We anglers have a peculiar appreciation of bait colour. On the one hand, many anglers will buy maggots of mixed colours and ring the colour changes to keep catching fish; conversely, very few people use sweetcorn in anything but its natural yellow colour, and I’ve never encountered anyone who has attempted to colour bread flake!
Although fish eyes have form and function similar to humans’, there are significant differences. Being located on each side of their head, with wide fields of vision, fish eyes give them telescopic vision some distance in front of their heads. However, they also have a ‘blind spot’ in front of their mouths, effectively meaning that they don’t see their food just before they eat it.
Fish can differentiate one colour from another, albeit that this ability is less pronounced than our vision… a bit like watching a television with the colour control toned down. But it seems that they are able to see colours at the ends of the spectrum that are invisible to humans – at shorter (ultra-violet) and longer (infra-red) wavelengths. As light penetrates water, it is absorbed, with colours at the red end of the spectrum being absorbed first and blues last.
In clear and shallow water, changing bait colours makes sense, but in deeper and coloured water, many colours will appear black to fish. While it is certain that there is no single colour that is best for all fish in all circumstances, stand-out colours are often highly effective at catching the attention of passing or cruising fish… white, yellow and orange all seem to do this, probably because they contrast with the bed.
On the other hand, when fish become bait-shy, more muted coloured baits that almost blend in with the bed coloration may prevent fish being spooked by more visible offerings. There is huge room for experimentation with bait colours, using simple food dyes or powdered dye additives.
Top Tip
Fish eyes are good detectors of movement. Baits which sink slowly or are ‘twitched’ occasionally can produce instantaneous results, and neutrally-buoyant or pop-up baits are often highly attractive to fish because of their movement caused by the localised currents created when fish are in the vicinity. |
|
|
As summer gradually blends into early autumn, river fishing comes into its own. Flows may still be low, but with lower temperatures and cooler, longer nights, many fish will be feeding hard to build up food reserves for the winter ahead. That makes them highly catchable.
The usual rules of thumb still apply, however, and fish location is the key priority. Any form of cover is a good place to start – overhanging bushes and weedbeds, for example – as are the deeper areas at the tail of shallows, steady glides and stream confluences.
Some clear rivers lend themselves to fish spotting, in which case polarized glasses and a peaked hat are a must. Even if there is little hope of seeing fish beneath the surface, they may give themselves away… rolling and jumping, flashing on their sides or dimpling at the surface. Shoal of fry leaping from the water may indicate feeding pike, perch or chub.
Feeding will not necessarily be continuous, of course. The period after dawn and the end of the day are usually reliable feeding times. With the days becoming shorter, it is possible to stop an hour or two into darkness and arrive home at a civilised time, hopefully with memories of some bonus fish.
Bait selection depends very much on the target species. On calm, sunny days and in low-flow condions, small baits and finer tackle may be necessary, whereas larger baits tend to produce fish on overcast days, early and late and when the river is carrying some extra water. In all these situations, baits and groundbaits which release strong feeding ‘signals’ into the current will draw fish to your baited hook.
Top Tip
To give any bait some extra pulling power, try giving it a dunk in one of the Marukyu liquid Special Formula Additives before casting or mixing some of the liquid into your bait supply. And the krill powder can be kneaded into pastes or sprinkled into maggots the day before fishing to greatly enhance their effectiveness. |
|
It is obvious that you can’t catch fish that are somewhere else. Except in a match-fishing situation, the choice of the swim to fish is as much an art as it is a science.
The one type of feature to which most coarse fish respond is cover, and this can be a great aid to locating them. Overhead cover gives fish a sense of security and refuge, and in most cases these areas are also rich in natural foods. In rivers, weed rafts are river features that belie the presence of chub and barbel; overhanging trees are great areas for perch; and barbel often tuck themselves away under the long, trailing fronds of water-crowfoot.
On stillwater fisheries, water-lily beds, encroaching reed beds and overhanging trees are examples of natural features that provide fish with cover and can aid their location, as do fallen trees and sunken bushes. Fish also respond to man-made artifacts such as fishing platforms, floating islands and aerators. Perch are especially fond of holding position beneath moored boats and jetties.
Fishing close to such areas is not always easy because of the risk of casting into the cover and losing hooked fish which make a bee-line for the snags. Strong tackle suitable for the job is really a must, and a hook-length trace of a breaking strain lower than the main line will reduce potential losses of the entire tackle set-up. Being prepared to react immediately to bites and control the first powerful surges of hooked fish are also essential. When fishing right alongside snags, strong lines, softer-actioned rods and a determination not to let the fish gain any line is a combination that works well.
