GET INTO THE FRAME WITH MY SQUATT AND GROUNDBAIT COMBO
It’s all action with a roach every put-in!
OU may regularly read in Angling Times about new methods or wonder baits, but often the old ways are the best.
YWhere roach in a canal match situation are concerned, that’s most definitely true.
Forget about sitting it out for a few tench or big perch on worms, or even dedicating hours fishing casters for quality fish – if you want to be in with a shout at the final whistle, nothing can beat the all-action method of squatt and groundbait fishing.
It’s a busy approach, with constant feeding and unshipping of the pole, and while the thought of 7lb or so of little fish may not appeal to the pleasure angler, in a match that’s often the sort of weight to get you in the money.
Speaking of squatt fishing, no-one can hold a light to the record of Mark Pollard. The Matrix/Dynamite Baits man may spend much of his time fishing commercial carp waters these days, but back in the 1980s and 1990s he won more matches than he cares to remember on his local Grand Union Canal by blasting in squatts.
Canals are not the easiest of places to fish, with their boats and busy towpaths, but if you can clear that from your mind you’ll find thousands of fish to be caught and bite-a-chuck action if you get the basics right.
“Looking back, they were glory days,” Mark said. “I’d be feeding every 30 seconds and catching a roach a chuck – 10lb is a lot of fish when you think about it, and this way of fishing is more appealing to me than sitting it out with a lobworm tail for perhaps only two or three bites.
“The good news is that little has changed since the 1990s in terms of the basic approach. It doesn’t need loads of bait or a mega-long pole.”
Tackling the Chelmscote Bridge section of the Grand Union near Milton Keynes for the Angling Times cameras, Mark planned to go for the roach while nursing a separate line with an eye to nicking a bonus fish or two – a classic two-pronged approach.
WHERE TO FISH
“First job is to decide where to fish, and straight away I rule out the main channel, as there will be too much disturbance from passing boats,” Mark said.
“For roach I look to fish on top of both shelves, near and far. On my peg today that’s around 4m and 11m out, both comfortable ranges for feeding and shipping out. Depth is unimportant – it’s more about finding the point where the peg just begins to deepen into the channel.”
THE SESSION
“Feeding done, I lay the rig in to one side to let the bait fall slowly. Once the float has settled and been still for 30 seconds or so, I lift it out and repeat the process,” Mark explained.
“I never leave the rig out long as this defeats the object of loosefeeding so regularly. That’s also why I fish at dead depth, rather than going over by a few inches. I’m expecting my bites to come on the drop or just as the float settles, and they do – I’m into my first roach within a couple of minutes.
“My next job is to work out how well the fish are feeding,” he continued. “On a good day I can carry on feeding regularly but if there aren’t so many fish about I may consider easing back on the frequency of the feed.
“Thankfully, today is a good day, with quick bites. Even boats aren’t any trouble as I pop in another ball of groundbait when they pass and the fish quickly return over the top of it.”
After an hour and a few pounds of roach in the net, another bite sees more elastic pulled out and Mark nets a skimmer of around 1lb. This is quite common when squatt fishing, and if he were to catch one or two more he’d be thinking about cutting back on the loosefeed and topping up
“For this squatt approach you don’t need loads of bait or a mega-long pole”
more regularly with small balls of groundbait.
“However, because I’ve caught one so early in the day I think more may be about on my dedicated big-fish line that I’ve fed further across. It’s time to have a look!” Mark said.