The Coach Ian Didcote’s bread tactics
THIS WEEK: Use bread properly and catch more roach
COOLING temperatures almost always trigger a feeding reaction from shoals of roach.
Venues where they suddenly went missing now start to show their true colours, and one bait really comes into its own.
As soon as the water clears, bread is the thing, and Garbolinobacked Ian Didcote never leaves home without his loaf.
“I’ve lost count of the number of big roach bags I have taken on bread at this time of year,” he says.
“Nick a maggot or a pinkie on the hook and you’ll probably struggle, but switch to bread and you’ll be bagging up in no time.”
This week Ian gives an in-depth masterclass on how to catch a fish every chuck on bread...
CAREFUL FEEDING
“The main reason that bread is so effective in clear water is that it stands out so well.
“A piece of breadpunch will be seen by roach already in the swim, but it is the feed that will draw the shoals in from other areas of the river, lake or canal.
“I like to fish two lines, and will feed them both with a small ball of feed at the beginning of the session. This is a mixture of white crumb and liquidised bread that has been prepared at home.
“I’ll pour a bag of white crumb groundbait into the blender, turn it on and start slowly adding water to thicken it up. Once it reaches a nice consistency without any lumps I’ll put it in the freezer.
“The night before the session it goes into my holdall, and on the day I mix it together with the same amount of liquidised bread to create a fairly heavy feed that will ensure there is always something in the peg for the fish to feed on.
“Make sure that the balls of feed aren’t squeezed together too tightly – they need to start breaking up on the way down to the bottom to create an attractive cloud.”
SWITCH YOUR SLICE
“If bread is left on your side tray for more than 10 minutes it will soon dry up, and that’s when it’s time to reach for another slice.
“Bread that has dried up will be of no use – it will be difficult to hook and even if you do manage it, it will fall off instantly when it gets wet.
“With that in mind, it is important to keep grabbing a new slice out of the packet as required. Fresh bread stays on the hook a lot better.
“There are lots of different types of bread on the supermarket shelves, but Warburtons Medium Toastie is by far the best, in my opinion.”
DELICATE RIGS
“Heavy mainlines and thick wire hooks have no place in this type of fishing and if you get your rigs wrong you could quite easily record the dreaded blank.
“The crystal-clear water makes over-gunned rigs stand out, so it is important to keep things light.
“Roach almost always congregate in open water, so even the biggest fish can be banked on a very light rig. I always use 0.10mm mainline to an 0.08mm hooklength and a size 20 hook.
“A very thin elastic finishes off the set-up, anything from a No2 solid when the average stamp is small, stepping up to a No4 if you are catching quality redfins every drop in.
“The last part of the equation is the float, and I rely on a slimline Garbolino DS22 to help detect the shyest of bites.”
IAN DIDCOTE REVEALS THE SIMPLE STEPS TO BIGGER CATCHES