FISHING MARGINAL SLOPES

Q I’m fishing the margins of a lake but the shelf slopes quite dramatically, forcing all my freebies to the bottom. I’m holding the slope with a big flat lead, but how can I bait it effectively? Conor Walker, by email

A Ed Betteridge: I’ve done a lot of fishing on steep marginal shelves and you’re right, round baits can easily slide all the way down the shelf to the bottom. I did a video on it a few years ago, which is still on the Korda website and may be worth a look.

Initially, my advice would be to fish where the carp are, and if that means half way up a shelf then it’s worth trying to find a way. In your email you mentioned that the carp seem to be halfway up the shelf, so that suggests that the water is clear and you can see a good way down.

If this is the case I would check the margins, to see if you can find a small ledge or some sort of obstacle like a rock sticking out or a bit of light weed, basically something that will stop the baits rolling too far. I would then fish this area, getting your whole, crushed and half freebies (halved baits are a great tactic, but even these will roll down a really steep slope) to settle around the area and the rig in the near vicinity.

Bear in mind that carp find it easy to feed on shelves and can get away with picking up a hookbait and ejecting it, as they don’t need to ‘right’ their bodies like they would when feeding on a flat surface – so check the spot regularly and make sure you haven’t been done.

Fishing halfway down a shelf is a very good tactic in the spring and early summer, as the top few feet are often warmer than the deeper water, but once the year wears on then it might be better to start fishing at the bottom of the shelf where a lot of baits and natural food will come to rest.