I DON’T MUCH LIKE F1s BUT THEY POSE A REAL CHALLENGE!
IT’S that time of year when we often sit and reflect about what’s happened in the previous 12 months. Once again I’ve not been able to fish as much as I used to, but when I have been able to get out I’ve done okay.
My competitive highlight was a friendly affair run by an old friend, Barry Abbott, at his own lake. I had some really lovely tench on my roach rig (and some incredibly tiny perch on my tench rig) that made my day.
They needed fishing for, the bites were nothing to write home about, and feeding had to be spot-on. It takes me a while to get into ‘match mode’ but once I tuned into the fish I really enjoyed it.
I also had my first proper ‘F1 experience’ on Gold Valley’s Middle Lake. I’m no lover of these hybrids, something I’ve not been shy of mentioning, but I can understand why anglers love catching them. They are very tricky customers!
I had some great advice from Will Raison, and using that as a base I was able to learn some things about F1s for myself.
Anglers who fished the Lower Thames and Warwickshire Avon among a few other venues might understand me when I say it’s like fishing for a cross between carp, crucians and dace.
The feeding, identification of ‘real’ bites and most efficient depth to fish at were the main keys, and I know that if I’d fished the same peg the next day in the same conditions I’d have more than doubled my weight. Once again it took a long time for my match fishing brain to kick in. It doesn’t get used enough!