Keep Trying Expect Results

Keep Trying Expect Results.

I know I have been a bit under the radar recently with my fishing but it's all part and parcel of trying to get that momentum and drive back to get some fish on the bank, which is exactly what I have done. After one night and three desperate visits to various venues, I had a blank spell where I couldn't buy a bite, one thing that's come into it's own in my fishing is not getting lazy and if your not on the fish then move, it's a lot more satisfying moving a dozen times to places where I think the fish are held up but to no avail than sit in the same swim for twelve hours and not catch if anyone agrees with what I'm saying, I know everyone hates a blank but what goes wrong only comes back to make you 10x stronger which is what had happened.

Solid Bags Have Been On My Winter Tactic List. 

A few weeks ago I ventured to the north of London with good friend Rob Burgess for a social on Walthamstow pit 1, rob progressed onto bagging some scaley originals which was satisfying to see!

Mid to Upper Double Stow Common 

Then onto the local club lake where I fished a bitterly cold night but the Snooze+ kept me toasty warm whilst I looked across the water hoping an elusive common of the 30lb barrier would turn up, fishing till early hours of the morning on a quick overnighter as I had to get to work only baiting minimally didn't prove any success.

Three Rods On Low Stocked Lakes Are the Way Forward

This is where it gets better, my third session I got to a local day ticket lake where I had had a lot of success on the surface in the past. I tried the method of zig fishing all rods on with different foam, popup and cork arrangements, I even moved a couple of times finding some fish but they seemed to be preoccupied on other items and not picking up a small pinhead of colour which has tripped up a lot of fish for me in the past.

Had This Whole Bay To Myself To Flick Zigs Around.

After a week of more or less solid work and only a two hour surface fishing session resulting in a scaley mirror and two other smaller fish a session on Drayton is on the cards, I had thought about it for ages and really wanted to get up there, it's a nice big lake with plenty of spaces for a lot of anglers and specially now, some really dark stunning fish which is always a bonus in my eyes! I managed to have a few fish to upper doubles, first peg I started in took me a bucket  and a half of spod mix for one take which wasn't satisfying for me, I went for a walk to a least pressured area of the lake where no one was fishing, so I decided to grab minimal gear and have a go down there, I only put one rod out because of a cone out in mid water, I didn't fancy getting a second take snagged up, although one of the fish I hooked got round it and fishing 8-9ft zigs I got cut off which I was gutted as it was a decent fish!

The Drayton Fish Are Suckers for Yellow Foam, These
Rigs Were The Going Method On The Day. Tied up
In Advance. 

The evening moved on, fishing one rod out in the zone and one set up on the bank this allowed me to get the fish in the net and get the already set up rod back out with the chances of a bonus take which proved successful. I saw a few people wondering around and talking to anglers, one of which was Mark Bartlett carp hauling master, he came down into my swim and I asked if he'd mind doing the honors of taking some snaps of a fish in the net, I just folded the net down when the bobbin started creeping forward to which Bart had said your in on that one mate, hooking into the fish I managed to steer it round the cone and into open water, Bart happily slid the net under the fish with a fish already unhooked in the net. I was over the moon to land 2 double figure fish literally minutes after each other and to have the pics taken by a top angler had me buzzing.

Everyone Loves A Double Hookup! One in the Net and
Another Take. 

I was using small Avid Zig Lites on zigs which I had tied up by hand to try something different, a size 8 Nash Fang X hook did the trick. I used a small piece of silicone shrink tube to create a massively aggressive angle on the hook, as soon as the fish touches the back of the shank it spins and catches hold however far back they took it in, I've used the zig alignas for a while now but this method seems to work just as well, just need to have a sharp hook every time and possibly a bigger hook still?

