrid elastic and the corn rig is attached to a 1.6mm

3 The initial feed and not a particle in sight.

4 In they go!

diameter hybrid elastic, with both set quite soft.

two bags of Sonubaits Match Method Dark, which is 4kg of dry mix, and two litres of water went straight in before mixing!

I vigorously mixed the gloopy groundbait with my hands, turning over the mix as I went along, then left it to absorb all the dry particles until the morning when I then added water via an atomiser and used a drill to mix until the groundbait was very sticky.

What I was left with was a perfectly inert, fishmeal mix. Even though the mix is designed for Method feeder fishing because it holds together well and will stick

DEAD BAITS Sometimes we can be drawn into fishing baits that avoid nuisance fish, like corn and hard pellets, but it’s not always their preference. I found dead red maggots were without doubt the best bait for the bigger skimmers, but I also found it was a bait that the smaller fish homed in on.

The next important point was the groundbait, but again it attracts smaller fish. With this in mind I saturated the groundbait the night before this session and

“I tried to catch at least four or five skimmers on each top-up and given their size it would definitely push me towards my target weight.”

A typical stamp of skimmer at Lake Ewart.

28 | Match Fishing

FLOATS AND SHOTTING

1 The ‘usual’ float for fishing in four feet of water.

to the feeder, it also works really well as a base mix for skimmers and bream.

TOP TIP 1 Something I do quite often when wanting my groundbait to act as a carrier and have almost no activity is having a bait box of water on my side tray.

Before making up a ball of groundbait I dip my hands into the water and mould the ball after. It adds a seal to any dryer particles that may fall off as the ball is dropped from the pole cup and prevents the smaller fish from being attracted to the feed.

2 A standard shotting pattern with a bulk and droppers.

YELLOW IT UP There are only three baits on my side tray today and they are corn, red maggots and dyed yellow micro pellets, and I’m ignoring the more standard worm and caster approach. I have always found once the water colours up, skimmers and bream love a bright yellow bait. To match up to my corn I use a Scopex yellow Haze liquid, which I add to my dampened 2mm pellets and I only put a few micro pellets in the mix as I don’t want to attract any of the lake’s resident carp. This is an appealing smelling additive as well as a very

3 Amer steps up to this 1g float to help avoid the small fish.

4 All the weight sits on the hooklength knot.

good way to make your micro pellets bind well.

I also find that by adding the additive after the pellets have absorbed the water, it coats the micros and prevents a quick breakdown of the pellets.

I use a zip up EVA bowl and vigorously shake the bowl once the liquid has been added, leave for five minutes and they are then ready for use.

THE SESSION Instead of feeding more than one line on the pole, I opted to start shorter at 11.5 metres. When fishing this way I prefer to keep the one

line going and only feed another swim if the fish back off or I need to change approach. I can always move further out by adding sections, but one other thing that I find can happen is that the fish will move away to my left or right.

Because of this I don’t want to feed more lines until I know what has happened first.

I’ve plumbed the 11.5m line to find the expected four feet of water and a nice firm flat base to fish over with very little silt, which is always a bonus.

I set both rigs about four inches overdepth so you

Amer likes to dye his pellets yellow.

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Skimmers On The Pole

Another quality skimmer on the maggot.

HOOK BAITS

Sweetcorn ‘should’ be the best bait to avoid the small fish and pick out the skimmers.

Maggot is the bait the skimmers prefer and that only adds to the small fish problems

can imagine the main bulk is only just off bottom and that’s what I am trying to achieve to help avoid the small fish. I find a pole support bar is very useful for this sort of fishing and I am using one on more matches now because I then always know I am placing the pole rig directly over my baited area and it aids perfect presentation.

With the groundbait ready, the next stage is to transfer the desired amount into my working bowl and six handfuls are about right for my initial feed. I’m not one for measuring out maggots and instead I add the yellow micro pellets and maggots to the loose groundbait and close it off by putting the groundbait over the top. I then mould a ball without any loose baits on show.

I kick-start the swim by cupping in six balls and as I said previously, no maggots or pellets are on show as they’re contained within the ball so no bait will fall away as the balls are fed and attract small fish. I carefully feed each ball directly over the support bar so that I am fishing accurately over the groundbait.

I start the session with

30 | Match Fishing

sweetcorn on the hook as usually the small fish home in on the initial feed, and this is a good way of showing how what seems like a good bait can be bettered! It doesn’t take too long before some nice skimmers are being guided over my landing net, but bites are slow to come and I am fully aware maggots are the best bait.

After about an hour I switch to the 1g bulked down rig. I don’t swing the rig out, but instead I place the rig so it falls in a straight line to the bottom.

It doesn’t take long before a string of good skimmers are making their way to the landing net and it really is about finding the best bait and way to feed the bait without coming back with a small fish. One thing that is working well is putting the rig in against the tow and I think this is because the smaller fish are following any baits with the tow and leaving the bait placed above them.

TOP TIP 2 When fishing a rig where the bulk is so low and you need to lower the rig straight down, it’s worth pointing out that a heavier,

It was all action once Amer had got the feeding right.

or stiffer, hooklength line is a must to avoid tangles and wind knots. Fluorocarbon is an excellent choice is it’s stiffer than mono and it allows you to fish with a similar diameter to mono and increase the stiffness.

Now I’m on the heavier rig, double dead red maggots are by far the best bait. I hook the maggots top and tail and just hold the rig still over the inert groundbait. One thing of note is how the bigger skimmers move in at least 15 minutes after each ball is fed as a top-up. I assume

the bigger skimmers react to the inner loose feed that is being released and push out the smaller hand sized skimmers that seem to be the first to react. Some of the bites are nice lift bites as my bulk is positioned so low to the lake bed. Other bites are slow and easy to read and both bite types are met with a gentle lift of the pole.

TOPPING UP Each time the swim slowed up, or small fish intercepted the bait, it was usually an indication to drop a full

The wheat has definitely been separated from the chaff!

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sized ball of groundbait in then fish it out before repeating. I tried to catch at least four or five skimmers on each topup and given their size it would definitely push me towards my target weight.

Another point worth mentioning when topping up with a ball, is make sure it’s lodged into the pole cup so that you can tip the ball upside down.

This prevents the ball propelling away. You can also make the ball a slightly irregular shape too as this will also stop it.

less interest from nuisance fish and occasional target fish. It’s better to work out how to avoid the nuisance fish and return more bonus fish by fishing the right bait and rigs.

As the day goes on the swim certainly gets stronger with more bonus skimmers now finding my bait, and I find I don’t have to top up as much, which meant I caught more skimmers from each top-up. I am very pleased with how the session has gone and proved to myself what I concluded about last week’s match.

TOP TIP 3 On these open waters I tend to opt for a longer line between pole float and pole tip. I favour the use of back shot, which I control rather than the pole float.

You will find you can keep the rig perfectly still and in place by fishing a longer line.

Today is proving to be a game of cat and mouse.

Trying to avoid the vast shoals of small fish has been a real game! I also found loose feeding live maggots much shorter draws away the main shoal of small rudd and roach, leaving my groundbait feed area with less of them.

Knowing you are fishing the right bait is key, and that doesn’t mean just settling for a bait that gets

THE RESULT After last weekend’s open match, although I came out on top I didn’t feel I had done my peg justice by fishing a bait that wasn’t by any means the preferred skimmer choice.

I came away saying to other anglers that my 28lb should have been more like 40lb had I switched to the bulked down rig and dead red maggot earlier.

Today was about proving a point to myself and trying to do a lesser swim justice. In my mind I wanted to catch 40lb to 45lb of big skimmers and as you can see by the catch shot, I hit my target weight with ease. Don’t leave any thoughts to hindsight… if you think it, do it!

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Nick Speed is at Lindholme Lakes for a fascinating insight into how to plan a match when F1s are the target species.

TOPICS DETAILED: - Formulating a match plan - Tactical thinking - Finding the fish - Signs to look out for - Bait and rig selection - Swim management

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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.

We also supply fresh baits including maggots, pinkies,

squatts and worms, while our casters are produced daily in store by our experienced bait team.

As well as over the counter sales, Tackle & Bates now has a very busy eBay store; to find us, please look up our selling page – tackleandbates1989 – for reliable and fast service.

If you are looking for an item and don’t use eBay, you can order over the phone and we accept all major

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 HYBRID THEORY We join Des Shipp at Llandegfedd Reservoir for a feeder fishing session for big hybrids on this huge expanse of water.

44 RICH PICKINGS NuFish-backed Rich Wilson shows us his two-pronged feeder approach that has made him one of the north’s top feeder anglers.

50 FEEDER ESSENTIALS Match Fishing takes a look at MAP’s new Dual XD Distance Feeder Rods… and then gives you the chance to win one of them!

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

| 35

SERVOIR LLANDEGFEDD RE outhshire NP4 0SY Coed y Paen, Monm 401 373 633 Tel: 01

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dd Reservoir,les fe g e d n la L t a p hip east Wa We join Des Sin scape of southfeeder d n la g ll ro e for a set in th and Pontypooel,expanse of water. between Usk n g on this hu fishing sessio

Des’s feeders for the day.

A superb hybrid.

36 | Match Fishing

THE VENUE First things first, Llandegfedd, or the ‘Deggy’ as the locals call it, is a big water and it’s also very deep in places. But what a place to fish, it really is stunning and it’s one of those places that’s just great to be at regardless of how many fish you catch.

It can look intimidating to fish because of its size, and the hardest bit about tackling venues like this is knowing where the fish are. Generally, head for the shallower areas in summer and head for the deeper water once it gets cold, but that is a bit vague and when you’re fishing on venues like

this, you can’t beat some local advice from anglers that fish the water all the time.

For today’s session I’m heading for the bank that’s just about as far away from the visitor centre, where the van is parked, as it’s possible to get.

This area has been fishing well, so I get my gear into the boat with a couple of other anglers and set off for the 10-minute boat ride across the lake. There is an access road around the lake, but on some parts there are long walks. However, the guys at the visitor centre are more than happy to get anglers to where they need to go using the boats, which is great.

“When you’re fishing on venues like this, you can’t beat some local advice from anglers that fish the water all the time.” www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

| 37

Des’ Bait

Dead red maggots.

Sweetcorn.

Worms.

Hemp.

Floating maggots.

Red maggots.

Casters.

Groundbait.

bag. I’ll be adding a few grains to my groundbait in the feeder and hopefully, later on in the session, I might be able to get a few on it. Even if I don’t use it on the hook, it’s a great bait for holding fish in the swim.

Moving on to the groundbait, which is probably the most important bait today, I’ve mixed up a bag of Super Feeder, one bag of Black Roach and I’ve also added some Pro Green to the mix, which has fishmeal in it. Generally, it’s a dark, sweet smelling mix that has a few large particles including crushed hemp and maize, which I think will be important today. The mix is also quite dark in colour and I’ve gone for that because the water is gin clear. I’ve mixed up 3kg in total, which doesn’t sound like a lot of groundbait, but when it’s mixed with water it nearly fills the bucket!

RIGS The first rod I want to show you is so important on this type of venue and that’s the baiting up rod. Years ago we used to feed balls of groundbait with a catapult but this is by far a more accurate way of feeding lots of bait at the start of a session. I’m using a Preston Feeder Feeda rod, which is purpose made for the job. I’ll probably be putting in three pints of bait at the start, which sounds like a lot, but with a big baiting up feeder it will probably only be 10 casts.

I’ve got 6lb line on the reel and then a 20lb braid shockleader all the way down to a large, capped baiting up cage feeder.

I’m going to fish two lines today and I’ve set up three rods, two for fishing my long line and another rod for fishing short.

The long line is going to be my main line and that’s why I’ve assembled two rods, which are both identical, meaning if I get a tangle or crack off or anything like that, I can pick up the second rod and carry on fishing uninterrupted. The rods are 12ft 6in Supera feeder rods (50g) and I’ve measured up to fish at 45 metres on the long line, which is a comfortable distance for me.

Distance-wise, never go to your extreme because if the wind picks up later in the session you won’t be able to cast there, and fishing comfortably is better for accuracy. I’ve got a count of nine on that line with a 1oz bomb to give you an idea of the depth. I’ve got a 25m 8lb Sinking Mono shockleader and the reel line is 0.12mm braid.

Size 14 N30

Feeder Rig

No8 shot

Twizzled loop Stiff boom

BAIT This is a natural venue and the important thing to remember here is that there are no carp anglers, in fact I’m not even sure if there are any carp in here at all. That means baits like boilies and pellets etc, don’t get introduced so it’s just like turning the clock back 20 years in that the fish in here have never seen those baits.

Natural baits are therefore going to be favourite and the first bait on my list for this venue are casters. I’ve got a couple of pints of these and, bear in mind that I’ll be fishing the feeder today, this should be enough for a five hour session even if the fish are feeding well.

Next, I’ve got a few tins of hemp with me and I would never come to somewhere like this without this brilliant bait.

It’s great for roach but, because

38 | Match Fishing

there’s also a good head of hybrids in here, I’ll be looking to feed plenty of it through the feeder.

I’ve also got some worms and when I fished here about three weeks ago, worms were really good on the hook, although I don’t think they made much difference when I chopped a few up and added them to my groundbait.

Next on my tray are some red maggots and for the roach and hybrids I expect these to be the best bait to use on the hook. I’ve also got dead reds to use in the groundbait if the bream are around and I’ve also done some floating red maggots because these can be brilliant on the hook when the fish are off the bottom. Finally, in terms of particle baits, I’ve got some corn and I never go anywhere without a few tins of this in my

One metre of 0.15mm

The baiting up feeder.

The feeder used during the session.

“It’s going to take me a while to get all the bait fed but it’s worth doing properly, even if you spend the first 15 minutes of a match doing it.” out (with my pole cup) about I’m fishing a running rig and 150ml of dead reds, a small what I’ve got running on the handful of corn and 150ml of line is a stiff boom, which you casters, which are added and can buy in the shops, and this mixed into the three pints runs down to a twisted loop in of groundbait and this is my the end of the main line. On introductory feed for my long the knot of the twisted loop I’ve line. I’m not putting any hemp got a No8 Stotz and that helps in because I’m going to feed to create a boom. The twisted that short, which is where I’m loop goes off at a right angle when the feeder is resting on the hoping to catch the hybrids.

On the short line I’ve got Stotz, which helps to reduce any two pints of groundbait with tangles. The feeder, attached to 200ml of hemp, 100ml of the other end of the boom, is a casters and 100ml of live five-hole bullet cage feeder. maggots. It’s going to take The rod for fishing my close me a while to get all the in line is a Dutch Master 10ft bait fed but it’s worth doing 8in with mono on the reel – I’m properly, even if you spend not fishing braid on this rod. the first 15 minutes of a The bites I had when I was match doing it because it here the other week were very sets it up for the next five aggressive and if I had been hours and the only time fishing braid short, I would I’ll top it up is if I haven’t have got broken on the bite! So gone on it for a while, or if 6lb Sinking Mono is loaded on the spool and the setup on the business end is Des filled each feeder with exactly the same with the hemp and maggots. running feeder on the boom down to a twisted loop.

I’m changing lines and want to set it up for when I move back on it.

It’s a good 10 to 15 minutes before the swims are fed and I’m ready to start fishing. It’s worth noting that on the last couple of casts on both lines I shook the bait out before the feeder got to the bottom to put a cloud in the water.

Like I said, this is important so there’s no mad rush to get the bait in, and there’s also the fact it might take an hour to get that first bite on a venue like this. To start with I’ve got double red maggot on the hook and the hooklength is two and a half feet long. I’m putting a pinch of dead maggots and casters into the mix to go in

The ‘Deggy’ is full of these.

THE SESSION I’ve measured out three pints of groundbait to feed on my long line and I’m not going to overcook this at the start. I’ve measured

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

| 39

the feeder so let’s see what happens! I’m not expecting anything straightaway, but you just never know.

One of the great attractions of venues like this is the unknown and I don’t know if I’ll catch… or what I’ll catch.

I’m hoping to get into some hybrids and roach and maybe the odd bream, but whatever species I catch on this venue it could be the fish of a lifetime as hybrids have been caught here to 7lb!

I’ve started off holding the rod because if the hybrids and roach are there (and I expect them be in the swim before any bream turn up) then I want to be able to react to bites straightaway and I can’t do that if the butt of the rod is in a rest. Because the water is quite deep, I’m winding slowly on the reel handle to keep the line tight so I can see bites as soon

as they happen. I’ve also got the 2oz tip in today because if this place tows a lighter tip will bend round double!

I can’t believe it when on my second chuck the tip knocks and I’m playing the first fish of the day but unfortunately it comes off… gutted! Very next cast though, I get another bite and this time I manage to get the fish in and it’s a 1lb 4oz hybrid, which has made me smile from ear to ear.

Next cast I’m in again and I wasn’t expecting to get such a fast response after putting all that bait in. My second fish is another hybrid and it’s even bigger than the first… what a

venue! There aren’t many places where you can catch fish like this.

I’ve been fishing for around 40 minutes now and have had five hybrids up to this point with bites coming within a minute of the feeder hitting the bottom. If it carries on like this it’s going to be fantastic.

You never know with venues like this though, there are big predators around (this lake holds the British record pike) and if you get a couple of those

“Apart from a couple of roach and a trout, it’s all hybrids and the bites are coming within seconds of the feeder hi�ing the bo�om.”

Another hybrid hooked at 45 metres.

40 | Match Fishing

move into the swim the fish will disappear and may not come back. They’re like peas in a pod at the moment with the hybrids all being between 1lb and 1lb 8oz, and what I did about 15 minutes ago was chop a few worms up and I’m now feeding a tiny pinch of choppy in every feederful. My next fish takes the bait within 20 seconds of the feeder going in and I’m beginning to think that these fish are off the bottom. I might have to try

The’Deggy’ is a massive expanse of water.

