Penn Power Stick, Banshee lure and 25lb braid and the end result, a 6oz perch
For many years I had taken my fishing time for granted, but the arrival of my new born son Kieran on the 19th June meant the opening day tench and bream session I enjoyed was my only trip to the bankside for 6 weeks! The parents out there will realise what a time consuming responsibility parenthood is and combined with my job, which has a shift pattern which is all over the place, I quickly realised that my angling habits were going to have to change. Out went the overnight or all day sessions and in came the short fish when you can, ‘at the drop of a hat’ sessions.
Maximise your time In order to increase my chances of success I quickly realised that I had to maximise my time at the waterside. To do this preparation and venue choice became critical. Venues had be ones I knew well, I certainly didn’t have the time to learn about new waters and put in the hours spent walking the banks to learn a new venue’s ‘secrets’ before fishing. Also the distance away from home became important. Time spent travelling is time that could be spent fishing. But is travelling two hours to fish a great water (where you could catch a PB or have the occasional real red letter day) time well spent when you can travel 20 minutes to a water where you can have a good day’s sport with the chance of the odd good fish?
I settled on the latter, deciding that any time I had, I wanted to spend with a bend in my rod and a net in the water. I decided my main venue would be a group of old gravel pits just 15 minutes drive from my home which I had fished since I was a lad. I knew all the waters well and they offered a good mix of fishing and also the chance of a fish that might disturb my scales.
Another fry feeding jack falls to the light lure gear – great fun
The start of my short session adventure So at the start of August the first few post-baby angling sessions commenced, a couple of lure sessions kicked off my short session adventure. The beauty of lure fishing is that it requires the minimum of tackle and preparation. I’ve always been a keen lure angler so no new kit was required, if I found I had a couple of spare hours I could throw the kit in the car and off I went, it also it meant I could grab a couple of hours before or after work.
To save time traces were made up in my dinner hour at work and the rods were left permanently made up in the garage. All I carry are two lure rods, A one piece 6′ 6″ light outfit with 25lb braid and a two piece 8ft outfit which is used for heavy lures and jigs. A landing net, a small bag containing my scales, flask, lures, terminal bits and camera completes the outfit which can be carried miles quite comfortably.
Even tiny perch will attack a lure
Up to 30 perch and a couple of jacks at the worst time of day The results of these lure sessions have been quite successful. In an average two hour session I was catching up to 30 perch to 1lb and at least a couple of jack pike to 5lb. Not bad really as I was often fishing from 11am to 1pm, the worst time. With the perch and pike going mad for the fry a small Banshee lure (pictured) fished shallow was getting a take a cast once I located feeding fish, even perch as small as 3oz would attack the lure with amazing aggression. I won’t start fishing until I see signs of a feeding predator, Ie, small fry scattering or the swirl of a pike as it attacks. The pits are quite shallow, generally 4-5 foot deep and the water is very clear so spotting fish is usually quite easy.
All in all lure fishing has to be the ultimate short session technique for the angler limited on time. The minimum of kit is required, you can be fishing almost instantly on your arrival at the bankside and you can cover huge amounts of water. Forget clock or fan techniques, just fish to feeding fish or features and usually on any venue in the UK (as they all contain perch and pike) you’ll catch.
The two month old ghillie having a nap
Even a couple of perch and a jack can make a two hour session worthwhile. And also whilst lure fishing you get to look at a lot of water and discover unseen submerged features which helps tremendously with targeting other species. Whilst covering a lot of water you invariably get to speak to a lot more anglers and glean precious information, all helping you get in amongst the fish on future sessions.
But keep it real and make enjoyment your target The main thing to remember is to keep it realistic. An angler who has limited time will not be able compete with the professional or sponsored angler, the unemployed and the retired all of which invariably can spend hours longer on the bank. Make your main aim to enjoy the limited fishing time you have, worry about only your own angling and not what everyone else is catching, and with a little good technique and by maximising your time on the bank your captures might just turn the heads of those who sleep most of the year on a bedchair.
I even now take my lure kit on family picnics and walks which explains the two month old ghillie in the picture.
Advice on how to make all aspects of your fishing more efficient in my next article.
