Winter float
NOW IS THE TIME TO CATCH YOURSELF A GOOD WEIGHT ON FLOAT GEAR!
advice from Dave Harrell
CONDITIONS on the rivers over the past few weeks have been less than perfect in most areas of the country. High water has resulted in many anglers not wetting a line for several weeks, but these past few days have seen an end to the stuff, hopefully for the next couple of months! We now face a different problem, though, as the air temperature has tumbled and sub-zero overnight temperatures are affecting sport in a different way.
Some species, such as barbel and bream, hate big temperature drops, especially when the water is running clear, so my advice would be to avoid targeting these fish until things warm up and there is colour in the water again. Far more reliable species to go for include grayling, chub and dace, so this week I’m going to take you through the approaches you should use to keep yourself busy and warm while the temperatures are low.
The three species I’ve mentioned can often be found in very similar swims, so as long as you choose yours carefully there’s a good chance you could end up catching a good mixed bag by the end of your session.
IDEAL SWIMS
Contrary to what some people say, fish don’t all head for the slow, deep water when the temperatures are low. Over the years I’ve caught more big winter weights from fast, shallow swims than deep ones and I’ve found the ideal depth to be anything from 3ft to 4ft.
You also need some decent flow, as this keeps fish moving and in turn also helps to keep them hungry and looking for food.
Bear in mind too that many of our rivers have been flooded for several weeks, so fish won’t have eaten anywhere near as well as they would have done had the floods not occurred.
The perfect swim would have cover down the inside or far side in the form of overhanging trees and this is especially useful on small rivers, which I love fishing at this stage of the season. On bigger rivers this isn’t so important, as your feed will be the key to drawing fish into the swim from a long way downstream.
RODS AND REELS
Like any form of fishing, it’s important to use balanced tackle when you’re fishing for grayling, chub and dace. There’s a real chance that you might hook into a big chub at some point, but you also want to ensure that you get the maximum number of bites from all three species and this usually means a compromise in terms of terminal tackle. For this reason, I use a 13ft Daiwa Tournament Pro float rod, which is perfectly suited to a wide variety of lines. I match the rod with a Daiwa TDR 2508 reel loaded with either 3lb (0.16mm) or 4lb (0.18mm) line.
Occasionally, if there are very big fish being encountered, I’ll increase this to 5lb (0.20mm).
HOOKS AND HOOKLENGTHS
As long as the river is fairly fast-flowing there’s no need to use ultra-light hooks or hooklengths, in my opinion. My lightest hooklength in these situations would be a hi-tech 0.12mm, going up to 0.16mm or even 0.18mm if big fish
start to show. Generally, though, 0.12mm or 0.14mm will suffice and be strong enough to land good quality chub as well as dace and grayling.
My number one hook choice for this sort of fishing is the Drennan Wide Gape in sizes from 18 up to 12. A size 16 with two maggots would normally be the starting point, and I would go up or down according to fish response.
Wide Gape hooks are available loose or tied to nylon and unlike many pre-tied hooks on the market, they are excellent. I remember once saying to Peter Drennan that I’d like to meet the girl who tied them, because if she could do pole rigs as well, I’d like to marry her. They really are that good!
PRESENTATION
When temperatures are down, I can’t stress enough how important it is to experiment with how you present your bait to the fish. It is vital that your hookbait is travelling through the swim with feed, so make sure it happens, even if it you have to feed first and then cast your rig into the area where the feed has landed.
Experiment with depth settings. Even though you might only be fishing in shallow water, an inch or two on or off the depth can make all the difference if it means delivering the hookbait exactly how the fish want it.
KEEP GOING!
It’s really easy to give up too early on cold days, but as long as you select your swim carefully and keep working, you will hopefully get your rewards.
Always remember that more fish on rivers are landed in the last two hours of daylight than the first two hours, so keep working and be ready for that first bite at any time. If you’re lucky, it might be from your best-ever grayling!