Des’ boom.

increasing the length of the hooklength and fishing with floating maggot on the hook to slow the drop right down in the last three feet of water.

I’ve been fishing for about 90 minutes now and it’s really kicking off since I changed to the 1m long hooklength with a floating maggot and a normal maggot on the hook.

Apart from a couple of roach and a trout, it’s all hybrids and the bites are coming within seconds of the feeder hitting the bottom. I’ve also changed what I’m putting through the feeder and I’m now feeding basically what I fed short at the start because the hybrids are by far the dominant species.

So I’m feeding plenty of live maggots and hemp to make the most of the hybrids because there are definitely quite a few in the swim and it seems the more maggots I feed, the better the swim gets.

I’ve also fed the short line again 10 minutes ago with another two big feederfuls of bait but if things carry the way they are at 45 metres, I’d be a fool to come off it. I might have to try closer at some point because if I can catch them there it will be quicker, but at the moment there’s no way

I’m going to come off this line because it’s so good! With 50 or 60 fish of this stamp you can easily end up with 70lb to 80lb and not have a single bream.

Well, what a place this is!

What an awesome fish to catch.

I’m having one of the best day’s fishing I’ve had in quite a while, and I’m still catching hybrids and the odd roach and the stamp of the fish is exceptional with most going

over 1lb. It’s only the roach that are under that… but only just! The 1m hooklength is working a treat and I’m being careful to make sure the bait is squeezed into the feeder enough to get it down to the bottom intact. What I don’t want is loads of bait coming out the feeder at half depth in 18 feet of water because the hybrids will come right off the bottom. If that happens I’ll have a difficult job to catch them. I’ve had to add a bit more water to my groundbait to stop it from getting too dry and coming out of the feeder early as it sinks.

We’re now about halfway through the session and I’m still catching. Sometimes I’ll get fish within seconds of the feeder hitting the bottom.

When I don’t get a bite that fast, I don’t leave the feeder in for too long before recasting because the bites tend to be quick or they take too long to come. On some occasions when I have left the feeder in for longer I’ve caught roach which confirms to me that the hybrids are 100 per cent off the deck. I’ve also been feeding the inside line every 40 minutes or so without fail and I know if the long line suddenly goes on

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Des was in bagging mode.

Feeder sessions don’t get much better than this.

This is the typical stamp of hybrid.

me, I’m confident I can catch there.

I’ve put a shorter hooklength on my second rod for the long line just to see what happens and it’s definitely not as good. I’m still catching the odd fish but I’m waiting longer for bites because I’m missing out on the fish that are off the bottom. I just thought I’d try it because there are plenty of fish there and I would expect some bream to have rocked up by now if they were going to. On the longer hooklength my bait

42 | Match Fishing

wasn’t getting to the bottom so I had no idea if there were any bream in the swim or not.

It’s awesome fishing though, and on the longer hooklength I’m back to catching hybrids within seconds of the feeder hitting the bottom.

I can’t tell you enough what a fantastic session it’s been today, it’s been paradise for me! The peg has died in the last hour after I lost a trout and then I was left scratching around for the odd fish. The wind died too and the sun was beating down, so maybe that

had something to do with it as well? I had some fish on corn in the last hour, but they were the same stamp as the ones I was catching on maggot.

Overall, it’s been brilliant and I can’t wait to get back here. In a match I would definitely have two rods set up for each line, one with a long hooklength and the other with a shorter hooklength, and I’d vary what I’m putting through the feeder depending on what species I’m catching.

I changed to mainly hemp and maggot once the hybrids

had established themselves in the swim and that’s what you need to be aware of on these venues. And don’t forget, you will often catch a lot of fish off the bottom on this type of venue at this time of year so make sure you have a bottle of fizzy drink with you so you can prepare some floating maggots for the hook.

What a session, I don’t know what weight I’ve got but I’m loving the net full of roach and hybrids… feeder fishing doesn’t get much better than this.

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RICH WILS ON Age: 43 Lives: Sheffi Sponsor: N eld uFish MF sa Class feed ys: er angler

RICH GS PICKIN

to Sally Walsh’s it is v a s y a p n d Rich Wilso us his two-line feeder NuFish-backern ny venues in sley to show Dam near Ba t has served him well on ma approach tha M the north.

SALLY WALSH’S DA Hemsworth WF9 5JB g.co.uk www.barnsleyfishin

This is the stamp of roach you’re looking for on the short line.

44 | Match Fishing

Rich’s groundbaits.

Chopped worm – it can be risky feeding it from the start.

oday I’ve brought the Match Fishing cameras along to Sally Walsh’s Dam, which is just outside the small town of Hemsworth, near Barnsley. It’s a terrific venue for feeder anglers and has a good head of silvers and bream, as well as carp that the bivvy boys target. The carp are few and between so you can’t really go for them in a match so today I’m going to show you how I would approach a feeder match on here, by fishing a long line for skimmers and bream and a shorter line for the smaller silver fish.

The long line is a gamble today because the bream fishing here is a bit hit or miss at the moment, but they may settle on it if we’re lucky. The short line should be a lot more productive, but even that has been a bit iffy

T

in general the last couple of weeks as all the fish have been spawning, which they should have finished doing weeks ago.

I’m going to try and keep my bait as simple as possible today for the small roach and skimmers short, and I’ve got some dead red maggots and dead red pinkies for feeding, some casters for feeding and I’ll switch to these if I start to catch one or two better quality fish.

I’ve got some floating maggots for the hook and finally some worms, which I’ll try later in the session if things aren’t going to plan. Finally, before I talk about groundbait, I’ve got some soaked micro pellets for feeding

on the long line for bream as they will help the fish settle over the groundbait.

TWO MIXES I’ve got two groundbait mixes with me today and it’s important to use different mixes for different jobs. My first mix is for fishing the inside for silvers. It’s quite a dark mix, which is ideal for smaller fish and consists of one part Sonubaits F1 Dark, one part F1 Green and finally there’s one part Match Method Dark, which adds a bit more fishmeal content. I’ve actually put all the dry groundbait through a flour sieve to remove any feed

Sally Walsh’s Dam.

www.feeder-fishing.co.uk

| 45

particles before mixing together and adding water. The only particles I want the fish feeding on are the ones I choose to add to each feederful so the groundbait is for attaction only, nothing else.

For my long line where I’m targeting bigger skimmers and bream, I’ve got a different mix that consists of Sonubaits Match Method Dark and Super Crush 50:50 Green. I don’t sieve these off because I want the larger particles to feed those bigger fish and help keep them in the peg. I’ll also add plenty of casters, pellets and maggots to this and at the start of the session I’ll feed maybe 10 large feederfuls into the peg to lay a bed of feed down and then leave it to settle while I fish my shorter line.

RIGS My rig for the short line, which I’ll be fishing at 20 metres to begin with, features a Preston 11ft Supera SL rod, which is perfect for smaller fish. I’ve then got a 4000 size reel loaded with 10lb braid and to that I’ve tied a more durable 50cm length of mono that the feeder slides up and down on. I’ve then got a tiny float stop where the braid and mono meet and this is to stop the feeder from sliding up to the tip ring and potentially damaging it on those occasions when I’ve got the rod pointing down. On the other end of the mono I’ve got a small swivel tied and at the end that has the feeder butting up against it, I’ve covered the end of the swivel with a small length of silicone tubing.

Rich’s end tackle.

Get these going on the short line and you’re on to a winner.

46 | Match Fishing

The feeder itself is on a 2in mono boom that I tie myself and one end has a small swivel for sliding on the main line, and at the other end there’s a snap swivel for attaching the feeder.

Below the mono, I’ve attached an 8in length of 4lb Feedergum and this gives me some extra shock absorbtion, which results in fewer hook-pulls. Finally, the hooklength is attached to this by lassoing the loop over the knot in the end of the Feedergum. It’s 50 centimetres of 0.12mm fluorocarbon to a size 16 barbless hook.

The feeder itself is one of the new NuFish Smooth Hound cage feeders and on this line I’m using a small 15g version.

These have a weight-forward lead to aid casting and the lead sits flush with the body of the

feeder and is 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.

My rig for the long line is different and because I’m fishing this rod at 50 metres and want to keep tangles to an absolute minimum I’m fishing a helicopter style rig at distance. I’ve got 0.10mm braid on a 5000 size reel and an 8m shockleader of 8lb mono.

In the end of the mono I’ve tied a 6in twizzled boom with a snap swivel on the end for attaching the feeder. Above the twizzled boom I’ve got a small rubber float stop, a quickchange swivel for attaching

“To keep tangles to an absolute minimum I’m fishing a helicopter style rig at distance.”

0.10mm braid

0.10mm braid

Small float stop 50cm length of mono 2in mono boom

50cm 0.12mm flourocarbon Swivel

Snap link swivel

15g small Smooth Hound cage feeder

8lb shockleader

Swivel

Size 14 Preston SFL-B Hook

Quick change swivel

8in 4lb Feedergum Rubber float stops 6in twizzled boom

50cm 0.12mm fluorocarbon my hooklength to, and then another small rubber float stop that locks the hooklength swivel in place and allows it to spin helicopter style. The feeder is a large Smooth Hound cage with 45g of lead.

THE SESSION With the bait ready and the rigs sorted, it’s time to get fishing and to start the session I’m going to make 10 or so casts with my 50m rod with the feeder full of groundbait, pellets, casters and maggots. It’s five to six feet deep at 50 metres so I’m going to leave the feeder for five or six seconds on each cast before jerking the rod to empty it before retrieving. Once that’s done it’s time to pick up the shorter rod and start the session short.

On this shorter line I’m going to start with a single floating maggot on the hook and in the feeder I’m adding a small pinch of dead pinkies only. I just want to see what’s there to begin with so it’s best to start off cautiously and then increase the feed if the fish are playing ball. I expect to catch small fish but I’m not sure if the bigger skimmers and roach will feed because it has been a bit iffy of late because of the hot temperatures and the fact that

Size 16 Preston SFL-B Hook

Snap link swivel

45g large Smooth Hound cage feeder

The lead and cage merge seamlessly so there are no protrusions.

The weight forward design of the new Smooth Hound cage feeders. the fish have been spawning.

The groundbait will leave a nice cloud in the water and hopefully the fish will follow it down and pick off the dead pinkies and my maggot hook bait within a few seconds of the feeder hitting the bottom.

These new feeders make a nice plop as they enter the water and because of the braid, the bites should be very positive when they come. The braid also allows me to get the rod straight on the rest so I’m ready to react to a bite almost as soon as the feeder hits the water. On my

very first cast I get a vicious bite but it’s only a small hybrid, but it goes to prove just how positive this setup is and why the Feedergum is needed for that added insurance of the extra bit of stretch in the rig.

The hybrid is only 3oz but I still get the net under it as it’s the first fish of the day.

This style of fishing now becomes a case of getting into a rhythm, so as soon as the fish is in the keepnet it’s on with another floating maggot, another two or three pinkies are added to the groundbait,

the feeder is filled and I cast out and get the rod back on the rest immediately, ready to hit another bite, which could come straightaway. If I don’t get a bite after 10 seconds, I move the rod back along my rest five inches or so just to move the feeder, which produces a small cloud on the bottom that can often produce a bite. These new Smooth Hound feeders are great for this tactic because it’s so easy to move them.

Once I do start getting bites it then becomes a case of figuring out how the fish

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| 47

Rich hooks double maggot through the tail.

Single maggot is hooked through the head.

A bunch of maggots is favoured on the 50m line.

“It becomes clear that the small fish definitely want the feed going in regularly, that is the thing that’s keeping them in the peg.” actually want it and what bait they want. Upping the amount of particles could produce bites faster; feeding casters could work if one or two better fish are in the swim, squeezing the groundbait harder in the feeder creating less of a cloud could work if bites aren’t coming on the drop and the fish are tight on the bottom. All these things can be tried when you’re getting bites to see how the fish react to each change and then you

can quickly find what’s best on the day because every day is different. Equally, if things aren’t happening and you’re not getting bites as quickly as you’d like, you have to work at it to try and increase your bite rate.

One thing that has become evident during the first hour is that the fishing is tricky with only small fish feeding, but even they tend to come and go in small bursts. What I’ve done is leave all the particles out

Pellets and casters are fed at 50 metres.

48 | Match Fishing

completely so I’m plugging the feeder with groundbait only. The fish then home in on my hook bait and that switch definitely helps me get another run of fish.

I then begin to catch one or two better skimmers and roach and with a bigger stamp of fish in the peg, I decide to start feeding casters. This works to a degree but just like the other tactics I’ve used, the fish soon back off from it as well so it’s turning into a really tricky day.

A pinch of casters is all you need if there are better fish at 20 metres.

My next move is to try some chopped worm in the feeder to see if this makes any difference.

On its day the introduction of worm can transform your swim but on this reservoir there are eels and lots of small perch and if you feed worm from the off, you could easily end up attracting the wrong species into your peg. Because of that it’s best used after trying other baits first. After chopping a few worms up I add a small pinch

If it’s hard on the 20m line, switch to fishing chopped worm.

of choppy to my groundbait before filling the feeder. You might have noticed that on this small fish line I only add one type of particle bait at a time, rather than adding a mixture, which many anglers do. I believe this helps me quickly sort out (without any doubt) what the best bait is on the day.

I manage to catch a few fish on the worm and even though I’m getting bites and catching fish, I decide to leave this line to let it rest so I could give the 50m line a try. After filling the feeder with casters and pellets and fishing a bunch of maggots on the hook, I’m optimistic that I’ll get a pull or two on the long line as the fish have had plenty of time to settle there.

To cut a long story short I never have a bite on this line, even though I try it for half an hour, and when I go back to my 20m line I also struggle to get a bite. This certainly goes to prove that you should never leave a line if you’re catching on it! In a match I’d be keeping my eyes

on the anglers fishing for bream long and if I couldn’t see them catching any I would definitely have stayed on the inside line.

However, after fishing for a further 20 minutes of casting every two minutes to build the swim up again, it becomes clear that the small fish definitely want the feed going in regularly, that is the thing that’s keeping them in the peg. They soon come back to the regular consignments of bait and at the end of the session my close in line has produced around 20lb of silver fish compared to the 50m line, which produced absolutely nothing!

What I have noticed today is that there has been a big hatch of insects and the surface of the lake is alive with small bugs buzzing around. Sometimes the fish can get preoccupied with other things and they can feed on an abundance of natural food at certain times of the year, meaning they’re a lot less interested in any food that we anglers throw at them.

No bream long, but plenty of bites and fish on the 20m line.

SEE THE V EO OF THIS SESID ON THE MATSCIOHN FISHING YOUTUB CHANNEL E

DUAL IDENTITY Match Fishing takes a look at MAP’s new DUAL XD DISTANCE FEEDER RODS… and then gives you the chance to win one of them!

ishing methods come and go but one that seems to have come and stuck around is distance feeder fishing, whether for carp on large commercials or for bream on big natural stillwaters. With more feeder events now than ever, and many of them being held on lakes where a big chuck is a necessity not an afterthought, more and more manufacturers are bringing more and more rods and reels to the table.

We took a look at three of the latest offerings from British brand MAP. With the Parabolix SUV rods standing at the top of the heap, the high quality Dual XD range offers plenty of bang for quite a bit less buck.

Designed for distance and big river fishing for carp or barbel, the XD series offers three rods within the range that all feature three-piece blanks, ranging from a 12ft 6in model through to a 13ft 8in beast. The high modulus fast taper

F

50 | Match Fishing

carbon blanks are extremely responsive, recovering well after casting and giving you an instant feel when hitting and playing far off bites.

Featuring a long 26in handle with part cork/EVA design to aid casting, plus secure and sleek screw reel seats, each rod is fitted with high quality, large diameter double-footed rings and is supplied with a set of three carbon

tips in 2oz, 3oz and 4oz with oversized guides to deal with big diameter lines or shockleaders.

Neoprene bands are supplied to keep the rod safe when being transported and each rod is fitted with a durable keeper ring.

faced with tricky conditions and need to give it that bit more to reach your desired distance, this rod has all the requirements anglers look for in a rod of this style, such as using heavier feeders or fishing on larger venues that suffer with tow. £179.99 DUAL XD 13FT 2IN (4.0M 100G) FEEDER Ideal for targeting big river fish or carp fishing on big reservoirs. For distance work the rod has the perfect blend of power and a forgiving fish playing action; even catching quality silver fish at distance is never an issue with this rod. £189.99

DUAL XD 12FT 6IN (3.8M 80G) FEEDER Ideal for targeting big fish on rivers or carp fishing on commercials. This rod is capable of handling casting weights up to 80g with ease.

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DUAL XD 13FT 8IN (4.2M 120G) FEEDER Known by consultants who tested it as “The Beast” this is the ultimate distance rod. Just under 14ft in length, it’s capable of casting over 100 metres with ease, and is ideal for big waters where you need to cast to extreme distances to catch.

For river fishing once again the rod is perfect when the river is carrying a little more water, the extra length is perfect for keeping more line off the water and with the 4oz tip fitted is suited to heavier flows and heavy feeders. £199.99

SPECIFICATIONS: Length 12ft 6in – Casting Weight 80g Length 13ft 2in – Casting Weight 100g Length 13ft 8in – Casting Weight 120g MAP DUAL REELS www.mapfishing.co.uk These compact bodied reels feature a line guard roller that prevents line getting around the back of the spool.

