Pool Bridge Farm
25lb nets of roach are on the cards
IF THERE’S one species you can rely on at this time of year it’s roach – and Pool Bridge Farm is packed full of them!
The York complex has been a magnet for those after a big carp all summer, with all four day-ticket lakes home to fish over the 20lb mark. But as the mirrors and commons become more fickle in the cold, visiting anglers turn their attentions to more reliable feeders.
Most of them go in search of the redfins, and it isn’t unusual for 25lb-plus hauls to be recorded. They aren’t the only silverfish stocked in abundance, either, with stacks of ide, tench, bream and big perch spread across the complex.
Heading for Horseshoe
Norman’s and Old Coarse lakes will all produce plenty of bites from silvers, but Horseshoe is arguably the most prolific water on the site. You only need a couple of pints of bait to whip the shoals into a frenzy, with the biggest catches often taken within metres of the bank.
Local silverfish fan Chris Kendall has fished the venue countless times and reckons it’s up there with the very best of its kind in the country.
“If you are after a place to get lots of bites right now then Pool Bridge Farm will give you just that,” said Chris.
“The silvers have been barely troubled all summer and now that the carp aren’t feeding so aggressively, the roach, bream, perch and ide can have their fill.
“You’ll get bites on Horseshoe all day fishing just 10m out.”
Trickling it in
It’s rare that the fish will stay on the deck all day, so it’s best to have three or four rigs to hand to cover different depths over the
course of your session.
Feed a couple of balls of groundbait at the start to concentrate the fish and then ping a pinch of hemp and casters out every 30 seconds.
If you start to miss bites it’s time to use a shallower rig and then go deeper if you aren’t getting any indications.
Rotating between rigs is key, and you’ll often find there’s a quick burst of bites before it’s time for a change.
Light tackle is best, with a No4 elastic, 0.12mm mainline to an 0.10mm hooklength and a size 18 hook ideal for the job.
The temperatures may be dropping, but there’s certainly no sign of the sport cooling off at Pool Bridge Farm.