Steve Ringer reveals his 10 simple steps to smashing snake lakes
On these fairest of venues, skill sorts out the men from the boys!
FIND THE HIDDEN HOTSPOTS
1 When I arrive at my peg, the first thing I do is plumb the whole swim extensively, just to try and get an accurate picture of what exactly is in front of me.
This doesn’t mean just plumbing the areas I like the look of, it really does mean plumbing all over.
Quite often you will find there are features below the surface that hold fish, but if you don’t plumb the swim properly you’d never be any the wiser they were there.
When I say ‘fish-holding features’ I’m talking about depth variations such as small drops-offs or even holes in the bottom which fish like barbel have scoured out.
Quite often, a barbel hole will be no bigger than 18ins across, yet it will hold lots of fish.
It’s also important to get a picture of whether the bottom is made up of soft silt or gravel, and this is why I use a really heavy plummet.
I always prefer to fish on an area of hard bottom rather than soft, as it makes presenting your bait much easier.
OPEN NEW SWIMS
2 If you do start to catch, then bites dry up, never be afraid to start a new swim in the same depth of water. This way I then have two lines I can rotate in order to keep bites coming.
Once I have two lines, I will look to catch two or three fish off each before moving and repeating the process, therefore keeping my catch rate ticking over that bit longer.
As a guide, a new swim doesn’t have to be miles away – normally 2m is far enough away so that the two swims don’t impact on each other.
Swapping between swims is also a lot easier if both spots are exactly the same depth, as the same rig can then be used!
START SHORT
3 Without doubt the most common approach on snake lakes is to start tight across to the far bank – after all it always looks more appealing over there.
By doing this, though, you are potentially missing out on a couple of early fish.
Normally, if you are quiet when tackling up, you can catch a couple of quick fish on a top kit plus one straight in front of you, almost between your nets.
You see, if it’s quiet the fish like to be close to the bank, hence you can often catch a couple straight away before they realise what’s happening and push out to the far bank.
This is only a line I will fish for 15 minutes at the start, but more often than not it will produce a fish within seconds to get your session off to a flyer.
FISH AT AN ANGLE
4 Once I’ve exhausted my close-in swim I will work my way out towards the far bank, starting by fishing down the track.
I always like to try and put any other lines at angles of either 10 o’clock or two o’clock, if you imagine the swim as a clock face.
This means when I hook a fish I can steer it away from the baited area and play it straight in front of me without ruining my swim.
There’s nothing worse than hooking a carp and playing it on top of where you are fishing. By setting my swims at angles I can avoid this happening.
USE A LONGER POLE RIG
5 When fishing tight over then more often than not you will only be fishing in inches of water.
In this situation carp can be very spooky, especially if a pole is waving about over their heads.
For this reason I like to fish a longer than usual length of line between pole float and pole-tip.
Instead of fishing with 12ins of line, I will fish with between 24ins and 30ins to help me keep the pole tip high above the water so there is less chance of the fish spooking away from it.
Using a long line can often mean you get a slack line and this can lead to missed bites if you’re not careful.
To combat this I keep a tight line between float and pole-tip by using a string of No9 back shot.
The bottom shot is placed 4ins above the float and the rest are then spaced at 4ins intervals above this.
I miss very few bites when I’m back shotting like this.
GIVE YOURSELF BAIT OPTIONS
6 No matter how well you think you know a venue it’s always important to give yourself a couple of bait options. Even if you think it’s going to be all about pellets, make sure you have a back-up of something like maggots, which tend to be a safe option on snake lakes.
Venues change from one day to the next, and by having two options instead of one you are giving yourself the ability to switch should the need arise.
GO LONG AND FIND A GAP
7 When deciding where to fish across I will always look for gaps in the rushes that allow me to get as tight to the far bank as possible.
Carp like to hug the bank provided there is enough depth for them to do so, therefore the tighter I can get to the bank the better, as this makes it easier to catch them.
There’s nothing worse than a far bank full of rushes but nowhere to get in between them. If I have to fish in front of them it’s usually too deep to do so properly, and line bites and foul hookers then become a nightmare.
USE THE RIGHT FLOATS
8 In general snake lakes are quite shallow, so light floats are the order of the day. As a guide, I like KC Carpa Ape floats for fishing across and in the edges and Mick Wilkinson Steadies for down the track in the deeper water.
Sizes are depth-dependant, but if it’s 4ft-5ft in the track I will look at either a 4x10 or 4x12. For across and down the edges Apes in 0.2g are the norm.
FEED CAREFULLY
9 If I’m in doubt about how to feed a swim I’ll always opt for a little and often approach – you can put bait in but you can’t take it out again!
If I start by feeding little and often I can always up my feeding if the need arises. However, if I start by dump potting lots of bait and it isn’t right there is no way back.
The other plus with little and often feeding is that it’s a great way of pulling fish, as both the noise of bait hitting the surface and falling through the water will attract fish into the swim.
FINISH DOWN THE EDGE
10 As I’ve mentioned, I always like to start my session by fishing short and then moving out as the day progresses,
Then, late on in the day, I work my way back again to finish in the edges.
The reason for this is that I start short to catch quickly, then move across as the fish get pushed out by angling pressure.
Once the fish get used to what’s going on and start to move back in I will simply follow them.
The margins are very much the place to be in the last hour of any session.