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PLUS: THE BEST ROVING RIGS FOR CHUB
Silvers, not gold, at the end of the rainbow You probably won’t have heard of the River Parrett, but this Somerset gem is worthy of your attention. Dan Squire wonders if there could be a similar water near you? Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs
8• IYCF Issue 345
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A WINDOW OF FEEDER OPPORTUNITY
You can absolutely bank on window feeders delivering nets of commercial silvers in winter, says England International Lee Kerry Words Tony Grigorjevs Photography Llyod Rogers
A
LL of the sport’s major tackle manufacturers are constantly taking their product portfolio to the next level and feeder fishing is definitely one area where they are investing heavily. Rods, reels, lines and hooks are all essential aspects of the approach, but the most important part of kit in tempting the fish to grub around is the feeder itself. As a result, numerous different patterns of feeder have hit the shelves in recent months and while they may have many similarities, they are all designed to do a slightly different job. Confusion can arise when deciding which to purchase for your next session, but if silver fish are your primary
24 • IYCF Issue 345
target then Lee Kerry reckons there’s only one choice you can sensibly make. “Feeder fishing is often overlooked on commercials when it comes to roach, perch and skimmers but a lot of the time it is without doubt the most effective way of keeping the bites coming,” explains Lee. “That said, it is only effective if you choose a feeder that delivers bait in a way that stimulates fish into feeding and you can’t beat the Preston Innovations Absolute Window Feeders. “I’m not just saying that because I am fortunate enough to be sponsored by the company – I’d use these no matter what the situation.”
TACTICS
TACTICS: FEEDER SPECIES: SILVERS DIFFICULTY:
IYCF December 18, 2018 – January 15, 2019 • 25
To m my ’ s b e s t - e ve r b a i t t r i ck s Make what’s on your ho every fish that c ok irresistible to omes near it...
I
Words Tony Grigorjev s Photography Lloyd Rogers
F YOU miss an oppo rtunity to get you have done every a bite in the heat of thing in your power summer it is to make it as irresist unlikely to cost you ible as possible. dearly. After all, the fish will be ch Maver’s Tommy Pic kering believes arging ravenously changes need to be around your swim wi made on the bait th little caution, front at this time of determined to get the year in order to ir chops around as improve your prosp much food as possi ects. ble. “The fish aren’t hung But all that change s in winter. A ry enough to catch one every dro reduced appetite im p in. You need to pacts on how make adjustments much grub they’ll ne so that your hookba ed and clear water it is guaranteed to be enables them to see taken every time a much more, with fish comes near it,” the increased visibi explains Tommy. lity undoubtedly making them more This month the forme wary. r World Champ reveals his top 10 wi So when a fish come nter bait tips to keep s near your you among the carp hookbait you need to and silver fish as the be confident that temperatures plumm et.
34 • IYCF Issue 345
TACTICS
tactics: Feeder species: F1s difficulty:
52 • IYCF Issue 345
TACTICS
Subtle tweaks to trick F1s
F1s are winter bankers that can be fooled by tiny tackle and bait tweaks to keep them coming to the net, says Russell Shipton Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs
I
F YOU believe that you can fish one identical tactic all day for winter F1s then think again. Their willingness to feed in most conditions make them an attractive proposition to the hardy souls braving the banks in winter. They do, however, have an ability to wise up to an angler’s trap incredibly quickly.
Stay stubborn and stick to your guns and a few fish might grace your landing net. Ring the changes the moment bites stop, though, and you’ll see your catch rate soar. Middy’s Russell Shipton often turns to the commercial species for guaranteed winter sport. He has found that subtle and seemingly insignificant changes are often the most
effective, particularly when using the feeder. “If someone glanced at my set-up before the first cast of the day and looked again as I packed up, I doubt they would notice any changes,” says Russell. “That’s because the adjustments I make are only minor on the eye but in terms of improving your catch rate, they’re colossal!”
