Keep feeding! Steve Ringer reveals his tricks for skimmers and F1s on chilly stillwaters.

Get ahead of the opposition with lessons from the master!

6 CREATE A SAFE ZONE

A trick I use on a lot of F1 venues in cold weather is to create a ‘safe zone’ – an area of my swim I leave alone to allow fish to settle there.

This is important when you’re fishing for bigger, older F1s as they are harder to catch. When there’s a match on they can easily spook and look for somewhere to hide.

By picking an out-of-the-way area of my swim and leaving it for around four hours I’m able to make the fish think this area is safe, and they will settle in it. I can then pick them off in the last hour in a quick burst of fish at a crucial time of the match.

I normally fish such areas at 14.5m or 16m to one side if I have the room, and leave them area alone for as long as I can without prepping them with bait or dropping in a rig.

7 CATTY THAT CORN

There’s no doubt that the straight lead is a devastating tactic in the cold, but I’ve always felt it tends to lose its effectiveness in the second half of a match.

It’s for this reason that I’ve started loose feeding an area of my swim for later in the match.

I then spend the first half casting about looking for fish, before dropping on to the loose fed area in the second half.

In clear water, corn is by far the best bait for this, as it’s a bait they can really home in on.

It isn’t a case of lashing corn into the swim to try and pull carp into the area, though. I feed 6-8 grains of corn every 10 minutes in quite a tight area to try and put a little bit of bait into the swim for later on in the match.

8 FEED TIGHT, FISH AROUND

If I’m feeding corn on the bomb I try to feed quite a tight area, but I don’t mind if the odd grain or two lands further or shorter as this allows me to fish a bigger area.

While I will attempt to catch fish on top of the bait to begin with, I will also look to fish just past it and to the sides as well, because sometimes, when the water is cold and clear, carp will come to your bait but will sit to the side or just past it.

By casting around the baited area I can then pick ‘bonus’ fish up which I wouldn’t have caught had I just sat on top of the bait.

9 FIND THE FISH

Perhaps the most important tip for bomb fishing in the cold is location! You have to find the fish because they won’t generally come to you.

So, rather than picking a spot and repeatedly casting to it, I like to search the swim. Of course, if I get a bite or indication I will look to cast back to the same spot because carp rarely sit on their own, and chances are if there is one there will be two. That said, if bites or indications stop then I will simply cast to a new spot and start again.

10 TAKE CASTERS

If I had to pick one bait for commercial silvers it would be casters. Roach and perch love them and they tend to attract a better stamp.

Feed little and often, and if it’s a relatively shallow commercial fish a light rig – the biggest come on the drop. On the hook you can’t beat single caster. If the swim goes quiet, though, I’ll switch to double caster to tempt any perch that move in.

11 POP UP BREAD

How high I pop up my bread discs depends on the water I’m fishing. On Meadowlands’ big lake the depth ranges from 7ft to 12ft on the bomb line and my best results have come from popping up the hookbait 2ft to 4ft, which is a good way off the deck.

On the venue’s Warren Pool, which is 2ft to 4ft deep, most of the carp are caught by popping the hookbait up an inch or two.

While depth is important, the best bit of advice I can give is that if you aren’t getting bites then don’t be afraid to vary it to try and find the fish!

12 START ON BREAD

The secret to quick, early fish in the net is to ‘dob’ bread, and this year that has meant coming away from the far-bank cover and fishing it at the bottom of the far shelf.

A good tip that I was given by F1 master Andy Bennett is to fish a 6mm piece of punch as opposed to 8mm. That way you’ll miss far fewer bites.

13 TWITCH THE BOMB

A little twitch of the bomb can impart movement into the hookbait. To do this, hold the line by the butt ring of the rod and slowly pull it down until you feel the bomb move.

Once the bomb has moved, simply tighten it up and see if the twitch has worked!

14 KEEP IT MOVING

When you are pole fishing in clear water, try lifting and dropping the hookbait to prompt a bite.

The way to do this is to lift the float around 4ins-8ins clear of the water and then lower it back down again. This causes the hookbait to rise and fall, a movement that at times carp find irresistible. TURN OVER FOR MORE TIPS

15 TRY MY SIMPLE CORN RIG

I know I have said this a million times, but the best rigs for any type of fishing are the simplest ones, as they don’t tangle!

My bomb rig is a prime example. I use a mini lead clip with the standard swivel swapped for a size 11 snap link which allows me to clip my hooklengths on and off.

I will opt for a lead that is just heavy enough to allow me to reach the required distance and doesn’t cause a lot of disturbance when it hits the water.

I like a relatively long, 75cm hooklength of 0.15mm. Carp are off the bottom a lot at the moment, so a hookbait that falls that little bit slower might just help to catch their eye.

