Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)

PRAWNS RIG ONE:

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Phil had his 11ft, 0.75lb Korum Xpert rods set to fish simple running rigs. With all predators, it is not so much being resistance-free, but a sudden change in resistance that makes them reject the bait. The lead Phil uses is 1oz. This is heavy enough not to move during the run – changing the feel of resistance to the taking fish – but light enough to not cause to much disturbanc­e when cast. The hooklink is 18in of 6lb Korum Snapper fluorocarb­on to a size 10 or 8 hook. “These sound small in comparison to the raw prawns I use on the hook, but they are hair-rigged so the entire hook is showing,” explained Phil. “I used to use a larger hook – 6 or 4 – just piercing the prawn’s skin. You couldn’t cast a long way though as the bait would often come off. With Korum Quickstops, that is no longer a problem.” To ensure that runs are smooth and rejectionf­ree, Phil fishes his rods with the bail arm open and a drop-off indicator, similar to pike fishing. Although most perch anglers tend to use cooked prawns, Phil is a fan of large raw prawns. “I was naive the first time I fished for perch with prawns, so I just grabbed the biggest ones. These just happened to be raw,” he added. “Since catching shedloads on them, I now have total confidence in using raw prawns. I think their mixture of fresh, fishy scents and flavours combined with the fact that perch never eat anything that’s been cooked in nature, makes them an unbeatable bait.” To draw both prey and perch to the prawn hookbaits, Phil adopts two ways of loosefeedi­ng. The first is to use the industry standard of red maggots. These are perfect when you are fishing up to 20 metres. Beyond that they become difficult to catapult with any real accuracy. “Most anglers seem to turn up with half a pint for the day. To which I reply: ‘So what are you going to feed in the second hour?’ ” “When I go perch fishing, I think nothing of feeding up to four pints to keep the fish interested,” asserted Phil. “When I’m looking to fish a little further out, like today – around 30 to 35 metres – I tend to fire in whole prawns.” “These are again catapulted out but, just like a carp angler using boilies, the bits of prawn work in the same way.” Phil warned not to loosefeed too many prawns as even a 3lb perch will only eat a few bits in a day. Too much loosefeed will cost you bites.

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