Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Five point plan for day-ticket success
Pressured fish and low temperatures isn’t a recipe success. But Gardner’s for Jack Funnell has a few his sleeve to ensure your tricks up alarms keep screaming Words & Photography Mark Parker
1 Actively find the fish
You can’t catch what’s not there - it’s that simple! Carp won’t move very far in cold water, so you them, rather than vice need to go to versa, otherwise you’ll camping, rather than just end up fishing. It is rare to always get the swim you hoped for but, equally, having a rigid plan can often work against you. “All lakes have a ‘go to’ area where the fish congregate in winter,” tend to Jack explained. “They do go up into the shallows on very rare but if the fish aren’t actively occasions, showing, don’t bother.” Another way Jack tries to find the shoals is in any empty swims. to lead around It sounds barmy, but he reckons that if the fish shoal up tightly, you can actually feel the lead bouncing through them - provided you get the “I’ve done this and had cast right. some big hits of fish, in the next swim has while the lad blanked,” said Jack.
2 Swap mono for fluorocarbon
It sounds banal, but one tip that Jack was keen the simple act of changing to share was your mainline from mono fluorocarbon - it can to makea huge difference to your results. Mono sinks, but not as well as a good quality Jack’s favourite is Gardner fluorocarbon. Mirage. “Using fluoro as the mainline ensures that yards of line and end the last-few tackle are pinned to the deck. This guarantees that the fish will not spook off the mainline and it’s also almost invisible in water,” Jack told us. “It is not always the latest rig or bait that makes difference. But something the much more simple! “I mean, it’s not magic, but it might just get you that couple of bonus fish on a tough day.”
“Its not always the latest rig or bait that makes the difference. It’s usually something much more simple”
3 Flavour-filled solid bags
In cold water, the carp won’t necessarily want 5kg of boilies at this to move to bait. Putting time of year will most out for next spring! probably just see you prebaiting As the fish’s metabolism is very much reduced, bite at a time, not a hit you need to fish for of fish. one By using solid PVA bags you can slowly build a swim, as well as packing the bags with a variety of loosefeed items to lakebed. create a compact trap on the “One edge that has worked well for me is filling crushed Sticky Baits the bag with pellets, Manilla boilies, corn a few “I always have and maggots,” said Jack. a few pre-tied, so can casting, I inject I cast at showing fish. the bag with some liquid Prior to attraction but little flavour in to flood the swim with the way of extra food content.”
4 Adjust your zigs
Although he always fishes one of his three rods the deck, the other two on will often be on zig rigs. “The biggest problem with zigs is trying to discover the exact depth at which the fish are sitting,” advised Jack. “If they are obviously not on or near the surface look to start around I’d three-quarters depth one rod, and slightly with shallower with the second.” He will then shorten the hooklink every couple hours in increments of of one foot at a time, so that he eventually covers all depths. “If I still haven’t had a run, then it is time to change the colour of the hookbait, cast to another area or even move swims,” he added.
5 Use maggots sparingly
Becoming more and more popular on many day-ticket waters, maggots can be devastating in the colder months. Jack, however, uses them very differently to other anglers. “I have found that if I’m struggling for bites using example, putting out boilies or corn for a couple of Spombs of carp into feeding,” he maggots can trigger explained. the Experience has shown the Croydon-based rod eating, you can go back that once you get them to your original hookbaits. maggots just seems The movement of to trigger a feeding response the baits don’t. in the fish that other “I see anglers with truckloads of maggots in buckets, and gallons,” he said. literally gallons “The problem with this is that they are both keep. I only bring three expensive and difficult to or four pints – most of which I might take home just to use to try to provoke – a couple of bites and get the swim going.”