Alan Henry’s
Fish at speed when the bream sulk
winning river tips
ROACH and dace on the feeder are becoming a prime target on the tidal Trent on days when bream aren’t feeding.
Nets of 15lb-20lb of these smaller fish can be put together by regular casting and hitting quick bites, and this tactic will work for bream too if any arrive.
“There are lots of bream and barbel in the tidal but there will be tides when you won’t catch them – this is when you need to go for roach and dace instead,” said Shimano/Dynamite Baits man Alan Henry, who runs most of the big events on the tidal river through the summer.
“It’s possible to catch 20lb of them and that can be enough to frame and sometimes win.”
To show this small-fish feeder approach, Alan visited the Lincoln DAA-controlled Laughterton section, which was in good form early in the season.
Today, gin-clear water didn’t bode well but unlike on the sections further upstream, water clarity isn’t the be all and end all. The fish will still feed!
THE RIGHT TIDE
“You need the correct tide to catch well, and this revolves around how much water comes into the river rather than which way it flows,” Alan said.
“You need water in the river and a good depth to cast into. You’re looking at 8ft minimum, so a big tide is handy. I always think a 9m tide at Hull on the tide table is bang on.
“You also need to be able to pick up the main flow, which is why the float isn’t a goer on many swims. The feeder lets you chuck to where the flow – and the fish – are.
“For that reason you don’t have to cast right across. On many pegs, 25m will be ample. If I had a choice, I would want the tide running out all day, as this makes life easier, but a split or flood tide can be just as good provided the depth is there.”
BRAID IS BEST
“The tidal river pulls hard and is full of rocks in the margins. There’s no place for light gear and you don’t need it, as the fish will take a single maggot on a big hook,” he explained. “I gear up with a 13ft Shimano Speedcast rod and use braid rather than mono mainline as I think it shows up bites from small fish, bites better, makes for accurate casting and helps the feeder hold bottom better.
“My braid is 0.08mm Guru Pulse-8 to around 20ft of 8lb Drag Line shockleader, with the
feeder fished running on 8ins of line between two float stops above 6ins of twisted line to create a boom.”
NO-NONSENSE END TACKLE
“I start on hooklinks of 0.17mm N-Gauge to a size 12 Guru LWGF hook, as there are always ‘mug’ fish to be caught before the roach and dace wise up. You may also get bream early if any are about,” Alan revealed.
“When bites fade away I change to 0.13mm N-Gauge and a size 14 or 16 hook. I’ll also alter the length of the link from 3ft to 6ft as this puts the hookbait further down the peg where the fish may have backed off to.”
GROUNDBAIT AND FEED
“There’s nothing really complex about the groundbait mix. I use a third Dynamite Baits Skimmer Mix, a third Frenzied Hemp Black and a third brown crumb and mix it so it ends up dry and not tacky. I want the bait to burst out of the feeder immediately and not stay inside – the aim is to get quick bites, as only then can you compete and catch 15lb,” said Alan.
“To this I add chopped worm, minced finely as the small fish seem to prefer this, plus casters and maggots. I do cram as much as I can into the feeder, though, because this is what the fish want. The groundbait acts as a plug to keep everything in the feeder before it hits bottom.
“By casting a lot I can get through four pints of casters, a pint of maggots and up to a kilo of worms. There will also be occasions when a lot of roach are in the peg that I will do away with groundbait almost
completely and use a Black Cap blockend feeder with the bottom cut off to put in just neat feed.”
HOOKBAITS
“Maggots are good but I always begin with the head of a worm, as you can catch several fish on the same bait and they’re normally of a good stamp too,” he said.
“When things slacken on and I change to smaller hook I switch to single caster or a single fluoro pink maggot. I’m also a big fan of using floating maggots to give a slow fall of the bait, as I think that a lot of roach and dace on this river actually sit off bottom.”
SPOTTING QUICK BITES
“I see many anglers cast out and put the rod on the rest immediately, only to reel in a few minutes later with chewed hookbaits but not having seen a bite,” Alan revealed.
“That’s because a lot of bites occur within seconds of the feeder settling. I’ll cast out and hold the rod low to the water upstream and then follow it round in front of me after the feeder has settled, all the time keeping a tight line. This creates the required bow in the line.
“Braid will show up any quick bites and it’s common for me to catch 80 per cent of a weight without actually putting the rod on the rest.”