Improve Your Coarse Fishing Magazine - Issue 374 (PREVIEW)

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ISSUE 374 March 9 – April 6, 2021 £4.20

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HOW TO TRIGGER A RESPONSE WITH WAFTERS

BAG YOURSELF A CHUNKY CANAL PERCH

This month...

Issue 374 March 9 – April 6, 2021

Fishery Focus 8

Warwick Wold Waters

14

Aire & Calder Canal

14

Surrey

East & West Yorkshire

Tactics 24 30 34 39

Mark Griffiths

Get a wiggle on with wafters

Kris Jones

Bank on maggots

Harry Pardoe

Prepare a bream campaign

Zenia Drury-Gregorek

How to get kids to swap screen time for bank time

34

24

44

Quick fix

46

10 top bream tips...

52 56 58 4 IYCF | Issue 374

The anatomy of groundbait ... from 10 top anglers

Cameron Hughes

Stick to one line for roach

Rig school

Bream paternoster feeder

Chris Jenks

Mix up your feeding

80

Carp tactics 98

Jack Wheeler

102

Carp Q&A

74

A solid approach to bagging more carp Sticky’s experts solve your problems 98

Tackle 74

Live test:

78

New gear

80

Buyers’ guide...

Preston Ignition Feeder rod

104

Rig of the month

106

What is PVA?

The latest tackle releases

Feeder reels less than £90

84

Strike a balance with your spring attack

66 Fish Better with Des Shipp

Prepare for spring bagging

70

Q&A

Your questions answered

Get IYCF for just £3.70

IYCF chats to...

Sarah Collins

Your letters

90

Daiwa Mission

108

Adam Rumble

Subscribe...

88

96

62

Revolutionary product explained

Your IYCF 20

39

Simple bottom bait rig

Have your say

Your catch shots

Puzzle break

Win a Korum Roving Pouch

Bob Roberts’ diary

Find out what our top all-rounder has been up to

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30 www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 5

Warwick Wold Waters, Surrey

Bagging in the fast lane Pete Upperton visits a prolific and tranquil commercial fishery just a stone’s throw from one of the UK’s busiest motorways Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs

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HEN a fishery is located in the middle of the British countryside, it is easy to see how a stunning and peaceful backdrop is created.

The abundance of trees and greenery are easy on the eye, the silence that many anglers crave is only broken by the plop of a feeder and the diverse mix of wildlife adds an extra element of excitement as you wait for the next bite.

When a venue is situated next to one of the busiest motorways in the land, however, you could be forgiven for thinking that all those plus points would disappear.

But the team at Warwick Wold Waters have somehow managed the impossible. They have created an element of tranquillity within metres of the M25.

Located within a stone’s throw of junction seven where it meets the M23 in Surrey, the five lakes have become a popular haunt since they opened more than a decade ago.

Fabulous fishing and comfortable surroundings can be achieved anywhere with the right owners in charge, but

creating an aesthetically pleasing backdrop in such an urban zone is a different challenge altogether.

But when Philip Brown made his dream of owning a fishery come true in 2006, he was determined to create the rural idyll that is so important to many.

Take a glance at the fishery now and it’s fair to say he certainly achieved that. There are dozens of mature trees towering above the lakes and other shrubbery adds a welcome dash of colour.

Guru’s Pete Upperton is among the growing crowds that have given the complex a thumbs up on all fronts.

“While the fishing itself is important, you also want to be sat in a nice environment and to feel cut off from the chores of everyday life,” said Pete.

“Being sat next to the M25 doesn’t sound like the sort of place where you’d be able to zone out but, somehow, Warwick Wold still enables you to slip into your own little world.”

FISHERY FOCUS An in-depth guide to the best stillwaters, rivers, and canals that you can fish for the price of a day ticket

Covid-19 Fishing is permitted during the third national lockdown in England as a form of exercise so long as participants adhere to the rules on staying local, gathering limits, social distancing and limiting the time spent outdoors.

At the time of going to press, the expectation was that travel restrictions would be relaxed on March 29th, enabling anglers to visit venues outside of their local area from then on. Please check the venue you intend to fish is open before travelling.