Features include anti-twist line rollers, 6+1 ball bearings, 5:1 gear ratios and double handles. In 4500 and 5500 sizes, making them the perfect reels for all feeder and bomb fishing situations.

Great reels at great prices.

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COMPETITION We have one of each length of rod to give away, each teamed up with a MAP Dual reel, as prizes in this free to enter competition.

First prize will win a Dual XD 13ft 8in Feeder rod PLUS a Dual 5500 reel to go with it, worth a total of £259.98. Second prize wins a Dual XD 13ft 2in Feeder rod and 5500 reel, worth £249.98, and third gets the Dual XD 12ft 6in Feeder and 4500 reel, worth £239.98. That’s a total prize value of £749.94!

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

Q: WHICH OF THESE IS A MAP ANGLER? A: Andy Might B: Andy May C: Andy Mate 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, July 9th, and 11am Friday, August 6th, 2021.

Alternatively, you can enter by post: MAP Dual (July), 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.

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 51

COVER EVERYTHING

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THE FAMILY IS GETTING BIGGER THE AERO MATCH RANGE The Aero Match range now combines the ground breaking technology of the Aero X7 series, the sensational performance of the Aero X5 series and the amazing value of the new Aero X1 series, in one complete family.

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Whatever your requirement, or budget, there’s a rod in the Aero Match range to cover everything.

Rod - Aero X1 Distance Feeder 12’ Reel - Ultegra 4000 Line - Technium

54 SMALL TALK Stu Redman relishes the challenge of catching big nets of small fish using a whip fishing approach.

60 VENUE DETECTIVE Andy May travels to Worcestershire to check out the new look Cob House Countryside Park.

66 NATURAL AGGRESSION Will Raison reveals his natural-baits tactics for catching summer F1s up in the water.

72 MARGINAL DIFFERENCES Dan White explains why it’s essential to take your time when fishing the margins.

80 UP CLOSE: DAIWA Tom Scholey goes edge fishing with Daiwa’s new MATCHWINNER MW1 Power Margin Pole.

POLE FISHING www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 53

POLE FISHING

k l a T l a Sm LOVELLS LAKES PE6 9JA 07801 090458

54 | Match Fishing

fish of catching big nets of small to ge en all ch the es ish rel o wh ll’s Lakes One angler tly caught up with him at Love ars. en rec we d an , an dm Re u St ye is ach that he’s refined over the check out his small fish appro

STU RE DMAN Age Lives: S : 53 ta Sponso mford rs: Sen sas MF Small fi says: sh wiza rd

ractice is obviously a key ingredient in the small fish mix as it not only helps to refine your technique, it also teaches you those little tricks that often go unnoticed by anyone watching, but help you put more fish in the net than the anglers around you. Catching winning nets of silver fish is an art and when the targets are small fish, it can become a race and to catch quickly you need to draw the fish in close.

Catching 1 to 2oz fish fast, but more importantly keeping them feeding close in, is the key to catching big numbers of them. Although matches where this tactic is the key to winning are becoming less frequent, there are still plenty of places where small fish dominate weights and natural stillwaters, drains and canals are all venues

P

where catching big numbers of small fish can often play a big part.

The venue I’m fishing today is called Lovells Lakes. It’s a day ticket venue and it’s mainly a carp fishery but I can come here to practise and target all the

small roach and rudd that are never fished for by the carp boys. It’s rammed with small fish and with it being very close to home it’s the ideal venue for me to come for practice sessions, and it’s also one of my favourite places to take anglers who

want a day’s coaching. It’s ideal for fishing a short pole, which you need to do some days, but otherwise to catch the small fish as quickly as possible you need to fish a short whip and this venue has really helped to refine my technique.

It’s also one of those

A roach/rudd hybrid?

“Natural stillwaters, drains and canals are all venues where catching big numbers of small fish can often play a big part.”

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 55

POLE FISHING Stu always employs a sideways strike

FLOATS AND SHOTTING 1 The float pattern for the 2.5m whip rigs.

2 A strung bulk of No12 Slots.

places where it’s a pleasure to spend a few hours as the lake is surrounded by mature trees. At this time of year when the trees have just come into leaf and it’s breeding season for the local wildlife, it’s an idyllic location to spend a few hours fishing.

What we have had so far this spring though, is plenty of rain and lower air temperatures than normal for the time of year.

The weather’s good at the moment but the forecast is for more heavy showers as the day progresses and that

56 | Match Fishing

Stu’s line and hook choice.

3 A tighter bulk of No12 Slots.

usually means the wind will get up, so I have to bear that in mind when setting up my rigs for the session. I’ll be fishing the whip today and any sort of crosswind can ruin my presentation, but I’ll set a couple of rigs up to combat that which I’ll explain later.

Before anything else though, let’s talk bait. As you can see I’m feeding small balls of sloppy groundbait, which is creating a cloud in the water and the regularity that I’m feeding means there’s a constant cloud for the fish to linger in. My mix

4 The wagglers Stu used on his 3.5m whips.

for this is one bag of Sensas Surface, half a bag of Gardons and half a bag of Lake. I also pour in some liquidised hemp, which helps get the fish into a feeding frenzy and adds some extra food content and as well all know, roach go mad for hemp. Finally, I also add a good dose of yellow Tracix because it helps with the cloud and in water that’s fairly clear, like it is here today, it gives me good visual marker to fish to. Because it lingers in the water, I can still see enough of the cloud to give me a marker the next time I throw

5 Shotting on the whip was a small bulk of Slots.

a small ball in.

Apart from the groundbait, I’ve also got some live and dead maggots. The dead maggots are for the hook and I prefer these because of the way I hook them. What I like to do with these is hook them first through the blunt end as most anglers usually would, but then I move the maggot up the shank and then hook the maggot again further down the body. This keeps it on the hook for several fish and also allows the bait to hang perfectly vertical in line with the shank. If you try doing the same thing with

Stu’s sloppy mix ingredients.

A short landing net pole and a small landing net head are perfect.

Another quality bonus fish.

STEP-BY-STEP

HOOKING DEAD MAGGOTS

1 Hook the maggot and slide it on to the base of the shank.

a live maggot it just doesn’t work! The live maggots are for feeding and for me my hand is rarely out of the bait tub as I’m constantly feeding either a small pinch of maggots or a small ball of groundbait to get the fish competing for it.

Another good little tip for the dead maggots, and it’s something I learnt off the French a few years ago, is that when you pour them into your bait tub add a small quantity of Aromix liquid. This takes away the ‘dead’ smell and if it’s good enough for the French, who

2 Rehook the maggot halfway along the body.

3 Slide round to the shank.

are unbelievably good at catching small fish, then it’s good enough for me.

It might look a bit crazy when you see how many whips I’ve got set up today, but it’s really quite simple.

Catching small fish is a time and motion exercise and the more time your rig is in the water, the more fish you’re going to catch and that saying is true with this style of fishing more than any other.

To start with I’ve got four 2.5m whips set up and they all feature Sensas Burk floats.

I attach the line using the two-rubber method, where

I’ve got silicone rubber six inches up from the tip and this is used to lasso the rig behind. I then wrap the line down to the end of the tip before sliding another length of silicone tubing on to the tip to secure it (this silicone has already been slid on to the rig line). The reason I prefer this method is because if I need to adjust the length of line slightly I can unwrap some line to lengthen the rig or I can wrap more line around the tip to shorten it.

The main line is 0.12mm and unlike most anglers, I don’t use a hooklength on

4 Note the long tag to prevent the bait from being blown up the line.

my whip rigs, I prefer to fish my main line direct to the hook. I do this because I like to have a weak spot in my rig and I believe that by attaching a hooklength I’m creating a weak area in my rig. I find that fishing 0.12mm is still plenty fine enough so the amount of bites I get isn’t affected and I then also have the option of moving shot close to the hook if I need to.

The rigs themselves are 4x10 and 4x12 and I have duplicates assembled for each. Shotting is simply a spread bulk of No12 Ian Everett Central Slots and I

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POLE FISHING

“My approach to catching small fish is all about maximising my time in the water.”

Swing it or net it?

like using these because they give a natural fall of my bait and they rarely tangle, which is so important.

I say the rigs are duplicates but they do actually have slightly different shotting patterns so each 4x10 rig has a tight bulk and more spread out bulk, and it’s the same with my 4x12 rigs. They’re each set at the same depth so the only difference is how far apart the No12 Slots are that form the bulk.

My other two rigs are set

STEP-BY-STEP

up on longer whips of 3.5 metres and instead of top and bottom floats, I’m using small wagglers handmade

by John Bull on these for better presentation with the longer lines. These floats are brilliant and they have a small loading in the base so I don’t need to use many Slots to lock the float in place. On these rigs I’ve got No8s locking the float with a small spread bulk of No12s six inches above the hook.

Main line and hooks etc are

the same as on the shorter whips.

On the subject of hooks, it has to be a pattern that has a long shank so you can grip it easily and quickly when unhooking a fish.

My favourite pattern is the Sensas 4590 and what I do after swinging a fish to hand is hold the fish upside down, which I believe makes unhooking much easier from this angle. I then keep the fish in my hand while I cast the rig out again and after

UNHOOKING

1 Hold the fish upside down.

58 | Match Fishing

2 Lift the hook.

3 With the fish unhooked you can cast out again.

it’s hit the water I’ll place the fish into the keepnet. This will save time and when you’re catching big numbers of small fish for the duration of a five-hour match, it could be worth another dozen or more fish in the time it’s saved. I also leave a bit of a tag in the line when I’ve finished tying a hook so the fish can’t blow the bait up the line.

Like I said earlier, my approach to catching small fish is all about maximising my time in the water. After flicking the rig into the water, I sink the tip below the surface and then pull sharply to sink the line.

There’s a side breeze today so it’s important to get the line sunk so it doesn’t drag out of position. Then, when I get a bite and strike, I strike sideways so the float doesn’t travel too far away from the feed area if I miss it. If I do miss a bite I can leave the float where it is and hopefully get another bite

STEP-BY-STEP

MIXING THE SLOP

1 Two parts groundbait…

2 … to one part water.

3 Pour the water into the dry mix.

4 Swirl the water around with your finger.

5 Add more water if it’s too stodgy.

6 Stu’s secret ingredient!

7 Add to the sloppy groundbait.

8 It smells better than it looks!

A superb net for Stu.

The slop on impact. quickly as I’m still in the area of feed.

The session today has gone really well and I’ve caught a fish pretty much every drop in. Sometimes I’ve had to wait longer for bites than at other times and on these occasions I suspected the fish had backed off and that’s when the whip rig came into play. The longer line could be a problem with presentation with the side wind but the waggler allowed me to easily get the longer length of line under the surface. You always miss bites when there are lots of small fish in the peg and that’s why the side

They’re not all small fish. strike is so important. If you want to catch big numbers of small fish you really can’t afford to be lifting the rig out and casting it in again every time you miss a bite.

Feeding a small ball of slop regularly to keep a constant cloud in the water and loose feeding over the top with maggots has kept the fish coming all day. When I did

switch to the whip it wasn’t long before that too dried up because the fish had returned to the feed zone, and picking up the shorter 2.5m whip instantly produced another solid run of small roach with the odd rudd thrown in for good measure.

Some of the roach were as big as 8oz and they can provide one or two hairy

moments without the shock absorbtion you get with elastic, but take your time and you can get them in no problem. I’ve finished the session with between 30lb and 40lb and it’s been great fun, and proves that with the correct technique it’s possible to catch enough small fish close on the whip in to win silver fish matches.

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| 59

This month Andy May slaps on the Ambre Solaire and heads to Cob House Countryside Park near Worcester. The big weight venue is now under new management and things have changed a bit since he last paid a visit.

ohoooooo, goooo on the sunshine! Finally, we are having a bit of warm weather in what has seemed like the longest cold spring weather ever! You join me here today at the stunning Cob House Countryside Park in Worcester. I

W

60 | Match Fishing

haven’t visited the venue in around six years and the last time I came here I set a new personal best match weight for me, weighing a massive 467lb! It was just an amazing day when everything went right, basically I caught from start to finish, fishing shallow of course! Lots

and lots of lovely carps.

I’m actually fishing the same lake today, Wyatt’s and Peg 9! Cob House has just recently changed hands and the new owner is a lovely bloke called Guy Thomas, and he is doing an amazing job with the place. The fishery was

b House. ome brekkie at Co es aw an t ge u Yo 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!

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Where To Visit

COB HOUSE COUNTRYSIDE PARK Cob House Countryside Park Worcester Road Worcester WR6 6YE

“Honestly, I’ve never seen as many fish swimming round before I started fishing, it looked amazing and some of them looked mahoooosive.” buzzing with lots of people in the fields with the animals and also lots of other anglers were enjoying the stunning surroundings, there are some old Victorian style fishing lakes here too which look amazing. Cob House is also an animal/activity park, there’s actual

01886 888517 info@cobhouse.org

Rudolph the reindeers here that you can feed and everything! The fishery really has something for everyone to enjoy.

Myself and Dave (professional skyliner) first had a breakfast, which I must say was one of the best I’ve ever had at a fishery, amazing! Guy then

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| 61

Better get that hat on Andy!

COB HOUSE COUNTRYSIDE PARK

The fish are in stunning condition.

Don’t feed too many pellets when mugging.

Andy’s hook bait.

A Robin Red also caught plenty of fish.

62 | Match Fishing

gave us a walk round the lakes. The main ones are Oak, Laurel and Wyatt’s.

Laugherne Island at the bottom end isn’t here any more due to problems with leakages. Honestly, I’ve never seen as many fish swimming round before I started fishing than on the Wyatt’s lake, it looked amazing and some of them looked mahoooosive with carp up to 23lb being caught!

Guy and his staff are clearly working absolute wonders with the fish and the lakes and, well, all of the facilities on site. I haven’t been this giddy in a long while as there are literally fish everywhere. The weather already is in the low 20s and it’s not even 9am yet!

I’m going to fish really simple tactics today and as the fish are beginning to start to think about spawning, I’m not using keepnets and also, I’m going to be targeting fish I can see by using mugging tactics! This particular style of fishing does cause quite a bit of controversy but in my opinion, I think it’s a great tactic that on its day is unbeatable and really requires skill, as one wrong move can result in spooking the fish you’re after. It can also be the only way to fish when it’s bright hot

conditions and you haven’t any cover; a few of these big fish can really boost your weight.

BAIT Quite possibly the simplest bait tray I’ve had for a long time, just some 6mm fishery own pellets for feed with a few of my own hook bait samples, some 6m and 8mm Dynamite Baits F1 Sweet pellets and some 6mm Robin Red pellets. Who says fishing has to be complicated? Definitely not me!

RIGS With all the carps swimming around it was always going to be a nice and simple day’s fishing so not complicated with rigs. One thing that does make a difference though, is using the right gear; generally when you’re mugging fish they are going to be great big wobbly things so the worst thing you can do is fish too light with regards to elastics and line and also hooks – fish heavy and get the job done, wohoo!

I’ve made up two identical rigs, both on 0.23mm main line and both with 0.20mm hooklengths. Make sure you use a minimum of one metre of line from

Andy’s guns were straining holding this double up for a picture!

Andy’s floats.

Keep those pellets going in.

A simple rig is al l you need.

pole tip to float so that the pole isn’t going to spook the fish. Hooks are size 14 and the main thing with the mugging rigs is to choose the correct floats. I like to use short stumpy floats that take a minimum of six No8 shot. These Nathan Lumb floats are perfect for the job.

Next, I will set the depth at around two feet and put all of the shot underneath

the float with no other shot down the line, I like to just use the weight of the hook and the pellet to let the bait fall as naturally as possible.

Next is elastic choice and I’m using two of our new MAP Hybrid elastics, the yellow 14 to 16 and purple 16 to 18.

These elastics are just awesome and to start with act nice and soft but lock up

very quickly and tame those big carp – the yellow in particular is my favouritest in the world for carps 8lb and over!

THE SESSION An aspect of this style of fishing is making sure you can clearly see the fish and which way they are swimming, so you do need a decent pair of polarising

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| 63

COB HOUSE COUNTRYSIDE PARK

A lean, mean fighting machine.

y.

Smallest fish of the da

Andy was loving it at Cob House.

sunglasses. I use Wiley X and I have two different pairs, one for clearish weather like today and a darker pair to let more light in, also a cap to really keep the glare from around your face. The next thing to do is to keep your pole shipped back and off the water until you see a fish that’s worth going for. I’m catapulting in a few 6mms around 13 metres just to see if I can draw fish into the feed but to be honest, with how hot it is and how many fish are up in the water, I know it’s not going to work, but you know what I’m like folks, I have to feed something!

I bait up with an 8mm pellet and wait patiently… for 10 seconds, ha-ha, I’ve got a carp swimming at me from 13 metres so I make sure I ship out in line with it and flick my rig so that it lands around a foot in front of the fish.

Nope, that one wasn’t interested, so I have a group of four swimming in next and I put the rig to them and… wallop, one of the carp nails the bait and is an immaculate looking common around 9lb.

The thing with this game is that you

64 | Match Fishing

can spend ages, and I’m talking an hour or more, for very little reward, in fact I’ve gone two and three hours at times in matches trying to coax the fish into taking my bait and not had anything, then all of a sudden for whatever reason the fish just turn on and every one you put the bait to takes it and you can do silly weights in a very short space of time, I love it. I go the next 10 minutes with nothing so decide on a change of hook bait to a 6mm Robin Red and then manage three beautiful looking commons in as many put-ins, all around the 10lb mark – this is awesome fishing.

Thirty minutes in and four great big carp! Then it’s another 10 minutes where I must have put the bait to 20 fish and every one turns away; sometimes it’s best to target single fish but usually it’s best to put the bait in among a pocket of fish.

