Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Bag up short on snake lakes – Colin Bartlett
Fishery boss Colin Bartlett has a more productive way of fishing snake lakes than simply relying on far-bank swims
IF YOU are a fan of snake lakes then there is one area of your swim that will occupy much of your attention. The far bank always looks like the obvious place to start, with the reeds and overhanging bushes constantly twitching as fish manoeuvre their way through the cover. Once all your tackle and bait is prepared you’ll excitedly ship out at least 13m of pole to get among the action and it’s likely you will get a few bites. Sadly though, fishing at distance all day often comes at a cost. There’s the frustration of losing your hookbait when you miss a bite. The annoyance of bait bouncing out of your cup as you ship out. And then there’s the aches and pains days later from holding out many metres of carbon all day long. But that is what you’ve got to put up with if you want to bag up on snake lakes. Or is it? Colin Bartlett, the main man at Essex’s Lake John believes you can succeed on these waters using only a top kit and three sections. “There’s no denying that the far bank of any snake lake is always home to fish, but there will be just as many – if not more – lingering out of sight down the track and margins,” explained Colin. “I’ve lost count of the number of fish I have caught at short range. I’m convinced that on each day I’d have put fewer in the net had I made the far bank my main focus.”
A real mixed bag
One of the most fun elements of fishing down the middle on snake lakes is that you’ll be kept wondering as to exactly what will take the bait next. Carp and F1s are often ravenous in shallow water tight to the far bank but down the middle the water is much deeper and that enables all species to settle. “You need to use an approach that will give you a chance of getting bites off everything that swims as opposed to being selective and only drawing the attentions of big fish. “There’s every chance that there will be carp, tench, bream and crucians to name but a few species and you need to use rigs and
bait that give you a decent chance of catching them all.” Colin likes to feed small quantities of dampened micro pellets after every fish, using his thumb to cram them into the pot. This makes sure all of the bait stays in the pot while shipping out and also makes it come out in a clump which ensures it all gets to the bottom much quicker. “If you feed micro pellets loosely they will sink slowly and smaller silvers which are extremely active will intercept them on the way down. “That means less bait is getting to the deck and if the carp, bream and tench aren’t getting the food they want they are likely to move off in search of supplies.” On days when bites are proving hard to come by. Colin will resort to feeding tiny balls of groundbait to reduce the food content and force the fish to take the hookbait if they want the odd morsel of food. A 4mm expander pellet or kernel of corn will work for all species and rotating between a pair of lines that are located to the right and left makes sure you never experience dry spells.
Unusual loosefeed
Plundering the track is often the way to keep bites coming in the early stages of the day but it is the margins that can really boost your catches later on. Plumb up down the edge and you will often find anywhere between 1ft and 2ft of water tight up to the bank – the ideal depth in which to catch big carp. “You need a depth where fish want to feed comfortably without rising off the bottom. “If it is any deeper than 2ft then they will rise off the deck to intercept loosefeed and brush up against the rig, but if it is much shallower than a foot the carp won’t feel safe and don’t feed confidently.” Big beds of groundbait, dead maggots and corn are often piled in at close quarters but Colin goes down a different route when feeding his margins “I find that feeding cups of expander pellets gets better results for the bigger carp at this time of year. “It’s all about giving the fish something they don’t see much of and not many anglers feed the edge like this. Expanders are very light which makes it easier for fish to hoover them up and that encourages them to feed for longer.”
Scaling down
When you consider that big fish are inevitable down the margins, it is easy to see why using heavy gear would seem essential. But with most commercials being relatively free of snags, you can often use terminal tackle that is much lighter. “Fishing lighter will get you more bites and even when I am fishing down the margins I am happy to use 0.11mm or 0.13mm hooklengths. “That might seem light but use a soft elastic with plenty of stretch and you won’t suffer any breakages while also tiring the fish.” A medium gauge size 16 hook is ideal for corn or pellet hookbaits, with a thick-tipped float best when using these baits. The majority of commercials now have snake lakes and you can catch more by going against the grain.