Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
DEEP COMMERCIALS
Don’t be afraid of fishing man-made venues where the bottom may be deeper than your pole is long, says Kristian Jones, who guides you through the process
THERE’S something quite intimidating about deep commercial lakes. The standard depth of most fisheries often lies between 4ft and 8ft so it is easy to see why fishing a venue that could be over five times deeper can prove daunting. Dozens of questions are bound to fill your head. What rigs do I use? How far out should I fish? What baits will be best? For some, the confusion will be overwhelming and they will turn away and look elsewhere for a venue with a more conventional depth. But that is a big mistake in the opinion of rising match fishing star Kristian Jones. The Bag’em Matchbaits and Tricast-backed angler believes that those worries are unfounded and that fishing deep waters isn’t such a headache. “There are a lot more commercial lakes cropping up that are much deeper than anglers are used to but they are full of fish and anyone can bag-up,” explained Kristian. “It is all about following the rules and principles you work to every time you go fishing and not falling into the trap of thinking you need to overhaul your entire approach for the occasion.”
Distance decisions
If you fish the pole you will be used to targeting different areas of your swim. More often than not you will have a line down the margins, one at 5m and a third at 13m. “Anglers feel inclined to fish well away from the bank to start with but on deep waters you need to fish wherever there is a suitable depth when you are fishing on the deck. “If it is deeper than 8ft then I won’t even consider fishing on the bottom as fish don’t sit in that much water when it is warm.” Kristian’s ideal depth is 6ft and he will set the rig to that and plumb around his swim until he finds that. “The Claypit at Weston Pools in Shropshire is one of my favourite lakes and more than 40ft deep in places, even on the pole line! “More often than not you only have to go a few metres out to find the depth you are looking for and that will be one of the main lines I fish.” Kristian will also target the margins and aim to find anywhere between 12in and 2ft where he employs a ‘jigga’ float to fish the upper layers. “It is inevitable that there will be a lot of fish just under the surface during the summer. I tend to fish for these at a distance that I can comfortably throw pellets by hand and that is usually 8m in front.”
Feeding patterns
The three lines that Kristian fishes all need feeding in a different manner. “When you are fishing shallow you need to keep a constant rain of bait going in because that is what keeps the carp and F1s sitting just beneath the surface,” he explained. “The fish come up to intercept the loosefeed and in order to keep them so shallow you need to throw in a dozen 4mm pellets every 30 seconds.” It is a completely different ball game when fishing on the bottom in 6ft of water with Kristian preferring to carefully cup in a small quantity of 6mm pellets after every fish.
“You are trying to keep the fish on the deck here so if you feed too much the fish will rise up and start brushing up against the line that will register as line bites on the float. “By feeding infrequently you give the fish no reason to come off the bottom which makes them easier to catch. Doing it through a cup also creates less disturbance.” Last but not least, the margins are fed with big pots of groundbait. Kristian uses an even blend of Bag’em Matchbaits Krill Seeker and Commercial Carp. “The fish aren’t sat in the edge to start with so you need to feed it heavily to draw them in. Putting in large quantities of groundbait always helps to attract the biggest fish.”
Claypit action
The Claypit was the perfect spot to demonstrate Kristian’s tactics because every one of its 29 pegs is extremely deep. Out came the plummet and Kristian found a small patch of shallow water tight into the edge where dumped in a big pot of groundbait. It was then a case of picking up his open-water rig and looking for that magical 6ft of water. He eventually located a suitable spot close to the platform to his right. “Many anglers would see this as their margin line because it is so close to the bank but this is the equivalent to a long pole line anywhere else because of the depth. “I will be lining the rig up with the end of the platform as there is a steep slope and if I fish even slightly further out I will be in much deeper water and that will reduce my chances of
catching well.” This is exactly where Kristian started, cupping in a dozen pellets before lowering in a banded 6mm hookbait over the top. As he waited for the first bite he continuously lashed pellets 7m in front to get the fish competing shallow, keeping his eyes peeled for swirls to indicate that the fish had started feeding. A run of small of F1s came on the deck before a look on the shallow line produced bigger fish. Rotating swims and keeping bait going in as and when needed produced bites for two hours. During that time another couple of cups of groundbait went in tight to the bank and eventually the big carp arrived. “I haven’t fished any further than 7m on any line and I have caught all day, ending with well over 100lb of carp and F1s. “Apply the tactics and knowledge you already have when fishing deep water and you can’t go wrong,” he surmised.