The Coach Warren Martin on how to catch in the margins all session
THIS WEEK: How to catch in the margins all day long
SOARING temperatures pose a tricky challenge when it comes to catching all day, but one area of your swim is guaranteed to provide frantic action.
Fish on your favourite commercial will seek out the shallowest water – which is almost always down the edge.
Former Fish O’Mania champion Warren Martin is considered to be a margin master, and has plundered numerous big weights in recent weeks by placing his rig inches from the nearside foliage.
“The margins are now at their most prolific and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t bag up at your local commercial this week,” explained Warren.
“If you put a plan together and pull it off successfully, there’s no reason why the float won’t go under every time the rig goes in.”
WINNING BAITS
“A lot of anglers swear by dead maggot hookbaits over a bed of groundbait, and when I am fishing for carp in water less than 3ft deep I rely on this approach.
“A big bed of groundbait encourages the fish to grub around for a long time without filling them up, and a bunch of dead maggots stands out like a sore thumb and will be sucked up in no time.
“My favourite mix for this type of fishing is a 50/50 blend of Van Den Eynde Krill and Red Crumb Particles.
“If F1s come into the equation or I’m fishing in more than 3ft of water I’ll go down a different route of feeding pellet and corn. These baits are heavier and will sink to the bottom and hold fish on the deck. I always find that F1s respond better to particles falling through the water column regularly as opposed to a big, static bed of feed.”
FEEDING TIMES
“When you sit down at your peg there is a chance you’ll see the reeds moving, and the temptation to feed will be immense.
“But it’s better to hold off until you are actually ready to go down the edge. If I’m feeding pellets and corn I will drop a big pot of feed in around 20 minutes before I intend to attack it. These baits take a little while to draw the shoals in.
“If I am going down the groundbait route I’ll feed and fish over the top of it right away. The cloud created has an instant impact and you can expect bites immediately.”
IDEAL DEPTH
“Given the choice, I will look to find anywhere between 14ins and 2ft of water in the edge. This depth is enough to hold the fish and allow them to feed confidently while not subjecting you to lots of line bites.
“If the swim is any deeper you will have a lot of line going through the water and the chances of the fish brushing up against it and giving false indications on the float increase dramatically.
“Where allowed, I will trim back marginal vegetation so that I can get my rig tight to the bank and in the shallowest possible water.”
NO-NONSENSE TACKLE
“When carp are the target you really can’t take any chance when it comes to terminal tackle. A big mirror or common will surge out of the margins at pace once hooked and light rigs will be smashed within seconds!
“My winning rig for carp is made up of 0.20mm Matrix Power Micron mainline to an 0.18mm hooklength of the same material and a size 14 or 16 Carp Bagger hook.
“Elastic is a solid No14, while my float is a strong yet sensitive Matrix Series 1 in 0. 2g or 0.3g.”