The spod mix contained - 1 tub of Velocity Baits V-Cloud, Brown Crumb ground bait to bulk it up a little, 2 tins of rice pudding, 2 tins of condensed milk, half a bottle of prepared blitzed particle, 2 tins of corn and a helping of Raspberry Plume Goo for a halo around the spodded area. Little and often seemed to be the proven method, when I moved peg and started catching, I would cast the zig out and then drop 5-10 spods every fifteen or so minutes to keep the fish interested but not preoccupied which is what I think helped the bigger mid to upper doubles to come back for more.

Zigs are a method that I have loved using on high stocked waters, I have used them all over the place but for me fishing at range, or should I say a comfortable range and spodding a sloppy mix over the top is what I have enjoyment in. Specially as spring is knocking on the door it is more of a productive method for me.

Finally another amount of bank time came around for me and fishing on the Linear Fisheries complex a two hour drive for me, of which sees me preparing bait and tackle a week before hand. I managed to set off pretty early with the gate opening time in sight and concentrating on getting to the fishery, I made it onto the A1(M) for about 10 miles only to break down and be seen standing at the side of the motorway for the next three quarters of an hour. Finally I get recovered to a local garage, as you can tell this completely scarpered the plans of my weekends fishing. Turns out my car was firing on two cylinders and needs a new cylinder which is another story.

A Rare Weekend Overnighter for Me.

After a short phone all from a mate of mine, he offered me to come down to my local pit for the night and chill with them, after all no car = no work which is the killer of being a driver. But anyway, I get down to the lake and put the rods out on simple methods on a few random spots and set about the social, tea, sweets and the like and had a good laugh. Finally a time to unwind for a day or so.

The night drew on and the temperature slowly dropping and a steak baguette devoured and it's first light, woken by the sun beaming into my brolly and 2 beeps on the alarm.. IM IN!! Problem being, the fish had kited on a tight line and only gave me two beeps, no screamer at all, luckily I hooked into the fish settling the scales at 18lb 2oz, what a way to end a real terrible weekend.

Catching a Common Like This on a Quick Overnighter on a
Low Stocked Pit Was A Good Start to the Week. 

This fish was caught from a low stocked water with some amazing characters in there depths, it made it so much nicer catching from a lake with no more than 20 odd decent fish or so I assume. The fish fell to a really simple rig which I decided to cast to a light silt patch in deep water, the rig consisted of 15lb N-Trap and a Size 6 Wide Gape Hook and a small piece of shrink tubing just for added hooking efficiency, this was coupled with a small bag of crushed Velocity Baits AK4-R boilies. 

Sorry it's been a long one this time round, just bad so much to try and squeeze in, my next blog will be a bit more about my recent rigs and more technical talk, but until next time.

Ross

Short Rainy Beckerings Session

This time  you see me on the banks of Beckerings reservoir which is part of the Luton Ticket in Bedfordshire, after speaking to a few members I was told it was fishing well and is definitely worth a go, after taking  on the decision of coming down here, I automatically opted for a boilie only approach which has done me a few fish on this lake in the past, after all what fish doesn't like a boilie or two? 

Killer Pop-ups During Winter, Specially Accompanied
By the Hinged Rig Below.

Finally I reached the lake after a swift 30 minute drive, only to stumble across two other anglers on the lake which is perfect, not saying it annoys me but when there's a dozen or so anglers it is hard to have a clear choice of pegs. After a chat and an update with the bailiff he recommended to go on the back of the wind as that's where people have been catching from there was a steady southerly pushing across the lake which made the swims easier to chose, little fish activity left me very little to go on but I just wanted to get the rods out in all fairness!

The Scenery for Most of the Day, Dark Skies and Rain.

This lake in particular is a farmers irrigation reservoir, last time I came for a walk round the water was around 4ft down but the weather we have been getting the vast showers, it has soon brought that level back up a bit higher. I have been talking to a few friends of mine who fish on this particular lake regularly and leaves me in good stead of what rigs I want to be using but again, I won't use rigs I don't have confidence in or at least don't feel confident in having a go with them.

