Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Where silvers outrank carp – Mark Pollard
It’s easy to conclude that coarse fishing is obsessed by carp. There are still some waters where silver species are rated more highly though, as Mark Pollard discovers...
SILVER fish have become a much more attractive proposition to commercial anglers but interest in them usually wanes once spring arrives. Mainly because the carp have finally awakened and they monopolise the action. Mirrors and commons go on the rampage looking for food, determined to hoover up every morsel of bait introduced and pack on the pounds for the upcoming spawning routine. As a result, the silvers are bullied to the back of the queue. You may attempt to catch them but carp after carp will almost certainly ruin your intended plans as they beat everything else to the hookbait. But there are a handful of waters where mega catches of silvers still dominate. This is down to a very brave stocking policy that has backfired for many. Northamptonshire’s Wold Farm Fisheries is home to four beautifully landscaped lakes, but it is The Moat that is arguably the most individual of the quartet. Tench, bream, crucians and barbel are stocked in abundance. In fact, you won’t see a carp all day. This is because the owners haven’t stocked a single one into the lake! Hinders and Matrixbacked star Mark Pollard has become a regular at the complex in recent months, and it’s easy to see why when you hear about his success rates. “When commercials first started opening a couple of decades ago everybody wanted to catch carp, but attitudes have now changed dramatically,” says Mark. “Anglers seem to get much more enjoyment catching a mixed bag and they want to be surprised by what will come to the net next.”
Magic on the Moat
Dax Miller is the owner of Wold Farm Fisheries and the moment you go through the gates you can sense the pride invested in the complex. Pegs are perfectly maintained, roads and verges are kept in good condition and the surrounding vegetation has been allowed to flourish without encroaching on where visitors are fishing. The Moat is home to 20 pegs and each one offers different options. The early numbers are in a narrow bay before the lake fans out into a zone of open water with islands dotted down the middle. Head towards the end farthest from the entrance and the features can be easily reached with a pole. “It is such a beautiful lake when you first take a glance at it, but once you get fishing you’ll rate it even more highly,” said Mark enthusiastically. “One drop in could be an immaculate tench or crucian and moments later your elastic could be dragged out by a 4lb barbel.”
How to attract the shoals
Putting a few fish together on The Moat isn’t difficult, but if you want to get the most out of your swim a little attention to detail is required. “There are a lot of fish in here so you are never going to blank, but the 50lb catches of silvers that are possible will only come if you use the right approach. My favourite hookbait is a Hinders Polly’s Eazy Expander pellet, although I will switch to maggot or corn if the bites dry up. “This is fished over the top of a bed of groundbait laced with micro pellets to keep the fish grubbing around. A couple of balls go in at the beginning and I will feed a few maggots and pellets over the top via a catapult every few minutes, only adding more groundbait when the fish back off.” When one fish may be a couple of ounces and the next 4lb you really need to balance your tackle if you want to hook and land fish of a variety of sizes. Mark uses an orange 6-8 rated Matrix Slik Hybrid elastic to 0.14mm Matrix Power Micron mainline, a 4x14 MP4 float and a 0.12mm hooklength. The hook is a size 16 or 18 Silver Baggers, depending on the hookbait being used on the day.
“The 50lb catches of silvers that are possible will only come if you use the right approach”
Pole perfection
The various species that are stocked in The Moat all behave in a different manner, so Mark wanted to pick a peg that would give him the chance of banking a few examples of each. “I am going to use the pole today and expect to catch tench and barbel either close to the far bank or, later on, in the margins. Both species can be quite aggressive when feeding and will push out the more fickle roach, bream and crucians. Therefore, I will have a line well away in open water where they can feed undisturbed.” A couple of balls of groundbait were cupped in over each line and it didn’t take long for a few pin-prick bubbles to break the surface – a clear sign that fish were tearing up the bottom to get their share of the platter. Fishing the open-water swim with the float well dotted down, it soon dipped and the elastic zipped out. The culprit was only a 6oz skimmer but it was a welcome start nonetheless. “That is exactly why you have to fish with a light elastic – if you use anything heavier then these, smaller fish would be bumped off on the strike. If I do hook a bigger fish I can tighten the elastic with a side puller.” Keeping a trickle of maggots going in via the catapult was working and although most of the fish in open water were less than 8oz, Mark knew that the area close to the features offered a better chance of a lump. As Mark stared intently waiting for the next bite, he noticed a tree branch twitch in the corner of his eye close to where his other line was prepared. “There are definitely fish there – let’s have a look and see what’s about,” he said. A 4mm expander pellet was hooked, the rig laid in and he barely had time to draw breath before the float rocketed under and a firm strike was met with a solid resistance. This was no skimmer bream! The fish stormed off into open water, pulling out at least 10ft of elastic. Had a rogue carp made its way into the lake? It continued to plod around, slowly but surely coming towards the net before swimming at pace in circles close to the keepnet, occasionally making a rapid dive to get under the platform. By applying more tension to the elastic the fish began to tire, and an effort to shorten the battle saw it break the surface – with one quick scoop of the net a 4lb barbel was beaten. “The lake is full of these. They are so popular with anglers because they don’t half fight, as this little beauty has just proved!” Picking off a couple of barbel and the occasional tench before going back to open water for a smaller stamp kept the bites coming. And a kilo of groundbait, a tin of corn and a pint of maggots and micro pellets proved enough to amass a 40lb net. “I’ve caught barbel, tench, skimmers, crucians and roach today and I don’t think I’d have caught anywhere near this many of them if I had been on a water that also had big stocks of carp,” said Mark. “Many commercials have tried and failed to convince anglers that silvers-only pools are worth having, but The Moat at Wold Farm is proving a major hit.”