How shallow can I fish at this time of year?

Sam Halliday, Runcorn

AIt depends on the venue’s depth, but on a 6ft-deep lake, you could fish at half-depth. It’s rare to get any bites a foot deep, as you would in summer, unless the swim is full of fish that you can see. Begin fishing on the bottom and if you’re getting line bites or foul hooking the odd fish then come up by six inches at a time. When these two things happen, they’re normally an indication that the fish are feeding off the bottom and can be caught there. To catch them, a bait that flutters slowly through the water is brilliant so consider bread, a piece of corn or maggots. Des Shipp