Another change back to an 8mm F1 pellet and again it’s like flicking a switch, five carp in as many put-ins including two between 12 and 13lb, lovely fish. All around the lake people

are snarled up in carp and also the other lakes are really switched on, I can’t tell you how much I love this venue. You know what you’re going for from the start, literally great big wobbly carps and I love that. A lot of my fishing involves odd carp but it’s mainly F1s and silvers so this for me is just awesome today.

We fish for just over an hour and I manage 12 carp for well over 100lb as the smallest I’ve had is 9lb with the biggest going around 12 or 13lb. It just goes to show the effectiveness of this style of fishing for this time of year, you simply must have it in your armoury.

You may only get a small window of opportunity when they have a feed and when they show themselves and you have to be prepared for that.

The fish here are in such superb condition and the work Guy and his colleagues are doing is awesome. Get ready for Cob House to be one of THE places to visit for your best match weight ever. I really can’t recommend the place highly enough; I absolutely adore it here!

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POLE FISHING

Natural n o i s s e r g ag Words and photos: Steve

MIDDLE LAKE d, Aldershot, Surrey Gold Lane, Government Roa 2PT 1 GU1 es.com Website: www.goldvalleylak

1s are ravenous feeders during the summer months and to catch a big weight of them requires a quick and effective method, especially when targeting smaller fish. You have to make the right call as to which tactic you are going to fish.

“On any venue there are pegs that respond well to, say, micros and expanders, others might be paste pegs,” explained England’s Will Raison, as he walked around Middle Lake on the Gold Valley Lakes complex near Aldershot in Hampshire prior to the start his session.

“Both those are tried and tested methods for catching close in, on the deck; they won’t guarantee a big haul if the fish aren’t in the peg, but that doesn’t mean that the fish aren’t in the area.

“At this time of the year, a lot of fish will be up in the water, and on the right peg you can build a big weight of F1s, catching them just below the surface. However, you have to target them a bit further out than the traditional short line.

F

66 | Match Fishing

Martin

Will Raison leaves the ts pellets in his bait bag and ge aggressive as he reveals his natural baits tactics to catching summer F1s up in the water.

WILL R Lives: AldAISON ershot, Surr Sponsor: ey Daiw Pole: Da iwa Air a MF says Z Pro Wizzo th : e Wizz!

“I’m not talking about 16 metres, just a manageable distance where you can ship out quickly, ‘turn over’ your rig smoothly, and feed a fairly tight area to concentrate the fish.

“You could fish up in the water short, but all the disturbance that you make with netting and putting fish in the net will eventually spook them, so it’s better to target them at a distance where they are less like to move away.”

For his session, that distance would be around 10 metres out, as once Will had settled on his peg (87), he selected a number of silvercoloured Cloud short top kits and a short No4 section.

When added to the rest of

his 12.7m sections it reduced the pole’s length, but made it stiffer, which would make the turning over of a rig much smoother.

“That extra bit of stiffness can be essential when you fish short rigs – today I’m planning to fish 24in setups, as the top kit bounces less when you ship out, and so you are less likely to get tangles.

“The positioning of your pole rollers is also important for shipping out and in. I place my front roller so that it allows me to ship out, keeping the pole low and the rig on the water.

“It becomes redundant when shipping back, as that’s where the back roller comes into play. I place it so

that the last section is over it as the weight of the pole pivots around the fifth/sixth section, as I ship back. It then naturally rests on the back roller, and I can push back smoothly until I detach my top kit.

“It’s all about trying to be fast and efficient. You want to spend as little time as possible out of the water, so that you can catch more quickly, and that’s essential when targeting smaller F1s.”

Will’s Cloud top kits are a popular style for shallow tactics, as they are designed to reduce the dark outline that you get with a traditional black carbon kit, which is believed to spook shallow feeding fish.

The shorter length also

allows you to bring small fish under control more quickly with the use of a puller setup.

Will pointed out that he preferred white Hydrolastic in his short top kits, rather than the solid Hybridlastic he fished with in his longer kits.

Having fished with both, he found that the hollow-style elastic allowed him more control, but as he pointed out, it’s all about personal choice.

Hook baits for the session were maggots, casters and worms, which compared to pellets are a lot less weight, so the rigs have to be tailored to allow easy turn over, or ‘slap’, as it’s commonly referred to. So how does Will determine the length of his rigs?

An odd big bonus can help boost your weight.

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POLE FISHING

Worms and casters are Will’s number one choice for a big haul on a shallow setup.

Single caster is deadly, and that big hook goes unnoticed in coloured water.

The action came thick and fast once Will had the fish competing up in the water.

“For me, the best recipe to catching F1s shallow and quickly, is natural baits – worms, casters and maggots.”

A single worm head can catch three fish before it needs replacing.

When fishing and feeding maggots, stick with a maggot on the hook to ‘match the hatch’!

68 | Match Fishing

“The colour of the water is a factor, although not so much in the summer, as are the hook baits and the distance you are going to fish.

On a shorter line, then 24 inches is a good guide. That includes a 6in hooklength, with the float and shot placed directly above it.

“The length of line from pole tip to float and the weight of the float and shot all contribute to the smooth turn over and presentation of the hook bait.

“It’s best to experiment and when you find a length that you are happy with, measure it and then you can make subsequent rigs the same. You will probably need different lengths the further out you fish, again to get a smooth turn over.

“If I’m looking to fish over 14 metres, for example, a good starting length would

be the length of one arm, plus the width across my chest. I would then adjust the length accordingly, until I achieved a smooth turn over.”

A glance at Will’s rigs revealed a 4x10 Daiwa Carpa Inline Edge float set on 0.20mm mono, with two No8s placed above the hook link. That was a size 14 Guru LWG hook tied to a 6in length of 0.14mm mono. He had two identical rigs set up, just in case.

The 0.20mm mono is again used to help aid a smooth, untangled turn over, but that’s a big hook, considering that Will only had casters, worms and maggots on his side tray!

“Loose fed casters or maggots will get the F1s competing aggressively, so they will take little or no notice of the hook size, and

the bigger hook ensures a more positive hook-hold, as they dart in and out of the feed. Another advantage – it’s easier to quickly remove a bigger hook!

“For me, the best recipe to catching F1s shallow and quickly, is natural baits – worms, casters and maggots.

The best combination being worm head or caster on the hook, and loose feeding casters. If it’s maggots, then it’s white ones – feeding and fishing both.

“Why white maggots? In the winter, when the water is clear, dark, red maggots stand out. It’s a similar mind-set when the water colours up. White baits stand out better, especially in the upper layers.

“Why not pellets? Well firstly, pellets can quickly fill up a fish and they sink too quickly to hold the fish in

WILL’S F1 SHALLOW SLAPPING SETUP

Short top kit with white Hydrolastic

0.20mm

Electrical tape ensures your pole joints don’t become loose when continuously rotating it as you slap your rig.

Ignore the label, as the lighter versions of this pattern are great for fishing natural baits shallow.

4x10 Carpa Inline Edge

Two No8 Stotz

6in 0.14mm

Size 14 LWG

the upper layers. Maggots and casters offer very little food content, and more importantly, secondly, they sink a lot slower than, say, 4mm hard pellets.

“There’s one final tip that I want to share before I start to fish, and that’s about what can happen to your pole, and that’s any pole, when you spend any length of time ‘slapping’ for fish. The term ‘turning over’ describes the rotating action that you have to place on the pole to swing the rig over.

“The constant rotating will eventually cause the joints to loosen, and if you aren’t mindful of it, it could result in your pole separating while you are slapping or shipping back.

That’s an expensive error if you damage a joint, or worse still, you lose all those sections, so it’s a good idea to check each joint once in a while as you ship out.

“That’s fine, however, if you are not trying to catch quickly, but it takes time; admittedly, not much, but in the time it takes you

The short line fish were definitely smaller in size; something to consider when deciding where to focus your shallow attack.

could have shipped out and hooked a fish, so if I know that I’m going to be fishing a slapping match, I’ll tape up each joint, knowing that they are secure, and I can ship in and out without concern.”

Will laughed as he pointed out that you are going to get a real workout if you get the tactics right.

“It’s all about the work rate – feeding, slapping, shipping, unhooking, and so on, so once the fish are there, it’s important to get into a smooth rhythm, so that you get a fish quickly, every time you ship out.

“I will feed a few pouchfuls of casters to kick off with, and then once I’m fishing I will be looking to follow a routine, and that will be ship out, slap three times (to make noise), if no bite – feed, then slap once.

That should get a bite, so

I will feed/prime the line while I play and land the fish. Then repeat!

“It’s so important to keep the fish feeding, so I plan to be aggressive with the feed.

A good pouch of casters, not the half a dozen you might feed in the winter.

You cannot overfeed with casters, so if I don’t get a bite quickly, I will have no qualms in firing out another helping!”

Will kicked off by feeding two big pouches of casters and started with a worm head on the hook. It took less than five minutes before he had hit his rhythm, and by fishing with a worm head he was able to catch two or three F1s before replacing the hook bait.

The bites came thick and fast, and if you were to watch Will’s pole tip once the rig had settled, he held

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POLE FISHING A big advantage to fishing short is you can feed by hand, rather than have to deal with a catapult.

it above the float, so the line build a weight on small fish was almost under tension. to get you in the frame, then At the butt end he actually you have to look to catch 45 had some of the pole section or even 50 fish in an hour. behind him, which he “If you can keep the fish explained, helped to balance going for five hours then the pole, as he turned the rig be prepared for a proper over. workout. It’s an endurance “The stiffer rig line just test for even the best F1 gives a better presentation. anglers, but if you are set By holding the pole tip as far up right and get the feeding off the water as possible, a and playing/landing going fish will almost hook itself as smoothly, you will manage a it feels the resistance from the float, so Just an example it reduces the need of what Will had in to strike. If the bait his net after a busy isn’t taken, I have the option of leaving it, session catching or slapping it again. shallow on natural More often you won’t baits. need to move the rig, as the fish are looking for food all of the time.”

He stuck with the worm head for the initial part of the session, but to demonstrate that the fish took no notice of a bigger hook and small bait, he switched to a single caster, and if anything, the bites were even more aggressive.

“You can see that none of these fish are as big as those you find on some commercials around the country, so if you are going to

70 | Match Fishing

big weight.

“Uppermost has to be an aggressive feed routine. If you cut back or even stop feeding then the frequency of the bites will drop off, so make sure you have plenty of bait to hand. Six pints of casters are essential for a full five hours, and have your worms clean and sorted, so that you don’t have to search through the soil for a hook bait. It all adds up to an increased catch rate.”

To demonstrate how a lack of feed did affect his catch rate, Will held off feeding for about five minutes, and after the odd fish slapping, it was like the fish had switched off. It then took a few pouches of casters to bring them back.

“In that time I could have lost 10lb of fish, and in a match…”

With more than enough in the net, Will was keen to demonstrate the pull of white maggots in the coloured water, and so he had started to prime a shorter line – feeding maggots while he played his long line fish.

“It is possible, as I stated earlier, to catch short, but it’s a

gamble, as you could lose the fish at any time. However, if you are in a good area and you are going to take the risk, be aggressive when you feed.

“It no good feeding a pinch of freebies. The more fish that you get feeding, the more feed you need to keep them occupied.

“Be aggressive with the ‘slap’ too, as they will come to the noise, which is a lot more positive than the feed hitting the water. Again, hold the pole tip so the rig is under tension, and the fish will hook themselves.”

The F1s were willing to come short after some initial feed, but they were all smaller fish. Will pointed out that it was another reason to fish longer, as the fish were noticeably bigger before he switched lines.

“Had this been a match and I had drawn this peg, then the option to fish with casters and worms on a longer line would have been something to consider. I would have had to contend with an end peg to my left, and with the wind blowing into that corner, it would have been solid there, so the peg to beat.

“It helps to know the venue you are fishing, and that’s why I recommend that you become familiar with it and make time to practise different tactics, and gain confidence in how to fish them before you commit to handing over your hard earned cash.

“Not every peg is a winning one, but if you plan to get the very best out of yours, there’s is always the chance of framing or claiming a section, so if F1s are the target, don’t be afraid to fish an aggressive shallow tactic during the summer months.”

POLE FISHING

s e c n e r e f f i Marginal d n o i t c e f r e p for edge Words and photos: Steve

THE SEDGES FISHERY 0AA Bridgwater, Somerset TA7 o.uk ry.c she sfi dge ese w.th ww

when al that you take plenty of time nd or nti se es it’s y wh ins pla ex e st an isla Dan Whit es, be it down the edge, again tur fea l na rgi ma sh fi to n pla u yo t the best results. the far bank if you want to ge

he onset of warmer weather acts like a switch when it comes to carp on commercial venues. After months of living in tight shoals, in the deeper water, the groups split and venture into shallower areas looking for natural food to gorge on at the bases of newly sprouted reed beds. They will also be thinking about spawning and will start to search for the best areas to lay eggs.

With all that new activity, it’s also time for the match angler to dust off the margin top kits and make those new rigs to cope with big bonus edge fish. However, the margins aren’t the only areas where you’ll start to catch quality carp. Islands and the far banks of snake-lake/ canal pools all offer the same opportunities to catch close to a feature, and as Garbolino’s Dan White pointed out when he arrived at Peg 10 on Brick

T

72 | Match Fishing

Martin

DAN WHITE Age: 31 Lives: Somer ton, Somerset Pole: Garbolin Accomplic o Sponsors: G e Evo arbo Spotted Fin lino, MF says: The Indiana Jone edge fishing s of

Mount the 8mm meat cube so that that the hook point is visible to ensure the best hook-up.

Start on a 6mm hook bait, but once the fish are confident, an 8mm helps to avoid missed bites.

Spotted Fin Catalyst micros are Dan’s choice for priming the edge.

Place the micros in a shallow bowl and completely cover with water.

A good helping of heavy micros and a few free hook baits to get things started.

When fully soaked the Coppens micros expand and become heavy.

Pool at The Sedges Fishery near Bridgwater in Somerset, it’s not always about shallow water and mud banks. Not all edges are the same!

“One of the features of this lake is the water around the margins is deep,” Dan explained, as he pointed out the bank to his left where the last peg turned at 90 degrees on the rectangularshaped pool.

“It’s the case here, and that means that you have to think carefully about the rigs and baits you are going to fish, as if you get it wrong, you will spend a frustrating five hours of missed bites and foul-hooked fish.

“Also you need to take a close look at the bank both sides and decide where you are going to target your fish. It’s not just a case of setting up a left-hand rig and then a righthand one. You want to fish on the best possible spot that will focus the fish on you feed and eventually, your hook bait.

“In a match, once you arrive at your peg, check to see if there is an empty peg. If there is, and the rules allow, that’s got to be your line for later in the match.

“Why? It’s where bait is normally thrown in at the end of a match. It’s also where you place your nets and every time a full net is dragged in, it creates a hard, clear bottom, and over time it adds depth to the area. It’s the perfect spot for carp to feed.

“If, however, the peg is taken, then you will only be able to fish up to half distance between that platform and yours.

Again, don’t be too quick to plan to fish to that limit.

It’s better to come just a bit short, as you can watch how the angler in the next peg feeds, and by being a little less positive, you could attract the fish that back off from your neighbour’s offerings.

“In any case, you should always start off as far away, as you can, and then come closer if the fish are happy to feed shorter, but don’t force the issue. Today I’m going to fish to my right just short of half way to show how I would set up for the line.”

The bank to Dan’s right looked like any other reedlined margin. However, to his left the bank turned at 90 degrees at around 11 metres and then a little further up the bank the branches of a small tree touched the water.

“That corner looks tempting, and there’s no doubt that you would catch fish there, but that tree could be trouble when trying to play a fish. It’s all a bit cramped, and it’s a sure bet that any fish will head for the tree, rather than open water.

“Don’t get me wrong. I would set up to fish a short line to my left late in a match, but if I wanted to catch early, then the other side of that tree is a definite option. I would look to catch roving or ‘feature’ fish that tend to live there, as the bank is not pegged, so there’s less people pressure.

“They are also opportunist feeders that graze up and down the bank looking for food that drops in the water or that’s pushed into the edge, so your feed needs to be heavy and concentrated in one spot to mimic that. They won’t be tight in, but will come close when they see food.”

On the subject of heavy baits and feed, Dan had started to prepare his micro pellets as soon as he had arrived at his peg. He had placed a pint of the feed into a shallow bowl, added the same again of water to fully cover them and placed then to one side while he sorted his rigs.

“There is a lot of talk about how to prepare micros, but it’s mostly about the feed for the feeder, which is slightly soft and sticky. The pellets would be too light for feeding in deeper water. They would just wash away as soon as a carp swished its tail and create a

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POLE FISHING

Far bank marker

Rig position

s ei tre ed. f e o mp sid cra s i Th little a

Aim is to play fish away from hazards

ction Note position of se rate cu ac le ab en join to fishing distance

big carpet that would see the fish feeding all over the place, which in turn could mean liners, foul-hooked fish and a frustrated angler.

“To ensure my micros are less likely to spread out too much with any disturbance, I will soak them for an hour or more, so that they absorb all the water and take on as much weight as possible.

Once they are ready, they will be more than double their dry size, heavy and sink fast.

“The choice of micros is a factor too, as if you soak a batch of Skrettings pellets for too long, they will turn to a mush. They are fine for the feeder, but as a heavy feed for the margins it has to be Coppens, as they don’t break down if soaked for long periods.”

