Dave Harrell shows you his tactics to beat clear rivers on the pole

Why you’ll catch more with a pole on clear rivers

IT’S only a few weeks ago that many anglers were complaining about high river levels at the start of the season – but now things have changed dramatically.

All the extra water has gone and we’re now faced with low levels and very clear water on most of our rivers.

As I write this, it’s 360C where I live and early morning or late

evening is most definitely the best time to be on the bank right now. If like me, though, you are faced with middle-of-the-day sessions such as in competition fishing, you need to give some serious thought to your approaches, especially where pole fishing is involved.

This week, I’m going to take you through my way of pole fishing in clear water. I’m not going to get too bogged down in baits and feeding this time, as we will be looking in-depth at those in a future issue. This week it’s all about rigs…

RIG LENGTHS

I make all my rigs up on five sections of pole. That’s from No2 to No5 with the No1 removed. I also carry a few extra lengths of line equivalent in length to the No6 section so that I can quickly extend the line length if I find myself on a very deep swim. This is a style of fishing I call ‘long short lining’ as it’s very different to the traditional way of pole fishing.

I always double up the floats on a twin winder as this will enable me to quickly change the rig if I get a tangle or the rig gets trashed for some reason.

WHERE TO PLACE THE RIG

While this might sound like an obvious thing, I see loads of anglers swing out the rig so that it’s way past the pole tip.

Now, as I mentioned in the hemp and tare feature a couple of weeks ago, this is okay if you’re getting bites quickly.

If you’re having to work for bites you’ll find that the angle of your line is all wrong as you run the rig down the river. It’s best, therefore, to start with the rig in line with the end of your pole as this will allow you the maximum length of run down the swim.

PRESENTATION

This is where ‘long short lining’ really gets interesting, as there are so many things you can do to try and tempt bites.

I always start off with the rig set at exact depth or an inch or two off the bottom. Make sure you’ve marked the depth on your pole with white correction fluid or a chinagraph pencil as this mark will

be vital throughout the session.

If you are getting bites, keep taking three or four inches off the depth to see what happens. There will usually be a depth at which most of the fish are feeding, and you need to find it. This will go hand in hand with feeding the swim, of course.

Work the depth, but always be mindful of how far off the bottom you are. It might well be that bigger fish are nearer the bottom and by giving yourself little blocks of time – five to 10 minutes at a certain depth – you will soon find out where they are.

Other things to try include holding the rig back and slowing down the presentation of the hookbait. You should always be mindful of rig size when you’re doing this, too. Don’t be afraid to put a bigger float on if your control can be improved.