Hook choice is a size 18 Super MWG for hair-rigged corn, but I will switch to a size 14 QM1 hook to 0.17mm for fishing with a yellow wafter.

17 TRY LOOSE MICROS

Feeding loose micros into deep water can be the kiss of death when you’re fishing for F1s and carp, as it leads to lots of line bites and foul-hooked fish – but for skimmers it’s a very different story.

On waters with a silver fish bias it’s definitely worth trying. All you need is a pint or so of wetteddown 2mm coarse pellets and a few expanders for the hook.

I’m convinced that when the water is clear fish feed by sight rather than smell, so these falling pellets give great attraction.

18 USE POSITIVE RIGS

For targeting skimmers in deep water I like to fish in a relatively positive manner with my rigs.

My favourite float is a 4x18 Carpa Gloucester. This is a very stable float with a decent bristle, which makes reading skimmer bites that little bit easier.

Lift bites tend to be very common with skimmers, so it’s important to look out for these.

With the float so low in the water you can often get false indications, so when the float does go under I like to give it a second before I strike.

Not only does this save time – as I’m not striking my pellet off after every little dip – but it also results in fewer missed bites!

16 TRIPLE HOOKBAITS

In terms of hookbait choice contrary to popular belief corn actually gives you quite a few! To simplify things though there are three I like to concentrate on…

19 PLUMB THE DEPTH WITH CARE

If you’re planning to fish the waggler then plumbing the depth at distance is crucial. However, what you don’t want to be doing is casting a great big plummet out into the lake and scaring every fish in the vicinity.

I prefer to squeeze a swan shot on to the hook and then cast that out to get the depth. This creates a lot less disturbance, and at the same time gives a very accurate reading.

20 TRY A LONGER RIG LINE

When the water is cold and clear, waving a pole about over the water can spook fish. For this reason I like to fish a longer-than-usual length of line between pole float and tip.

As a guide I will fish with between 18ins and 24ins of line between the pole-tip and float, as this allows me to keep the pole out of the way.

To stay in control of the float with such a long line I use a string of No9 back shots with the bottom one 4ins above the float and the rest spaced at 4ins intervals above this.

These back shots give the line above the float some weight, and in turn help me to stay tight on the float. That means I miss very few bites.

21 F1S COME SHALLOW, EVEN IN THE COLD

Depth is crucial when fishing for F1s and perhaps the hardest part is working out what depth the fish want to be in on the day.

At the moment, with the water still being cold, it seems the F1s are at their happiest either across or down the edge. This I believe is because the water is shallower in these places and consequently, when the sun is out, it warms up that bit quicker.

Once the weather and the water temperature start to settle down, though, you will find the F1s will venture back into the deep water again.

22 KEEP ‘PINGING’

I always like to feed a bit of bait in the winter. That way I feel I’m actually doing something positibe to pull fish into the swim.

That said, lashing loads of bait in is going to see any fish in the area head for quieter water. Feeding in the cold is all about tiny amounts of bait. A tactic I’m using now is ‘pinging’ – feeding hard pellets little and often.

Noise and attraction can be a deadly approach on cold days, and it won’t kill your swim.

23 SKIMMERS: GO SOFT

If I’m targeting skimmers on the pole I always start with a 4.5mm Ringers Coolwater Expander on the hook. It stands out well over a bed of micros, giving the skimmers something they can easily home in on.

I also carry a variety of sizes and colours of expander. You’ll often find that you catch well on a standard 4mm expander to begin with, then bites go a little bit funny, even though there are still fish in your swim.

I think what happens is that the fish get used to feeding on micros and start to ignore the bigger bait.

When this happens I switch to a 3.5mm F1 Light expander pellet to match the feed. That way I continue to catch.

24 TRY FLUORO

Line choice is a very personal thing, but for carp in the 2lb-6lb bracket I will normally fish 0.15mm N-Gauge mainline to a 6ins hooklength of 0.14mm Pure Fluorocarbon.

When the water is clear I really do feel that fluorocarbon gives me an edge, as it’s almost invisible to the fish.

25 DOUBLE BULK RIGS

I use what I would term a ‘standard bulk’, with two positive droppers. This set-up helps to amplify bites from skimmers.

The bulk is made up of No8s and the droppers are doubled-up No10s, with the bottom one 6ins from the hook, the second set at 6ins above that and the bulk 20ins from the hook.

