LIFTING WITH SKIMMERS
Steve reveals how the right baits and four tiny shot can transform your silver fish catches this winter…
ONE of my favourite ways to fish has always been the long pole on the deck for skimmers.
This is one of the reasons I’ve always loved the deep bank on Lambsdown Lake at Meadowlands. At this time of year the skimmer fishing really is second to none!
What I love about it is that it’s proper aggressive fishing, as you’re feeding in a positive way to get the skimmers into the swim, and using a rig that makes every bite obvious and hittable.
MODERN v NATURAL BAITS
A lot of the regulars at Meadowlands like to go down the pellet route for the skimmers, but I prefer a more mixed approach that incorporates both modern and natural baits.
First, my groundbait choice is Ringers Original Bag Up mix, a fine, fishmeal-based mix that skimmers love. As I’m fishing
a commercial with no predators I see no real reason to darken it off, so I’ll use it straight from the bag.
My bait list for a skimmer session also includes 1.5 pints of casters, a pint of wetted-down 2mm fishery pellets, half-a-kilo of worms and a few live red maggots for the hook.
I actually prefer to use live maggots for this type of fishing as I actually find I miss fewer bites as opposed to when I’ve tried dead maggots on the hook. It seems skimmers hang on to a live
maggot that bit better.
BE POSITIVE
When it comes to feeding, I want to get the
skimmers on the bottom, so it’s all about ‘big potting’ the bait in. To kick the swim off I will put in three big balls of groundbait with a pinch of chopped worm, caster and pellets mixed in. I like to make two hard balls and one soft. My thinking behind this is that the soft ball will break down quickly and offer instant attraction, whereas the two hard balls will break down a lot more slowly and hold the fish in the swim for that bit longer. Once I have fed the three balls, ideally I like to let the swim settle for a minimum of 45 minutes and preferably an hour. One of the biggest mistakes I see anglers make when fishing for skimmers is not letting the fish settle before trying to catch them. By allowing the skimmers to settle on the bait, not only will they be more confident, but chances are there will also be more of
them in the swim as feeding fish attract others.
What I like to do is feed another ball of groundbait full of loose offerings 10 minutes before I want to go on my skimmer line. This is to make sure that there is still plenty of bait on the bottom when I do decide to have a look.
Once I start to catch skimmers I like to try and catch as many as I can before topping up. That said, rather than fishing the swim out so I literally can’t get a bite, I like to top up as soon as I start having to wait for bites.
This way, when I refeed, the response is normally quick, whereas if I have taken the swim to the stage where I can’t get a bite it’s almost like starting again from scratch.
Accuracy is also important when feeding – once you start fishing you want to present your hookbait right on top of your feed.
With this in mind I always like to pick a marker on the far bank, both to feed to and line my float up against. This way I can ensure I am fishing right on top of my feed.
FISH AS LONG AS YOU CAN
Perhaps the best tip I can give anyone looking to catch skimmers on the pole in winter is to fish long.
You see, skimmers can be very wary fish and they always tend to be happier in deeper water. As a rule, this means fishing longer rather than shorter.
When I say ‘long’ I’m talking about 14.5m or even 16m – which length I decide upon depends on the situation I find myself in.
For instance, if I have plenty of room then I will always fish 14.5m, my thinking being I will then have room to move out should I need to do so later on in the session.
However, if the pegging is tight
and I’m looking for an edge, then 16m is what I go for.
Most anglers will always opt to fish at 14.5m as opposed to 16m, simply because it’s easier to do this.
If I fish 16m, though, I have my own water and more chance of pulling fish from those around me.
If that wasn’t enough, you also benefit from the fact that skimmers are generally happier to feed further out from the bank.