Day Ticket Tactics to try Today.
Bread, so simple, yet so effective!
In this new series
specimen angler Duncan Charman visits different day ticket venues
each month and reveals the tactics that have been working.
When conditions
get harsh many anglers hang their rods up and await the lengthening
days when the warming sun brings promise of fish crawling up their
rods, yet winter, and I mean the short chill biting frosty days
doesn’t mean that the fish wont be biting, believe me they are, you
just have to pick you species carefully and adjust your tactics to
suit.
In all honesty the
only species that I have failed to get my head around and catch
consistently throughout our coldest months are crucian carp, I just
think these feed up in earnest prior to the onset of winter then rely
on these reserves right through to the spring when once again they go
on a feeding frenzy prior to spawning. Tench and rudd feed in winter,
that’s been proven, yet most anglers don’t have the time to
locate these or the inclination to fish through the night when they
are most active. Carp, bream and roach are also worth targeting
throughout the colder months but generally this will mean arriving
very early, before dawn and watching the water to locate their
whereabouts. Find them though and cast an effective hooking system
carrying a good quality bait too them and you will catch. Sessions
don’t have to last all day as after three or four hours the action
will tail off allowing you to return home in most cases by lunchtime,
however many wont have the luxury of being able to make an early
start, grabbing a few hours during the middle of the day and often on
a weekend so what’s the answer for them? Chub.
Many day ticket
venues now stock chub, even ide as these provide the angler with
consistent sport on the coldest of days. Two fisheries near me,
Bowsaw and Sumners both have lakes that contain a good head of chub
and all an angler needs to do is to fish the waggler and spray
maggots in order to get bites, just like I did when I visited
Newdigate Fishery earlier in this series. Feeding is the key to
catching stillwater chub in winter, keep it going in on a little and
often basis and the chub will eventually turn up and switch on.
For me though
frosty, even snow covered fields mean big chub on flowing water and
the colder the better. I have had some of my best catches when cat
ice lines the river margins and what’s better, the chance of seeing
another angler is rare. Unfortunately just the thought of sitting in
one swim all day getting frost bite puts many an angler off, yet it
doesn’t have to be like this as that sort of attitude is a recipe
for disaster. Think mobile, think active and not only will you keep
warm but you will catch loads more fish and tactics don’t have to
be complicated, in fact catching big chub couldn’t be simpler than
a basic running feeder set-up and a big piece of bread.
I visited Trunley
Heath stretch of the river Wey controlled by Godalming Angling
Society recently armed with just enough tackle to fish effectively
yet keep mobile and a loaf of bread costing not much more than a
pound. It was the first time I had seen let alone fished this stretch
yet spending no more than fifteen minutes in each swim I was able to
cover most off the river catching half a dozen chub to just shy of
four-pounds in just a few hours. This sort of fishing isn’t just
rewarding, it keeps those withdrawal symptoms at bay and allows me to
build a picture in my head of the river for future sessions as well
as providing some well needed winter exercise. After a few sessions
certain swims will stand out as banker swims whilst others will be
given a wide birth and once mastered less time can be spent bankside
yet rewards will be far greater.
Getting the best
from each session isn’t just about getting to know the river,
tactics have to be thought through and that all important fear factor
off ‘is the bread still on’ overcome! This is the most common
problem for most as just one small pluck will have negative thoughts
running through the brain, yet confidence in using bread comes with
time and my advice is, it takes a lot to pull and big piece of flake
of a big hook so have faith, leave it in the swim for fifteen minutes
then on the retrieve gently lift the rod. The bend in the rod will
tell you if the bread is still on and you will feel it come off on
the retrieve as well as seeing it come to the surface someway down
the swim as flake floats! If there is no resistance, the bait has
gone and if you have had a few knocks then make another cast. If you
struggle to place bread flake on a hook then its worth buying some
Nash Bread Bomb’s, simply place some flake between this innovative
idea and you can rest assure that its not coming off.
Usually if chub
are present then you will have indications on the rod tip almost
instantly. Often this is a sharp tap followed by a steady pull,
especially from un-pressured chub. Oh how I wish it was always like
this yet when chub are suspicious bites can be the slightest of
knocks. I usually fish a swim for a steady pull first returning later
with the intent of striking on the slightest of movements and it’s
a tactic that has worked on many occasions. What I try and tell
anglers when chub fishing is to strike on any secondary tip movement,
a slight pull followed simultaneously by a firmer pull or strike
after the one second rule, the tip being pulled round for more than
one second. One thing that chub are very good at is feeling for
resistance so try pointing the rod tip to where you have cast and
instead of a ninety degree angle from tip to bait try reducing this
to say ten degrees and hold the rod at all times if possible.
Tackle wise things
don’t get any simpler and I prefer to use a 11ft float rod as its
light and can be held all the time, is thin enough to register bites
and just far more enjoyable when playing a big chub than a longer,
heavier quiver-tip rod. Mainline is the ever reliable Gardner
HydroFlo in a breaking strain of 6lb which is fished right through to
the hook. As for the rig all this comprises off is the smallest
feeder needed to hold bottom, usually a 10g Drennan cage filled with
liquidised bread buffeted by a float stop along with a size 8
barbless Nash Fang Gaper hook. The great thing with the float stop is
the length of the hooklink can be altered if required and the lack of
knots in the rig means that it’s super strong, one that should
allow a barbel to be landed if hooked.
So here are the
main areas to concentrate on this winter when you head out into the
cold wanting to get some chub action.
- Take just enough kit to allow you to move around and wear clothes that are flexible, breathable and warm.
Look for swims with features such
as overhanging bushes, undercut banks, structures, moored boats and
converging flows and investigate all but not for too long.- Make sure that your bread is fresh.
- Use the smallest feeder possible along with a big sharp hook.
- Make one cast pointing the tip to where the bait has landed.
- Hold the rod and watch the top at all times if possible.
- Have confidence that the bait is on.
Get the basics to
this enjoyable and productive method right and you can take it to any
river that contains chub, on the coldest of days and as long as you
place the rig in the general area chub are lying up in you will catch
fish!
Images
1. It’s never too cold for chub, in
fact when it snows I’m rushing to the river.
2. My personal best, this odd shaped
warrior came to the simple bread tactics explained.
3. Even cat ice in the margins won’t
put the chub off.
4. Action on a snow covered landscape.
5. Bread, cheap, versatile and
absolutely devastating on a cold day.
6. Feeders – The feeders I use in
cold clear conditions are tiny, check these out against the size
eight hook!
7. Big wide gape sharp hooks are a must
when fishing flake.
8. Mainline – Its amazing how
difficult it is to break 6lb mono, even on a straight pull and having
just one knot will see almost everything hooked landed, even a rogue
barbel.
9. Bread on the hook – To mount bread
on the hook I tear a piece around the size of a matchbox from a
slice, fold this in half, place the hook so the eye is in the centre
of the fold, fold again and simply press two fingers against the eye
until the eye is felt. Don’t press the bread around the point of
the hook as this should be showing.
10. Bread Bomb – I’ve fished with
anglers that struggle to mount bread on a hook due to having big
clumsy fingers so if this is the case buy some Nash Bread Bombs as
this will solve your problem.
11. Flavour – Bread is brilliant on
its own but catching is all about having confidence and if you feel
you need to add a flavour then go ahead, just don’t over do it. If
I know barbel are around then I have created an edge and caught a few
simply by adding some flavour to the palms of my hands and rubbing in
as this will taint the bait just enough throughout the day
12. Rig – It’s as simple as it
gets.
13. Don’t ignore bread at any time
off year as it’s the best chub bait you will ever use.
Great article. Some good tips thanks
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