IYCF December 18, 2018 – January 15, 2019 • 53
NEW GEAR 2019
REELS
HUGE CAPACITY
The 8000 RS holds 415m of 0.35mm diameter line
SONIK DOMINATOR X RS CARP REELS RRP: £84.99
Available in 6000 and 8000 sizes, the Dominator X RS reels boast a high strength, lightweight graphite body and rotor, a super-slow oscillation producing perfect linelay, and a spool skirt to prevent line ingress. Add Sonik’s Quick-Torque front drag, twin spring-loaded line clips, six stainless bearings, a 4.1:1 gear ratio and a spare spool, and you’re looking at one of the most handsome bargain-priced reels around. www.soniksports.com
KORUM ZELOS 6000
RRP: £54.99
A mini big-pit reel suitable for a multitude of coarse fishing techniques, particularly when heavier lines are required, or fishing at distance on lakes and rivers. Five carbon steel ball bearings and one needle bearing deliver a smooth performance and the S-Stroke system provides perfect line lay. Other features include a K-Fold aluminium handle with a soft-touch rubber grip, linefriendly aluminium line clip and an anti-twist line roller. www.korum.co.uk
DAIWA NINJA LT REELS RRP: £64.99
Daiwa’s sensible pricing of its Ninja match reels have made them a huge hit. For 2019, the reels – with graphite bodies and rotors, in six sizes from 2000 to 6000 – have been further improved with Daiwa’s LT (Light & Tough) specifications to include Air Bail, ATD drag system, and a natty new line clip. www.daiwasports.co.uk
KORUM AXIS
RRP: 3000 £34.99, 4000 £39.99 Available in 3000 and 4000 sizes, these versatile fixed spool reels are ideal for a wide range of float and feeder techniques. Equally at home with monofilament, fluorocarbon and braided mainlines, they boast five carbon steel ball bearings, high strength graphite body and rotor, S-Stroke system for perfect line lay and a machined and anodised shallow spool with a line-friendly aluminium line clip. www.korum.co.uk
MITCHELL ITCHELL FULL RUNNER MX6 RRP: From £99.99
This compact freespool reel is designed to give anglers the ability to fish with a freespool system while having enough line capacity to fish at distance. The short, strong polymeric body has a black carpy design with subtle branding. The custom designed one-touch folding handle is finished off with a rosewood knob and the thick aluminium bail arm is rigid to prevent warping. Five stainless ball bearings deliver a smooth performance and slow oscillation produces a superb line lay. www.mitchell-fishing.co.uk
AVID AV8000 REEL RRP: £74.99
The new AV8000 reel is a compact baby big-pit reel with a deep, tapered spool for friction-free casting that can be loaded up with heavy line, should you wish. A rapid front drag-system enables you to go from freespool to fighting drag mode in less than one turn. Seven stainless ballbearings and one roller bearing deliver a silky smooth operation. You also get a largediameter bail-arm, stainless shaft, customised drag switch and line-friendly line clip. www.avidcarp.com
CAST FURTHER
Tapered spool gives frictionfree casting
IYCF December 18, 2018 – January 15, 2019 • 79
TIPS, TACTICS & RIGS MORE RE TO CATCH MO
100 • IYCF Issue 345
CARP
HOW TO
Get slick with oils Sticky’s Jim Wilson explains how you can use oils all year round and the secret behind his krill oil edge... Words & Photography Jim Wilson
O
ILS play a huge role in my fishing, particularly when fishing over baited areas. They add so much attraction to your bait and there are two in particular that I use for most of my fishing – salmon and hemp. Both are very different, but ultimately work the same. Fish oils come into their own in warmer months of the year, with the warm water encouraging those rich oils to easily disperse through the water.
Hemp Oil is more effective than fish oils in the winter
In the colder months, though, these will often congeal so it is best to avoid them. But that doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate oils into your approach. At this time of year I switch to hemp oil. You can, and I often do, still use hemp oil in the summer, but wherever possible I try to use the fish oils, because carp really do like them and it gives the bait an obviously fishy kick.
F
ILMING for the final season of Game Of Thrones ends this month (December) which can only mean one thing – winter’s coming! The signs were clearly evident as I began work on this month’s diary. Obviously, by the time these words are published, you could be struggling to cope with a foot of snow, thinking: “Winter? Has he any idea what he’s on about? He’s mad!” So, it’s a bit early for blizzards and frozen lakes but the transition from autumn can be pretty challenging. One day the fish will have a little munch, the next they simply switch off.
Week one...
Two weeks after the Trent had responded positively to a flush of fresh water I turned up and knew from the first glance I would struggle to catch. The Gaugemap website (a fantastic resource if you don’t already use it) confirmed the level of the Trent was now as low as it had been through the summer drought and the flow rate below that of the same period a year previous. Put simply, the river has shrunk, but it was the clarity that suggested I would struggle. Clear as tapwater, clear as the blue sky above me. It’s on days like this an experienced angler heads straight for his favourite swims. Your bankers. Choice number one was a chub flyer. When I made the mistake of showing this swim to a friend I was not expecting him to put pictures of it in a magazine, which in turn means it is no longer my secret and has been hammered to the verge of exhaustion. Even so, I did at least expect a fish or two, yet none materialised. Oh dear. If I couldn’t catch here I was in trouble. I was on the road an hour later heading for another banker. That, too, was dead. As was every other swim I tried. Back in the car I headed to a little backwater that’s always reliable but today there was no flow whatsoever. I might as well have been fishing a canal. Indeed, I was able to wade out to the part of the swim where I normally cast which was useful, as I could examine the type of bottom and various contours so it wasn’t a total waste.