For the latest updates on the rules for angling during the COVID-19 pandemic visit: www.anglingtrust.net/covid-19

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Get a wiggle on with wafters A stationary hookbait could be missed by a nearby carp, but Mark Griffiths reveals the perfect active offering to score on the bomb Words Tony Grigorjevs Photography Matt Godfrey

TACTICS: BOMB SPECIES: CARP DIFFICULTY:

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TACTICS

M

ANIPULATING the hookbait is guaranteed to get a response when the going gets tough.

When carp won’t play ball, we simply assume that they are sat in other swims. But more often than not they are nearby, waiting for the right moment to pounce on their meal.

A momentary flicker of the item of food they’ve gazed at for an age can provide the trigger to make them move.

If you are fishing a float there are ample chances to give the rig that jolt, lifting and dropping frequently on the pole or twitching it when chancing your arm on the waggler.

But opportunities to work the hookbait are much more limited when feeder or bomb fishing.

Sure, you can drag the rig along the bottom once on each cast, but do it more than that and you’ll

wreck the presentation and drag your hookbait away from the target zone.

As always, there is an answer to this conundrum and Mark Griffiths is the man who can deliver the goods on this topic.

The Guru-backed star spends plenty of time on big waters where a negative attack is still required at this time of year. Bites may be few and far between but when the tip does go round, he can feel confident that it’ll be a decent fish attached to the other end.

“I think it is so important that your hookbait remains active if you want to tempt nearby fish.

Wafters are definitely the way to achieve this when fishing the bomb,” said Mark.

“As their names suggests, they are constantly ‘wafting’ and that definitely irritates fish into snapping at them in early spring.”

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Catch everything!

Bank on maggots

Kris Jones reveals the cool water tactic that he relies on at this time of year...

Words Kris Jones Photography Tom Scholey

I

LOVE fishing mixed venues throughout the winter months because you can often get plenty of bites all day and that makes braving the cold conditions worthwhile.

Today we have come to the fantastic Weston Pools near Oswestry to fish one of my favourite lakes, Canal Pool. This water has a real mix of species which makes it the perfect place to demonstrate a very simple approach that has accounted for some awesome cool weather days for me in recent times.

Fishing maggots is simple but incredibly effective

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Why maggots?

One of the keys to this approach, and something that might come as a surprise to readers, is that I’ve only brought one bait today – a couple of pints of red maggots.

My thinking behind this is that the Canal Pool at Weston, and in so many commercial venues across the country, there is a massive head of quality silvers. Fish such as ide and skimmers make up a big proportion of your weight in a match during winter, especially because you aren’t always going to draw a peg with a mass of F1s in front of you so it’s important to adopt an approach that catches everything.

In the past, I’ve made the mistake of being too selective in my method and would often look to fish with pellets. I’m sure I would have caught a few fish on pellets today but what I tend to find with my maggot approach is you have much more consistent results and you keep putting something in the net for the duration of the match.

Often with pellets you will catch a few early but it tends to tail off, whereas with maggots you can have a slower start but your peg gets stronger through the day.

This leads to a better end result and a more enjoyable day fishing.

I put this down to the fact that everything will eat maggots so it’s very hard to get a build up of bait on the bottom, which I believe the fish will often back away from at this time of year. By only taking maggots makes for a really simple but massively effective way to target mixed species through the colder months.

TACTICS: POLE SPECIES: MIXED DIFFICULTY:

TACTICS

G I R OL

BREAM PATERNOSTER FEEDER

SC H

O

When casting long to a distant spot you’ll struggle to better this set-up which has been catching slabs for decades

A

CCURACY and distance are often key requirements when feeder fishing for bream. Certain rigs are better able to deliver this than others. Arguably the best long-range feeder rig, however, is the paternoster feeder. Having the feeder on the end of the line helps transmit more power

during the cast, giving greater distance, while the central weight of the feeder also improves accuracy. By positioning the hooklength above the feeder, tangles are reduced and most bites will be indicated on the quivertip before the fish feels the weight of the feeder.

By moving the rig stops, the length of the

feeder tail can be adjusted, but a good starting point is to have this set to around 15cm.

If bream are your target this spring, then this is a rig that is right up there with the very best, and is ideal if there is a crosswind or you are fishing at long range and need to be very accurate with your feed.

