Ross Harold’s 5m meat tactics
Now’s the time to go short
“You only need 15 or so fish in an hour and you’ll be looking at 70lb, so it’s an area you should never give up on”
WARMING temperatures and longer daylight hours have heralded the arrival of spring. On commercial fisheries that means the beginning of a brief spell of domination for one bait – luncheon meat.
You can’t afford to ignore it in the coming weeks and one of the most common and popular ways of fishing meat is to plunder a short pole line – typically at five or six sections of pole out.
Whether you’re on a large open-water lake or a narrow snake-type water, the underwater contours remain the same. There will be a drop-off from the shallow margins into the main depth of the lake and it’s here that carp will move later in the day looking to feast on the natural food that has gathered at the base of this slope.
Such short range also allows you to feed meat by hand so doing away with pole and kinder cups. The ‘5m line’ – as it is known – has won so many matches where the angler has gone from catching nothing to bagging over 100lb of fish in a few hours that you simply have to factor it into your plans.
LEAVE IT LATE FOR MEAT
Essex water Puddledock Farm is a typical snake lake that responds well to meat and one man who has been winning his share of matches over the past 12 months at the Upminster water is Ross Harold. The Matrix-backed 27-year-old has burst on to the open scene in the past few years, with a place in last year’s Fish O’Mania final representing his career highlight so far. Who better to show the power of meat on the short line?
“The first thing to say about the 5m meat line is that it isn’t an instant place to catch. Sometimes it may not be until the last hour that you begin to get regular bites,” Ross said.
“The stamp of carp will be bigger than those you catch on pellets across. You only need 15 or so fish in an hour and you’ll be looking at 70lb, so it’s an area you should never give up on.”
WHERE TO FISH
Ross looks for the base of the
shelf where the slope meets the flat bottom and isn’t concerned where this is in the peg. It could be just a top kit and one section out, but in other swims he may have to add two more sections. What you’re looking for is that point where the two depths meet so time spent with a plummet will be gold in the bank later on.
“I’d begin the match fishing to the far bank and not think about fishing the meat line for at least the first half of the five hours,”
the Tilbury man explained.
“It takes time for a number of carp to move this close to the bank, just as happens when margin fishing. Unlike the edge, I will feed the meat line from the start to prime it for when I do decide to have a look here. This way I know there’s the maximum chance of carp being present.”
FEEDING IS CRUCIAL
Feed is made up of plain Sainsbury’s luncheon meat pushed through a cutter to create 6mm cubes. Ross feeds a dozen pieces every few minutes so he gets through a good few tins on a good day!
“I’ve tried using hemp along with the meat as feed but the trouble at Puddledock is that the bottom is silty and the hemp sinks slightly into it. That forces the carp to start grubbing around and causes line bites. Meat on its own is enough,” he stated. “The feeding is the most important thing to get right. If you are bagging elsewhere in the swim and think that you don’t need to bother feeding the 5m line, you’d be making a mistake. The size of the fish and speed of the bites is such that when the carp arrive it can make a difference to your final weight, even if you’ve only caught on meat for an hour. The key is to keep your hand going into that bait tub all the time!”
MAKING THE SWITCH
“When it’s time to fish the 5m line I would expect to catch immediately because the fish will have had long enough to settle,” Ross explained.
“I lay the rig in, let it settle and then leave it for a few minutes before repeating the process. I may also lift the float fully out of the water and lower it back in. What I’m trying to do is get the hookbait to keep rising and falling to grab the carp’s attention. I’ll have another rig set to fish at half-depth in case I see a carp swirl or get bites well up in the water.”
Feeding can also alter when Ross begins fishing the line. If it is solid with carp and bites are coming within seconds of the float settling, he will feed less often but put more meat in each time to keep the fish happy. If it becomes a sit and wait job, then he’ll cut back on the feed.
“You will get days when you feed religiously and accurately, drop in and nothing happens – this just means that the fish haven’t arrived yet,” he added. “Go back to what you were doing, keep feeding and have a look back at 5m 15 minutes later. When the carp do turn up you’ll empty the place!”