Top Tips

May

Step up your gear - As the weather warms up the fish begin to feed more. Change your reel lines for the new season and check pole elastics are not perished.

At this time of year 14/16 solid elastics and black and red Hydro come into play.

For waggler fishing 4-5lb reel lines are ideal and for the method, lines of 6-8lb would be adequate.

As the fish begin to feed more you will need more bait to feed more frequently. Ideal baits for the spring/summer are corn, pellet, paste, banded and jelly pellet, luncheon meat and not forgetting maggot, a good back up at any water.

Time to step up your lines and hook sizes - for corn try 0.14-0.16 lines to a 14 hook, for pellets try 0.14 to a 16 hook. For paste, you will need to up the anti; try 0.16-0.18 lines and a size 10 or 12 (drennan nu-hooks are an excellent paste hook). Try fishing off the bottom (up in the water) as fish tend to patrol the upper layers of the water in the summer.

Summer Methods

Paste fishing - using micro pellet, paste mix or ground bait, mix with water to a mouldable consistancy. You will need a paste float with a longer bristle; very little shot needed as the weight of the paste will cock the float. Paste can be moulded around the hook or a pellet on the hook.

Method feeder - mix a ground bait to a sticky consistancy. You need to make a ball in your hand that doesn't crumble, adding extra feed content is optional. Mould around the method feeder, using a size 14 hook for corn or double corn on a hair rig, size 16 hooks for maggot or caster.

Remember the need for feed !

Tight Lines
Dibber


February

Fish are more lethargic in winter so less feed will catch you more - overfeed your swim and fish will shy away. Scale down your tackle, lighter lines and smaller hooks will still catch fish.

Reduce your baits - maggot, caster, pinkie and bread work well in winter. If you are fishing for big Carp try 10mm boilies or small soft pellet.

Commercial Carp: Try 0.12 line(around 4lb) to a size 18 or 20 hook, maggot or corn on the hook are good winter carp baits, try feeding small amounts of micro pellet. Silver Fish : A slightly lighter line 0.08 or 0.10 (2-3lb) to a size 20 or 22 hook, with maggot or caster on the hook and feeding just a few of your hook bait in the area.

Perch : Chopped worm and caster are excellent Perch bait 0.10 or 0.12 line (3-4lb) to a size 16 or 18 hook, chop a small toss pot of worm and feed, single or double caster on the hook.

Canal Fishing for silver fish, again scale down 0.07 to 0.08 lines to 20-24 hooks, using maggot, caster, pinkies or bread punch on the hook.Bread punch can be an ideal bait for clear water or after a few frosts. If the water has a little colour try a fine ground bait - one with not too much feed content eg: Sensas fine moture (do not overfeed).

Fishing for perch on the canal, use 0.10 line to an 18 hook, feed chopped worm and single or double caster on the hook. For a change bait try a size 16 hook and a lob worm tail on the hook.

Top Tips supplied by Dibber.


Trip of a Lifetime

6 months preperation and hard planning went into the first Carp fishing trip to France for the Curtis family. Club members Gary and Jason Curtis drove to Remes in France to fish Bills Lake taking with them 2 very excited sons. With a car load of Tackle, food and plenty of sun tan lotion, they set off to fish lake 2.

With rain all week, hail the size of 10p pieces and night time temperatures down to zero, things were not as expected. Much of the week was spent hauled up in their bivvy's, and Gary's nearly burnt to the ground (tilly lamp inside beacuse of the cold). The lads had a good catch of fish and would "definitley go again" said Gary.

Gary caught 3 large Carp, 1 Tench and a Sturgeon. Gary caught the Lake record Grass Carp of 34lb 8oz on 2 assasinate 18mm boilies, a 25lb 1oz Mirror on assasinate, an 18lb 6oz Common on single 18mm Bills lake specials and he had his PB Tench of 6lb 2oz on double 10mm bloodworm boilie. With the horendous weather and not much happening during the day, Gary scaled down his tackle to a size 10 hook and single 10mm boilie to catch a 21lb 4oz Sturgeon.

Son Matthew caught a 26lb 13oz Mirror Carp on single 10mm pineapple boilie, and helped dad to catch the Lake record Grass Carp. For a little fun during the day the Lads were offered a free t-shirt from Lake owner Bill for all the Poisen chat they could catch.

Jason and Jake fishing on the opposite bank of lake 2 at Bill's again braved the elements, and with only one rod being chucked as far as it would go-for not catching fish both dad and lad caught some clonkers. Between the two of them they had a 20lb 1oz Common, a 20lb Common, a 19lb 2oz Mirror, a 27lb 4oz Common, a 22lb 2oz Common, and a scale perfect 17lb 8oz Koi, all mainly on boilie and hallibut pellet. Again Jake won a Bill's lake T-shirt for catching a large haul of poissen chat.

Pictures in the Gallery


Take a look at Anton Lake. Buzz and I took a walk around Anton today....more

Fishing Methods at Foxcotte here...

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