HOOKBAIT

Baits such as double maggot, worm and sweetcorn are ideal when groundbait feeder fishing for bream

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HOOKLINK

The 0.14mm diameter hooklink needs to be around 1m in length. This enables the hookbait to sit close to the loosefeed exiting the feeder

YOU WILL NEED

✔ 30g-50g Browning Xenos J-25 Feeder ✔ 8lb mainline ✔ Size 12 Browning Sphere Beast eyed hook ✔ Cenex 0.14mm Hybrid Power Mono hooklength ✔ Instant Snap Link ✔ Medium snap swivel

HOW TO TIE A PATERNOSTER FEEDER RIG

Thread an Instant Snap Link on Tie a snap swivel to the end Attach the feeder to the end to the mainline. This has t wo rig 2 of the mainline using a four 3 of the mainline using the 1 stops, quick change swivel and sleeve turn grinner knot snap swivel

Cut off around one metre Next, tie on the size 12 hook Thread the tail rubber from of Hybrid Mono for the using a 12-turn spade-end the Instant Snap Link on to 4 5 6 hooklength knot the hooklength

Tie a 12cm t wizzled boom in Attach the hooklength loop Pull the tail rubber over the the end of the hooklength, to the quick change swivel quick change swivel to hold 7 8 9 leaving a small loop at the end bet ween the rig stops the hooklength in place

FEEDER

Having the weight at the front of the feeder improves its aerodynamics and enables it to be cast accurately at range

BOOM

A 12cm section of twizzled line pushes the hooklength away from the line and prevents tangles

RIG STOPS

Moving these up or down the line determines how close the hookbait sits to the loosefeed from the feeder

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Get more bites

Mix up your feeding Tiny changes can have a huge impact on your catch rate. Chris Jenks shows how switching baits can trigger a rapid response Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs

1. LOOSE MICROS

TACTICS: POLE SPECIES: CARP/F1s DIFFICULTY:

58 IYCF | Issue 374

2. MICRO BALLS

LET 3. PEL MIX

TACTICS

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E’VE all been there... happily bagging a fish every chuck when, suddenly, the action stops.

There are numerous things that you may change when a dry period arises – adjusting rigs, where you cast to and feeding.

If you’ve decided to make alterations to the latter, it probably relates to the quantity that you’re introducing.

You may decide that the shoal had diminished and that you need to reduce how much bait you put in to force the remaining fish to take your hookbait. You may go in the other direction, convinced the peg is now bare and top up is needed to draw fish in from elsewhere.

More often than not, though, the quantity of bait in the peg isn’t the issue.

4. CORN

BAIT 5. GROUND NUGGETS

Commercial carp and F1s have been caught countless times and soon wise up to what is going on. They see a few of their shoalmates fall for the trap and refuse to play ball. Simply adjusting how you introduce your bait may seem like a minor change, but Chris Jenks is convinced it can have a major impact. The commercial fishery expert told IYCF: “Pellets, corn and groundbait are regularly fed and the tiniest of changes to how you use them is often enough to fool fish. A shoal simply wises up to seeing bait going into the water in the same way and, as the session progresses, they become wary and much tougher to catch. The answer is to feed these baits in a different way every time the bites slow up to fool the fish into thinking something ‘safe’ has come into the swim.

TACTICS: FEEDER SPECIES: CARP DIFFICULTY:

Strike a balance with your spring attack Adam Rumble reveals the perfect tactic for bagging on commercials as winter departs and warmer months arrive Words & Photography Tony Grigorjevs

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TACTICS

A

S FROSTS become less frequent and the temperatures begin to creep up, pretty much every angler is celebrating the arrival of spring.

The fish start to break out of their tightly packed shoals and with that their desire to start feeding returns.

That means the negative approach of fishing the bomb with a single hookbait and not feeding a morsel can now be abandoned. But before you get carried away, it’s important to take your next steps with caution.

If you were to go from one extreme to the other and start lashing in the bait without moderation, you’re likely to suffer the consequences. After all, the fish are only just coming out of their winter torpor and still haven’t regained their full appetite.

Finding the right balance is key. Thankfully, Adam Rumble reckons he has the perfect rig and bait combination to hit the sweet spot this month.

The Preston Innovations and Sonubaits man relies on a simple, yet deadly, cage feeder

with bread on the hook. His results in previous years show that it is an approach worthy of some serious attention.

“There’s no doubt that now is the time to start fishing more positively, but you have to think very carefully about how you do that when most waters are still quite cold,” advised Adam.

“My approach gives the fish that little bit of extra attraction that is now needed, yet the odds of them taking the hookbait are still stacked in my favour.”

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Fish better with...

