Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Silver-only waters tipped for the top – Ian Jones
Silver species are on the rise! Ian Jones discovers why a new style of commercial will become more widespread
THERE’S no hiding from the fact that silver fish are regarded as second-class citizens in commercials. Carp and F1s rule the roost in a huge proportion of fisheries and while other species have become more common in recent years, they are still an afterthought when it comes to stocking. Breaking away from the mould seems too risky to bosses who feel it is a safer bet to top up with carp and F1s to satisfy their regulars. And who can blame them, with a number of fisheries unsuccessfully creating silver fish only pools in the past. Within years – sometimes only months – they were closed as anglers showed little interest and stuck to bagging carp.
But there’s a feeling in the air that times are changing. Fishermen have tired of catching the same species every drop in, looking elsewhere for other options. A return to rivers or canals is off the cards for many as they still want the convenience of a commercial. So what now? Could it be time for someone to have another crack at successfully selling the idea of silveronly sport on commercials? The owners of Derbyshire’s Spring Cottage Fisheries believe it is. It’s hard to argue that they haven’t gone above and beyond what anyone else has ever done, dedicating not just one but three of the six onsite lakes solely to various silver species. Having only been open for just over a year, the signs are already encouraging, with new faces appearing around the pools every week as they go in search of a bulging bag of silvers.
Traditional stocking
If you do find yourself on a commercial that has a few silver fish, there is every chance that barbel, chub and ide will be included. But the owners of Spring Cottage have gone down a route that even the most vocal purists would struggle to find fault with. Roach, bream, tench, crucians, rudd and perch are the only species that will be responsible for pulling out your elastic on Chestnut, Elm and Poplar Stretch. Ian Jones is the news editor of IYCF’s sister title, Angling Times, and when he isn’t busy hunting down the big scoops of the week, he loves nothing more than catching silvers. A quick text message to see if he fancied a session at Spring Cottage was met with a swift response of: ‘Give me five minutes mate!’ It took half that time for him to sweet talk the boss before he excitedly confirmed he was game for finding out more about this unique complex. The heavy rigs, thick elastics and gob-stopper hookbaits were left in the garage as we headed off to cast our analytical eye over the venue.
Spoilt for choice
Each of the three silver fish lakes has its own character that differentiates it from the rest. Chestnut is home to almost 10,000 fish, with an even blend of roach, bream, tench, crucians
“These fish are in pristine condition and you get plenty of fight”
and rudd. Elm has a traditional edge with tench and true crucians the only species while The Poplar Stretch has all the hallmarks of a typical canal and is home to stacks of clonking roach and skimmers. The trio all fitted the bill for the silver fish fest that Ian had in mind and by pretty much a random choice he opted for Chestnut. A small pool with a fairly circular shape, there were fish topping left, right and centre when he arrived. Most commercials ban keepnets except for in matches but Spring Cottage goes against the grain and allows pleasure anglers to use them so their catch can be admired at the end of the day. All nets are supplied by the fishery to prevent diseases being transferred to the fishery. “There isn’t a single carp in this lake. I know for a fact that every time the float goes under I will be attached to a quality silver, which is exactly what I am after,” explained Ian. “I’ve come armed with a bit of groundbait and two pints each of maggots and casters and if the reports I’ve heard are accurate, I should be in for a brilliant day.”
Mixed bag magic
Selecting a peg with a gentle breeze blowing in to his face, Ian set about feeding two lines in a different manner. “I have no idea if the fish are going to want lots of bait or whether a little-and-often attack will be better. Therefore I’m covering both options. “I’ll feed a couple of balls of groundbait on a long pole line and then regularly flick five or six casters over a second line 6m out. “More often than not, one is better than the other. Time will tell which is most prolific.” A single caster hookbait went on and Ian shipped out 12m then allowed the rig to settle. As he dipped his hand in the bait tub to feed the short line the float tentatively slid away and a gentle lift saw a tiny roach come to the net. Not the specimen what he was after, but a start. Several others pestered him so a change was made. Out came a small pole pot and a few casters were dropped in every time he laid in the rig. “By doing this I am giving the small fish something else to show an interest in. That reduces the chance of them attacking my hookbait and enables it to get to the bottom where I’m hoping the better fish are sat.” The ploy paid dividends with a run of small tench coming to the net. “These fish are all in pristine condition and when you put in a light elastic you still get plenty of fight,” enthused Ian. As time passed it was clear that trickling loosefeed with an odd ball of groundbait to regroup the shoal was the best tactic. The stamp of fish slowly improved, with chunky roach, skimmers and tench making their way to the net. He wasn’t the only one making the most of the sport, with several other anglers clearly beaming at the action they were enjoying – and there wasn’t a carp to be seen. “I’ve had around 30lb in a few hours sport today and the float hasn’t stopped going under since the start. “It’s taken a long time to change attitudes so that waters like this can be taken seriously but Spring Cottage is definitely proving there is now a place in the market for silver fish-only lakes,” concluded Ian.