Just as I got up to the peg I intended on going for, I quickly shot the brolly up, yes I know it is sacrilege and the rods should go out first but I didn't regret putting them up because the heavens opened, I hate wet or damp gear being put in my carp bus so it was a matter of choice to stop it getting soaked but there's nothing saying I won't be barrowing back round the lake in the pouring rain.

The Chod Like Section, I Like it Quite Short.

Less of my withering on as usual, I have decided to go for an all out boilie approach, I am using the ever faithful Velocity Baits P-Nut Boilies in 14mm which I dug out of my mums freezer last night, and using 2 identical hinged rigs but with 2 different patterns of hook. One has a size 6 Korda Choddy B and the other an ESP Stiff Rigger to see which one perfoms. During winter his-vis hookbaits is always a plan to go for, fish will be just mooching about looking for the odd bit of grub hence why colours come into their own this time of year. There tied up with around 8" of Korda N-Trap Stiff and the end section a small choddy like arrangement which is on the end via an overhand loop knot to allow a hinge. So far as hookbaits on both rigs, I have a 14mm Chocolate Malt popup and a 14mm Nutty Combo which is what I have a lot of faith in compared to the Cream 'n' Toffee's.

The Ring Swivel on the Loop Is Paramount for Movement.

Seeing as it's been a struggle for me to get on the bank it's now the time to take advantage of the empty bank sides and try and put some fish on the bank, as bait is easy to come about for myself a few plans may come together and work in my favor and allow me to get on some fish.

Anti Tangle Sleeve Speaks For Itself, Completely
Tangle Proof.

My other club lake being the small intimate water with a few lumps in is where I'll be doing most night sessions which stands me in good stead of getting a few fish under my belt indeed, but the pinnacle for me is being able to read and edit out wide team of consultants and testers blogs and see a different angle on fishing. After finally seeing a fish show to the right of the spots, it added a little bit more confidence that I may get a bite. As I look behind the brolly the sky is looking dark and evil, moments later it commences in raining yet again, seems like the way this days going to go on.

The P-Nut In All Its Glory, Light In Colour and Full Of Natural
Enhancers.

After a couple of hours one of the rods was recast back to the spot for the benefit of a short video also complimenting this blog, hit the spot first time so the rigs are in a good position at the moment, both of the rigs are side by side so there ready for at least 2 quick takes, it's not I prefer fishing specially when there are little features, it also increases your chances of a bite on the same spot 2 quick takes could change a session without a doubt.

Last Innings, Packing Up in the Rain Is No Fun At All! 

The session drew on, the rain and hail began and put a massive down turn on the chances of the session, after steadily introducing bait, no takes we're come by, the next week or so sees some busy days by the means of work, editing blogs and a video to coincide with this blog. The rain had persisted and I was also confident in the tactics I was using, a few opportunities have arisen over the past couple of weeks which I shall digress in a few months time, providing that things go to plan! 

All the Best For the Winter 

Ross.

Short Day Session Carping

Short Day Session Carping

Finally I managed to squeeze in a quick day session on a local lake to me, I’d put a bit of time in over the summer fishing his specific runs water to allow me to get amongst some fish. I had no less than around 100 fish if not more from this swim and the neighbouring swims on the lake. 

This particular session sees me fishing Chestnut Pool in Langford, a lake I can feel confident that I can come here and easily get a few bites and never risk a blank. I arrived at the lake at 7:15 and got to the lake just before the gates opened, after having a quick chat with Pete I managed to battle across a Somme like bank round the my swim of choice for the day. 

Tips Low to the Water Because of Strong Gusts. 

As I was setting the rods up I clipped one rod up against the island, minutes before I saw a fish show on that exact spot, the rod was straight back out and the rod was away minutes later with the first fish on the session. This admittedly is the first fish I have caught casting to showing fish, but it’s now really difficult on waters like these.

The day drew on and it was decided the nice weather was the calm before the storm which I was presently surprised how correct I was. 

