Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Revealed: The 3in rule – Matt Bingham
Matt Bingham explains why having four rigs set-up to cover one foot of water is the key to consistenly catching F1s shallow
ALL pole anglers have an array of top kits in their holdall and most of them are put to use every time they step on the bank. Determined to cover every inch of their swim in a bid to keep bites coming, it is common for half a dozen different rigs to come into play. Set-ups will be assembled to cover the margins, 5m line, open water, shallow and up against any noticeable features. The problem is, having so many options can actually have an adverse effect, with anglers often failing to capitalise on certain areas of their peg when the fish arrive because they are fishing elsewhere. Spotted Fin’s Matt Bingham has no such problems. He is an advocate of being bold and throwing all his eggs in one basket when targeting F1s. A self-confessed shallow fishing fanatic, he still sets up several top kits but they will all do a very similar job in a single spot. “Lots of anglers set up one rig to fish shallow but I make sure I have four of them by my side and will spend the whole day working a single area of my peg,” explained Matt. “At this time of year you can guarantee that the F1s will be sat off the bottom but they will continuously switch the depth they are feeding at so you need different rigs to capitalise.”
Cover every inch
It is easy to understand why you might start catching fish if you switched the depth by a few feet but Matt has proved time and time again that a mere 3in (that’s not an error!) adjustment can make a huge difference. “F1s are extremely fickle and you’ll think they have disappeared but they’ve simply dropped or risen a few inches in the water column. “More often than not you’ll catch a few fish at one depth and then need to reach for a different rig that is set a little deeper or shallower.” Matt has four rigs ready to go covering depths of 6in, 9in, 12in and 15in deep. Although the elastic, line and hook are identical, it is the float choice where things differ. “The deeper you go the more stability your float needs to provide. It must be heavier and/or longer to help give good presentation and not get dragged out of place by any wind or tow.”
Hit more bites with a short line
F1s have lightning fast reactions. They can intercept a bait and eject it a split second later. In that moment the float will sink and before you’ve even had a chance to strike the fish has scarpered. But there is an easy way of making sure you hit more bites. “Keeping a short length of line between your pole tip and float is vital. I always set this at 4in when venue rules allow (some fisheries insist on a longer length),” revealed Matt. “More often than not the fish will hook themselves against the pole tip when they hit the bait and the elastic will zip out. Even if that doesn’t happen, that short length of line will help you make contact with the hookbait on the strike a split second quicker than if it was double the length.”
Change by 3 inches at a time
It’s all well and good having four rigs at your side but knowing when to switch between them is the most important aspect. “I always start the day fishing with the 15in rig because it can take a little while for them to come really shallow. “I’d expect to catch a few fish at this depth but if I start missing bites or foul-hooking fish it is an indication they have come shallower. “I will only go to the next rig that is 3in shallower and then take things from there. “It is time to go deeper if the bites stop completely.” Matt often finds himself rotating rigs every few minutes as the fish are constantly changing the depth. If he goes a minute without a bite or experiences three missed bites on the trot then it is time to make a switch. “It is rare the fish go from 6in to 15in in one move or vice versa, so only pick up the next rig along and change by 3in. It may sound like such a minor alteration but you’ll be amazed at how quick you start getting bites again.”
Feed every 20 seconds
The prolific Tunnel Barn Farm in Warwickshire is Matt’s favourite haunt and is the venue where he worked out this winning way of fishing. Tackling up on House Pool for the IYCF cameras, he started lashing in maggots by hand around 8m out. “It is very important to keep the feed going in and make sure a column of bait is always falling through the upper layers of the water. “I will feed 20 maggots just before I ship out and do the same just before I slap the rig over the top.
“If I go 20 seconds without a bite I will lift up the rig and lay it back in and feed again, and keep repeating this until I finally hook a fish. Once I do, I feed the moment after I have set the hook. “This makes sure that any remaining fish in the area are distracted and stay in the peg.” During a full day session Matt expects to use four pints of maggots but stresses that it is vital that you never let off the feed as the fish can vanish in an instant. White maggots are loosefed with one or two banded red maggots as hookbait because this stands out amid the ones fed by hand. It took around 15 minutes to get a response but Matt kept feeding during this period. Eventually the 15in deep rig produced four quick fish before he missed a series of bites. A move to the 12in deep rig gave a similar response and he was soon up to 9in deep and then 6in. As predicted, the bites ceased but rather than sit and hope for the best he quickly went slightly deeper and, like flicking a switch, the bites returned once more. “I’ve fished for four hours and it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say I’ve switched the rig more than 100 times. “I’ve caught well over 100lb of F1s but I am convinced I wouldn’t have had even half of that if I had sat on one shallow rig. “Four rigs sounds a lot to cover a foot of water but it is so important for bagging shallow,” concluded Matt.