DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT

DON’T fish the same way you did last spring – try another method! If you’re going back and fishing the same venue you went to in 2019, why not set yourself a challenge to master a new method or bait? A range of tactics will be working now, and it might be that you’ve never really caught a lot of fish on meat. Make that your target for the next month or so and you’ll enjoy your fishing so much more when you get great results.

BIGGER FEEDERS

We can now start to think about leaving bombs in the bag and fishing just feeders, introducing a bit of bait into the peg. Up the size of feeder you’re using to a medium model to get more pellets into the swim and keep pace with the increasing appetites of the fish.

TRY THE MARGINS

Carp are already being caught in the margins and there is a chance of getting plenty of bites here on the right day. A lake with a good colour and plenty of cover such as reeds or bushes in the edge is great. I’d plumb up to be fishing in 3ft of water in an ideal world.

TOP KIT BASHING

For simple, uncomplicated fishing, nothing can match catching on just the top kit of your pole. You’re unlikely to catch any monsters, but this method used with maggots or casters will get you lots of bites from silverfish, plus the chance of a bonus barbel, tench or carp.

CATCH SHALLOW

Carp will be feeding off bottom so presenting a bait at half-depth or at 4ft deep in 10ft of water will catch. The weather will play a big part in this, though – I remember that in mid-March two years ago we had snow all over the place! A run of warm weather and a warm wind blowing will greatly increase your chances of catching off-bottom.