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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. |