TIPS & TACTICS
MYLES GIBSON explains what he has learned from fishing from a boat and how that information influences his approach on lakes where boats are not allowed…
Myles Gibson on what he’s learned from fishing afloat, plus Mat Woods’ surface tips.
AS the title of this article suggests, the view of the lakebed and surrounding features that you get when looking over the side of a boat can be a massive eye-opener.
So much so, in fact, since I first started using a boat around eight years ago, I’ve been able to put a huge proportion of what I’ve observed and learned from being afloat into my fishing everywhere I go.
Having the ability to observe ‘spots’, and watch how certain
rigs and leaders are presented, has influenced my fishing massively.
Line of sight...
One of the first things I learned to appreciate was line lay. All anglers, when they turn up to a lake, will try to find a nice clear spot, but how many take an interest in exactly what lies between the spot and where your rods are – in other words, on ‘your side’ of the spot?
Line lay plays a huge part in successfully catching fish, particularly on really clear lakes.
If you are fishing a clean spot that is surrounded by weed, and fish a semi-slack or tight line, the leader will often look like a rope going down from the weed on to the spot. Not only can the fish see it, but they can also feel it, which is why I use tubing a lot of the time.
If you run leadcore over your lips, it makes them tingle and feel slightly odd. Tubing, on the other hand, is nice and smooth and, when you translate this into the sub-surface world, I think that tubing doesn’t freak the fish out half as much when they come into contact with it.
I use a lot of putty too, just to make sure everything is pinned down and out of the way as much as possible.
If you are fishing a spot with surrounding weed, it really pays to use a small weed rake just to clear a few channels in it for your lines. Trust me, this will make a big difference.
You may also notice that sometimes sediment builds up on your line, and this can be more apparent on some lakes than others. I make a point of ‘shaking’ the line wherever I can get away with it, and will even recast outside of the ‘bite times’ just to clean the lines off. If you don’t do this, the lines can look like tow ropes going out into the pond and they become blatantly obvious to the fish too.
hiding the hook
Watching fish in the edge, whenever possible, has told me that if anything about your line or rig is slightly untoward, unnatural or out of the ordinary, those fish become aware very quickly that you are fishing for them, and catching them
becomes infinitely harder.
I’ve changed my rigs a lot over the years based on what I’ve seen, and one instance in particular was a real eye-opener. I was fishing on Stoneacres at the time and I found two 40lb carp milling around a weedbed.
I managed to sneak a rod in and dotted a couple of nuts around the hookbait. The hook was sat flat on the lakebed and the nut hovered slightly above it, being perfectly balanced.
From a tree I watched as one of them went to pick the hookbait up, before being freaked out by something. Its body language changed and the only thing I could think was that it had seen the hook – maybe it had glistened in the sun, I remember thinking. I spent the next 20 minutes devising a rig where the hook would sit like a claw, over the hookbait, making it invisible to browsing carp. The following morning I had a 42lb mirror on the bank.
I use rigs now that are superbalanced and from the boat, all you can just see is the hookbait. This also allows me to use a bigger hook too. A size 4 hook and a 12mm pop-up balances out nice and, with a bit of putty, sinks really slowly. I use a small Thinking Anglers Hook Ring Swivel to attach the bait, which adds a little more weight to the bait and adds loads of movement to the rig
Bait issues
Another major area that I’ve learned about thanks to using a boat is what the carp like to eat, and the sheer volume that they can get through. Obviously, this depends on the time of year, but certainly at this point in the calendar the fish can get through a hell of a lot of bait.
I use a lot of pellets in my loosefeed and at times the carp will go wild for them. If I want a spot opening up or clearing off, then I use a mixture of different sizes of pellets. I am quite particular too, typically using three sizes of Bloodworm pellets, some Elips and some Krill Clusters too. This is because I want a mixture of sizes, smells and breakdown times and the carp can become addicted to these mixtures. I add boilies into the mix too, along with plenty of liquid. The idea is that when I am not there and the bait has all gone, the liquids and the leakage from the pellets will stain the bottom and keep the carp coming back and visiting the spot.
I wouldn’t fish over a kilo of just boilies, especially if birds are a problem. You can watch their routes and if they are coming over the spot regularly, those baits are gone.
Don’t get me wrong, if the birds aren’t a major issue and I felt that a few whole baits in the area is ‘the one’, then I would do it, but quite often on the lakes I fish the birds are a real pain.
In keeping with the pellet and liquids theory, I break a lot of the boilies up, just to ensure there are as many small food items out there as possible. The more baits out there, the longer the carp will spend feeding in the area.
take note
Once I have baited a spot or even found a promising one while leading about, I keep a note of everything about it... what I have found (size, type of substrate), the spot’s distance from the bank, when I baited it and how much with.
This research allows me to form an understanding of the carp. While I appreciate that if you can’t use a boat, you won’t see what has happened to the spot while you’ve been away, if you have the notes marked down and you know it’s a small spot that gives the odd crack down with the lead, then when you go back the next time and it smashes down over a wider area, you know the fish have been down there, feeding hard!
Line Clips and heavy Leads
Another key finding from being able to go out in a boat and see where my rigs have landed after casting is the need to add on distance or ‘wraps’ in certain weather conditions. If, for example, you are fishing at 90 yards in a heavy crosswind, the lead could easily be landing a couple of rodlengths off the spot, especially if you are using a light monofilament line (say, 12lb) with loads of stretch. As a result of having witnessed this, I try to use the heaviest line I can get away with, as it has less stretch. I have seen it before when I have been fishing at range: I’ve had to add a couple of rodlengths to the clip just to land on the spot.
If you don’t have a boat, my advice would be to clip up as usual, but instead of presuming it’s bang on, feel it down and pull the lead back a little way to make sure you are on the money.
If it goes down soft, but on the lead rod it was hard, add a bit of distance and pop the line back in the clip before having another cast or two until it does go down just right.
One final thing to consider is the size of lead that you use. Obviously, bigger leads will get down to the spot quicker, in the process reducing the amount of bow in your line and helping you to be more accurate.
I also think that they are a big help when it comes to actually hooking the carp, so for me a larger lead is a total no-brainer in all instances other than when I’m moving on to fish and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
I appreciate that not everybody has regular access to a boat, or fishes lakes where they are allowed, but if you ever do get the chance to go afloat and take a look at what’s really going on out there, jump at it. You’ll be surprised at what you see, and as a result you’ll become a better angler in the long run.
“If you’re fishing at 90 yards in a crosswind, the lead could be landing a couple of rodlengths off the spot”