Deadly Hookbaits Either in Solids or Snowman.

The rig I had used – 8” Korda N-Trap Stiff with a piece of silicone tubing trapping the hair onto the shank of the hook which was a Nash Fang Twister, this was finished off with a seven turn knotless knot attaching the snowman presentation quite well. Both of the baits P-Nut Plus bottom bait and the Cream and Toffee popup were cut so there were identical flat points on the baits to make a nicely presented snowman arrangement.

On the other rod was the same presentation until it was decided that I cast around to get some more bites, the next rig was of the same length, 8” of Korda N-Trap Stiff with all of the coating stripped back and I threaded on a home-made off cut pop-up in fluorescent yellow and then added a piece of silicone tubing to again trap the hair on the shank of the hook with a Nash Fang Twister hook then attached with a 7 turn Knotless knot. To pin the popup to the deck I then clamped on a BB shot a few mil under the eye of the hook. This was then finished off with a small mesh bag of 6 Crumbed P-Nut boilies.

Always a Good Sign, The Result of Casting to a Showing Fish.

To achieve some of the bites, I had to become active and to fish the rods static and try roving them around which had proved fruitful as every cast I had made tight to the adjacent island gave another few bites to add to the tally. This is a kick-start into my fishing for the winter and will be found on my next blog on the Luton Angling Clubs Beckerings reservoir. 

More Picture Worthy More Than Welcome This Time of Year.

Happy New Year 

Ross.

Winter fishing using Velocity Baits Products and the Social Media.

One thing I haven’t really illustrated to people over the last few months is some of the curve-balls my winter fishing takes in terms of tactics. I have been tying up rigs over the past few weeks which I hope will out wit some of my winter targets along with fish in other venues, Sand Hurst and Farlows which are two of which I will be looking at fishing over the next 6-8 months.

Solid Bags, a Good Small Food Parcel For Winter.

 Winter fishing for me tends to slow down a little bit in terms of being productive, last year as you may have seen from my blogs, when the snow hits, its all about hauling in the snow, there really is nothing better although saying that I may get out on the bank of my club lake looking something a bit more special, maybe this could be an edge when all the fair weather anglers drift off in sight of next spring.

The Solid Bag Rigs, Tried and Tested

Last winter I was reasonably productive fishing a particle approach on a reservoir of which I only did 2 mid double commons throughout the winter, pretty crap if you ask me, but it is one thing that I don’t hesitate with is the volume of bait I prep spots with, other anglers go delicate with the baiting but taking it in my stride I don’t hesitate to fill it in a little bit more, I’m not talking 10kg+ of boilies but 2-3kg certainly doesn’t go a miss depending on activity. 

Whole and Halved Boilies Offers an Added Edge!

One rig I am adopting into my approach – a 10mm Popup rig with the addition of Evolution Tackle Maggot Balls which have recently been brought to my attention on facebook and the magazines, there a brilliant idea specially when there are nuisance Roach and Bream around, nothing big but just can be a pain with destroying maggot rigs. To tie the rig I simply take the following components – Nash Missing Link Weed 15lb, Silt Shrink Tubing, Size 10 Nash Fang Twister Hook, Hook ring Swivel, Hook bead and a ball of fake maggots.

A Good Wintery Combination, Small Baits and Maggots

First I take around 10 inches of Missing Link and strip all of the coating off, I then take the Fang Twister hook and tie a 7 turn half blood knot in the eye of the hook, then I take a piece of shrink tubing so that the angle of the shrink tubing is level with the point of the hook, then I take a hook ring swivel and tie on a 10mm Pineapple Pop-up and thread on a ball of the evolution maggots and thread this onto the hook, I then push the point of the hook through a Nash Hook Bead. This is the rig in its entirety, something I will be using all over the place with small mesh bags of live and dead maggots and even in solid bags on shorted 2.5inch – 3inch rigs. 