The micros were to accompany the meat hook bait that he planned to fish to his right, but that would be later in the session. To his left it would be 6mm and 8mm

74 | Match Fishing

Yes Dan, you look cool! hard pellets only, as he would if he were fishing to an island or a far bank.

“I don’t see that left-hand bank as a margin. It’s deep, and so I’m going to set up as if I’m fishing to an island or far bank. Unlike a ‘real’ margin I’m going to fish a light rig, with a 0.2g Garbolino DC C41 float with 0.20mm Garbolino Fluoro Power main line and

three No9 droppers.

“I’ve got a 6in 0.18mm Garbolino Super G Power hook link with a banded hairrigged size 16 Garbolino Hair Rig Feeder hook to complete the setup. Okay, it’s strong, but what I mean by light is it allows the hook bait to fall at an almost natural pace, which you don’t get with a bulked shotted rig. That way I might

get bites on the drop, as the fish zones in on the falling feed.

“The amount of shot is critical too. I want to know that my hook bait is sitting just on the bottom, so if I stray into deeper water I will see immediately and can adjust its position quickly. I actually add shot less than required, so a 0.2g float will take four No9s, approximately.

“The weight of an 8mm pellet is about the same as a No9 shot, so if my float sits right when the hook bait settles, I’m fairly confident that it’s fishing how I want.

“So how do I know that I’m in deeper water? I add a trimmer shot that doesn’t affect the rig if it’s sitting right, but if I stray it’s enough to sink the rig. This might seem to be a bit overkill, but you will see how it can be critical when I plumb up.”

Dan shipped his rig over the right of the tree on his left-hand bank and quickly

To 2.1mm Fighter hollow elastic

To 2.3mm Fighter hollow elastic 0.4g DC C02

0.2g DC C41

0.20mm Fluoro Power

0.20mm Fluoro Power

three No9s Bulk and trimmer 6in 0.18mm Super G Power

Size 14 Power Bend

Strong hooks are essential when fishing big baits for big fish.

gauged the depth and adjusted the rig. He shipped out again and this time he started to explore an area along the edge of the reeds.

It wasn’t the flat or sloping bottom that you might expect when plumbing the edge.

“There are rocks and little depressions all along the reeds, and just by moving my rig a few inches the terrain changes.”

He demonstrated what he meant by picking a spot where the depth was spot on and then moved his rig first to the left – it was a few inches shallower – and then to the right, where the float disappeared. A little further to the right and it shallowed-up again.

Pellet acts like a shot

6in 0.18mm Super G Power Size 16 Hair Rig Feeder

Garbolino’s Fighter hollow is soft, but loads up when it needs to.

“You get a real picture of what the bottom looks like by taking your time, rather than picking a spot and saying ‘that’s it’! The little depressions are where food is likely to gather, so that’s where the fish would look for food.

“I’ve found a spot, it’s not that tight to the reeds but it’s small and clear, and so that I can drop my rig over the top every time I have picked a far bank marker, in this case the base of a leaning tree, and if you look at where my mini extension sits on my knee – that’s the distance.”

With the left-hand line sorted, Dan set up his right-hand margin rig. That consisted of a 0.4g Garbolino DC C02 float, set on 0.20mm

Loose fed is minimal. Note the modified feed pot that allows bigger pellets to be fed.

Fluoro Power, with a bulk of No8s and a trimmer above the hook link, which was six inches of Super G Power and a size 14 Garbolino Power Bend hook. The elastic this time was the stronger pink 2.3mm (12-14) Fighter hollow, as he expected the fish to be a little bigger.

“This is more of a standard margin setup, as it doesn’t need to be as sensitive. I expect to catch every fish on the deck. Plumbing here is just as important though, as you can see that the reeds jut out a little and also form small bays.

“There are going to be areas where the carp will choose to feed, and often you can find small depressions where the bottom is clearer. That’s where

you should be looking to fish.”

Five minutes of careful searching revealed just the spot Dan was looking for – located just past a dense crop of reeds at five sections distance.

“It makes sense that the carp would come close to the outcrop as it will act as a food trap, and also provide some cover as it moves into the bank.”

Dan pointed out that, if it was a match, that lefthand line would be left until halfway through, or even with two hours to go. That was unless there was an angler to his right, and he had gone early and started to catch fish.

Today, being a late start, he would give it two hours before he fed.

“The anglers around you are a great indicator as to what is happening on the lake. I wouldn’t be unhappy if the guy fed early, as it would save me having to feed too much when I started to feed my line.

If he started to catch regularly, then I would have to think about having an earlier look.”

To start the session proper, Dan slipped a band around a 6mm hard pellet and after adding eight to 10 6mm pellets into his Toss pot, he carefully shipped over to his left. Once he had positioned his rig he kept it high in the water until he fed. Then, as the loose fed pellets fell – allowing about five seconds – he gently lowered the hook bait.

Allowing the bait to settle, Dan waited for a short period, and if no bite came he raised and lowered the rig about six inches to see if the movement would catch the eye of a passing fish. He did this twice more and then the float dipped. A missed bite, and so Dan shipped back, topped up the Toss pot and followed the same routine.

“You’re not looking to attract a lot of fish with so little feed, so if you miss a bite it’s likely that it’s gone, so it’s better to top up rather

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| 75

POLE FISHING When it warms up, the carp wake up!

than waste time sitting there biteless. You need to believe that you will encourage a fish to feed every time you pot in.

“It’s like I said earlier, these fish are ‘local’ and ones that regularly search food in a safe area, so they are not shoal fish. You’ll be catching the opportunists early on, but more will turn up once they sense the others have found food.”

The action wasn’t fast and furious, but the fish came regularly and that allowed Dan to steadily build a good weight. After about an hour, he switched to an 8mm hard pellet hook bait, and pointed out that now the fish were

carp fishing.

“It’s rated as 10-12, so it covers most bases, unless I need to put the brakes on. You can see that it gives a fish a lot of initial freedom to run, but then the back-up kicks in, which lets you gain control quickly. There aren’t many venues where I wouldn’t take these top kits out first.”

With two hours gone, Dan added his initial feed of micros and meat to his right.

He pointed out that with nobody to his right, he had dumped in quite a lot of food, but had there been someone on the next peg sharing the bank, and he had already fed, then he would cut it back.

A small ghostie, but it put up a spirited scrap.

“If I’m fishing against a slope, I will always cup in towards the bank to ensure most of the feed settles where I plan to fish.” feeding with some confidence an 8mm pellet would stand out better, and as he had started to miss a few bites, experience had told him that the bigger choice would reduce the problem.

“It’s likely that more fish are feeding, and the extra weight ensures the hook bait gets to the bottom more quickly. I’ve caught a few fish on the drop, but I think that’s why I’m not connecting, as the fish are chasing the bait and brushing the line. I’m also allowing the rig to drop more quickly.”

It did make a difference.

One thing to note when Dan played a fish was the fact that every carp, once hooked, moved out into the open water. He had the yellow 2.3mm Garbolino Fighter HiStretch hollow elastic loaded into his top kit, and he pointed out that it was his go-to choice for most of his commercial

76 | Match Fishing

He then added that he would feed again after a further 30 minutes, a lot less, and then two more feeds at 15-minute intervals before his first look.

“You need to be mindful of how you feed your edge line. When you pot in, it’s not the case that the feed will just fall directly below the cup. If you watch, the movement of just tipping the contents out will cause some of the feed to move away.

“That’s really important if you are fishing a slope, as you want to prevent the feed from landing down the slope, as it will cause the fish to feed away from your hook bait. If I’m fishing against a slope, I will always cup in towards the bank to ensure most of the feed settles where I plan to fish.

“If it’s more flat then you can cup away from the bank,

so some feed does settle off the line, but this time it can act to draw fish in, as it’s on the same level. I prefer to cup towards the bank, as a rule, so that I’m confident that my feed is mostly where I want it.”

Dan continued to catch to his left until he fed the last pot to his right and then he switched lines. One of the issues to consider when fishing deep-water margins, is you rarely see any indications that the fish have turned up.

No tails, no swirls, not even any movement on the reed shoots, and for the first 15 minutes Dan’s rig remained static.

“Looks like I’m in for a bit of a wait. There’s never a right time to move to the edge, but when you commit you need to be patient, as when one comes it often opens the flood gates. It’s often the case that with the water this deep, a bite will come when you least expect it.”

Thirty second later, and it was ‘fish on’!

Dan re-fed after that fish, as he explained he would feed for each fish from then onwards. The next three fish were two small skimmers and a perch, before the big ‘margin’ fish moved in. It wasn’t action all the way, as

Dan’s fantastic haul was made possible by mastering the marginal features. he had to wait for the bites, but all the fish were bigger than those from the left-hand line, which boosted his weight for the session.

At the ‘all out’, Dan guesstimated that he had about 160lb, which if you consider he only caught from two edge swims, was not a bad return.

“Okay, it wasn’t a match today, and there’s no doubt that I would have fished the open water at the start if it had been,” Dan concluded. “That being said, with the left-hand line being so good, I’m not sure the open water would have been worth a look.

“I couldn’t do it today because of the limits I chose to fish to, but what I would advise is that where possible, always start as far away as

you can and if the fish are happy to come closer, then all the better. It’s like shepherding the fish into your peg to be where you want them.

“I would definitely have had a line to the left-hand margin had it been a match, but I would have avoided fishing the corner to the tree, as you need to have somewhere for the fish to go during that initial run, and the further from that tree, the better.

“For my margin fishing I prefer to fish meat, if allowed, over micros, rather than corn on the hook. It’s a personal preference, but I have found that the softer hook bait seems to win over a firmer one. The essential thing is to ensure that your micros are well soaked and above all, heavy.”

KEEP NETS DIRECT

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Events

2021 Events Match Fishing’s events for this year are bigger, better and more popular than ever – the Sonubaits Veterans match sold out long ago, the Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year qualifiers are done and dusted with the Final this month and the brand new Preston Innovations UK Pole Championship qualifiers will have begun 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 back, on Friday,September 24th, 2021 at Tunnel Barn Farm – don’t miss your chance of glory!

TICKETSG SELLIN! FAST

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

78 | 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.

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 !

To advertise on this page please contact E: justin.fox@dhpub.co.uk T: 07813 327966

Up Close

UP CLOSE: DAIWA

BETTER BY A MARGIN… Tom Scholey goes edge fishing with Daiwa’s new MATCHWINNER MW1 Power Margin Pole…

W

hen you say “margin pole” it conjures up certain expectations. For me, there are two properties that I expect a margin pole to have. The first one is strength – after all, they are designed primarily for hauling large carp out the edges.

The other one is weight. I expect them to be heavy, as generally the strength of the pole is achieved by adding to the sections with extra resins and reinforcements.

I was a little bit surprised therefore, when I took the MW1 Power Margin out

80 | Match Fishing

of its holdall, as it doesn’t really feel like a margin pole at all. Let’s be honest, nine metres isn’t exactly pushing it in terms of length, but at its full extension the pole is exceptionally light and usable. Even with a 17H elastic threaded through one of the top kits that it is supplied with.

I did wonder whether this lightness would ultimately mean the pole wasn’t as strong as it perhaps should be, and there was only one way to find out… an early evening workout with some Heronbrook chunks!

I fished the pole at its full

length, and the plan was to feel the way in, Kinder potting groundbait, and present a piece of Fjuka or a couple of maggots over the top.

A large F1 was first to the party, giving a lightning fast bite that I was able to strike into even despite the heavy elastic and pot on the pole. Very impressive responsiveness, it doesn’t feel like a margin pole at all!

When it came to the netting stage, I saw that the pole incorporated Daiwa’s famous Interlastic system.

I must admit, I’m not a fan of this as I find it wears

light elastics quite quickly, so I tend to swap to a rolla pulla where possible for my own fishing. That said, with bigger elastics in an edge fishing situation, it isn’t as much of a problem.

A few more F1s followed, before I latched into something much bigger.

Time to give the pole a proper workout! An angry common charged off towards the middle of the lake, and I applied maximum side strain to really test the power of the pole. It was very angry; I’d really upset this fish, and soon it had bottomed out

DAIWA MATCHWINNER MW1 POWER MARGIN LENGTH

WEIGHT

MAX ELASTIC

SECTIONS

CLOSED LENGTH

8.95m

460g

10/20

Seven

170cm

Features • All kits pre-bushed with UK-made PTFE bushes and PTFE nose on third section • Interlastic puller bush on power kits • 3mm match kit in the pole • Holdall • Compatible with all UK-made generic kits and sections down to No4 • RRP: £549

the elastic giving me one of those hair raising moments where you wish you had more sections to add…

The pole never felt like giving an inch, and I soon had the fish coming back towards me, and to the waiting landing net.

I’m confident there is nothing that a standard commercial fishery can throw at this pole that it cannot handle.

UK Design I had to look twice at the graphics on this one, as it bears the same Union Jack as the UK-made

Daiwa models. The text on this one is a bit different though – it is ‘Designed’ in the UK, and the pole itself is made abroad. On further investigation, it seems the kits are all UK made too, and being on the same mandrel as the other MATCHWINNER and more expensive poles, they interchange with them too.

So if you have any UK made Daiwa Pole, or model from the new MATCHWINNER Series, your kits will fit this pole.

This is a great feature, but if I was the owner of a UK-made Daiwa pole, I

might well be inclined to look at the Multi Margin or Tournament Pro X Margin.

Why? Because they are completely interchangeable, so every section could double up as a spare for your pole proper if needed.

A Storm Coming The fishing really is great at Heronbrook, and I soon had a netful of hard fighting fish for the camera. We had to cut the session a bit short, as a storm cloud moved over from the west, and big drops of rain were soon falling on us. Even when wet, the finish of the pole meant

it flew through the hands though. It handles every bit as well as any pole I have ever picked up.

So this MW1 Power Margin pole has it all.

Lightness, stiffness and strength. It is one of the best I have ever felt, and great value for its £549 price tag.

It is also fully interchangeable with other poles in the MATCHWINNER range, so could well serve as a good second pole alongside one of the longer models .

A must-see if you are in the market for a margin pole.

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| 81

New Gear

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

THE BAITSTIR www.thebaitstir.co.uk A hand-held mixing device designed to combine together different mix ingredients, the Baitstir features an ergonomic handle for a solid grip and the mixing face is specifically designed to break up and mix together the ingredients of your mixture as they pass through the four channels, while its raised tapered edge scrapes off mix that has become stuck to the sides of the bucket.

When mixing multiple fine ingredients such as a base mix or groundbait mixture it can be hard to get an even mixture without the use of an electric whisk, but sometimes you only need to mix a small quantity and a drill would be overkill (and more weight to carry to your peg). This handy green plastic device does just that job, with the added benefit of keeping any strong odours from groundbaits such as krill or strong fishmeal off your hands.

RRP: £12.99

PRESTON INNOVATIONS OFFBOX XS FEEDER ARMS www.prestoninnovations.com Whether you want to point your feeder rod to the skies on a fast flowing river or set it low to the water on a windswept natural stillwater, these new XS Feeder Arms are just the job. With dual fixing points, the arms are extremely versatile and ultra-stable.

One of the fixing points can be situated under the seatbox frame, making them perfect for use with traditional style seatboxes as well as stations.

They feature easy angle tilt adjustment and are telescopic so the rest can be positioned at any angle and at multiple lengths, perfect for a wide variety of venues. Available in Standard and Long versions and supplied with a quick release insert allowing you to quickly remove the rod rest head for storage.

Supplied with 30mm round, 25mm round and 23mm square OnBox inserts (two of each).

RRP: Standard £39.99, Long £44.99

82 | Match Fishing

GURU | READY TIED HOOKS www.tackleguru.com These updated Ready Rigs from Guru feature a perfectly tied standard pre-tied hair rig – with just a small loop, no band or quickstop – on two of its popular hook patterns, the QM1 and SMWG. As more and more match anglers are using Ready Rigs they wanted the same sizes of hooks but tied to different diameters of line and Guru is now offering this versatility.

The Ready Rigs are tied to Guru’s popular and reliable N-Gauge line and are available in 15in and 4in lengths. Supplied on a protected EVA spool that fits straight in the Guru Rig Box the 15in length is perfect for straight lead or feeder work and can be cut down if needed to suit, while the 4in version is perfect for Hybrid, Method or pellet feeder work. These come supplied on an easy-to-use card backing and can be placed in a Rig Case.

QM1 available in size/mm: 10/0.22; 10/0.19; 12/0.22; 12/0.19; 14/0.19; 14/0.17 and 16/0.17 RRP: 15in £4.25, 4in £3.75 SMWG available in size/mm: 10/0.22; 10/0.19; 12/0.22; 12/0.19; 14/0.19; 14/0.17; 16/0.17 and 18/0.15 RRP: 15in £3.25, 4in £2.99

MAP | Tackle Accessories www.mapfishing.co.uk Sometimes it’s the little things that matter the most, so when you’re choosing accessories you want a trustworthy brand that won’t let you down. This range of swivels, beads, links and stops from MAP covers everything you’re likely to need and can be used with confidence – after all, in some cases they are the only link between you and the fish. The large range includes: FEEDER BEADS – The plastic bead allows the feeder or lead to slide effortlessly on your main line.

Featuring a quick-change link swivel allowing you to change your feeder or lead with ease.

RRP: £1.99 WAGGLER LINK SWIVELS – again the plastic bead allows the waggler to slide easily on your main line, with a quick-change round end link swivel, allowing you to change your float in seconds.

RRP: £1.99

QUICK-CHANGE SWIVELS – allows you to quickly change hooklengths when feeder or waggler fishing. The built-in swivel prevents line spin and tangles. Available in Small, Medium and Large sizes.

