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Match fisherman pleasure angler or specimen hunter we all need useful hints and
tips to improve your style of fishing, readers are more than welcome to send in
your new or old ideas to help junior anglers on their way.
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Angling Products and Reviews
Daiwa Hydroelastic
Team Daiwa Hydroelastic is my favourite pole elastic, I used
to only use Preston and Garbolino laccy , I gave hydro a try and was just
amazed. I found it very smooth and no sign of what I call 'Swing tips on the pole' which is when
the pole connector and a small bit of elastic hangs out the end of the pole
causing horrible tangles. Hydroelatic is the most expensive elastic on the
market at a shocking 15 pounds! I think the price is a bit over the top which is a
shame...I guess you pay for performance, if you are willing to pay the
money it may help put some more fish on the bank.
Hook a big fish and Hydrolastic will increase to a higher rating as
it is loaded with more 'give' than standard heavy elastics. Unlike other types
Hydrolastic has a hollow construction, which is filled with a secret high
performance fluid, The elastic stretches first, then, when compressed, the
internal walls close in and are held apart by the fluid.
Hydroelastic is primarily a carp elastic but many people use it for
all round pole fishing. There are 6 types of hydro elastic and they all have
different uses. Blue Hydro-Great for skimmer work and fish around the 1lb mark,
White hydro-Carp and Tench around 2-3lb, Grey hydro- Carp and Tech from
3-6lb, Black hydro- Good sized carp around 7lb, Purple hydro-Great for shallow
fishing for carp around double figures, Red hydro-The heaviest you would ever
need, 10lb+ carp and good for down the edge at places like Rolfs Lake and
finally Brown hydro-Animal tamer/ bungee strap, I wouldn't recommend ever going
that heavy on the pole.
It is important to tie a not in your Hydroelastic before cutting to keep all of
the fluid inside the elastic for the best results.
I strongly recommend spending that bit more money on your elastic to help up
your game!!!
Fishing at Rolfs Lake is a must
Rolfs is my favourite lake, it is home to a variety of different
species-Chub to 8lb+,Carp to 28lb,Perch to 4lb, Roach to 2lb+ and many
more fine specimens. The lake is very secluded, the people at Rolfs are all
friendly and will answer any questions that you are willing to ask. In the
winter, matches are won on 20lb-150lb+ with a fair few carp creeping over the
15lb mark. To win in summer matches you are usually looking for weight around
200lb right up to 400lb, they are usually won on the pole but you should catch
on whatever method you try. The lake owner, John Bennett, is one of nicest guys
you are likely to meet and he knows everything about how his fish feed and how
to catch them. The fish are all in stunning condition as the rules are strict,
this shows how much John cares about his fish.
There are 40 pegs on the lake and they all produce fish, the swims are wooden
platform which are extremely safe. At Rolfs there is a small shelter which is a
great place to warm your hands up in the Winter or make some hot dogs up after a
hard day. Even on a dull day....a trip to Rolfs will brighten it up again!!
Chopped worm....deadliest bait in the winter.
I personally think chopped worm is one of the best all round baits
for fishing in the winter, any fish that swims will take it providing it is
presented correctly. Chopped worm is usually irresistible to fish because it
leaks amino acid which will attract them into your peg. Worm is the best bait
for perch but every coarse fish will take it, even Pike! Usually at the
beginning of a match I like to introduce a mixture of chop and water mix using a
pole cup, the fish will soon sniff out that acid, the 'chop' is also a great
holding bait.
To get the best results using chopped worm I use special chopping scissors which
are 3 scissors in 1. After chopping the worm into lots fine pieces I add a small
touch of water, just enough to cover them, I think this helps keep all the acid
into the chopped mess! Then I would add my favourite silver fish ground bait....
Bait-Techs special 'G' gold and maybe even a few casters (don't add water to the
ground bait!). In the pot I always use some of the water as that is packed full
of the amino acid...... That's how to get the best out of chopped worm!!!
How to
catch more fish on the float
I see a lot of beginners/juniors fishing with their floats 4 inches above the surface. People around the lake are catching and getting bites but they are not. But why are they not catching? They are not catching because the float indication is bad. If you have the float 4 inches above the surface you decrease the chance of catching a nice crucian or hybrid. They are delicate biters and sometimes only pull the float under 4cm.Theese are nice fish and so important while match fishing. At the top is a picture showing how much you need to dot down your float. This may win you a match!
How to choose a good river swim/peg
For all you beginners or juniors out there, I have got an
important tip for you. It is essential to know what a good swim is and to find
out were the fish will be. So these are good things to look out for in a
swim.........
●Does it have any features? e.g. over hanging
tree,island,reeds, lillypads or a big snag that pops out of the water.
●Is there any slack water or eddies? Does it also have a undercut?
●Is it weedy or snaggy?Fish love it in the weeds for cover and for camouflage.
They also feed on tiny organisms on these snags such as dead bits of
weed,mussel,small worms/grubs and chub even eat crayfish!!!
●Is it a public place? If so, go in the swim were people feed ducks. Fish will
finish left overs at night, they also feel confident there to because fishermen
get annoyed with people throwing bread in so nobody fishes there!
●It is great if you can find a swim with a bend (like in the picture). If it has
a slow current and some eddies that is the best swim to have. The bend will
produce slacker water so fish will be there to have a rest from the fast
current. A swim like this will usually be found on backwaters or thin rivers
like the river thame and some stretches on the Kennet.
Fishing Programs And magazines
There are alot of magazines and programmes around that could teach you alot about fishing.
I like to watch Andy Findlay and Bob Nudd etc on You Tube, We always watch Tight Lines which has taught me a lot about angling. The channel for this is Sky Sports 2 -Sky Sports 4 every Friday. There are also fishing programmes with Matt Hayes and John Wilson on Discovery real time and Discovery shed.
I would definitely recommend watching some of these programmes especially for youngsters or beginners.
A very good magazine is Angler's Mail which has fantastic fisherman such as Ian Welch (there is a picture of me fishing with him to the left) Matt Sparkes, Mark Barrett and many more, here you can pick up lots of hints and tips to help you. Angler's Mail comes out every Tuesday and is only £1.60 which is a fantastic price, other good publications are Improve you coarse fishing and Angling times..
Single barbless hooks for pike
Yes you may be thinking single hooks for pike is pointless and that a lot of pike will come off .But it is better to hook 1 pike well and safely than 5 unsafely and injure them. Also,with a single hook that is BARBLESS you need more skill because they will come off easier. That will improve your angling to so please please use barbless single hooks for pike. It prevents net tangles but most importantly, no damage to the fish.
How to cast floating bait at distance
A lot of people go carp fishing and take ledger gear, then they see feeding carp on the surface in the middle of the lake.
They have bread or dog biscuits but no controller floats. How do you get your floating baits out there? Well there is an easy way !.
Mount your floating bait on your hook as usual, and here is the clever part, make a PVA bag with the same hookbait and stones for casting weight.
Cast over your target fish and wait a minute. After a short time the PVA will melt releasing your sample and hook bait to the surface, draw it over the feeding fish and hold on !!!
Shy Carp
This hint is about the way carp take the bait. They usually wave it around using their fins to see what is buoyant or not. They take the buoyant things because they feel safer, so when I am after carp using pellets on the pole, I lift up the float about 5cm every time I loose feed to raise the hook bait to imitating a boyant bait.
At a local pond me and my dad usually catch 2-4 carp a day not using conventional methods. When I was first told about this method, I gave it a try. And guess how many we had? Around 10 carp and 3 bream. Give it a try it may bring extra bites.