The Picture is Deceptive, 23lb+ Mirror Caught on a Solid Bag!

This is one of the rigs which I will be using in hope to have an edge as such? But during the winter I don’t really stick to one rig, now I have the ability to use three rods, I will have 3 different rigs but it also allows me to experiment with zigs as I can have them on all three rods thus allowing me to search out the water a little bit more than with 2 rods. 

Zig Caught Fish, Yellow Zig Alignas in a Additive

 Hope this little bit of information whets your appetite a little into seeing what I can produce over the next few weeks and keep your eyes peeled on twitter for some little riggy edges and hook bait ideas from myself!

Thanks for reading

Ross Tierney

Social Media Consultant

Some of My Favorite Pop-ups on the Range(Sorry For Poor Quality)

1st A Blank, 2nd A Score!

An Eye-opener of a Session.

I arrived up at the club lake at just before eleven o'clock on Thursday morning, having a wonder round it becomes evident to me roughly where the fish are, I'm just about to walk past a swim I call marginal, for obvious reasons, 2 fish show in the main basin of water, one of them was a mid to upper double, the other a single figure maybe a scraper double, seeing the fish show I carry on wondering keeping that area in mind. 

One Poser of a Robin, Hopefully Bringing Me Luck!

I went back to the car and loaded the barrow, I have nowhere near as much gear compared to when I last did a night, but still seems a lot for some reason? Ha-ha. 

As I slowly walked up the gate bank, I stand in one swim scanning the water where fish were showing in numbers, out about 50 yards I found a soft drop, this came clear to me there was a patch of firm silt, as I drew the rod back after leaving the rods out to see if I could get a quick fish, the bottom was fairly clear as there was no bottom debris on the hook. 

Fluoro Nutty Combos, What Big Fish Can Resist These.

On the rods I've put out, I'm using a hinged rig as before which I'll explain how I'm tying it in the next paragraph, followed by the same fluorocarbon rig from my last session but with a pink snowman presentation, I am using the pink as a blatant highlight in hope to stop fish in their tracks getting them to feed. On the hinged rig, I am using a 14mm Velocity Baits Nutty Combo Popup, this goes in conjunction with the 1kg of P-Nut Plus freebies I have scattered around the area. You’re probably thinking you’re mad putting out that amount of bait to showing fish, as I'm now aware there are fish in front of me which may have backed off a bit, this bait would have spooked them off so I can get some rigs on the deck allowing them to come back for a feed if you like.  

The Fish Were Showing Fairly Consistently there Activity Had To Unfold Into
Something At Least!

The hinged rig as mentioned is something I have been toying with, it has been a killer on a couple of day ticket waters I have fished recently, first I tie on a size 8 ESP stiff rigger onto 5 inches of Mouth trap or bristle filament using a 7 turn knot less knot, then with the tag I have, I thread on a large rig ring and push the tag end through the back of the eye giving you a D on the back of the hook thus creating a chod like section, then I take 12 inches of Nash Missing Link, strip off around 2 inches then form a loop in the end(not tying a loop),  I then thread the chod like section through this loop and do the same, I then tie a 7 turn half-blood knot in the Missing Link leaving about 2mm from the eye of the hook, I then do the same in the stiff filament but only tying 3 turns this time. I then tease the knots down slowly, doing this allows roughly an inch on the stiff section and a few mm of supple braid exposed on the braided section. Finally I thread on an anti-tangle sleeve followed by a ring swivel tied on with a 7 turn half-blood knot. Then it's just a case of attaching your chosen hook bait.  

The Yellow and White Brings A Good Contrast, 2 Colours
Are Definitely Better Than One.

After an hour or so the fish still seem quite active, after seeing a fish crash about 10 yards off the back of the spot, it's still looking good to me, at around 5pm I will put fresh hook baits on both rods and set the traps for the night to see what happens. Usually the fish in this particular lake, to my knowledge, aren't very active in terms of showing so frequently, one of the fish that crashed looked like a better fish, maybe one of the bigger commons.  

