Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Groundbait pyramid trick
There’s no need to go easy on the groundbait early season says Matt Powell, who fills in his swims summer-style for big nets of skimmers
THE harshest weather conditions have finally vanished for another year and the fish are starting to emerge from their winter slumber. Negative feeding patterns that dominated during the cold snap are being left behind, with anglers slowly increasing the amount of bait they introduce as fish regain their appetite. But Matt Powell is one man who isn’t going to carefully step up through the gears with his feed, especially when bream and skimmers are on the agenda. Rather than adding a little more each time he gets on the bank, the Cresta-backed angler has ramped up his feeding style to full throttle. “Silverfish switch on to the feed much quicker than carp and F1s and at this time of year I firmly believe those that feed the most will catch the most,” explained Matt. “I have no qualms at all about feeding more than 30 big balls of groundbait in a session. I know from experience that I wouldn’t put half as many fish in the net if I cut this back.”
Positive approach
Bream and skimmers live in large shoals and there is no doubt they will cruise around looking for food. Once they have hoovered everything up, they will up-sticks and go elsewhere. If another angler has fed substantially more than you, you’ll have a struggle enticing them back into your swim. “I start the session by feeding 12 big balls of groundbait over two different lines. “Six go in at 13m and the other half is dropped in on a shorter line 8m out. “It might sound like a lot when the water is still fairly chilly but when you consider a shoal could comprise hundreds of skimmers you soon realise that each fish will only get to eat a small amount of the bait.” Matt’s mix consists of two bags of Sensas Lake which bulks out the blend, half a bag of Sensas Magic which provides an element of fishmeal, and half a bag of Bait-Tech Dark that sweetens the mix. “This amount of groundbait will enable you to make around 35 big balls of groundbait which, if you stacked them up, would make a pretty big pyramid – and you should aim to feed the lot,” said Matt.
Keep active
Once the initial feed has gone in Matt will ship out over the 13m line and fish directly over the top of where he has fed. “I spread the six balls over an area that is a couple of metres wide because I want to give the fish a reasonable area to feed over.
“If I concentrated all my feed tightly the fish would be fighting to get over the spot and I would be plagued by line bites. “Fishing directly over the feed zone can produce quality skimmers instantly but I would expect the stamp to get smaller quite quickly.” When this happens he will ship out to 14.5m as the bigger fish usually back away and will mop up any food that comes their way. Once you have had a few fish beyond where you fed, the bites will probably dry up again and that is when it is time to feed again. “Realistically, you’ll have around five minutes catching directly over your feed and then the same amount of time catching just beyond before you need to top-up. “So every 10 minutes I would expect to be putting in another big ball at 13m to reinvigorate the swim.”
Heavier rigs are best
Working the hookbait is often key to getting bites on stillwaters, but you need to do the complete opposite when bream and skimmers are the target. Holding the rig still and waiting is a much better way of gaining a bite from the species and this requires a certain type of set-up to gain the necessary presentation. “I always use a heavy float when I am after bream and skimmers because this helps keep the rig stable and enables me to nail the bait to the bottom. “When I am fishing in around 7ft of water I will use a 4x18 Preston Innovations Inter Wire. If I went any lighter the rig would be badly affected by tow or any breeze and leave me unable to keep it still. “This weight of float also enables me to use a big bulk of shot which gets the hookbait down to the bottom quickly where the fish are sat.” Finesse is required in the rest of the set-up and an orange 3-5 J Range Lastix elastic is soft enough to make sure that no fish are bumped either on the strike or when playing them. Mainline is 0.14mm Gamakatsu Super G to a 0.10mm hooklength and a size 16 or 18 Gama Black hook that is baited with a single or double red maggot.
Bites galore
The Riddings Fishery on the outskirts of Atherstone, Warwickshire, is one of Matt’s favourite silverfish haunts and has form for responding to his style. “A recent match on Folly Pool was won with just 10lb but I have a funny feeling that the weights were so low because those competing didn’t feed enough. Let’s go and see if my theory is correct.” Matt made up 12 big balls of groundbait laced with dead maggots and casters and divided them between his two lines. Going long would be his main ploy, having a look on the shorter line later in the day when the fish moved closer to the bank. With so much bait crashing down to the bottom you would think it would take time for the fish to settle over it, but within a minute of the rig being lowered in Matt struck and several feet of orange elastic zipped out. A skimmer just under 2lb was soon in the net. “That’s no surprise to me as the fish always seem to get a bit excited and dive in on the feed and then back away shortly afterwards,” Matt explained. A couple more fish of a similar stamp were fooled before much smaller fish of perhaps 4oz each took over. It was time to push a pole section further out. As predicted, that move instantly relocated the fish and after four quick fish the action died and it was time to feed another big ball. By repeating this system throughout the day the bites kept coming, with a late flurry on the short line helping him end the day with over 60lb of skimmers and the odd roach. “I’ve fed around 35 balls of groundbait today and I’m only packing up because I have run out! “You might get a few funny looks when you start piling in the bait, but by breaking the mould you give yourself a great chance of putting a huge net of silvers together,” concluded Matt.