DES SHIPP

Brush up on key angling skills with England International Des, to put more fish on the bank

THIS MONTH: GET READY FOR SPRING BAGGING

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USE THICKER TIPS

E’VE been battered by heavy rain, freezing temperatures and even regular blankets of snow, but all that inclement weather is finally behind us.

As the full effects of spring start to kick in, fish stocks start to behave in a different way, ready to feed up after months of lying dormant.

That gives you the green light to change the way you fish, abandoning the ultracautious and negative approach that you’ve needed throughout winter and replacing it with a much more positive attack that will put more fish in the net.

If you want to reap the rewards this month, here are the alterations you need to make to your kit right now.

Fish stocks move around cautiously in winter and the chances of them barging into your peg and brushing against the rig to give a false dip on the float are pretty slim. That is why you can get away with thin-tipped floats when it is cold. But as the fish start to move around more, they are more likely to clatter into the rig and drag the float under in the process. If you strike at such indications, a foul-hooked fish is inevitable. Use a float with a slightly thicker tip that is more stable, and it will only go under when you get a proper bite.

ESSENTIAL

TACKLES TWEAK

66 IYCF | Issue 374

1

2

3 SWITCH FEEDERS Once the feeder hits the deck, it won’t take long for fish to show an interest in its contents. It is therefore important that you use a version that enables the loosefeed to break off quickly so that the fish have easy access to it. In winter, a Banjo works because it does the opposite – it holds in the loosefeed for longer as you may have to wait longer for the shoal to arrive. But now that spring is here, a Method is the tool for the job. The micro pellets and groundbait fall off soon after it hits the deck and that makes the pile of food much more visible.

STEP UP YOUR LINES Fishing light tackle is vital in winter if you want to get bites. But as the temperatures creep up, you can get away with stepping it up a notch. If I was fishing for F1s, I’d look to use 0.12mm hooklengths, with 0.14mm suitable for carp on the pole. Both diameters are strong enough to deal with the additional rigours you can expect to see put on your kit as the fish gain more energy and start to fight harder.

4

5

RELY ON HEAVIER ELASTICS There’s always a balance to be struck when deciding what elastic to use, but now is definitely the time to step up. It needs to be soft enough to prevent you bumping the fish a split second after striking, yet have enough grunt to prevent the battle becoming a prolonged and drawn out affair. A Preston Innovations 11 Hollo is my first choice for F1s, with a grade 13 a fraction thicker to deal with powerful carp.

SEARCH THE DEPTHS Much of your winter sport will have been based around fishing on the deck but now is the time to change. Carp, F1s, roach and ide will be starting to spend more time off the bottom. Foul-hooking or getting liners while on the deck is the biggest indicator of that happening. Have two or three rigs ready to fish the same area but set them to different depths so you can explore the water column should you stop catching.

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: T S E B E H T OF a fully-loaded feeder t ou g in st ca to es m co it n Whe

ole host companies releasing a wh kle tac n see s ha rs yea t en of feeder fishing in rec ues to whacking a cage HE surge in the popularity r for carp in commercial ven de fee d tho Me a g kin uc ch m stly do, you’ll need a of kit to cover everything fro le of feeder fishing you mo sty ver ate Wh s. ter wa al further but your kit on natur feeder at range for bream you’ll not only have to cast se cau be is is Th g. hin fis ked 11 top quality ed for waggler ders. This month, we’ve pic fee avy larger reel than that requir he in g lin ree rly ula vide you with ssure when reg investment and should pro nd sou a will be put under extra pre be l wil t bu nk ba 0, won’t break the models that, at less than £9 years of hassle free use...

T

Browning Black Magic Max Distance 760 RRP: £59.95

l is designed with distance As its name suggests, this ree d casting technique it will work in mind, and with a goo 100 yards. This featurehelp to propel a feeder beyond anyone who regularly for k loo a th packed reel is well wor erful species such as carp, fishes larger waters for pow m to long-range casts are diu tench and bream where me required. :1 Spare spool: No rat Bearings: 7 Gear io: 4.9 www.browning-fishing.com

MAP Dual 5500 RRP: £59.99

to peel off The large spool enables line casting rall ove s aid ich wh e, eas h wit nty of ple has also l distance. The ree ckly qui can you so er pow g nkin cra due a sub or der fee retrieve an empty , it is size e larg it’s pite Des . hooked fish dle han ble dou still fairly light and the to and e anc bal to ier makes it eas to the line make accurate adjustments . sion ten tip ver and qui 5:1 io: rat r Bearings: 6+1 Gea No ol: spo re Spa www.mapfishing.co.uk