Only a light breeze ripples the surface of the lake which allows pin pointing any fish activity a lot easier, especially in other parts of the lake as the ripples won't go unnoticed.  

An Unbeatable Setup, Never Really Used Helicopter Setups
But With Slack Line, It Ensures Good Presentation.(Minus
the Fluorocarbon to the Left)

In some uncertain terms I may have contradicted myself when I say "I don't use slack lines". With the presentations described it makes sense to slacken the lines off to keep it out of the carps way, although fishing for line bites isn't a bad thing as it tells you if there are fish moving into or through the zone.  

After 6 hours nothing had unfolded, I made a quick recast with both rods to make sure everything was spot on for the night, my markers on the far bank is a gap between trees, I have one rod on the left and then one rod on the right fished at exactly the same distance on the small patch of silt out in front of me, the fish are still showing on the back of the spot so hopefully something moves through during the night!  

The Components of the Hinged Rig As Explained.

After suffering a cut off on the right hand rod at 9pm, which I still can't get my head around, at 11pm it all kicked off. Just as I'm lying scanning the water watching a hippo or two show, the left rod on the hinged set up goes into complete meltdown. After a hairy 10 minute fight, a lovely pale, scaly mirror is in the net! The scales spun to 20lb 2oz, not the thirty I'd hoped for but it's a result to bag a fish on my second session! Cheshire cat comes to mind!

20lb 2oz Mirror, First Carp from the New Club Lake
Caught on the Described Hinged Rig + Nutty Combo Pop-up

I've got to be honest here, when I was playing the fish to the net and I caught a glimpse I thought it had only looked 10/15lb until I unhooked it in the net to sort out a mass of tangles, I thought yeah that's definitely a 20.The rod was soon recast and another half a kilo of boilies followed to freshen the spot.  

The night drew on and all that persisted was the rain which was no problem as I had my brolly sat low to the ground, as the sun came up a few anglers got set up on the opposite bank, then I took the decision that I would make my way home. It has been a good session that I got on the fish and it may have taken a while but the fish got back on me and decided to have a munch.  

Join me on my next session when I get to grips again with fishing with boilies and the lake itself!

 

Thanks for Reading

Ross.



The Beginning of a Winter Campaign

First Session on a Tricky Winter Venue.

After such a busy week, I have managed to get onto the club lake for a long day session. After having a walk around for a few hours at the weekend, I managed for figure out an area that the fish visit. One swim I go straight into was 2 pegs down from no carp corner, fish were showing in numbers which made the decision to drop into the swim a lot easier. 2 rods were soon fired out to the spot where the fish were showing, only 2 single hook baits, one a chod rig and the other a hinged rig.

The Components of my Hinged Rig

The only problem I came across was it pushed the fish out further, I wasn’t going to keep chasing them and keep casting to the distances they were pushing out to, I knew they’d move off to another area of the lake. After the regular activity, nothing had happened for at least an hour. I took the decision upon me to move to a disabled swim which I know produces fish and another thing that attracted me to this area were the marginal snags and pads on the far bank. I flicked the rods out, one to a small cove in 2 bushes and the other just off the pads on the far margin. One thing that was noticeable when feeling for the drop were the timings so I had to re-adjust where the rods were.

An Underused Method on my Part, Chopped and Whole Boilies

I clipped up the rods and recast them to exactly the same spots and I clipped them up, some bait was then introduced from the far margin, it was pointless using a catapult when I could just throw it in by hand. I used a Korda Kutter to half some 14mm P-Nut Plus and also I halved some 14mm AK4-R with my hands, doing this allows the leakage of the baits to be higher and hopefully keep the fish guessing as to what is in the swim. This was also added with a helping of some whole boilies so it opened up my choices of hook baits.

