Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
One rig + one bait = a netful of roach – Pemb Wrighting
Guru’s Pemb Wrighting insists there is no need for a side tray full of different baits – all you need is bread!
IF THERE is one thing that many anglers are guilty of, it is overcomplicating their approach. Bait trays lined with half a dozen different baits and top kits galore nestled on a roost are a common sight at many fisheries. It’s enough to give you a headache, with the vast array of options causing confusion and reducing your ability to formulate a plan that will result in a fish-filled net. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if you could turn up at a venue with only one bait and set up a single top kit? Fear not, that type of attack is often adopted by one of the very best anglers in the land. Current UK Champs title holder, Pemb Wrighting, hasn’t reached such dizzy heights by using a mind-boggling array of tactics each time he gets on the bank. Rather, he simplifies everything he does. Although he is widely known for his commercial fishery prowess, he is equally talented on natural waters and regularly displays his ‘one rig, one bait’ mentality when winter roach fishing on his local canals. “I see so many people fish different areas all over their peg when they could be concentrating on one spot,” explained Pemb. “With two loaves of bread and one rig you can keep the roach coming thick and fast and there’s no need for anything else.”
Use your loaf
There is no doubt that this time of year is the most challenging when it comes to getting consistent sport, but you can increase your chances of success by being happy to catch everything that swims. On canals where the roach can run from an ounce up to 1lb you need an offering that they can all swallow with ease. One bait that perfectly fits the bill is bread. “Live baits such as maggots and casters can be a little selective and the smaller fish often shy away from them, meaning you wait longer for a bite,” explained Pemb. “A piece of breadpunch is the only bait I will use at this time of year because it is highly visible in the clear water.” A cheap loaf of bread has all the crusts cut off at home before the remains are put through a blender to make a fine liquidised feed. At the start of the session a large tangerinesized ball is fed to get the fish congregated in the area, and that is likely to be it in terms of feeding for over an hour. “There is a lot of food content in a ball of bread once it has broken down and the small roach will graze over it, picking off the odd morsel. Even if there is a big shoal present, it will take them a long time to mop it all up and I will only add more when the bites stop,” said Pemb. When sport does die down – or if the size of fish reduces – a much smaller ball of bread the size of a golf ball is added to kickstart the action once more.
Just one line of attack
Take a glance in the margins of your local canal and there is every chance you will be able to make out the contours of the bottom, such is the clarity of the water. Fish are unlikely to venture into this clear water as they are more open to attack from predators. Therefore it makes sense that they will sit in the deepest water they can find. “I always plumb up carefully to find deep water, and this can be usually found down the middle in the track. “Fishing at dead depth is best. The moment a fish picks up the bait it will register on the float.”
You may be tempted to try different areas of your swim that have the same depth to give you options, but that would be a mistake. It is much better to concentrate the shoal in one place when roach fishing.
Delicate rigs
Finesse is the name of the game when bread fishing for roach. The tactic is geared around catching lots of small fish, with the odd better one thrown in for good measure, so heavy tackle isn’t needed. Elastic choice is extremely important, with a very light grade a key ingredient. “You need an elastic that will stretch even when you hook a really small fish so that it can help keep some tension when shipping in. This makes sure the hook stays in,” he advised. “My choice is a solid No.3. A few inches of it will come out if I hook a tiny fish but it is equally capable of helping me land any bigger roach or
bonus skimmers.” Mainline is 0.11mm Guru N-Gauge to a 0.08mm Guru Pure Fluorocarbon and a size 20 Guru Pole Special hook. Pemb prefers fluorocarbon because it is more durable, and a hooklength made of it lasts longer without showing signs of damage when catching a fish every chuck. A delicate float that will vanish even when the bites are subtle finishes off the set-up, with a 4x12 Colmic Jolly best, stepping up to a 4x14 in windy conditions. Setting up on a stretch of the Chelmer & Blackwater Canal in Heybridge, Essex, Pemb picked a spot within walking distance of the Tesco supermarket car park. Small fish could be seen topping and they gave away the location of the shoal, which seemed quite well spread. In order to get them balled up tightly over his target zone a large ball of liquidised bread went in. The first drop produced a small roach and that set the trend
for 45 minutes until he was having to wait a little longer for any indications. “That’s a sign that the fish have either backed off or I have caught everything immediately over the spot and I need to draw more in. It’s time to add another small ball,” declared Pemb. It did the trick within minutes and by topping up every now and then he worked his way to a double figure net of canal redfins. “I have used a few slices of bread for hookbait and a half a loaf for loosefeed today, which equates to less than £2 worth of bait. “If I’d set up different lines all over the peg and fed different baits I would have split the shoal and made catching them harder. Adopt the ‘one bait, one rig’ approach next time you are out and you needn’t fear a winter struggle,” concluded Pemb.