RINGER TO THE RESCUE
Steve shows you how to scale down feeders for spring action
“I’m going to be chasing the fish around, trying to pick them off”
IN SOME ways shallow lakes are easier to approach when the weather is still a little cold.
That might sound odd, given that we tend to think fish prefer deeper water when temperatures are low, but that’s not always the case!
Shallow water is easier because there isn’t as much water for the fish to hide in. If I have 10ft of water, the fish can be sat at pretty much any depth which can make them difficult to locate. In 3ft of water, though, even if I’m fishing on the bottom, I’m never going to be far from the fish.
The downside of shallow water is that if the fish don’t want to feed they’ll back off a lot more and will be easier to spook. That’s why I find that I have to stay on the move to keep in touch with the fish at this type of venue until it warms up properly. It’s rare for the fish to stay in one place for long. Barston Lakes in the cold is a brilliant example of this – the fish are always on the move and if you stay in one spot you only tend to catch early on.
Make every cast count
With regard to tactics, there are a few tips to bear in mind. The first is that when you’re fishing rod and line, as you are with the feeder, you have to make every cast count.
Keeping disturbance to a minimum is essential, so I never cast out before the start of a match or session unless I really have to find a certain feature. If I want to fish a certain distance, I use my measuring sticks to clip up at the distance to save making any disturbance that might push fish out of the swim.
It’s also worth considering feeder size. I’d look to start on a Mini-sized Hybrid feeder, either a 24g or 30g weight, depending on how far I need to cast. I want as light a feeder as I can get away with, while still being able to reach the spot I want to fish.
There are two reasons I choose a Mini Hybrid. The first is down to disturbance – a small feeder will go into the water a lot more quietly than a big one.
The second reason is that I’m not looking to build a swim up with feed – in effect I’m going to be dobbing, chasing the fish around the peg, trying to pick them off. I’m only looking to feed just enough bait to catch a carp, not trying to build a swim.
Give yourself some room
Until it warms up properly, I know that the carp aren’t going to be happy getting caught in one place for long. I like to pick a spot to start and this is never
at the extreme boundary of my swim. If I have 55m of water in front of me, unless I can see fish moving shorter I’ll look to start at 45m. This gives me 10m of water to explore later on.
Let’s say I start at 45m and get two carp straight away, but the third cast produces nothing – no bites and no signs. If that’s the case then my fourth cast will go to new water, normally 5m to the left or right.
I’m trying to relocate the fish because having caught two, they’ve clearly moved. At this early stage, it’s really important not to have two casts to the same spot if there are no signs of fish. You need to move to try and find them. If I get a bite then it’s back to that spot next cast because where there’s one carp, there are normally two.
If moving left and right fails, I’ll take 2m of line off the clip, go a little bit further out and repeat the process.
Keeping your eye on the water for fish moving is vital too because quite often carp give their position away by topping or, if it’s calm, by a few bubbles appearing. If I see an obvious sign like this, I’ll always cast to it – if you wait too long the fish will move off.
When trying to find the fish I’ll kick off fishing 12-minute casts because this is long enough if I’m close to a carp for the fish to pick the hookbait up. I’ll adjust my timings as the session/match progresses.
When all else fails…
If you can’t find any fish and you’ve had a good look all around your swim, it’s time for something different.
I’ll change to a big feeder, normally a 28g Large Hybrid, cast to what I feel is the most likely spot in my swim and leave it there for 30-45 minutes.
The reason I do this with a large and not a version is to try and increase the attraction on the feeder, since I’m waiting for a carp to find it as opposed to trying to drop it on top of a ball of fish.