It Was Easier to Bait Up From the Far Margins, Although I Did
Use a Mini Spomb From the Swim Little and Often

 After an hour of no show over the spot, a lovely dark looking mid double crashed over the spot, this had me buzzing that I was going to get a bit from the left hand spot as it was inches away, or so I thought was the case anyway.

After 3 quarters of an hour I decided to go for a walk and have a chat with some of the regular anglers on the lake and see what I can find out, I wasn’t being a pain just getting the low down on fish that had been caught. When I had returned to the swim about to recast, I had noticed both white hook baits had turned a tainted black, which means I’m fishing on a firm bar of silt along the far margin. The reason why I’m using the bright hook baits is for the colour if anything else, the reason I say this, I now know I’m fishing over silt which is 100% going to overpower the smell of the hook baits as the silt smells a lot more to the fish that an attractive scent off a small pinhead compared to the silty bar.

I Used Helicopter Rigs As I Was Unsure What the Silt Was Like

After re-doing the rods I added some more bait to keep the spot fresh, I soon noticed a sizeable dark shape cruising the far margin starting from a triangular bay where a friend of mine was fishing, I have been told the fish keep the snags on the far bank as a route of safety in some instances.

The Fluorocarbon Rig As
Described.

A Critically Balanced Rig. Tied
KD Style to Kick the Hook Downwards.

 After an hour or so passes me by and the chod rig on the left hand rod in the small cove was instantaneously changed to a fluorocarbon rig. To tie this I have taken 15 inches of fluorocarbon off one of my reels and took 3 inches of weed missing link and attached them together using a back to back half-blood knot. To the braided section I tied a loop and attached my choice of a 14mm P-Nut Plus boilies, I then thread the fluorocarbon through a size 8 Nash Fang Twister and made sure that the knot was sitting opposite the point of the hook which was being pinned in place with 2mm of silicone tubing for blowback affects. I then threaded on an anti-tangle sleeve as it would be used on a helicopter rig and then tied the fluorocarbon onto a ring swivel. I attached a PVA Nugget and flick it out and firmly hit the clip, landing bang on the spot.

16mm Pop-ups Are Perfect for Big Carp, Stand Out Like a
Sore Thumb on Silt As Well!

The rest of the session was fruitless unfortunately but from seeing some of the catches I don’t think these fish are going to give themselves up easily by any mean!  Keep reading my blogs where I hope something is going to unfold and then some fish will appear.

 

Follow me this winter for the journey on this small intricate lake to see if I can slide the net under a winter wacker, I hope all my tips and tricks help you along the way as well, as and from this month I am taking on the editing of the Team Velocity Baits blog page as well, you can also get to know other anglers on the team from this page as well, release will be over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for Reading, Ross.

How I Get The Most Out of Zig Fishing

My Take on Zigs and How I Get The Best From Velocity Baits Products.

Velocity Baits V-Cloud, Yellow Creamz, White Liverz, Red Chilliz and
Orange Fruitz.

I just thought for the benefit of myself that I haven’t written a blog, so this one is just a how to get the best of the products and you may have seen or what will be featured in this blog are pictures of a recent COLD and WET zig fishing session with one of the velocity baits field testers.

One of the Scaly Prizes From a Recent Haul

I have been doing a bit of fishing recently but mainly for myself without writing a blog, it has been a bit slow on the fishing front as I’m trying to get into the swing of things with a new lake which I will be targeting this coming winter, also planning a late trip across to Italy for the world carp classics with a few  ex college mates which will be a good experience with some amazing people, also good to catch up with some good friends made last year as you may well have read from my “World Carp Classic 2012” blog written up next year.

This Time Last Year With a Good Friend of Mine

Zig fishing has got to be one of my most favoured methods out there at the moment, especially when going for bit hauls of fish, if you get  the rods clipped up and at the right distance every time and so many things that people may lack on when using zigs which I hope to cover here. I don’t want to be at all patronising at all just a few edges and things I do to get the best from a session when other people are catching nowhere near as many fish on pegs around you.

