Martin Bowler’s Adventures How casters can help you catch bigger fish
A pint is enough for my productive lift method session
DAWN was yet to break as I arrived at the lake, where sleepy birds were tentatively tuning up for their morning chorus.
Water lily blooms would not open for some while yet, and even the fish between the submerged stems were deciding when best to prime.
I needed to be ready for when they did, so I prepared my tackle by the light of a head torch.
The traditional lift method would be perfect today, and it meant I could use my favourite rod, a 12ft 9ins Drennan Tench Float made from the sweetest of carbons. I ran a long Crystal Waggler on to 7lb Double Strength mainline, inserting a black interchangeable tip.
Red or orange is not easy to see when light shines on the water, whereas a black float tip stands out really well at dawn. Next I connected an anchor shot, an X2 SSG, to a run ring with a length of braid, and this was secured with two float stops so as not to damage the pre-stretched line. The hook, a size 16 Super Specialist Eyed – barbless to conform to fishery rules – was tied direct with a Palomar knot. It would be perfect for my chosen bait – casters.
SHELL OUT ON SHELLS
You can’t beat ‘shells’ for big fish, but some anglers consider them time-consuming to prepare, and somewhat pricey.
In my book, though, £3.50 for a pint of casters is money well spent, and I’m happy to lavish tender loving care on them to get the best bait possible.
As soon as I’m home from the tackle shop I tip them out of their plastic bag into a bucket of water and scoop off any floaters.
The remainder are washed and drained over a riddle before going into a plastic container with its sides covered in black tape almost up to the rim. Now I cut a dozen sheets of newspaper to the container’s inner
dimensions, soak them in water and place them over the casters, occupying the void above them.
Finally I stretch a sheet of black bin liner over the top and snap the lid in place to give an airtight seal.
In a world that demands convenience and everything in a packet I know this preparation takes a bit of effort.
But every time I impale two perfect casters on the hook I know I’ve done the right thing. I’ve said it many times before, going the extra mile makes the difference between success and failure.
FREE STRAWBERRIES
Before casting down the marginal shelf I needed to introduce a little groundbait, mixed 50:50 with oily hemp, into the swim.
I did this by lowering in two Spomb loads off the rod-tip, landing all the feed on an area the size of a dinner plate.
To the fish this would be as irresistible as free strawberries and cream in a Wimbledon corporate hospitality tent. The feed went down, leaving an oily slick on the surface for me to target with the float.
With its heavy anchor weight the hookbait soon followed, ending up three-quarters of the way down the shelf on a clean, debrisfree bottom.
I laid the rod in the rests and reeled in slowly to take up slack until the float cocked and only the tip was on show. The rig was now a trap waiting to be sprung. But by what? I hear you ask.
To be honest I didn’t know or mind. The lake held big carp, crucians, bream, tench and roach, so I was spoilt for choice. A mixed bag would be nice for a change, but when the first batch of bubbles fizzed up I genuinely didn’t have a clue what had caused it. Nor, when the float swayed from side to side with fin-wash, was I any
“When the first bubbles fizzed up I genuinely didn’t have a clue what had caused them”
the wiser. All I knew was that a bite was imminent.
Suddenly the waggler rose, collapsed and lay on its side – a perfect Crabtree scenario – and I struck to make contact.
A carp of some size surged to my left and straight through a bed of lilies. As each stem was struck by the line, apple-green pads were sucked down and all I could do was hold on.
Drennan Double Strength is often accused of being a frail line, but it’s usually the angler, not the line, that’s at fault. I have never had an issue with it.
Eventually a 20lb mirror surfaced like a U-Boat amid the vegetation and was bullied all the way back to the net. A good start!
A SHOAL OF ROACH
After all that disturbance it was no surprise that the swim needed 20 minutes to recover, but then a shoal of roach arrived.
Four fish over 2lb, each one shimmering in the by now bright sunlight, were drawn over the mesh, their eagerness to gorge on the spot I had prepared proving their downfall.
Once again, my cosseted casters had proved to be worth their weight in angling gold.