Today I have been back to Old Hough fisheries for the second round of my winter league and this time it was going to take place on boulders + goose which is somewhere that i have not fished for over twelve months so I was really looking forward to the contest especially after my good result in the first round , after yesterday's very blustery conditions I was glad to wake up and see it a lot calmer but with bright skies plus colderconditions it could make things a bit difficult although on these lakes you were targeting silver fish with the odd carp coming out .
On arrival to the fishery I meet up with the other anglers and a few of them had fished a couple of matches on these waters which would obviously give them an advantage but from what I heard there seemed to be a lot more carp showing than I thought, it soon came round to draw time and when I had a dip in the bag of doom pulling out peg 11 which I was pleased with as it was an area that I had fished before, doing well winning the match with nearly 50lb of ide although I was definitely on the colder side of the lake with the trees blocking out the sun.
I decided to set up ;
Two-foot rig for fishing tight to the far bank and I used a 0. 4 Md diamond float with a bulk plus dropper shotting pattern, my main line was the usual 014 garbo and hook length was six inch of 012 garbomy hook was a size 18 guru maggot hook.
Dave Roberts explains the daring pellet-waggler tactics that you can use to catch the bigger specimens needed to ramp up your tally at the end of a match!
For anyone developing a commercial fishery these days, the blueprint seems to revolve around snake or canalised style lakes, and such venues seem to be appearing more frequently in my match calendar.
Venues such as Lindholme Lakes, Messingham Sands and The Glebe, to name just three, all feature lakes that are canalised in some way, but generally not the traditional 14m-wide uniform versions. A lot of these venues are wider, with far banks that are quite often just out of pole reach or beyond to about 25 metres.
Spooky Fish
Experience has taught me that on these venues the fish tend to back off to the far bank in match conditions.
Dan Webb explains how, in his experience, being a tidy angler is massively overrated!
Anglers are not always the tidiest of people. Yesterday’s trousers still covered in slime and a van with more back copies of The Sun lying around than most greasy spoon cafés are not uncommon sights on a Sunday.
Some people naturally set their gear up in the same manner as a child empties a toy box, with bait boxes, rig trays and hook boxes strewn across the bank! Others, however, set up their gear as if they are waiting for a panel of judges to arrive and mark it! Perfect symmetry, aligned bait boxes and waterproofs cleaner than the Queen’s knickers just add to the “my gear has never been used before” look.
What makes me smile the most, though, is when everything matches! When most people buy gear, they look for the most suitable, functional and affordable gear they can.
Joe Carass gets on the bank with Daiwa’s latest carbon marvel.
To kick off this review I will take you back 13 years. I was a 16-year old match angler who was eager to ‘make it’. I knew that to compete I needed the best pole that I could lay my hands on.
Who better to give you 10 top tips for catching carp on the short pole this month than England superstar, Des Shipp!
1Keep Quiet!
One of the most important things to do when you’re planning to catch at close range is to remain as quiet as possible.
Wise fish in today’s commercials are very wary of bankside disturbance, so try to keep any banging and movements on the bank to a minimum while setting up, and more importantly, when fishing.
2The Magic Depth
Fishing in the right depth of water is essential if you plan on catching on the short pole, and I often see people fishing far too close for my liking, in too shallower water.
Where possible, the minimum depth that I like to target is four feet.
David Haynes takes Middy’s margin-busting Shock Stikk for a spin.
I think it’s fair to say I have never used, or even seen, anything quite like the Middy Shock Stikk, and I think I should admit I probably had the same preconceived ideas about it as many others may have. I imagined it would be a pure hauling tool for getting big fish to the net as quickly as possible with little consideration for their wellbeing.
Well, it’s not.
Well, look what we have here! Yet another fantastic prize for Match Fishing readers to get their hands on. . . *
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Commercial master Frankie Gianoncelli fixes your frustrations of foul-hooked fish and missed bites, with a single-rod attack that can transform your swim!
Pellet Prep…
I had one of the most frustrating three hours’ fishing of my life a few years ago, during the fourth day of a White Acres festival. Sitting on the renowned High Bank of the venue’s main Match Lake, my long-pole swim was bubbling and fizzing like a jacuzzi with fish activity, but I had nothing in my net!
I was suffering from missed bites and false indications every drop in. I did manage to catch a carp and a handful of skimmers, but had foul hooked and lost far more. Despite trying several different ways of feeding, I sat sulking with a peg full of fish that I couldn’t catch!
The new Preston Inter Change Dura system allows you to swap between a bomb, banjo and Method feeder in seconds.
All-round master Simon Willsmore lifts the lid on his against-the-grain feeder tactics for big-water success.
If I had to say what had given me the biggest edge in match fishing over the last 10 years, it would be using my initiative to think outside the box.
I was lucky enough to live in Italy for seven years, where some very good, but also eccentric Italian anglers influenced my fishing. I also fished some very peculiar venues, and I still carry a lot of the ideas and thinking from those days with me now.
All-round master Simon Willsmore lifts the lid on his against-the-grain feeder tactics for big-water success.
If I had to say what had given me the biggest edge in match fishing over the last 10 years, it would be using my initiative to think outside the box.
I was lucky enough to live in Italy for seven years, where some very good, but also eccentric Italian anglers influenced my fishing. I also fished some very peculiar venues, and I still carry a lot of the ideas and thinking from those days with me now.