Zig Bugs, The Come Into There All in the Right Situations.

The Rig – the rig I use is very simple and has been recently adapted over the past few months for fishing zigs at range, allow me to divulge. Firstly on my reels I have 12lb Line which is ample, the low diameter means that the line comes off the spool and is a pleasure to cast, it’s between 0.33mm and 0.35mm. I firstly thread on a 15m length of Nash D-cam Rig Tubing then a Safety bolt bead with a swivel with a rather nifty clip on the end, I also use one of the small stoppers to pin the swivel in place in the safety bolt bead for hooking efficiency. Then I tie my zig with 12lb Nash Zig Flo – it is incredibly thin and so light its perfect, I then thread on a colour of choice Fox Zig Aligna and then tie on a really unsuspecting hoof for this approach.. a size 8 Nash Fang Twister, the reason I say “unsuspecting” is the reason it has an in turned eye which is really frowned upon, well not really if the zig aligners on correctly you’re not losing the gape and the straight point means it’s going to nail in the fishes mouth every time. I then tie a small double overhand loop in the end of the zig and thread on an anti-tangle sleeve which helps to avoid tangles on the cast, you may be thinking but with the clip it’s not going to go on the clip? But I steam the sleeve to melt it slightly and then push it on and it goes back on in the same fashion every time. This is the simple rig end, so far as lead size and shape it’s usually a 3oz/3.5oz tournament casting lead as these fly out even in a strong wind pushing into your face as I found out on a recent session. 

A Fish Caught on a Crafty Rig Being Featured Soon!

I have seen and take on board other anglers information when it comes to zigs which I can adapt into my own fishing, I use zigs where ever I am likely to go, a recent session on a reservoir on my club ticket taught me something about zigs is that some fish roar off with a zig and some it is a series of beeps, it is easy for the fish to eject a zig because if it happens to descend in the water, you’ll have an amount of slack between the hook end and the lead end. You are less likely to get liners on zigs as the fish in your area won’t come under contact with your line which I usually have it bowstring tight. 

A Lovely Mid Double Mirror, Absolute Pristine Fish.

 

It is all about getting the mix right and also the right application from a relevant spod mix. I use a whole host of things in a Sloppy Spod Mix. Velocity baits have just released a V-Cloud Powder which is an awesome additive; I can only just count on one hand other manufactures that may be chasing with slop material bait.

1.       Half fill a bucket of water

2.       Add in Condensed Milk, Rice Pudding and other Creamy Liquids

3.       Gradually add in ground bait for me its Brown Crumb its cheap and gets the job done4.       Add in 2/3 tubs of the Velocity Baits V-Cloud Powder

5.       Then add a dozen handfuls of particle, I always have an element of yellow either Corn or Maize, the other Maples, Peas, Beans etc. allow for a choice of black hook bait

6.       Thoroughly mix it so you have no lumps, really get into the corners of the bucket

7.       Leave it for 15-20 minutes to allow the water to soak into the mix and add more if  necessary

8.       Test the mix in the margins it should leave a cloud that hangs for a matter of minutes

9.       To apply, fill the button section of a Midi Spomb and you’re ready to go!

This Isn't The Mix But My Choice of Particles in a Sloppy
Mix.

Just some simple things I use in my spod mix to get the best from using zigs, I’m not the biggest of people, but hitting a clip on a spod rod or even a rigged up rod is no problem, I have a fairly balanced set up at the moment, a 4lb Nash H-Gun spod rod is perfect when coupled with a midi Spomb, it allows you to keep going without tiring yourself out as I have found with the bigger version of the Spomb.

Targeting a Small Reservoir Last Winter.

Keep a look out over the season we are currently in to see what array of tactics that I use, hope these simple things help and get you on your way to hauling on zigs either the rest of the Autumn or even the summer which will hopefully soon be upon us.

Good Luck

Ross