RRP: £1.99 LINE STOPS – these super-tight line stops are a vital piece of terminal tackle for a wide range of rigs, and ideal for pellet waggler fishing. Available in Small, Medium and Large sizes.

RRP: £1.99

BOOK: A LIFETIME OF MATCH FISHING

By BRIAN BENNETT www.brianbennettbooks.com So much more than just a book about match fishing, this unusual volume is a collection of memories, stories, even poetry, about fishing and fishermen.

Many readers will know and be familiar with Brian, a stalwart of the West Midlands and Evesham circuit since, well, forever. At times poignant, funny, tactically informative and emotional, his tales of fishing and life will evoke memories for them too. Brian has also included contributions from many other great anglers, such as Tom Pickering, Nick Speed, Mark Pollard and so many more.

Having been stuck into the book since it arrived at the Match Fishing offices we are relishing every word of it, and with over 340 A4 pages you certainly get plenty of stories.

If you’re a match angler and have ever fished at Evesham you will love this book. If you’ve never been to Evesham, you will love it too.

Available from Amazon RRP: £30 *Brian will be signing copies of his book at the three-day August Bank Holiday Evesham Festival

BROWNING | SPACE SAVER 90° CARP KEEPNET www.browning-fishing.com A 2.5m rectangular 50 x 40cm keepnet made of fish friendly carp mesh material, and perfect for matches on today’s commercial fisheries.

The angle-adjustable, robust connection bracket is fixed on the narrow side of the keepnet, allowing several nets to be attached to the front bar side by side.

The top and end rings are made of metal, while the middle rings are a sturdy plastic.

RRP: £53.90

BAIT-TECH | STICKY METHOD MICRO PELLETS www.bait-tech.com Hugely appealing to all species of fish these micro pellets become sticky when soaked. There’s no need for any binding powders or liquids as the natural binding qualities will stick the pellets together.

Big Carp Sticky Method Pellets boast high quality, highly attractive ingredients and offer a food source for fish that is unrivalled. Simple to prepare, when soaked they become tacky and heavy, for easy loading of Method and pellet feeders – in fact they can be used in any type of feeder – and can be fed loose to sink fast and stay on the bottom where you need them to be.

CHECK OUT OUR In 800g bags BAIT-TECH RRP: £3.99

SUBS GIFT ON P102

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 83

New Gear

SHIMANO | KAIRIKI G5 BRAID

DYNAMITE BAITS | LUNCHEON MEAT www.dynamitebaits.com Already available in four unique flavours, Dynamite Frenzied Meat now comes in three new varieties: Marine Halibut Pellet Mix – the attractiveness of Dynamite’s MH pellets permeates this rich, flavoursome meat.

Robin Red Oozing Luncheon Meat – with the iconic red colour and flavour that is now finding favour with match anglers and is irresistible to carp, barbel and chub.

Corn Mix – the flavours of meat and corn together make the ultimate meaty sweet hook bait, phenomenal for carp, tench and bream.

Suitable for match, coarse and specimen anglers, it is made using ultra-low fat meat, which is quick sinking and super-durable. Great for cutting into cubes using a knife or meat cutter the meat comes in handy, vacuum sealed, easy to access 250g plastic trays to retain freshness, so there are no tins to open.

RRP: £2.99

KEEPNETS DIRECT 2 CORE HOLLOW POLE ELASTIC

shallow or as an F1/carp elastic when temperatures drop. Soft and forgiving on the strike, powers up nicely under tension.

www.keepnetsdirect.co.uk Keepnets Direct’s 2 Core Hollow Pole Elastic not only offers fantastic performance but also astonishing value. In attractive new packaging this superb Grade 1 Match Quality micro bore elastic won’t let you down yet sells at a much lower price than other major brands and is equally as good.

It’s available in:

YELLOW 9-12, 2.1MM Perfect when targeting F1s and big skimmers or smaller carp during the summer months. Smooth and soft on the strike but progressively powers up under tension. More than capable of landing big fish in conjunction with a puller kit.

TEAL 4-7, 1.52MM DIAMETER The lightest elastic in the range, incredibly soft and forgiving, perfect when targeting F1s through the winter months or as a year-round silver-fish elastic.

A narrow bore helps prevent flattening out when under tension for a smooth performance.

ORANGE 6-10, 1.9MM A fantastic all-rounder suited to targeting better stamp silvers through the summer months, F1s

84 | Match Fishing

WHITE 10-13, 2.2MM The ultimate summer shallow elastic for carp and big F1s through the summer months. Soft enough to allow hooked fish to swim out of the peg without causing a disturbance but with plenty of power to tame larger fish.

BLACK 11-14, 2.3MM Slightly more powerful than the white, perfectly suited to catching carp through the warmer months, from fish of 1-2lb to over 10lb plus when a balanced setup is used.

fish.shimano-eu.com This four-yarn braided line uses a core line of a higher gravity material, resulting in a fast sinking braid with several advantages – it is less affected by wind on the cast and by any current in the drop through the water and by sinking faster it makes it easier to fish lighter rigs at depth.

Its high gravity also makes Kairiki G5 comparable to mono or fluorocarbon but with no stretch and a higher breaking strain for the diameter.

Available in Steel Gray or Orange, on 100m spools in 0.13mm (4.1kg), 0.15mm (5.5kg) and 0.18mm (8kg), and 150m spools in the same diameters plus 0.17mm (6.9kg), 0.20mm (9.9kg) and 0.23mm (12.9kg).

RRP: 100m £10.99, 150m £14.99

GREEN 12-15, 2.4MM Comes into play where larger fish are concerned.

A brilliant choice for the short pole line for carp on commercials as well as fantastic when attacking the margins, where a strong yet forgiving elastic is required.

RED 14-17, 2.6MM Designed to tame big fish in demanding situations, such as summer margin bagging. Although very strong it retains good elasticity and stretch so is not overly severe on the strike. Its narrow bore ensures you will quickly be in control to land the fish.

BLUE 18-20, 2.8MM When snaggy pegs, big fish or real bagging up are on the cards, this elastic will not let you down.

Being in control of the fish you hook and getting them in quickly is where this one comes out on top.

RRP: 2m £3.99 2.5m £4.99 3m £5.99

Everyone likes a sweetener...

SONUBAITS | PELLET O’s www.sonubaits.com Perfect when feeder fishing lakes for carp and bream, these 8mm high oil hook baits make a great target bait and match any pellet based or crushed pellets groundbait feed being used.

Although they have high levels of oil already in them if you add more then they will last longer in the water before breaking down. Being pre-drilled means there is no need to drill them on the bank and no worries about them splitting. The packs also come with a free pack of pellet stops and hair stops for perfect presentation.

These hook baits have also really found favour with river anglers when fishing for barbel and chub. Barbel anglers may want to try the Spicy Sausage version in particular – we know it’s what Sonubaits’ own Jake Fowles uses for barbel on the notoriously tricky Evesham section of the Warwickshire Avon, with great success.

Also available in 14mm.

RRP: £1.99

• High fishmeal groundbait mix • Perfect for feeder or by hand

NEW

NUFISH | SMOOTH HOUND CAGE FEEDERS www.nufish.co.uk These new plastic feeders from NuFish have a weight-forward lead to aid casting and the lead sits flush with the body of the feeder and is 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. Moving the feeder produces a small cloud on the bottom that can often produce a bite and these new Smooth Hound feeders are great for this tactic because it’s so easy to move them. The shape means they also make a nice plop as they enter the water, which can serve to attract fish to your swim.

Available in weights from 15g to 60g.

RRP: From £1.60 to £1.75

RECYCLABLE PACKAGING

• Fine mix for all species • Easy to mix • 900g bag

NEW

Preston Innovations

Up Close: Preston Innovations

OFF YOUR TROLLEY...

Match Fishing takes a look at the OffBox Wheel Kit, an alternative to a full trolley from Preston Innovations.

T

he trouble nowadays is there is so much great tackle on the market, so we all buy and use more and more of it, which as a result means we take more and more of it to matches.

Here at Match Fishing we sometimes have ‘van envy’ as we look jealously at those living and driving the van dream, with no issues about carefully arranging everything in an estate car or hatchback, making sure it all goes in in the right order and the right place, with barely enough room left to squeeze in another tin of corn or packet of hooks, let alone a trolley or barrow. When it comes to getting it out at the other end, we have to make numerous trips to and from pegs because we can’t stick it all on wheels and do it in one go.

Now though, it seems our prayers for

a new set of wheels has been answered, in the shape of the new OffBox Wheel Kit from Preston Innovations. Taking up barely any room in your boot, the sectional design of the frame means that the arms can be left attached to your seatbox without affecting its footprint at all, and the wheels and pull handle can be dismantled and tucked into pretty small spaces.

Quick and easy to assemble at the fishery, hey presto your box becomes your barrow (or trolley really, but that didn’t sound as good). Lightweight and adjustable, it is strong enough to take your net bag and carryall too, then sling the rod or pole holdall across it (or on your shoulder) and it’s off to the peg we go, with the chunky wheels making light work of long walks.

With many venues offering park behind your peg accessibility there may be only one or two pegs in a far corner that require a little assistance in getting there, without all the expense and hassle of a space guzzling trolley. This is the ideal solution for that scenario too.

Designed to universally fit a wide range of seatboxes, the unique OffBox Wheel Kit is supplied with inserts to suit any leg profile and comes with two robust wheels, super-strong connecting knuckles and a pull handle, and can transport heavy loads with ease.

RRP: £99.99

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 87

Taming Large Reservoirs

g n i m a T s ’ r a m a T

KE UPPER TAMAR LA B Cornwall, EX23 9S

DARREN C OX Age Lives: Strat : 55 ford-uponAvo Sponsors: n Garbo Mainline lino/ MF sa A class all- ys: rounder

s r e m Skim of fish, it doesn’t ll fu be ht ig m e nu Just because a ve Darren Cox . sy ea be s ay w al ill mean the fishing w r big weights on big waters. fo highlights his edges

88 | Match Fishing

have been fishing Upper Tamar Lake now for three years, and I have to say it is the most consistent and prolific natural style UK water I have ever fished, and that includes Ireland!

The amount of roach, perch and skimmers in the reservoir is incredible.

However, despite the amount of fish, they are not always that easy to catch, and in match conditions you must be on your game if you want to win some money.

I have recently returned from fishing West Fest, a four-day feeder only festival run by Graham West. As usual Tamar didn’t let us down, and I would

I

the supply in the summer.

When the levels move so much, the fish will often move about a lot with it.

There is often an ideal depth where the fish want to be, and Tamar varies in depth considerably depending exactly where you are fishing on the lake.

A good depth recently appeared to be 12 to 15 feet as the fish seemed much more comfortable feeding on the bottom wherever that depth was. In some areas it meant the best distance was only 10 to 15 metres, but in other areas you needed to go 30 plus metres.

Finding where the fish want to be is trial and error,

Cage feeders and window feeders rule on Tamar.

A worm hook bait works when it’s harder.

“As you catch quicker, you are casting more often and then get into a perfect routine of feeding small amounts of bait very regularly.” like to share my findings with you as the week unfolded.

The weeks leading up to the event saw some very cool temperatures and lots of rain for the time of year, and although there had been some big individual weights, there were areas that weren’t that good. As we arrived the weather had changed and the temperatures rocketed.

This lifted the water temperatures up to a good level and it looked as if we could have arrived at just the right moment.

and you need to put some time in practising before your matches to try and determine where the fish are. If you can’t practice, then it is very important to feed a few different lines to cover different depths.

In the festival we still did this, and it worked out that the best options were to feed three lines over three depths, then we could generally find the fish feeding at the correct depth on the day on one of the lines. So if 10 feet was the target depth, we would feed a line shallower and deeper.

Find The Depth

Don’t Fill Them Up!

On venues such as Tamar, and many other big reservoirs, the water drops and rises very quickly.

The venues are situated in dammed off valleys and are designed to capture rain water. They are also drained very quickly when water consumption overtakes

It is very easy to feed too much when fishing for skimmers. We can automatically think: “Oh they are bream so will need plenty of feed.” Well they do, but if you fill your swims in at the start with too much bait, or fish with too big a feeder on you can

A wet groundbait mix can help draw fish into the peg.

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 89

Taming Large Reservoirs

Depth is crucial on a large expanse of water.

Position the landing net to catch any fish that drop off.

make a big mess of your swim. It is much better to put just one or two decent size Guru Bait-Up feeders in on each line at the start and then ‘check-in’ regularly on all your lines. This way you find the fish quicker, and because your swim is not swamped with bait, you also catch them quicker.

As you catch quicker, you are casting more often and then get into a perfect routine of feeding small amounts of bait very regularly. This is the perfect scenario, as the skimmers have just enough feed in the swim to keep them happy until the next feederful arrives.

Groundbait mixes are very important, but they do have varying reactions depending on the time of the session.

My mix is my favourite skimmer mix: 60 per cent Mainline Sweet Marine and 40 per cent Tom Thick Black & Natural. This gives me a nice brown, rather than very dark mix. I’m sure skimmers prefer this.

I always mix it the night

90 | Match Fishing

before to take as much activity out of it as possible.

I want it inert, so that I can get it to the bottom without attracting too many roach and perch. If your mix is too active, they can be a real problem. My mix only goes one way, which is down to the bottom.

One of the most important things is the particles you put into your mix. Casters, chopped worm and dead maggots are the three most important additions. I will vary the amount that goes into my mix according to the response I am getting.

Some days when your swim is solid with fish you need to use a small feeder but lots of particles; other days a ‘groundbait only’ mix can help eke the bites out for longer throughout the day.

Groundbait consistency is always a good way of getting a response.

Normally I will start off with my mix being relatively dry (but well soaked to deaden it). This way I can get plenty of particles in it, squeeze it hard in the feeder

An aerial shot of Upper Tamar.

A more detailed look at the venue.

The fishing at Tamar is fantastic.

The window feeder is great for feeding lots of particles.

My terminal tackle choice.

Cage feeders are excellent in shallow water.

“Changing your mix throughout the session when you need to boost your bites is a great way to keep fish coming.” and get my bait delivery to the bottom where I want the skimmers.

I also have a ‘slop pot’ where I can mix particles with groundbait and water to create a really sloppy mix. This is great for attracting fish into the swim when they go quiet on you. However, you need to be careful with it in deep

water as it can keep the fish off the bottom, which can make them very difficult to catch. One thing for sure is that changing your mix throughout the session when you need to boost your bites is a great way to keep fish coming. I will often change several times in the match just for this reason.

Keep Changing Things Around Without doubt, subtle changes help you to keep the fish coming when you feel things are drying up.

Hook baits are important.

Sometimes all you need is double red maggot, but if things slow down a piece of dendrabaena or redworm will instantly catch you more fish. Corn also helps

catch you bigger fish if they arrive in your swim. The critical thing is that you are confident enough to switch baits quickly to try and find a quicker response. Never be afraid to do something to improve your catch rate.

Switching feeders is also extremely important. It is the best way to alter your feeding pattern, and again often gets you an instant response. I like to switch between different cage versions and windows, often constantly, to keep fish coming. My basic belief is that cage feeders are excellent in shallow water, or in deeper water where I am trying to draw fish that are sat up in the water down to bait I have on the bottom. They are perfect at the start of a session, and really help draw fish into the swim, but sometimes they can release

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 91

Taming Large Reservoirs

A netful of bream and skimmers...

bait too easily, so can be counterproductive.

This is where a window feeder comes in handy.

They can hold all your particles and groundbait a lot better and get it all to the bottom. They are perfect for when you need to constantly feed the fish in your swim and keep them nailed to the bottom.

This makes them much easier to catch quickly.

You can also feed much neater particles with a window feeder. This is really important when the fish need lots of particles such as casters, worms and dead red maggots, rather than a higher percentage of groundbait. The groundbait is literally used as a cap to close the window to get it down.

Windows are also the perfect option in a bad wind. They are very accurate to cast, especially when the wind gets up or changes mid-match. This helps maintain that critical accuracy, which keeps fish coming better than anything.

Both are extremely important weapons in my feeder box, which I use frequently alternating

92 | Match Fishing

... and another...

between the two throughout matches.

Feeder Rigs I am a firm believer in keeping things simple in terms of end tackle. I feel a running rig is very important for the size of skimmers at Tamar. They don’t like to feel any resistance at all, and for that reason a soft tip is very important. We are all using braid now, and it is definitely an advantage, but it does take any stretch out of the line, which also creates that resistance we don’t want. A softer ½oz tip and free running rig help take out a little of that resistance without losing the direct bite indication the braid gives you.

I use softer Garbolino Essential 10ft and 11ft Light Bomb/ Feeder rods, which are perfect, and the Super G Braid is unbeatable; very thin, smooth, casts like a dream and is

... and another!

Tamar is awesome!

noiseless through the rings.

My two favourite hook patterns are the Garbolino Medium Match Wide Gape (2320BZ) in size 14 and 16, and the Kamasan B560 in the same sizes. Line diameters are normally between 0.12mm and 0.16mm depending on the water clarity. I try and get away with as thick a line as possible so that I get fewer twists on retrieve with multiple baits.

st Fest 2021.

The final standings from We

What A Fantastic Week I shared a lodge with big Si Fry and Rob Fuller. We all had a fantastic week and caught plenty of fish most days. Including the Feeder Masters on the Sunday before the festival, I picked up five straight section wins, catching 18lb, 21lb, 38lb, 34lb and 31lb of lovely skimmers each day. I didn’t manage to sit right on any of the 50lb-plus pegs so my total weight of 125lb for the festival was only good enough for eighth place overall! Gareth Lambert won the festival with a stunning 176lb over four days, and even 27th place in the festival weighed 90lb! That is stunning fishing.