373 80 IYCF | Issue 374

S L E E R R E D E E SUB-£90 F s our pick... e’ er H b. jo e th r fo ed gn si de ecifically you’re going to need a reel sp Middy GFD 4000 RRP: £64.99

ery designed with commercial fish Middy’s GFD reels have been ed to suit tly fec per is del mo ize carp in mind. This 4000-s the far nd features and margins on casting feeders towards isla ed chin ma y allo two h wit e com bank. Not only do the reels er sup as h suc es y include featur SmoothCast spools, but the t igh twe ligh a and clip line y ndl sensitive front drag, mono-frie polymer body.

1 Spare spool: Yes Bearings: 6+1 Gear ratio: 5.2: www.middytackle.com

DID YOU KNOW? FEEDER FISHING IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN INVENTED IN THE UK IN THE 1940s

Maver MV-R 4000 RRP: £69.99

Shimano Catana FD 4000 RRP: £44.99

g One of Shimano’s best-sellin at wh at k loo you en wh reels, and easy you get for less than £45 it’s ed to see why! It has been upgrad with del mo FC s viou pre the e sinc a modern stealth black finish, lightweight XT-7 body and updated parts inside. Key II features include Varispeed lay, technology, which aids line and an angled spool lip, which enables the line to leave the ger spool with less friction for lon casts.

1 Bearings: 2+1 Gear ratio: 5.2: Spare spool: Yes www.shimano-eu.com

ps A graphite body and rotor kee so g 305 just to ght the reel’s wei ed anc bal tly fec per l fee l wil it when attached to a rod. The Intelligent Oscillating System (IOS) provides a great line lay, ting which improves overall cas es performance. Ideal for all typ ere wh any on k of feeder wor from small commercials to larger natural waters.

Bearings: 5+1 Gear ratio: NA Spare spool: No www.mavermatch.co.uk

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TIPS, TACTICS & RIGS TO CATCH MORE

98 IYCF | Issue 374

CARP

A SOLID APPROACH TO BAGGING MORE CARP Jack Wheeler details how he uses attractionpacked solid PVA bags to trigger a quick response Words & Photography Jack Wheeler

S

OLID PVA bags can be the perfect method at this time of year, yet they are often overlooked by many anglers.

They are capable of delivering a huge amount of attraction with very little actual food content, making them ideal when water temperatures are still low and the metabolism of carp is yet to get back up to full speed.

As fish still won’t be eating much, it’s extremely important to make sure the bait you are using is leaking plenty of attraction. And a solid bag filled with tiny food items and liquid attractors contains the required food signals to spark a feeding reaction from your target.

During the colder months, I typically use solid bags as a solitary method. I rarely Spomb any extra bait over the top unless the carp are feeding hard and I’ve already had a few bites from the one spot. If it is clear that the carp are in the area feeding, I would introduce around three or four Spombs of bait. This is just the right amount to keep the fish in the area, but not enough to fill them up, hopefully resulting in more bites during the feeding spell.

My bait mix is pretty simple comprising boilie crumb, sweetcorn, 10mm CC Moore Live System boilies and plenty of Amino Blend 365 liquid for extra attraction. Sweetcorn is a great bait to add to your mix because it is visible and packed full of attraction for the carp to home in on.

Also, by using smaller food items in your mix, it is not overly filling for the carp, which can keep them in the area feeding for longer and giving you a better chance of nicking a bite.

Finding the right spots

Solid bags enable you to explore the water in front a lot more easily than other methods because your hookbait will always be presented correctly on the majority of lakebeds, with a tiny pile of bait leaking attraction.

Also, you can pre-tie your bags at home using a leader material and attach them to your mainline by using a double overhand loop knot. I typically tie up around 10 bags the night before fishing a day session.

At this time of year, carp will still be shoaled together in tight groups and can often sit up in a small area of the lake. Casting regularly can really help increase your chances of getting a bite. By fishing with solid bags and not Spombing additional bait, you are not committing to one area of the lake and can

Keep an eye on the water so you can react to signs of carp showing

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ELCOME to another lockdown lookback. Had we had the freedom to travel and fish this past few weeks I doubt there would have been much to entertain you in my diary because the conditions have been awful, not that you need me to remind you.

