Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
JOHN WILSON BOOK GET YOUR COPY NOW!
Limited Edition – celebrate the life of our greatest- ever angler
Get them ready for the hook
Straight from the bag, expanders are rock hard - which means they are unhookable - and they float, rendering them utterly useless for all but surface fishing applications. So they first have to be prepared.
The easiest way is to use a bait pump and the Ringers pump is one of the best. The great thing about a pump is that you can prepare the pellets in seconds on the bank. It is also the easiest way to add a flavour or colour.
Pumping creates a vacuum which sucks air from the chamber where the pellets are loaded.
This forces water into the pellets causing them to expand. Over- pumping can cause pellets to expand too much and become too soft to hook.
The best way to prepare expanders is to place the pellets in a pump, fill the pump with water and then very slowly, pump them twice, three times at the most. At this point I drain off the water to prevent further expansion. As I like to fish over a bed of micro pellets, I don't want my hookbait to become too large and marshmallowey!
You’ll now have perfect expanders but, to go that one step further, I have started adding a generous glug of Dynamite's new Sticky Pellet Syrup to the water prior to pumping.
As well as boosting then flavour of the pellets, the syrup adds a slight resilience to the finished hookbait.
This little bit of extra toughness stops them coming off the hook too readily when I strike.
This means I can keep the rig in the water for longer and ultimately make less disturbance as I don’t have to ship in and out as often.
F1s are classic at giving you tiny bites at times which are easy to miss and if you have to constantly ship in, rebait and ship out again it won't be long before they all spook and move out of your swim.
“The great thing about a pump is that you can prepare the pellets in seconds”
Fishing expanders
Today I have concentrated my efforts on two swims – one under a tree at 13 metres and one in the margins to my left at the same length.
With the water still cold, but coloured and with a cold rain coming down all day, this snag provides the fish with somewhere to feel safe.
On to this line I plan to pot in a pinch of micro pellets, which I have moistened and added a squirt of F1 Syrup so they fall in a tight clump to the lakebed. This enables me to place my 4mm expander accurately over the loosefeed.
The tackle I'm using is a 5- 8 Maver Dual Core elastic to a MV- R 0.14mm ( 4lb 4oz) mainline to a 0.12mm ( 3lb 3oz) hooklink and a size 16 hook.
The float is a Maver Finesse Series 1, a classic pellet float which is fished dead depth, to register the most delicate of bites. I have a tight, bulk starting at the top of the six- inch hooklink, which also helps with the positivity of the rig.
As this swim is 4ft deep, I am only loosefeeding micros so that the fish don't come up in the water too easily and stay on the deck.
My second line is in the margins, at a depth of 3ft. It is still a little early in the year for the fish to come in this close, so I need to feed it in a way that will draw them and hold them in the area. This means as well as loosefeeding micro pellets, I also top off my pole pot with a little F1 Milled Expander Pellet groundbait. This is a very fine, light and highly- flavoured groundbait, which creates a cloud when it enters the water. It shouldn’t cause the fish to come up in the water, but its cloud and attractive flavour will draw fish in numbers. I use the exact same rig on this line as the first. Over both lines I fish a 4mm expander. I top up after every fish, prior to swapping to the other line so that I am always resting one. If the fish are not hard on the feed, trying to catch too many at once from one area can see you quickly ruining your chances. Like most sessions, it is just a case of chopping and changing throughout the day, feeding to your bites. The beauty of using such a small pole pot is that if you do make a mistake and feed too much, you can bring that line back again. If you dump in a big 250ml cup, you could kill it from the off and then you have nowhere else to go.
Pellet fishing is easy. A few expanders, a handful of micros and groundbait and you're set for the day.
ANGLING Times has launched a brilliant new book to celebrate the life of John Wilson, our greatest- ever angler.
Created with the blessing of John’s widow, Jo, the strictly limited- edition, 132- page book is packed with classic stories from Wilson’s lifetime in fishing. In his own words he explains how he started in the sport and recounts stories behind his ‘ Go Fishing’ years and his move to Thailand.
It also features some of his most popular magazine articles, amazing catches, classic interviews and behind- the- scenes stories from throughout his career.
A special section called ‘ Wilson & Me’ gives readers an insight into fishing trips he shared with famous anglers worldwide, including a full re- run of the Wilson versus Dick Clegg matches and his US carp trip with Chris Tarrant.
Wilson’s relative, Angling Times columnist Martin Bowler, also recalls several trips with John and how the pair inspired each other over four decades. Angling Times Editor- in- Chief, Steve Fitzpatrick, has helped put the book together. He said: “This is a true celebration of the life of John who many people, myself included, believe to be our greatest- ever angler.
“Just like many other anglers, he inspired me to pick up a rod and this book goes a small way to thank him for all those incredible journeys he set us on and the memories we created along the way.”
The book will also help readers improve their own fishing, with a chapter on some of John’s best tips from nearly 70 years on the bank.
Additionally, a huge Where to Fish section enables readers to follow in John’s footsteps and features top guides to his favourite rivers and lakes, including many that featured in his hit TV series.
Proceeds from the book will help create a memorial to John on his favourite River Wensum.