Top Tip
When attempting to cast right alongside cover, trial and error will be necessary until the correct distance is achieved, whereafter the line could be marked at the reel with a trimmed-down strip of electrical tape or a sliding stop knot tied to it with powergum. If the main line or one of the loose ends of the sliding knot is slipped under the line clip on the reel spool before reeling in, subsequent casts can be gauged accurately each time.
Bait wise, this is the time of the year where fish look for higher protein baits, if you want to target all species use a Nori bait. EFG 151 is a high protein Nori bait that will be excellent during the summer months. |
|
The natural diet of most coarse fish comprises invertebrates, although fish eggs, fry and tadpoles are also eaten with gusto, and on well-fished venues anglers’ baits are important nutritionally.
Molluscs of various types are rich, nutritious food for coarse fish. They vary in size from the large, two-shelled swan mussels to minute pea mussels, although the majority of species are gastropods - water-snails to you and me – which carry one, usually coiled shell. They tend to live on or under hard surfaces in lakes and ponds, each using its specialised mouthparts to rasp away at attached vegetation, and they are common in flowing water, too. Some snail species can also use the surface tension to cling to, enabling them to hitch a free ride and drift, upside-down, from one part of the fishery to another.
Stillwater fisheries that produce large fish naturally are almost always rich in molluscs. Despite their ‘cling-on’ abilities and, sometimes, the daylight habit of hiding under stones, fish will pluck snails free or dig them up. Fish have no difficulty actually eating them because their pairs of throat teeth crush the shells on the way down the hatch!
It’s very rare that anglers use actual snails as bait, although de-shelled swan mussels were regarded as excellent baits, notably for tench, and cockles (albeit a marine mollusc) are good for several species. Some man-made baits resemble snails, including prepared hempseed and even maple peas, but that they will have their own, distinctive smells and tastes.
However, baits and groundbaits containing ground, dried water snails are certainly attractive to fish and tap into their innate ability to recognise the food as tasty and nutritious.
Top Tip
The Marukyu range includes groundbaits and boilies which contain ‘tanishi’, or ground water snails. They are highly effective, especially during the summer months when fish will be actively searching for this type of food.
EFG 140 & EFG 142 are big fish groundbaits.
EFG 142 with a couple of capfuls of SFA 420 Crayfish and Sanagi makes a fabntastic stick mix. The addition of SFA 420 makes this mix PVA friendly. |
|
The exceptionally dry spring over much of the country, especially in the south and east, has already resulted in lower than normal water levels in many fisheries. Indeed, it will be impossible for many stillwaters to become topped up to normal levels unless we experience prolonged, heavy rainfall. If the near-drought conditions persist, this will have important fisheries management effects, but what are the implications for anglers?
Because of the gently-sloping marginal areas on many lakes, even a modest fall in water levels can greatly reduce the water area, concentrating the fish and – theoretically - making them easier to catch. On gravel pits in particular, years of wave erosion will have created submerged, marginal beaches with deeper water immediately offshore. If the margins are dry, the exposed lake banks may now flank quite deep water.
In these circumstances, fish can be caught very close to the bank, providing you take care not to scare them with clumsy behaviour. If in doubt, imagine that you’re trying to catch rabbits and you’ll get the idea very quickly! Marginal reeds may be left high and dry, so use your Polaroid glasses to look carefully for other areas of fish cover… water-lilies, weedbeds, submerged gravel humps or bars, fallen trees, the margins of offshore islands will all attract fish.
Shallow water can warm up quickly in sunny summer weather, so pack some floater-fishing gear – and bait – if you intend to carp fish in these conditions. The trick is to get the fish feeding confidently on free offerings, even if this takes a while, before casting to them.
Low flows on rivers will also cause fish to aggregate in food-rich areas where they feel safe. The most obvious are weir pools and streamy water between deeper pools, provided they are not too shallow. The ‘tail pool’ below a river section where the flow is forced into a narrow channel is usually a very reliable area, as is deep water beneath overhanging trees.
Top Tip
Shallow stillwaters can become weedy so unless you’re fishing in a weed-free area, pay attention to your hooked bait to ensure that it only just sinks. Adjust with small pieces of cork or foam trimmed to suit, and test the baited hook in the margins before casting. Marukyu pop-up boilies are especially useful if you’re targeting carp. |
|
|
|
