Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
HOW IMPORTANT IS ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE TO FISH?
QI’ve heard it said that atmospheric weather pressure affects the way carp react, both in their feeding and positioning in the water. If this is true should I be changing my tactics to improve my catches? Ben Carlton, via email
MYLES GIBSON: I would say yes, but it depends on the lakes that you fish. Some venues respond really well to high pressure, others don’t. On Stoneacres, the best conditions were bright sunlight, high pressure and light winds. That would be the time to make sure that you were fishing on the deck, and with plenty of bait too. On the flip side, if I were fishing on Christchurch, which is just 100 yards away, I would expect the fish to be up in the water. Generally, a low-pressure front is the best conditions for carp, especially after weeks of high pressure. You will find varied results depending on the lake, but every water has a pattern, so research your lake. Some conditions are terrible, no matter what time of year it is.
QI’m planning to target a fish in one of my club’s lakes this year and know it has been caught on a particular boilie on numerous occasions. Should I switch to this bait or carry on using what I’ve used with confidence on other waters? Graham Fisher, via email
STEVE CLIFF: This question has no definitive answer. Some fish prefer fishmeal to a nut meal, or vice versa. Generally though, they will eat either in the right circumstances. If there is a noticeable sway towards one type of bait, use that. I personally use the Krill through the warmer months and Manilla in the cold. Never once do I think that a fish would turn down either, so it wouldn’t concern me too much. Generally, whatever lake I visit, a decent fishmeal boilie tends to be the winner. If I am catching fish, then I would be confident of the big one coming. I have noticed that when targeting older, larger carp, they do seem to have a real liking for a rich fishmeal bait, such as the Krill.
QA tackle company has just released brightly-coloured hook ‘kickers’ to draw carp towards the bait? It begs the question, does rig camouflage really matter that much? Tom Berridge, Devon
ADAM SMITH Some anglers give the carp more credit than they deserve. Having said that, the carp will be aware of any change in their environment. I try to blend things in to a degree, but your rig will never be invisible. Line lay is more important to me. If the carp feel or detect line, they will become on edge. I use a leadcore leader and blobs of putty to pin it all down.
QHow long is it safe to retain a carp in a margin sling for? Richard Court, Hertford DAN WILDBORE: This is a contentious subject and you will get many different answers. There is much to take into consideration when retaining carp. Personally, I would only do it when the water is cool and, overall, I don’t like putting fish in slings for any length of time if I can help it. If you do want to retain the fish, then half an hour is enough time to sort your stuff out and give the fish some time to calm down and recover. If the water is warm, make sure that the fish is always in deep water and away from any large weedbeds. I will only retain a carp for a short period and once the fish is ready to swim away, make sure it does so safely. If the fish is exhausted and when returned, lies in a weedbed, I think it is in danger of suffocating. We had this happen a few years back on Christchurch. The fish were exhausted and with the water being so warm, it took them a while to recover after capture. It meant sitting in the water with the fish and waiting for them to regain as much strength as they could. Above all, use common sense and don’t retain a fish unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.
QWhat is the best way to attach PVA foam to the hook? Leigh Barrow, via email BEN HAMILTON: I do it two ways. The first is to hook the foam through the centre, then lick one side and squeeze it around the hook. This will grip the hair nicely and will come off after a minute or so, depending on water temperature. If I were not worried about the hair tangling, I would hook on a small PVA bag of foam.
QI fish a lake that holds a lot of single-figure carp but also the occasional bigger fish over 20lb. Unfortunately, boilies are banned, so how else can I try to single out these bigger fish? James Bryant, via email RICH SEEDS: Carp will eat anything really, but other than boilies, one bait they really do like is pellets. Many fish are reared on pellets, so it is almost like a natural food. I would go with a straight pellet approach and maybe even add some sweetcorn in the mix for hookbait options. If allowed, I would fish a dumbell hookbait over the top of the mix. This will mimic a larger pellet. The beauty of using pellets is that they are great carriers for liquids. I soak mine in Krill Liquid, to give them the same taste and smell as Krill boilies. Clusters are also a great bait to use for big fish, being naturally full of oil and nutrition. That is often why big fish like boilies, because they know they can gain a lot from eating them. By using a mix that does that, additions like clusters are a superb alternative.