Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Sedge your bets with silvers – Dan White
Dan White proves that snake lakes aren’t all about summer-only carp and F1s during a super silver fish session at The Sedges in Somerset
MANY commercial fisheries have a snake lake onsite and stocking rates are usually high. But despite the vast numbers of carp and F1s residing in such lakes, they can be an incredibly tough nut to crack during winter. With most of the vegetation clinging to the far bank, the predominant species sit tight to it as they shelter from the elements. Fish anywhere other than here and you’ll struggle to get bites from carp and F1s as they refuse to budge from their safe haven. Even if you are willing to wield up to 16m of pole to reach them, they’ll soon spook and swim away because they see the pole hovering over their heads in the clear and shallow water. With this in mind, giving snake lakes a wide berth might seem like a sensible option. Not according to Dan White. He believes there is an unknown aspect to these waters that makes them much more appealing during the cold. Although fishery owners publicly boast about the massive numbers of carp and F1s they have stocked, they rarely do justice to the other species that mingle unnoticed in their midst. “There is a perception that snake lakes are only worth fishing if you want to catch carp and F1s, but that isn’t true at all,” explains Dan. “Pretty much every snake I have fished has also been packed with silvers and these can be caught close to the bank in virtually any conditions. I’d much rather get bites almost every chuck from a wide range of species than get lucky with an occasional big fish in winter. And I know plenty of other anglers are of a similar mindset.”
Mixed bag magic
Carp were the only thing that anglers had any interest in when the commercial boom kicked in. Times have changed though. There is now a much bigger emphasis on variety and fisheries that have adopted this philosophy are reaping the rewards. The Sedges in Somerset has three lakes and there has been a surge of interest in its snake lake in recent years, mainly because of its impressive year-round form. Roach, bream, tench and barbel are commonplace and they make sure there’s no shortage of sport when the temperatures drop. “All of these species are happy in open water and that means you only have to fish a few metres out to catch them. “In fact, fishing anywhere other than down the middle will reduce the number you catch as the silvers won’t feel comfortable close to the far bank because of the number of carp which are
“The float had barely settled before the well-dotted tip disappeared”
likely to be sat there in a dormant state.” An added bonus of fishing at The Sedges is that pleasure anglers are welcome to use a keepnet (fishery nets only) which is a rare delight on the commercial scene.
Two-line attack
No matter how many top kits you have in your holdall, only two, plus the cupping kit, are required on snake lakes. In order to give him the best possible chance of catching several species Dan fishes two different lines, both at 8m, one to the left and one to the right of the swim. “Pellets are fed heavily on all commercials so you can’t ignore them. I introduce a small quantity of micros over one line with the aim of fishing a 4mm expander over the top. “This is topped up with a small pot after every fish and throughout the course of the day you will only need half a pint of pellets to keep it going. The other line is dedicated to fishing maggot over groundbait. This gives me a better chance of catching roach because they tend not to fancy pellets.” Dan’s groundbait mix is an even blend of Spotted Fin Dark Super Blend and Sweet Super Blend. Two tightly packed balls are introduced at the start with another cup of loose groundbait added at the same time. “It is only 4ft deep and the loose groundbait helps create a scent trail in the water column which draws fish in. I also add a handful of maggots to give the fish a little more food content to get their heads down on.”
Switching swims
With only a couple of others anglers dotted around the lake, Dan had the pick of the pegs. He opted to tackle up on the first swim he came to at the end of the peninsula between Brick and Tile Lakes.
“The beauty of silvers in commercials is that they don’t shoal up anywhere near as much as carp and F1s so, no matter where you sit, you can be confident you are going to get bites.” As planned, both lines received their initial feed and it was the pellet zone that would be investigated first. The float had barely settled before the well-dotted tip disappeared and a hand-sized skimmer was a welcome start. Fish of this stamp provided the mainstay of the sport in the first half an hour but as he was constantly adding a few more pellets every time he shipped back out, Dan was adamant it would attract the attentions of bigger fish. And so it proved. On the 40-minute mark a couple of feet of his yellow Garbolino Bazoocarp elastic came out of the pole tip. A bigger skimmer flipped out of the water in an acrobatic fashion on three occasions before it was subdued and coaxed to the net. “I’ll feed a few more pellets but it is time to have a go on the groundbait line. I always like to let that settle for at least an hour as I find the bigger fish have a look and get confident because of the lack of commotion,” explains Dan, as he smoothly ships out. Small skimmers and roach were the first fish to be caught but, similar to the pellet line, the size of them soon increased with big skimmers to 2lb and even an unseasonal golden tench putting in an appearance. By rotating lines throughout the session Dan managed to bag over 30lb of silvers on a day when going all out for carp would have been a big gamble. “I left home this morning knowing that I was going to get lots of bites regardless of which peg I settled on and that is something you can’t guarantee if you are fishing for carp. “Everyone knows how good snake lakes are when it is warm but this should act as a reminder that they can also provide red hot action during winter.”