At least ninety percent of the venues I’ve fished in the last few years have gone incredibly clear at some time or other during the season. My own two lakes had a nice tinge of colour to them all winter as the fish stayed active but that colour completely dropped out in spring and with the poor summer we have had this year a lot of waters haven’t really coloured up again at all. When the conditions are like this, some extra thought has to go into presentation and bait choice if you want to keep ahead of the game.
I’ve seen too many anglers fish in clear water with inappropriate terminal tackle – or they have the right gear, but are using it in the wrong way. Last year I got up a tree as an angler on my little pool wanted me to help him position a rod in a weed channel. As I reached the top of the tree and looked down I could follow his line all the way to the hookbait in six feet of water. The carp were in the area but utterly avoiding the spot where his line was cutting through the water, he might as well have been using rope – and I politely pointed this out to him as I really wanted him to catch. The fish looked really up for a feed; it would also have been ideal conditions for a zig rig in mid water but with his line positioned like that I knew he wouldn’t catch if he sat in that swim all year.
Most people seem to think fluorocarbon lines solve the problem but the only real benefit I can see is that some of them sink well – if they’re set up correctly. If they’re not sunk properly on the bottom they stand out just like any other normal monofilament because, after a few hours in the water, they start picking up, and become covered in, plankton and algae. Plus I have found most fluorocarbon lines tend to go an opaque white colour with age, so unless they are very heavy and lay flat on the bottom I personally don’t rate them for every situation.
I put my faith in a simple strong mono line, like Nash Bullet. It sinks very well and I find the green colour to be the best shade for any line in most circumstances. I know some top anglers who prefer a brown main line and again from looking underwater I can say it is better than most. Lake water, even when it looks crystal clear, has a green tinge to it nearly all year round because of all the phytoplankton and algae suspended in it
From all of my underwater observations during filming and photography I’ve found that diffusion rig components from Nash blend in exceptionally well. I couldn’t imagine using any other copolymer leader, they’re simply the best and I know that many top anglers swear they have caught more fish since they started using them. I would like to add myself to that growing list.
I’ve even found green hooklinks to blend in well on any bottom, even when there is no weed in the lake. Again this was something I discovered more by accident during my photographic work. Yes you can see a green braid on the bottom of a sandy coloured lakebed, but it just looks very natural and I have honestly never seen a fish shy away from it. I know that my old mate, Jerry Hammond, uses green uncoated Missing Link for nearly all of his bottom bait fishing and you can’t argue with his outstanding results.
Zigs
I still think it is very easy to underestimate just how good a carp’s vision is. Remember this is a species of fish that has evolved to cope in very murky water conditions, so they do not miss much and things such as your line angles and presentation will be tested to the maximum. But their excellent eyesight in clear conditions can sometimes actually work in our favour rather than against us when we use hookbaits suspended up in the water, so let’s talk about the mighty zig-rig.
I still meet people every day at the fishery in the warmer months who have never tried a zig – or claim they’ve used them and not caught. I honestly think there isn’t a more deadly tactic around in many water conditions. In fact (and I don’t want this to sound arrogant) sometimes on easy venues I stop using them as I get bored of catching fish which are not really feeding; I usually prefer to catch carp on bait off the bottom or feeding on the top and a zig sometimes feels like cheating to me at times.
That said I just love catching carp, so I do use zigs heavily in my fishing and they really do suit my short sessions because I don’t always have enough time to get the fish going on bait. A zig correctly presented in the right place will often get a really quick bite; in fact it can be like lure fishing at times. I have had many bites on zigs before I have even switched the alarm on and because of that I do like to rove them around the swim on a regular basis, hoping I land in front of a fish or two as they move through the area.
The Zig-Bugs that Nash released have proved a huge edge for the anglers that got on them and I think they will also give many more anglers the confidence to try zig fishing which, if I’m honest, isn’t such a good thing for the people like me who rely heavily on them, especially when the going is tough!
My favourite zig bait has always been a small piece of black and yellow foam sandwiched together on a tight hair. So many anglers I have on tuitions can’t believe it works and they often won’t believe me until the rod tip pulls round! The incredible Zig Bugs look like being much better still!
I’ve been using zig-rigs effectively for eight years now. I say effectively because I too once thought they were a waste of time and gave up on them far too quickly. It was my mate, Lee Birch, who really installed the confidence in me to try them out when I was fishing at Bluebell Lakes. I remember heading there one day in March and, rightly or wrongly, had decided before I even came through the fishery gates that I was going to fish zigs on all three rods for my ten-hour day session. I had brought a mixed pack of Critical Balancing Foam and I tried a yellow, white and black bit on each rod, kept changing the depth and, after eight hours without a touch, lost the will to live!
I really thought that would be the last time I ever bothered with zigs and just as I started to tie up a fresh bottom bait rig the middle rod on the white foam signalled a drop back. Ten minutes later a 25lb common was in the net and one hour later, with all three rods switched over to white foam on 10ft hooklinks, three more fish to 26lb were safely banked.
After that I thought zigs were the best thing in carp angling and although I know this isn’t always the case, that session converted me and since then I can’t imagine how many bonus carp I’ve caught on them. I have tried pop-ups and flavoured foam, but neither has been as effective as a plain piece of foam. I am convinced that is simply because the carp are visually feeding in mid water and when they come across something suspended they want to sample it.
What have you got to lose? Grab some Zig Bugs and get out there and try it!
