Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Robbie Griffiths
Catch close on big lakes
THERE’S been a hike in recent interest from anglers craving to fish reservoirs. The days of being daunted by vast expanses of water have been replaced by the realisation that their giant size doesn’t mean rock- hard sport.
Word has spread that these lakes are teeming with fish of all shapes and sizes and that bites can come thick and fast.
Those that have latched on to the action have plundered venues on feeder tactics,
convinced that chucking a cage or similar is the only way to locate the shoals. After all, the fish are going to sit well away from the bank when they have so much room to roam, right? Wrong!
While rod- and- line tactics are king in the eyes of the vast majority, there are a few that have been having major successes a lot closer to the bank.
They’re not using a waggler, they’re not even using the pole – they’re catching within a few feet of the bank on a whip!
And Preston Innovations angler Robbie Griffiths is one of a handful that have been using the simple approach to deadly effect.
“I’ve seen the number of people on big reservoirs shoot up in recent years, and almost every single one of them launches a feeder to the horizon,” explains Robbie. “But there are so many fish to be caught close to the bank and they aren’t all tiddlers, either.”
Swim selection
A little homework before getting on the bank goes a long way, and when it comes to trying to catch close on big venues one of the biggest factors is depth.
“You need to find a swim that has a bit of depth close to the bank. If it is only a few feet where you would fish the whip then you’d scupper your chances of drawing in quality fish,” says Robbie.
“Ask people in the know where these deeper swims are and try to find somewhere that has at least 5ft of water where you want to fish. That is a depth that quality bream, perch and roach will comfortably feed in.”
If bream are the primary bonus fish then an area with very little cover is best because they prefer to mooch around in open water. On the flipside, swims with overhanging trees or similar are a better option if you think you are in with a chance of big perch.
Simple set- up
There is every chance you started your angling journey many years ago with a whip and a few maggots, and the best approach mirrors many aspects of that.
A simple flick tip is best because this enables you to haul out any small fish you hook in a single swoop. Although little roach and perch don’t have much fight in them, they can still stretch light elastics, which makes getting them in slightly slower. If you are catching hundreds of silvers in a day, you are going to waste time and reduce the number of fish that end up in the net.
“I tend to use either a 4m or 5m whip and the Preston Innovations Response is ideal for catching small fish and bonus specimens.”
His rig is made up of 0.13mm Preston Innovations Powerline to a 0.12mm hooklength and a size 14 hook. That may sound heavy for silvers, but the fish in natural waters don’t have
the same tackle- shy tendencies as those in commercials. When it comes to floats, a heavy yet slimline pattern is top of the list.
“The tiny roach and perch will sit off the deck and if you allow your hookbait to fall through the water slowly, they’ll snap it up in an instant.
“In order to get my hookbait to the deck, I use a 1.5g pencil- style float. I have an olivette around 12in from the hook and a couple of No. 9 dropper shot below.”
All- round groundbait
Big waters certainly aren’t the place to skimp on your bait, and if you want to pin down a shoal in your swim, you’ll need to keep it topped up.
Groundbait plays a big part in Robbie’s attack and he feeds four tangerine- sized balls at the start and then introduces a nugget after every fish. All this is done by hand as he is only fishing close to the bank.
“My favourite is Sonubaits Super Crumb Lake and I mix this on the dry side. This enables the groundbait to break up on the way to the bottom, creating a column of attraction that draws in fish from elsewhere. I also add plenty of hemp and casters. If the small fish hoover up a good proportion of the groundbait once it has broken up then the loosefeed will get to where the target fish are waiting.”
A session at a sun- drenched Patshull Park Fishery near Wolverhampton was arranged to see what all the fuss was about, and in no time at all Robbie was proving his theory.
Bites from small roach, perch and hand- sized skimmers were almost instant.
“I’ve chosen this peg because I know it has around 8ft of depth at short range and I know the bream will happily settle there. The beauty of this fishing is the element of surprise – one drop you catch a little silver, the next it’s a 3lb slab.”
That is exactly how the day panned out, with a silver fish every drop until a run of skimmers changed the pace. That sequence was repeated many times during a day that ended with more than 30lb in the net.
“It’s an area of the water that never sees any bait, yet it has been absolutely rigid with fish all day. Everyone else I have seen is on the feeder, yet I’m pretty sure I have caught a lot more than most. It just goes to show how deadly coming close can be.”