26 FISH LONG

Like a lot of species in the cold, skimmers prefer to be in the deeper water. So when I’m targeting them I always like to fish long. Normally I start at 14.5m with a view to moving to 16m later in the session should the need arise. Skimmers can be spooky at this time of the year so if I catch a few and then it dies I’ll think nothing of adding another section and going that little bit further out. TURN OVER FOR MORE TIPS

27 GO STEADY

It will come as no surprise to regular readers to know that my favourite winter float is a Mick Wilkinson Steady.

The beauty of the Steady is that it has a very generic, rugby ball shape which makes it ideal for lots of different applications.

Right now it’s my number one rig for long pole with corn work in the cold, but I will also use it for fishing with pellets.

I’m using the 4x12 size which I find perfect for depths ranging from 5ft-7ft, provided of course it isn’t blowing a gale!

29 THREAD EXPANDERS

Expanders are a brilliant early-season hookbait, but some anglers struggle with them as they are such a soft bait.

When hooking an expander for waggler fishing, you need to make sure the hook has as much purchase inside the pellet at possible. In other words don’t just nick it on, but instead thread it on.

This gives that little bit of extra security on the cast or when shipping out.

28 LOOK TO THE MARGINS

With the days getting longer, water temperatures should be starting to pick up soon. When that happens it can pay to keep your eye on the margins, especially if you’ve got 2ft to 3ft of water there.

It’s always worth feeding a bit of bait just to see, but take care you don’t overfeed, as this can reduce your chances massively. There won’t be many carp moving in, so there’s a danger you can give them too many other options to your hookbait.

Feed for one fish at a time, just half a pot of 6mm meat cubes, corn, and a sprinkle of sweet fishmeal groundbait.

30 DON’T FORGET THE WAGGLER

When the water is cold and clear the fish tend to back away from the bank that little bit further, and often there’s no better way of picking them off than on the waggler.

The beauty of the waggler is that you can fish that little bit further out, so while everyone else is fishing between 13m and 16m from the bank on the pole, you can fish 20m-25m on the waggler. This gives you a real edge, as you are fishing a line that you have all to yourself!

31 WET YOUR PELLETS

On commercials, for me there is no better bait than pellets. All species eat them, everything from carp and skimmers through to roach.

I always wet my pellets for feeding. The main reason is so that they take on a bit of water and become heavier. This allows me to loosefeed them that little bit further than would normally be possible. Another benefit to pre-soaking my feed pellets is that soaking them starts the breakdown process, which means they release a lot more attraction once in the water.

32 SPRINKLE IT IN

The secret to pulling fish into your peg, especially when fishing for F1s, is to keep bait falling through the water. For this reason so you need to choose a pole pot with a sprinkle-type lid to help you feed the peg easily and effectively.

What I like to do is fill the pot up with pellets and then ship out to the required spot. Rather than feeding the whole lot in one go, as with normal pots, a sprinkle lid allows me to get three or four feeds out of each potful of bait.

33 PELLET MATTERS

I’m a big believer in keeping my options open when it comes to hookbait choice, and so I carry a tub full of different sized, and coloured, expanders for the hook.

I use expanders in 2.5mm through to 4mm, but normally I’ll always start on a 4mm pellet.

Once bites start to slow down I will simply drop down to a smaller expander to keep fish coming.

On the subject of colour, when the water is clear I like a light coloured pellet. This is down to visibility, as a light hookbait stands out better.

34 POT POSITION

This is a very simple tip, yet one I see loads of anglers get wrong.

For accurate feeding your pole pot should be right at the tip of your pole – no more than an inch back.

This way, when you tap your bait out, you know you are doing so right on top of the float.

35 CUBE AND A HALF

Some anglers shy away from meat, but in early spring it can be lethal in the margins. My secret hookbait is my ‘cube and a half’ of meat.

My meat cutter is getting a bit worn and the end row is slightly bigger than the rest. I like this because it creates those slightly larger cubes which are great to use on the hook.

36 LIFT INTO BITES

F1s are very delicate feeders where pellets are concerned, so I fish with my float dotted right down and lift at every indication.

When I say ‘lift’ I mean exactly that – there’s no need for a hard strike, it’s just a lift of the pole, and if the fish is on then I’ll ship it back. If it isn’t, then I’ll simply lower the float straight back down again.

Sometimes you’ll lift at the tiniest indication and think “that can’t be on!”, only to have elastic stream from the pole top and a great big F1 end up in the net.

37 10-SECOND RULE

When pellet fishing I’m a massive believer in making a fish have it, as opposed to waiting for them to do so. The best way of doing this is through lifting and dropping the rig.

This causes the hookbait to rise and fall in the water, a motion that F1s often find irresistible, and bites tend to come while the float is settling.

The best way is to lift the float 6ins-8ins clear of the water and then slowly lower it back in again. I then let the float sit for around 10 seconds before repeating the process.