Silver fishing is not always easy, but the rewards are fantastic when you get things right. If you ever get the chance, get yourself down to Upper Tamar lakes, you will get a really warm welcome from Ben Smeeth and his staff, and catch a boatload of fish as well!

www.swlakestrust. org.uk/upper-tamar

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Paste Made Easy

HERY LLORY PARK FIS THE GLEBE & MA LE9 7RF r ste Peckleton, Leice

PASTE

ANDY FIND LA Age: 5 Y Lives: Leic 7 Sponsor ester Innovationss: Preston /Sonubaits MF sa An angling ys: genius

!

T C E F R PE lay s man Andy Find … it a b u n o S d n a s n Preston Innovatio asy paste fishing really should be e demonstrates how espite being widely recognised as one of the most effective big fish catching tactics, paste fishing, in the opinion of superstar Andy Findlay, is still massively underused on the match fishing scene. Anglers often steer away from paste, giving preference to hard pellets or other ‘easier to fish’ tactics, and while there is no denying these alternative methods often prove effective, The Fin is adamant that on its day, paste simply cannot be beaten.

Paste fishing can be as

D

94 | Match Fishing

easy or as hard as you want to make it and for years Andy has gained an edge over other anglers by fishing sloppy paste that’s so wet there’s no way you can put a hook in it. It’s not easy to fish though, and that’s one of the reasons why many anglers don’t bother with it, but there are easier pastes to use and they can be just as effective.

Of course, fewer anglers fishing paste is great news for angling’s great innovator. He regularly exploits other anglers’ reluctance to fish with this devastating bait to guide

STEP-BY-STEP

himself to regular match wins at many a local carp pool, including today’s venue of choice, The Glebe fishery in Leicestershire.

Here Andy takes up the story…

POTTING IT IN

The Paste Firstly, let me get one myth out of the way… paste fishing needn’t be a difficult, frustrating or complicated tactic whatsoever. I feel like people give it a try having heard lots about it, but disregard it as soon as they face a few quick indications that they inevitably strike too early at, before chucking the rig and any future thought of using paste up the bank.

Let me break things down into the simplicities of paste fishing, starting with the paste itself. There are many different pastes out there, and I have played around with just about every mix imaginable, including making pastes out of meat, corn and even oversoaked pellets. However, if it’s a super-simple paste you’re

1. The pole cup is right on the tip of the pole.

2. Empty the pot right next to the float.

3. Andy also feeds pellets in the pot.

This paste is as easy as it gets.

A one to one ratio will give you this consistency. www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 95

Paste Made Easy

STEP-BY-STEP

HOOKING THE PASTE

1 Take a walnut sized ball of paste...

3 … then mould the paste around the hook.

4 Andy prefers a rough looking piece of paste.

too far off the mark. I’ve been having a lot of success recently at The Glebe with the Power Scopex version of the mix, my choice for today. But there are a number of different flavours and even coloured mixes in the range, so pick what best suits your preferences.

of float covers me for all of my paste fishing for depths between three and eight feet.

The rig itself is then tied on 0.17mm Reflo Power, straight through to a size 12 XSH-B hook, no messing about – there is no need for creating a weak spot in your rig in this game because the fish you catch on this are big!

I don’t like to have any shot down my line at all, but do use a small amount of tungsten tubing as my bottom float rubber to help dot the float down to about the middle of the bristle; this helps prevent the float from pulling the hook out of the

2 Flatten and place the hook in the middle...

looking for that does the job and is almost impossible to get wrong, then there are highly effective mixes you can use straight out of the bag.

I always carry a bag or two of One-To-One paste in my bag because on days where I haven’t prepared any paste specifically, or I’m on a match where I didn’t think paste would feature but then changed my mind at the last minute, this stuff is ideal. It’s a groundbait style paste, but the ingredients within are all of high quality and tailor made for a paste mix;

smelly, potent, high oil ingredients with loads of flavour and added fishmeal.

Perfect for the job at hand – catching big fish.

If you fish venues where paste is a winning method and you don’t want the hassle of making your own, this stuff is an easy option and will win you matches.

As the name suggests, mixing requires one cup of water to every cup of the powdered mix. Once mixed, leave to stand for 30 minutes and from there you can fine-tune the mix as you see fit but this on the bag instruction is rarely

The Rigs Rigs are also incredibly simple when it comes to paste fishing. In fact, for me there is only one choice of pole float, that’s a Paste 1 pattern from Preston Innovations. This one size

This is why you fish paste.

The Fin nets another carp.

96 | Match Fishing

Learn to read the bites and you’ll hook more fish.

“Scopex is a flavour I have complete confidence in, it has won me a lot of money over the years!”

Andy Power

paste when fishing.

Elastic choice is 15 Hollo through a Short Stop kit to which I attach my paste pot.

The pot itself (one of which handily comes provided in each bag of paste) is attached to the very end of my top kit. I see many anglers fix this a couple of feet down their kit, but this just isn’t accurate enough in my opinion. You need to ship your feed and paste into your desired spot, drop the bait into the swim and have your float sit directly

above it instantly. This allows you to be efficient, accurate and be fishing as soon as the paste enters the water. A small amount of electrician’s tape can be wrapped around your kit to get the pot to fit tightly at the end of the pole.

Feeding And Fishing Where in your peg you choose to fish is another consideration when fishing with paste. It is an effective method whether you choose to fish it down the margin,

THE POWER OF SCOPEX! INTRODUCING OUR LATEST FLAVOUR SENSATION – POWER SCOPEX Check out the full Sonubaits range at sonubaits.com

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 00

Paste Made Easy

Andy makes it look incredibly easy.

What a stunning fish!

Fish the paste and catch those bigger fish... simples!

on the short pole or even long. But a decision has to be made and for me this comes down to maximising what I catch on this line, a balance of catching for as long a period as possible and being efficient when I am fishing over this line.

For this reason I prefer to fish it just a few sections out.

If I’m faced with a deeper margin then this is an option, but usually my choice is on a short pole line at the bottom of the nearside slope where the lake bed starts to flatten out.

I actually plumb up so that I am a couple of inches overdepth rather than the traditional dead depth associated with this tactic.

This again, helps me to keep my hook in the paste for longer, the bites I’m looking for are always positive when fishing in this way so I’m of the opinion I don’t miss the indications I’m looking for even with this extra bit of depth on my rig.

98 | Match Fishing

A bit of priming is required before dropping in on a paste line but there are no hard and fast rules on when it will come good. Sometimes this can be after just 30 minutes or an hour of the session. On other days you may need to prime the swim for a couple of hours and be extra patient.

Either way it’s just a case of introducing an attractive feed – pellets are my go-to, 6mm Fin Perfect pellets for today’s session – with a couple of samples of the paste itself.

This goes in at the start of the session and then a couple of lots of 15 pellets are loose fed regularly throughout the day in order to draw fish to my bait.

If I have a look without any signs then the big pot is called upon again with another 40 pellets or so plus a couple of blobs of paste. Having another swim somewhere else in the peg will keep you ticking over until things kick off on the paste!

The Result Today’s session at The Glebe has gone exactly to plan, and it wasn’t long before I was able to get some bites on paste. Early action is to be expected during pleasure sessions but while it may take a little longer to kick in during a match it doesn’t always work exactly like that, so it’s worth regular visits in the early stages just to scout out what is happening and to potentially maximise your catch potential.

Following each fish or missed bite 15 or so pellets are deposited into the bottom of my paste pot with a generous lump of paste with my hook neatly tucked inside placed on top. The paste is squeezed roughly into a shape around my hook rather than a smooth ball; I feel these rough edges help to draw fish in as they break down more quickly than the centre where my hook is concealed.

The contents are shipped to my spot in the peg and

dumped in all at once. With my pot positioned so close to the end of the pole there is no need for me to reposition and my rig follows the hook bait into place. At this point it is common to experience some erratic indications, it’s inevitable that one or two will fool you into thinking it’s a true bite, and if they do, and you strike at nothing, don’t be disheartened. See it as feeding the peg, come back and repeat the process.

A quick, sharp bite taking the float under is what you are looking for. I’m convinced that there are fish in these venues that you simply don’t catch on other baits and that is seemingly the case today with my average stamp of fish much larger than the typical pellet fish that are so often caught here. By the end of the session I feel I’ve demonstrated the ease of this tactic well with a stunning net of The Glebe’s finest, all taken using simple tactics and the simplest of bait!

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.

SOAKING SOLUTION When soaking expanders, which of the Dynamite liquids would you use and how would you go about soaking them?

Dean Bayliss

1ST PRIZE WINNER

ROB WOOTTON SAYS I love the Swim Stim F1 Sweet liquid so that’s my favourite soak and it’s very rare that I don’t add any to my expanders when I’m preparing them.

I like to prepare my pellets in the corner of a sandwich bag with a tiny amount of water and the F1 soak. By adding the pellets, water and F1 soak into the bag, and tying a knot tight so there’s no air in the bag, I have pellets that will be soaked through and nice and soft without crumbling.

I use a lot of soft expanders in the feeder and find the 6mm Pro Expanders perfect for quick stopping on a hair rig when targeting mixed venues like Barston; the extra attraction of the F1 Sweet liquid makes them even better.

SKIMMER MIX

RUNNERWhat’s the best mix for and U RUNNERPRskimmers IZE P PRIZE UP bream in 10 feet of water on natural venues?

Stephen Mitchell

MATT PILLAY SAYS My trusted mix of Swim Stim Green, Marine Halibut and F1 Sweet will do this job handsomely. Mixed on the damp side, this mix will do anything and everything you want via a feeder. It’s got plenty of fishmeal in it as well as sweet palatants that skimmers and bream just love.

If you’re wanting to introduce feed by hand, I’d add the Swim Stim Silver-Fish range to the mix as this has quite a sticky texture and gives great binding quality, which is what you need for deep water swims.

100 | Match Fishing

THE NIGHT BEFORE? I always mix my groundbait on arrival at my peg, but some anglers I know mix theirs at home the night before. Is there an advantage to premixing groundbait?

Geoff Lowe

RUNNE PRIZRE-UP

NICK SPEED Speedy is not only a top angler but also a high-level chef.

BRADLEY GIBBONS SAYS A lot of it depends what you are fishing for and how you want your groundbait to work. If you mix your groundbait the night before and bag it up, what you are essentially doing is neutralising all the particles in the groundbait and therefore making it inactive.

It will then have fewer active particles once in the water and lay more dormant on the bottom, and this can have its benefits. For example, when you are fishing for bigger fish, in deeper water or down the edge for carp, you want your groundbait to sink straight to

THE PANEL

the bottom with no particles coming off it.

On the flip side to this, if I was fishing for small roach, silvers or F1s, a more active mix can sometimes help. By mixing it on the morning and not bagging it up the mix will be more active, which can help to attract smaller fish.

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

MARGIN GROUNDBAITS What are the best Dynamite margin groundbaits for carp and why?

Toby Burrell

RUNNE PRIZRE-UP

JACK DANBY Top angler from Nottingham who also works for Dynamite Baits

SAM COLLETT SAYS When it comes to choosing a margin groundbait mix I’m looking for two things, the weight of the groundbait and the colour. My choice for margin fishing is based around three groundbaits and these are Marine Halibut, the Original Swim Stim and Green Swim Stim. My base mix for big carp in the margins is the Marine Halibut as this is a strong fishmeal mix that you can mix heavy and wet to keep it on the bottom to help avoid foul

TONY CURD Been around for years and one of the best attacking anglers out there

hooking fish. What I like to do is mix the Marine Halibut 50/50 with Green Swim Stim if the water colour has a slightly green colour, this just makes the mix look more camouflage and I believe fish feel safer feeding on it. When the water is a browny colour, I then just use Marine Halibut

on its own.

When it comes to smaller carp and F1s, I simply use Swim Stim Original groundbait. This is not as strong as the Marine Halibut and I find it perfect for venues that have slightly smaller fish as it’s got less food content and oil in the mix.

AIDAN MANSFIELD Rising match star destined for the top of the commercial fishing tree

MATT PILLAY Never afraid to attack a swim with a bit of bait

CORN CONUNDRUM What’s the best sweetcorn to use and does flavouring corn really work? Also, what’s the best way to hook double sweetcorn?

Kody Fisher

JACK DANBY SAYS Corn that has been especially selected with firmer kernels, like those found in our XL Corn, is more suited to fishing, especially for using on the hook. As for flavouring, anglers like Nick Speed like to

use XL Liquid Scopex on their corn but I am a fan of our new Frenzied F1 Sweet flavoured corn as it saves you from having to flavour the bait separately on the bank.

I like to rig my double corn hook baits so they sit with the rounded edge facing the bend of the hook. Doing it this way means your hook bait will spin far less and therefore reduce tangles.

BRADLEY GIBBONS Top southern angler and fishery manager

SAM COLLETT A real star for the future and current England international

ANDY GELDART Been there, done it, won it

| 77

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Matt Godfrey

It’s been a busy one for the Ginger Ninja, with qualifiers galore, success, near misses, and getting back to being a river rebel!

A simple side tray.

Tunnel Barn Farm, Peg 23 Top Pool.

An Ice cream with Glenn at Barston.

Too Close For Comfort…

Let’s kick-off with a very near miss from the last month on the Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier at Tunnel Barn Farm. I drew a peg on Top Pool that was pretty unfancied to be honest, and when I asked the Guru boys on our WhatsApp group what it was like, the reply was: “Have a few more beers tonight mate, put it that way!”

As it turned out, I had a bit of luck as the guy to my left didn’t turn up because it was such a poor area, and this helped. After a good chat on the phone with my old mucker Joe Carass, who had been doing well there recently, I had a plan. I caught a few F1s on a short pole with pellets, and all the time was feeding casters at 14.5 metres for a shallow attack, and I also threw them to my left in the edge where there were some overhanging reeds, again to try and catch shallow there.

After a good start, I

104 | Match Fishing

suddenly noticed a few cruising shadows, which were big muggable carp! I had to have a go for them and, having set a rig up for it at the start, when one cruised past about eight metres out I did a proper Andy Power job on it and had an 8lb common in the net about a minute later! This set the tone for the rest of the day to be honest, and in between catching odd runs of fish shallow, I mugged an occasional bonus

carp. Interestingly, two dead red maggots were the best hook bait for mugging by far. I tried both meat and pellets, but the old faithful grubs fooled more carp than anything else – they just seemed much more willing to eat them.

When the scales arrived, I really had no idea that I would have anywhere near enough to win, as word on the street was that 180lb plus would be required. As it turned out, my 132lb odd

was very close, an agonising second on the match behind the lovely man that is Kieran Marsden, who weighed 143lb and qualified for the £50,000 Final from Club Pool. Of course it maybe was in my reaching distance had I had the absolute perfect match, but when you’re sat on the box grafting your nuts off for five hours and trying your very best, it’s a tough one to take. There are still a few more attempts left I think!

Feeder Masters Here We Come!

I was really made up to qualify for the Feeder Masters Final this month, winning the qualifying zone on a very tough match at Barston Lakes. The fishing was hard after the fish had just spawned, and temperatures were far too hot for gingers. However, I was on a good peg, 14 on the river bank, and I did quite fancy it having framed in a recent Golden Reel qualifier there. In fact I came third on

Barston 14.

Barston Tools.

Zone winning Feeder Master catch. the match and qualified for the semi-final, which was a bonus – I forgot about that you know!

Anyway, back to the feeder flinging, and after a couple of hours it was obvious the whole match was pretty dead; it would only be a low weight affair to qualify. However, to draw some carp into my peg in the final half of the match, I felt that I needed to be positive. Everyone around was taking it steady, plopping little feeders around, and nothing was happening… so I went on the attack! Filling up my Guru Large Bait-Up Feeder with 8mm Activated Pellets, and capping it off with 2mms, I started to feed five feederfuls every 15 minutes, until 90 minutes to go when I had my first chuck on it.

Go on then babiiiii.

Using a large 28g Hybrid and with a Pink Tuna or Yellow Pineapple Wafter hook bait, I enjoyed a good last bit of the match catching five carp plus some skimmers and an F1! After each fish, I’d ‘bosh it’ with another five feeders full of 8mm pellets, then cast straight over the top.

In the end, I wasn’t sure I’d got enough, even though everyone was saying it had been hard throughout.

Thankfully though, my 36lb odd was enough to clearly win the zone with 21lb coming second, and I’d booked my place in the final. Better

Ice creams after!

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 105

Matt Godfrey

Great to be back on the rivers.

[INSET] Adam Rooney with his double figure barbel.

The bream were feeding on the Trent.

My barbel was much smaller.

banked 32 bream between 3lb and 7lb, plus two barbel, the biggest going 11-2-0.

Not a bad start to the river season hey?

A Tidal Trent Tipple!

still, I was third overall in the match and my travelling partner Frankie Jamandjelly also won his zone. I literally can’t wait for the final at Tamar in September, it’s one I’ve wanted to be in for a while, and the sport at this venue looks amazing!

Back On The Rivers!

I was chuffed to bits to get back on the rivers after a close season break. The Guru gaffer Adam Rooney and I went for a cheeky session during the first week of the season and had an absolute bumper day!

We put one rod out for bream, and the other for barbel as we had quite a lot of new river related gear to test that we’d been itching to get out with. As it turned out, it was an epic day, and in five hours fishing we

106 | Match Fishing

The first river match of the season for me was a cracker too, the Tidal River Trent Teams Of Four, where I drew at my favourite Torksey stretch on Peg 22… a nice spot! It was an all-out feeder day for me, and I simply fished one line all day in the deepest channel, which was just my side of the middle. I had to cast here to be honest, because there were two barbel anglers bivvied up opposite me casting just their side of

Spot the barbel anglers opposite!

the middle.

