ANY REASONABLE ANGLER visiting a ‘commercial’ can catch fish, but to win open matches regularly is a different matter. Like to know how? Then read on….
High stocking levels ensure success for the lowest common denominator – the fair weather, occasional angler. But to be in contention in an open match, you need to employ an altogether different mind-set.
One will repeatedly see the same names (like Andy Findlay pictured here) in the winner’s lists
One will repeatedly see the same names in the winner’s lists at particular venues (just go on to any fisheries web site and click results). That happens by design not accident. It occurs because it is vital to learn your chosen venue. To learn its moods, its reaction to changing weather conditions, and any particular foibles the fish exhibit. Familiarity with the pegs also helps to gauge where the hot spots are; where big weights regularly come from or, more importantly, where they don’t!
This important knowledge dictates tactics. To win, or make the top prize list, you generally need to be able to catch a respectable bag of carp. However, if you draw in an area where there aren’t enough fish to win with, you may decide to go all out for a section win and in doing so might target silver fish or other non-carp species like tench, bream or barbel. Or as my long time friend and match fishing collaborator, Bob Evans says, “to do well in matches you need to catch a lot of fish, but to win matches you need to catch the right fish.”
You need to obtain venue knowledge to be successful. It can be an expensive rite of passage because you will, without doubt, be well beaten on many occasions, even if you happen to draw a good peg. That’s because the experienced hands know how to turn an average peg into a potential winner. As a preliminary, several visits without tackle, a pair of field glasses and the courage to ask before and after a match what was successful, will help. Follow this up with a couple of practice sessions. Persuade a friend to join you because then you can try more methods and baits and compares notes.
So what about tackle?
The introduction of useable carbon and composite poles at affordable prices has revolutionised angling worldwide. Introduced initially from the Continent, anglers in this country have developed techniques and ancillary gear enormously – just look at the individual and team success we have had in the world championships over the last two decades. There is a bewildering range of poles available today with prices to match. I think that no matter what your budget there is a good, usable product available from a host of manufacturers. From a few hundred pounds to many thousands of pounds there is something for everyone. To cover most match fishing needs on a commercial fishery, a pole that can be fished comfortably at 13 or 14.5 metres, capable of handling elastics up to No 16 and with two or three power tops should be sufficient.
There is a bewildering range of poles available today with prices to match
In addition to a decent pole, a good responsive waggler rod is essential, as is a quiver tip rod with enough back bone to cope with fish that could be double figure but also capable of catching fish of a few ounces too.
Remember, stocked, man-made fisheries are not vast expanses of water where distance casting is the order of the day. Accuracy is more important. A waggler (float) rod needs to be able to pick up the line quickly but have enough grunt to put you in control of the fish.
The Target Species
I’ve touched on the species earlier but let’s take a few moments to underline exactly what you will be fishing for. The most widespread stocked fish are carp – mirrors and commons. Increasingly, as they grow older, they are growing bigger and bigger and it’s not uncommon to see fish of 10 and 15lbs figuring in match weights. The average target fish is 3 – 5lbs, so catch three an hour for five hours and you could put between 45 and 75lbs on the scales!
Because carp generally don’t feed below 4.5 0C fishery owners have turned to F1 hybrids to ensure all year round sport for the match fanatic. F1’s are a first generation cross between crucians and carp, or sometimes, I think, goldfish crossed with carp. They grow quickly to an optimum size of around 3lbs and feed readily all year round.
In addition, most ‘commercials’ are stocked with roach, rudd, bream and perch all of which have to eat what the match anglers present to carp and as a result can grow to a good size. You will also come across crucian carp and tench as well as chub, ide, orfe and possibly barbel too. All these species have their own specific feeding zones in their natural environment but when stocked into man made fisheries, they learn to compete with their greedy carp cousins, so they can turn up at any time.
Baits
Earlier I stated that I believed any reasonably competent angler could catch a fish on a commercial. Similarly, almost any bait will too. However, what the match angler is looking for is the bait that will attract carp and exclude other species that in the circumstances will be viewed as nuisance fish.
Most commercial fisheries have very specific rules; often covering all their pools but sometimes varying from pool to pool, so check before you fish! Generally, maggots, casters, worm, sweetcorn, luncheon meat, carp pellet and bread are allowed as hookbait. Sometimes catmeat (yuk!), macaroni cheese (double yuk!), hemp seed and paste are allowed too. Floating baits are mostly banned, as is groundbait (but not everywhere). Bloodworm and joker, boilies and nuts are rarely allowed. Most fisheries display clearly what is allowed but if in doubt, ask. Remember, if it’s not on the notice board, it’s not allowed! A lot of fisheries do not permit feeder fishing but some do and that can include method feeders or a modified version of it.
It is rare today to come across a commercial fishery that doesn’t insist you use their feed pellets. This has nothing to do with preserving the world’s fish stocks by eliminating fishmeal in pellets or indeed fish welfare; it’s simply a way of extracting more money on top of the peg fee. If paste is allowed, it usually has to be made from their pellets. Now consider this – if fish in a pool are regularly seeing quantities of a certain pellet, are they more or less likely to respond positively to that bait? Carp are naturally curious and feed both by sight and smell and do become wary of certain baits, I’m sure. So trying the out-of-the-ordinary can sometimes bring rewards.
Find a New Twist
Consistency though, with a venue-proved method, also catches lots of fish.
Here’s one way of getting a new ‘twist’!
A new twist on an existing method is what match anglers are always looking for to give them that edge over their opponents. It rarely lasts long because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
Where to Fish
Most man-made, stocked fisheries are not vast tracts of water because that would give the fish too much water to disappear into. Anglers want to be sure there are fish in their locality and owners want your success to result in return visits. Neither are they generally very deep. After all, when you dig a hole you have to put the spoil somewhere and even before the land fill tax it was a problem.
It is a sad fact that not too many fishery owners are anglers and it appears that not too many anglers were consulted when fisheries were constructed. For example one of my local ‘commercials’ was constructed with a reed-fringed bank with a depth of about a metre of water in front of the planting but at 18 metres wide! Just too far for a 16-metre pole to be fished comfortably by your average club angler for five hours and a little too close for the feeder. Platforms would resolve the problem and make the venue immeasurably more popular but the owner won’t entertain the idea on the grounds of cost. If you are lucky enough to have a local venue where you can fish comfortably out in front of you to such a feature it will probably be the prime catching zone.
If however, you intend to fish a pool without such a feature there are two other prime fish-catching zones to attack. Firstly, out in open water and secondly on the inside margin, to the left and right of your peg.
To fish the open water out in front will require careful plumbing to locate where the depth drops off. Most pools are built with shelves and often the inside shelf will be quite narrow dropping away to a wider flat area before dropping again to its maximum depth. This second shelf can be productive all year round and represents an area to come back to at infrequent intervals to pick up fish if another area goes quiet. However, the two most productive catching zones are often shallow at anything between 13 and 16 metres and close in to the nearside margin to your left and right.
Next week I’ll look at margin fishing in detail, and cover some more ways to get an edge.