110 • IYCF Issue 345
On the main river I could see the bottom for a long way out and where I have no doubt I could have waded halfway across to the far bank. With the day now running away from me I headed to one last location – a faster, streamier stretch. I dropped into a spot where I’m often pestered by chub when trying to catch barbel. Surely one might show interest in my breadflake? I had barely cast out when a voice from behind said: “You must have seen me baiting up!” Turns out I had dropped into the spot where he was intending to fish later that evening. It troubles me that there’s a carpThis specim en style mindset prevailing on the the roach I wgudgeon wasn’t Trent. It’s a big, wide river where as expecting anglers used to line both banks 20 yards apart for as far as the eye could see. Nowadays folk complain if you set up within 100 yards of them on either bank. If we throw into the mix anglers who want to bait up swims, go Scraping frost from the car’s windscreen away somewhere for a few hours yet still suggested the day ahead might be expect swims to remain vacant there will challenging, but at least it justified my barely be room for more than a few anglers decision to spend some time the previous on the entire river. afternoon making up a set of light pole To be fair, the guy and I laughed it off. I rigs. I was headed for Springvale Fishing was there to target what he would regard Lakes at Bevercotes in the heart of Robin as a nuisance species and I’d only be in that Hood country with Trevor Empson, a swim for a couple of casts anyway. I would guy who I’ve fished with on and off for catch straight away or I would be heading half a century. for the next overhanging bush. After catching a huge bag of ide and I swung out a tiny cage feeder loaded chub in the summer I’d always intended with liquidised bread as near as I dared to to return in cooler conditions. Modern the trailing vegetation, a tiny wrap of flake commercial fishing can be too easy at concealing the hook. And then the taps times so today would present a much began. Tiny trembles and plucks. They more interesting challenge. clearly weren’t from chub. At the first After a warm greeting from Sue and positive movement I lifted into the culprit. Andy we headed for the First Spring Lake Not a roach as I’d been expecting but a and chose adjacent swims that put the cracking great gonk! It might be a tiddler chilly wind over our shoulders. Fishing to most but size for size this gudgeon was a top-2 plus three sections enabled me verging on a specimen. And a rare capture to feed by hand in about six feet of water, at that. I’ve not had a single one in the past but with no bites materialising in the couple of seasons. first 10 minutes I was glad I’d opted for I ended the day working my way 0.10mm line to a size 20 hook. downstream and, with dusk rapidly I was considering fishing farther out approaching, I wasn’t surprised to see an when the float slowly disappeared and increase in activity, mainly from newly a 12oz ide came struggling to the net. minted 8oz chub. One day these chublets The bite-rate gradually picked up and might grow to be eight pounds. it was tempting to step up the feed and
Week two...
try to force the swim, but each time I tried the bites dried up, so caution was the watchword today. What I found really confusing was that the silver fish were acting like it was midwinter, whereas carp were tail-walking and swirling like dolphins in a Floridian water park. Twenty yards away I could make out a big shoal of carp packed so tightly together there was a discernible blue-grey patch of bodies. They were that close to the surface that a number of tail lobes and dorsals stood proud. I’ve never seen such a sight before in winter. But I was here to catch silvers on a day that proved both fascinating and challenging. Fish were caught hard on the deck, high in the water and everywhere in between, yet each and every bite had to be worked for. Whenever I caught a run of fish and began to think I’d got it sorted the swim died abruptly. I’m guessing this was when carp muscled in because I hooked several in the quiet spells. The thing was,
Carp on light pole ge ar proved great fun I’d lift into a carp and, because the elastic was so soft, they barely noticed. I swear they carried on feeding until realising something wasn’t quite right, upon which they’d just drift off slowly with my elastic stretching out behind them. Despite the light line and tiny hook, patience enabled me to net almost every carp I hooked, including some the size and thickness of breeze blocks. Obviously
a case of balanced tackle and the cold water working in my favour. Alas, the night was now drawing in but not before that big shoal of carp drifted within range of the pole. Shipping out to 13m, still with the same light rig, I had a carp practically every drop during the last hour to wrap up a fabulous session. I can see me returning to Springvale.
I had to wo this net rk hard for of silver s
IYCF December 18, 2018 – January 15, 2019 • 111
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