Things went to plan perfectly to be fair, and after a slow start with regular casting of a small feeder, I stated to get more and more bites from small fish. Mainly small roach, perch and dace, before at the halfway stage a few skimmers appeared!

Interestingly, I caught best being quite positive with feed, packing the feeder with casters, maggots and hemp, blocking it off with some dry Pro Active groundbait that explodes from the feeder to release all the particles. It was important to make sure you kept casting all the time as most bites came just after the feeder had settled.

Amazingly, with an hour to go the tide turned and started flooding in, and the

whole match completely shut off. I caught just a handful of tiny fish during this time and thought it would cost me! Thankfully, it didn’t and my 16-2-0 was enough to win the 20-peg zone for the team. James Dent did great coming third in his zone at North Clifton, but Tom Scholey and Alan Scotthorne struggled from poor areas and we ended up sixth out of the 20 teams after round one. Not a disaster, but we have some catching up to do if we’re going to beat the ‘Dabs n Lads’ squad that annihilated the first round – well done men!

16lb2oz and a zone win at Torksey.

UP YOUR DISTANCE NICK SPEED TARGETS CARP AT DISTANCE AT THE ICONIC WORSBROUGH RESERVOIR AVOID A FESTIVAL BLOWOUT CRAIG EDMUNDS OFFERS SOME TOP ADVICE AFTER WINNING A FIVE-DAY FESTIVAL AT IVY HOUSE LAKES GARBOLINO CLUB ANGLER OF THE YEAR WE REPORT BACK FROM THIS YEAR’S FINAL AT BARSTON LAKES VENUE DETECTIVE SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT AS ANDY MAY CHECKS OUT A NEW VENUE BY FISHING A MATCH ON IT

AUGUST ISSUE

2021 AV

AILABLE

FRIDAY,

AUGUST 6TH

• CONTENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Midlands Qualifier, Tunnel Barn Farm Wednesday June 9th saw Tunnel Barn Farm host the Midlands qualifier for the Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year. In hot conditions during a period when fish were spawning, a hard match looked on the cards compared to the usual high weights we’ve come to expect from the venue.

W

ith 112 anglers booked on, the match was going to be very keenly contested and with High, Extension, Top, New, House and Club pools all included it really was a case that the winner could come from anywhere. With over 100

Andrew Wiffen nets a carp from Peg 6 on House.

Anglers try and sort out what was a tough day at Tunnel.

108 | Match Fishing

anglers fishing, the top five would all win a tidy sum, plus there was an optional £10 superpool on the day so the angler that came out on top was going to have a very nice pay day if they had entered that as well.

As with all the Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year

qualifiers, the match was split into seven or eight-peg sections and each section winner would not only pick up £40, they would also win a place in the final to be held at Barston on Wednesday July 14th.

After an hour of fishing, it was clear that this was not

Darren Cox watches on as David Hodson nets a carp.

like the Tunnel Barn we’ve come to expect over the past few years and the hot conditions had really taken their toll and catching fish was proving difficult for most. As we all know, when conditions are tough and the fish aren’t feeding, but can be seen cruising around

just below the surface, mugging comes into its own.

The F1s that the venue is famed had shut up shop and it was David Hodson on Peg 13 on Club that was catching the odd carp using mugging tactics. Even though he was only catching the odd fish, he was clearly emerging as the favourite to win the match. Two pegs to his right, Garbolino Club Angler regular Graeme Block was catching the odd fish and that had put him in contention to frame but with David Hodson in his section, qualifying for the

final was looking like a tall order.

Elsewhere Andrew Wiffen on Peg 6 on House was also catching the odd carp using mugging tactics, while Neil Rogerson on Peg 27 was also getting the odd fish.

Overall the match was a real struggle for everybody, but the lower weights certainly made it interesting at the weigh-in, with weights a lot closer than usual. David Hodson’s mugging tactics paid off and he ended up winning the match with a very hard earned 74lb 7oz to finish just under 11lb clear of Andrew Wiffen in second.

Third placed Martin Wiffen

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 5th

Second placed Andrew Wiffen

David Hodson Peg 13 Club, Andrew Wiffen Peg 6 House, Martin Wiffen Peg 10 New, Ernie Sattler Peg 23 House, = Graeme Block Peg 15 Club, = Neil Rogerson Peg 27 New,

74lb 7oz 63lb 15oz 60lb 0oz 44lb 8oz 40lb 1oz 40lb 1oz

David Hodson: “I quite fanced Peg 13 on Club when I drew and Darren Cox told me I was on a good peg,.

“It’s been rock hard fishing though and I never thought I’d win a match on this venue with the weight I had. The only way I could catch was to mug fish and I’ve fished 18 inches deep with double white maggot on the hook. I flicked the rig all around the peg and every now and then I’d hook a fish. All my fish were between 4 and 6lb so I’ve not caught many.

“I’m just looking forward to the final now, I’ve qualified before but fished it all wrong so hopefully I can get it right this time round.”

All the qualifiers from Tunnel.

The top three.

David Hodson with his winning catch.

QUALIFIERS Matt Greaves High 5 Dave Langton High 14 Andrew Mitchell High 25 Mike Barlow High 42 Ben Dutton Ext 9 Jamie Foster Ext 21 Brian Duckett Top 1 Carl Harvey Top 33 (Default qualifier as section winner couldn’t make the final) Martin Wiffen New 10 Neil Rogerson New 27 Dean Haymes New 40 Andrew Wiffen House 6 Ernie Sattler House 23 Kevin Simpson Club 9 David Hodson Club 13

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 109

Northern Qualifier, Lindholme Lakes Only a week after the Midlands qualifier took place at Tunnel Barn Farm, June 16th was the date for the Northern qualifier of the Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year at the excellent Lindholme Lakes.

N

ot much had changed weatherwise and our 129 competitors were faced with the hottest day of the year so far. But there was a breeze blowing and those anglers lucky enough to have some ripple in their pegs were more likely to get in among them and catch a few fish than those anglers Jamie Cowling on Bonsai Peg 22.

Bonsai was included in this year’s match.

110 | Match Fishing

whose pegs were out of the wind, flat calm… and boiling hot!

The lakes used were Strip, Willows, Bennys, Bonsai, Loco and Beeches and at the draw most anglers seemed to favour a peg on Benny’s.

Although the other lakes were all just as capable of producing enough fish to win or frame on their day, A big F1 caught on the pellet waggler.

Bennys was fancied because it generally holds a bigger stamp of F1s. Just like on the Midlands qualifier the week before, with a large attendance – the biggest of the three qualifiers – we were paying the top five individually and the match was split into 18 sections of seven or eight anglers with each section winner going

through to the final.

There were plenty of anglers catching fish as soon as the match got under way, and going against the pre-match odds, Bonsai seemed to be producing the best. Jamie Cowling on Peg 22 was catching well, as was Michael Moore on Peg 31. Although most anglers seemed to be catching fish,

it was definitely a bit of a curate’s egg of a match – good in parts. While many caught, a few struggled, but that’s match fishing for you. As we walked round we witnessed the whole gamut of match fishing methods – short poles, long poles, Method feeders, pellet wagglers, ploppers, dibbers, dobbers and jiggers. They all had their moment, some with more success than others.

Who said match fishing for F1s and carp was boring?

By the end of the match the temperature was roasting, and although great for topping up the tan the

conditions had definitely affected the fishing. The bar in the onsite restaurant was definitely going to do some business as the results were worked out!

As predicted (or is that with hindsight) Bennys produced the winner, with Peter Eastwood coming out on top from Peg 46 with a weight of 150lb. To show how close it was, the next second and fourth frame places were separated by just over 6lb.

Great fishing and a great qualifier – no wonder Lindholme is so popular with our entrants.

The Lindholme qualifiers.

Peter Boggiano qualified from Bennys with this net.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Tom Calladine with his fourth placed catch

Peter Eastwood Peg 46 Bennys Michael Moore Peg 31 Bonsai Jamie Cowling Peg 22 Bonsai Tom Calladine Peg 14 Bennys Anthony Wilson Peg 16 Bonsai

150lb 14oz 137lb 7oz 131lb 9oz 131lb 6oz 101lb 13oz

Peter Eastwood: “I didn’t really fancy my draw that much to be honest. Peg 46 on Bennys is not a known peg, but having that bit of extra room today has definitely helped. I’ve caught pretty much all day by fishing maggots shallow at 11 metres, and then I’ve caught a few late on down the edge to my left on groundbait and dead red maggots. My match has gone exactly to plan so I’m happy, hopefully I can do the same in the final at Barston.”

First placed Peter Eastwood.

The top three – Michael Moore (left), Peter Eastwood (centre) and Jamie Cowling.

QUALIFIERS Terry Oldfield Strip 2 Matthew Vater Willows 7 Luke Ward Willows 37 Peter Boggiano Bennys 6 Tom Calladine Bennys 14 Peter Eastwood Bennys 46 Ian Gladders Bennys 52 Jamie Cowling Bonsai 22 Michael Moore Bonsai 31 Dave Edwards Bonsai 56 =Steve Simmonds Bonsai 61 =Matthew White Bonsai 70 Kevin Shellie Bonsai 82 Phil Taylor Loco 2 Harry Bullock Loco 23 Wayne Rooke Loco 45 Jonathan Firth Beeches 6 Chris Parkin Beeches 17 (Default qualifier as section winner Dave Langton has already qualified) Tom Newton Beeches 41

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 111

Billy Makin

BEFORE

TIME PA RT

BEGAN

2 7

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.

M

any years ago when I worked at British Gas, my boss, a wise old sage, had a couple of favourite sayings: “The pathway to hell is paved with good intentions” and “Beware of the man who doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.”

Shortly before selling my fishery to British Waterways, both of these sayings came together and formed the perfect storm for fishermen.

The venue was the Nottingham Forest football ground and the occasion was an event organised by the Institute of Fishery Management, involving most of the major players in the fishing world. I, together with a few fishery owners, was there to give a talk representing Premier Fisheries UK.

112 | Match Fishing

Things initially moved along quite smoothly with the usual garbled company line of nonsense from the Environment Agency, 50 or so of the 100 people present representing them, and a few interesting if rather naive series of talks from a couple of people representing various

down like a lead balloon with the Environment Agency clowns would be an understatement, I was treated like a leper in a sauna.

Now I have to say that both of the above blokes were thoroughly decent sorts and it was quite obvious that neither of their

Firstly Mr Cormorant Man and his series of recommendations on how fisheries could negate the cormorant problem.

No 1) Set up a series of Michelin men that inflate and deflate throughout the night.

No 2) Set up the same gas guns around the fishery

“To say that my presentation went down like a lead balloon with the Environment Agency clowns would be an understatement.” specimen groups.

Then the problems started and the temperature in the room began to rise as firstly the Cormorant Man delivered his piece, followed by the Otter Man. Fortunately, I was on next, and to say that my presentation went

presentations contained any form of malice whatsoever, BUT… each man’s good intentions were destined to lead fishermen, particularly fishery owners, along my boss’s aforementioned pathway to hell, simply because they didn’t know what they didn’t know.

that farmers use to scare off the pigeons and crows.

No 3) Build a structural refuge in one corner of the lake so that the fish can hide.

No 4) Put up a sign saying No Cormorants (I made that one up).

All three are reasonable

suggestions if you know nothing about either fishing or real life.

I have seen cormorants savouring and digesting their morning breakfast while perched on the

“They are my fish,” I said. “They are also my livelihood, so are you and your fellow RSPB members going to reimburse me for the fish that your birds have eaten?”

fish, I will shoot you, so believe me, a cormorant has no chance. Bring along a video camara to my lakes tomorrow morning and we will put it to the test in court.”

“‘The river is full of fish,’ he almost shouted.

‘You are the problem; you do not know how to fish.’” scarecrows placed in order to scare them, and can you imagine the reaction of my local village with a gas gun exploding every few minutes. As for the structural refuge – what flippin’ use would a fishing lake be if all the fish in the lake lived in one single swim?

I put all these points to the bloke, but not being a fisherman, nothing really registered; he could not grasp that the lakes had been dug and stocked with fish for fishermen and not bird watchers, and was quite insistent that this was simply nature and the cormorants had the same right to life as did the fish.

“Of course not.” He was now becoming indignant.

“If you are stupid enough to keep putting fish in a lake, you cannot blame the birds for eating them.”

“Have you heard of ‘The Farmer’s Defence?’ I asked.

“No, what is that?”

That one question alone told me that I was dealing with a townie.

“If a farmer catches a dog attacking his sheep, the farmer’s defence gives him the right to shoot the dog.”

“You cannot shoot my cormorants – they are protected.” He was turning red in the face as he spat out the words.

I smiled as I spoke: “If I catch you stealing my

He shut up.

A clown from the Environment Agency sprang to his feet.

“The cormorants have little impact on fish stocks in rivers, they regenerate and maintain a balance.”

“I have just driven along three miles of the River Trent,” I replied, “and there was not one single angler fishing on what was once the most popular stretch of the most popular river in the country; why do you suppose that is?”

“The river is full of fish,” he almost shouted. “You are the problem; you do not know how to fish.”

I politely suggested that he took a little trip to the

bank and drew out a large amount of cash before meeting me on the river outside the ground after the meeting was over.

He shut up.

Next up was Mr Otter Man. This guy was even more obviously a townie than the Cormorant Man. He started his presentation by showing a series of slides of fish that had been killed and partially eaten by otters, one of them being a carp well in excess of 20lb. He appeared to take great pride in the fact that his pets could kill fish almost as big as themselves.

Then came the bombshell.

The Otter Society was embarking on a series of breeding programs to re-introduce the blessed things into every waterway in the British Isles. His sole reason for living was to flood the world with otters until every family owned one as a pet, and to have them for sale at pet shops and supermarkets.

All the fishery owners were shaking their heads in disbelief.

www.matchfishingmagazine.com

| 113

Billy Makin

Not as cuddly as he looks.

Loved by bird watchers, not so popular with fishery owners.

“They are an indigenous species,” he said proudly.

I couldn’t contain myself any longer and sprang to my feet: “So were wolves and grizzly bears, and what about smallpox and polio, maybe even the bubonic plague, are you going to reintroduce those?”

I sat down. He continued: “People will be able to sit by the water and watch them fish.”

My trigger finger was twitching.

“There is no more wonderful sight than seeing an otter hunting, and dragging a fish almost as big as itself out of the water,” he went on.

I, along with the other fishery owners now had gritted teeth and clenched

fists.

“They don’t eat the whole fish, you know; they only eat the parts of the fish that they like.” His life expectancy was reducing by the second. “Usually they only eat the shoulder area behind the head and will often do this several times a day.” At that point, just as half a dozen of us were about to throttle him, he finished his presentation and sat down.

Now I have to stress that the chap genuinely thought that by re-introducing otters into the wild, he would in some way be restoring the balance of nature.

It was now my turn to speak and I have to say that I retained my calm and respectfully explained

All of Billy’s seven books and novels are available from Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk

114 | Match Fishing

that the fish on the first slide that he had shown was worth in the region of £500, and if it had been 10lb bigger, its value would be in the thousands.

He sat open-mouthed.

I then explained the interaction between cormorants and otters.

“The quite recent massive increase in the number of inland cormorants reduces the fish stocks in natural waters, and for this reason the otters will be forced on to managed waters where owners and their families make a living by providing quality fishing for anglers.”

He didn’t know this.

“When the otters were numerous in the country, the rivers were filled with trout, salmon, and eels.

Now, very few of these species of fish are present in English rivers so what are the otters supposed to eat and where do you think they will go to eat?”

I then turned my attention to the Cormorant Man. “Are you aware that a major part of an otter’s diet consists of birds?”

His mouth opened and he looked appalled. “Any water with a resident otter will be completely denuded of all your feathered friends; moorhens, coots, ducks, geese, and even swans; the otter kills and eats the lot of them together with the endangered water vole.”

He glared at the Otter Man. Divide and conquer was my strategy. As I finished my presentation, the strangest thing happened.

A rather famous specimen hunter who was representing a certain specimen group stood up in defence of the Otter Man, offering not only a policy of appeasement worthy of Neville Chamberlain, but an endorsement of their reintroduction. The idiot pulled the mat from under my feet, and together

with the rest of the fishery owners I just shook my head with the realisation that no matter how good our case, we were on a loser.

It was with a great deal of satisfaction that I read about the demise, at the hands of an otter, of the tame record breaking barbel at Adams Mill on the Ouse. This same chap had spent countless hours in pursuit of Nelly the barbel, or whatever pet name they called her, and Olly the Otter got there first. I believe they call it karma.

Time has moved on some 20 plus years and both the cormorant and the otter problem have become considerably worse. I cannot see any satisfactory conclusion as long as the eternal apathy of anglers exists and an endless line of well meaning yet toothless amateurs continue to represent us.

A well-co-ordinated team of cormorants offers an interesting spectacle as they empty a water, and otters are cuddly lovable creatures to write books about.

Sorry, we never really stood a chance and it is highly unlikely that we ever will. ************************* I would like to thank everyone who has bought my book ‘The Golden Years’.

It has been a tremendous success and the comments have been fantastic; it’s good to know that a few of us from the golden age of match fishing still retain our love of the sport and still like to get our hands dirty.

The delivery has been exceptionally good, the book often arriving within a couple of days of placing the order.

I now have a UK distributor for all my 11 books, and of course Amazon sales include both paperback and Kindle.

the special ones

Our best selling range of groundbaits, for a reason!

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The 4th gen of the original & best short commercial rod: 2 rods – Carp & a softer F1 version

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