Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
The ultimate silverfish bait combo
When carp move into open water, the margins become rich pickings for silvers. Tony Curd details the baits he uses to plunder them
FISHING the short pole on commercial venues is responsible for an incredible number of big weights and match wins during the warmer months.
But as Jack Frost puts in an appearance, carp generally move into open water areas of lakes. The short pole line now becomes the perfect area to target a bag of quality silver fish that abound in many commercial venues.
There are a few ways to target the larger stamp of silvers and the main element is to be positive with your feeding – thinking about when to feed, in what amount and also whether you want to concentrate the fish on the bottom or catch them shallow.
To demonstrate how to get the most from the tactic, I’ve brought the IYCF cameras along to Wold Farm Fishery near Rushden, Northamptonshire, for a session on the silverfish- only Moat Pool. This is the perfect location to bag big weights – with the correct approach. Fishing at short range lends itself to amassing a big weight. Not only can you fish at speed, but feeding and accuracy is also a whole lot simpler. And let’s not forget the difficult weather conditions we can face during winter – holding just 5m of pole is possible in all conditions so you won’t be fighting a long length of carbon. Today I have plumbed up at 5m straight out in front and, typically for a commercial water, this puts me at the base of the marginal slope – prime silver fish territory!
Robust rigs
I like to keep my rigs simple. The rig for fishing on the bottom is set up with 0.13mm MAP Power Optex. This is a little more robust than most anglers’ mainline for silvers, but with a number of shot on the line and the possibility of moving them about during the session I aim to start and finish the session with the same rig.
The float is a MAP DF3 in a 4x14 size shotted with a bulk of No. 9 shot and two No. 10 droppers, the last one just above the loops of my hooklength connection. A 4in hooklength of 0.10mm Power Optex to a size 18 808 hook completes my rig for fishing on the deck.
This rig is straight to the point in my 5ft deep swim, gets down quickly and is incredibly stable. It is plumbed to fish two inches overdepth initially, perfect for chopped worm.
The only other rig I set up when fishing like this is a shallow rig. As I’ll be loosefeeding casters over the top, there is always the possibility that fish can come shallow so a MAP S2 is my choice in a 4x10 size.
Lots of anglers struggle to hit bites when fishing shallow for silvers, so by using an inline float I find the direct connection I get helps hook more fish. This rig is set up with a bulk of No. 10 shot at half the depth I intend to fish, between 18in and 2ft, with the same line and hook combination as my deck rig. Both rigs are set up for a super soft 3- 6 MAP TKS Twin Core Hollow elastic, which is perfect for anything from small roach to any larger barbel, skimmers, tench or even rogue carp by using a puller kit.
Classic bait combo
Bait for silvers couldn’t be more straightforward, but thinking about how you feed it is the most important part. My approach revolves around fishing with chopped worm and caster – a classic combination that works on all venues at any time of the year. Plus, it has the knack of catching better- sized fish.
To start, I riddle off my worms which makes them easier to chop and gauge and how many I’m feeding. The peat they are supplied in must
“Bait for silvers couldn’t be more straightforward, but thinking about how you feed it is the most important part”
not be thrown away as this forms part of the feed. I add a small amount of Bait- Tech Special G Dark and mix it into a stiff to stodgy mix – if it’s too sloppy it won’t hold the bait and carry it to the bottom. There will also be a lot of cloud coming off the ball which can attract small nuisance fish.
To kickstart the swim, I feed one big ball of this with a large amount of casters and worms. It’s then simply a case of feeding to your bites, topping up regularly with smaller balls laced heavily with chopped worms and casters. When bites slow up, add loosefed casters over the top. This draws fish into the swim.
When loosefeeding to try to catch bigger fish and keep them on the bottom, it’s best to feed larger amounts of bait but not so often – 30 casters every two to three minutes would be about right in most cases.
Wold View delights
I began feeding just a single ball dropped in over the top with a small worm head segment. Immediately, I was getting signs on the float and it wasn’t long before it dipped from sight.
A flurry of small tench, crucians and the odd quality roach got me off to a fantastic start but it wasn’t long before bites dried up, a sure sign the fish were actively eating the bait and had cleared the swim.
By topping up more regularly and loosefeeding casters over the top, I was soon enjoying incredible fishing. As the session progressed, the small fish were replaced by quality skimmers and hard- fighting barbel.
There were occasions when bites dried up. A few swirls on the surface among the loosefeed and a few goes on the shallow rig with maggot or caster resulted in bites from roach and crucians while bigger fish on the bottom regained confidence.
After just four hours I’d put together a big weight of fish – for the price of some worms and a couple of pints of casters, a brilliant way to spend a chilly day on the bank. Around 90lb of mixed silvers showed that while the short pole is a carp bagger in summer, it can also plunder silvers in winter!