The local canals have been frozen over, as have the stillwaters. Chuck in bank high floods and a fair dollop of snow and the measly pickings would have been pretty grim. Oh well, let’s hope it’s all uphill from here and we can get back out on the bank again.

Meanwhile, each of these tales relates to the same week I would have been writing about had we been able to fish with no restrictions.

Look back... 2014

I’ll kick off with a fond memory from 2014 and a small pond, not far up the road, that took a bit of tracking down.

Friends of mine had fished there but refused to spill the beans on its whereabouts. Any requests on my part were met with a flat refusal. Mates, eh?

Or are they? You tell me.

Anyway, a little bird spilled a few crumbs and I put two and two together to discover what was possibly the place and planned a visit. First look at it suggested to me: ‘No, someone is pulling my leg.’ It was far too tiny.

And why wasn’t anyone else fishing for these mythical monsters?

To be honest, I was tempted to turn around and go back home. Surely not. I spent half an hour studying the water through the car windscreen. I could walk around the whole circumference in a few minutes. At best there were maybe four swims. In the end I came to the conclusion that I would fish at the deeper end, a backdrop of tall conifers behind me and the afternoon

108 IYCF | Issue 374

sun in my face. It wasn’t so much I felt a big perch would hole up in this swim but a feeding perch would invariably pass through it at some point, so small was the water. I fed a few broken prawns not far past the rod end and set up a waggler tipped off with a size 10 Gamakatsu pellet hook. We are so well blessed with strong, lightweight hook patterns these days.

I didn’t have to wait long before the float tip showed an indication. Something had found my prawn. More dips and dithers followed before the red tip sank beneath the surface and my firm strike saw a 6oz roach come flying through the surface. Not what I was hoping for but any bite on a freezing cold day is a bonus.

Several more roach kept me focussed on the float but, to be honest, I was already losing heart. And then I struck into something solid. Could this be it? No. It was a common carp that proceeded to rip up my swim. Oh well, maybe time to let the swim settle down for a while and give things a rest.

Impatience got the better of me because the afternoons are short and the session was getting away from me. Roach were finding my prawns irresistible but, as the

the biggest This was surely niest pond perch in the ti

sun began to wane, the float dipped and I lifted into a sizable fish, certainly not a roach. I feared it might be a carp or an early tench but whatever this was it was in no mood to race around. Instead it plodded around but very forcefully. And then a spiky dorsal broke the surface and I was attached to a rather special perch.

Photos taken, I reckoned I had maybe half an hour left but that was all I needed to catch a second perch, almost a twin of the first, to round off a memorable first trip to a new venue. Trouble is, I couldn’t help thinking that in one go I had caught the two biggest perch in the pond.

is this size es b u h c g n Catchi e best experienc among th

Look back... 2012 I have only fished the River Lea in Hertfordshire twice in my lifetime but on each occasion I have been fortunate to catch multiple 6lb chub. It’s a remarkable fishery that would probably spoil me if I fished there too often. I do think you can get too much of a good thing, become greedy and end up legering boilies looking for that one exceptional fish to pin a number on rather than just enjoying it for what it is, an exceptional chub fishery.

This was 2012 and my view hasn’t

changed one iota. If I had to choose what is arguably the finest fishing experience, right up there in the top two would be catching chub on waggler and maggots.

At face value it’s a simple skill. Catapult a pouch of maggots, cast beyond the feed and then draw the float back into the killing zone, watch it go under and strike.

Easy peasy, eh? If only!

It’s a bit like spinning plates on sticks or rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time. It sounds simple enough but is actually quite difficult. You have to get into a smooth routine, master

the timing and don’t overthink it. On this occasion I had it off to perfection, catching chub after chub.

Halfway through the session I struck into something that I struggled to control.

Unless foul-hooked, this was surely no chub. Whatever it was led me a merry dance. Barbel? Or perhaps a carp? No, it was a great big brown trout in immaculate condition, the biggest I’ve ever caught.

If all winter fishing was as good as this you would struggle to find a peg on the riverbanks. No, truth is these are very special red letter days.

My biggest ever brow trout, from the Lea n

A great vantag bonus chub aftee point looking for a r it had gone q uiet www.greatmagazines.co.uk | IYCF 109