GO WITH THE FLOW FOR YARE BREAM ON FEEDER TACTICS
Eels and changing tides are a challenge but the rewards are well worth the effort
IN AN age of high pressure match fishing there are few truly ‘wild’ venues – but Norfolk’s tidal River Yare is one of them.
Offering miles of relatively lightly-fished water packed with roach and bream, it proves a popular draw with anglers who clamour to get on the regular opens held on summer weekends.
Roach weights to 30lb are possible, but if you’re looking to win a few quid you usually have to go for bream on the feeder.
Simple enough, but the Yare is not your average river. It’s deep, wide and flows hard, and you can struggle to hold bottom even with a heavy feeder.
Throw the tidal effect of the river plus legions of small eels into the mix and catching those bream is no simple task. Yet master the Yare and a great day’s fishing is on the cards.
“I’ve fished the river for years and love the place,” said Matrix and Dynamite Baits-backed Mark Pollard, best known for his exploits on carp waters in recent years but a consummate all-rounder. “It’s quite unlike anywhere else when the tide is ripping and the water level rises. It can be quite frightening if you’re not prepared, but if you get your approach right, what follows is relatively easy.”
Bream can be caught all the way through the Great Yarmouth DAA-controlled stretch near the villages of Claxton and Langley, but are most prolific on the Langley Pump section, with pegs in the 140s regular match winners. With a winning net coming off peg 147 just days before his visit, Mark sat himself in ‘the’ swim ready to do battle with tide and fish alike!
THE CORRECT TIDES
“You could be fishing with the flow running in or out to sea all day or a mix of the two,” Mark said. “When the tide runs in, known as the flood, the level goes up and colour can feed into the river, but when it’s going out on the ebb tide the colour can go. The fishing is normally better on the ebb, so for pleasure fishing I’d try to select this time.”
DEALING WITH THE FLOW
“As the tide strengthens, so does the flow, and at maximum speed it will be racing through,” Mark explained. “As a result, the angler constantly needs to change the weight of the feeder.
“As the tide turns, 30g will hold bottom but I step this up by 10g at a time until I am satisfied that the feeder is staying put. On some days this can be 50g and on occasions it can be as much at 70g! I always carry stick-on leads with me to add to the feeder and achieve the perfect balance.
“It is important, though, to accept that the feeder won’t stay in the same spot that it lands,” he continued. “The flow and pressure on the line will move the feeder downstream slightly, but as long as it stays roughly on the same line that it landed on, I’m happy. If it’s being dragged closer to the bank by the flow, it needs more weight adding.
“My feeder is the Matrix Domed Cage, which helps keep the bait in until it hits bottom.”
Mark points the rod up in the air with a feeder arm to keep as much line off the water as possible. This will reduce the pressure put on it while waiting for a bite.
THE RIGHT ROD
“A standard 11ft feeder rod is no use for the Yare,” Mark warned.
“A long rod of 12ft 6ins will keep as much line off the water as possible and also have enough
backbone to launch a big feeder. I use the 3.8m Matrix Horizon S Class model built for heavy-duty feeder work on rivers.”
NO-TANGLE FEEDER RIG
Mark’s rig for the feeder is a paternoster, something that has fallen out of favour with river anglers in recent years – but he’s a big fan of it and never gets a tangle with his rig.
“Matrix Submerge braid mainline exaggerates the bites,” explained Mark. “I use it in conjunction with a 10lb shockleader, and the paternoster is tied into this leader.
“I create a 4ins loop with a snap link swivel inside it and then create a twisted section before tying it off. This becomes the stiff boom of the paternoster to which the feeder is attached.
“The tag end of the line then feeds off and the 24ins hooklink is attached to this. Make sure the tag is longer than the boom to prevent tangles.”
HOOKBAITS
What to put on the hook can also be at the mercy of those bootlace eels. Mark’s top baits for the bream are a worm or two fluorescent pink maggots, with double caster a good change.
If the eels are robbing the bait on every cast, he will slip on a grain of corn. The wait for a bite can be longer but the chances of an eel are almost totally eliminated. His top hook for the Yare is a size 14 Matrix SW Feeder to a hooklink of 0.14mm Power Micron.
SPOTTING A BITE
“When the tide races, the rod can bend alarmingly but I’m not looking to strike at taps on the tip,” he explained.
“Get the balance of the feeder correct and what will happen is that a fish picks up the bait and moves the feeder. This is transferred to the tip as a couple of knocks and then a massive drop-back as the line goes slack.
“The weight of the feeder can help set the hook but you’ll need to strike positively to ensure the hook goes home properly. Not too hard, though, as braid can result in a busted hooklink.”
SCALING DOWN CAN HELP
Even though Yare fish are wild and not overly tackle-shy, scaling down hooks and lines can produce more or better bites as the presentation of the hookbait is altered.
“Dropping to a size 16 SW Feeder hook and a 0.12mm hooklink can trigger a big change in the peg from only an occasional bite to one every cast,” he said. “The only thing to remember is that a smaller hook means you have to take your time playing the fish against the force of the tide.”