HOW DO I FISH A SNAKE LAKE ?
Getting the best from these purpose-built match waters, and much more besides...
Q
Help! How do I catch more from snake lakes? Jon Dennis, Worksop
Steve says: Wow, that’s a big question! Snake lakes can be tricky venues to master, but the rewards can be there for the taking.
Some of my biggest catches have come from this type of water, and going to the bank armed with a plan of attack to utilise every inch of your peg is vital.
Here’s my guide…
‘ASK RINGER’ SPECIAL
Q
What depth should I look to find and fish in the margins? Paul Curtis, Southport
Steve says: Perhaps the most important part of margin fishing is finding the right depth – too many anglers just pick a spot and fish there, only to find it’s too deep or even too shallow to catch properly.
I like to have between 10ins and 18ins of water down the edge.
If the water is shallower than 10ins, big carp can be very spooky and difficult to catch, even though you can see them!
If it’s too deep it can be tricky to
keep the fish on the bottom, and line bites then become a problem.
When plumbing up, try to find a relatively flat area to both feed and fish on. What you don’t really want is a spot where the bottom is all over the place, as it makes it hard to settle the fish if this is the case.
You also need to be fishing as tight to the bank if possible to stop fish swimming the wrong side of the float, as this can lead to line bites and foul-hookers.
Q
How do I prevent fish from spooking in the margins? Billy, email
Steve says: As good as the margins can be, at times it can be extremely hard to catch carp down the edge, even though you can often see them in your swim.
Quite often you will look down the edge to see tails everywhere, only to quickly ship your rig out to find they have all vanished!
You ship back in and then they are back again, almost as if they are trying to tease you.
The reason is that they have been spooked by the shadow of the pole over the top of them.
To prevent this wherever possibly I always like to try and hide my pole by keeping it over the bank as opposed to over the water.
A longer-than-normal length of line between pole float and pole tip can often help with this too, as it gives you more to work with when trying to hide the pole.
Steve says: For pole fishing, I use 4ins and 6ins hooklengths. The 4ins ones are for shallow water swims or fishing up in the water, and the 6ins for bottom fishing in water deeper than 3ft.
My thinking behind this is that for shallow water or shallow fishing a How long do you tie your hooklengths? Stephen Quinn, Wigan
Q
6ins hooklength takes up too much of the rig itself and stops me putting shot near the hook, which I often do to make the rig more positive.
In deeper water, a 6ins hooklength allows the hookbait a lot more movement, something which I always feel leads to more bites.