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How to get the most out of a day ticket water

Clearly, there’s no one better to ask on how to crack a pressure day ticket venue than the chaps who live and breathe them, so here’s your guide to unlocking the UK’s most popular type of venue…

Rupert Whiteman

Hugely experienced fishery manager who now controls the mighty RK Leisure set-up, which includes the world famous Wraysbury 1

What would you say are the top five most common mistakes you see on a daily basis whilst walking around Wraysbury?
“First and foremost, the sheer volume of anglers who fail to line-up their handles, bobbins and bars never ceases to amaze me! Swim Feng Shui is almost as important as watercraft in my eyes! Right up there would also be people who don’t move on to showing fish. If you’ve seen enough to warrant telling me or anyone else that’ll listen, why on earth are you still sat in the same swim chatting about them? The other three would be: not listening to local knowledge (if I tell you to do something, it’ll generally be for the greater good); dropping in the ‘best’ swim without having a mooch first and finally, something I’m prone to doing myself: not ringing the changes when it’s just not happening for you.”

What about features: do anglers tend to all fish to the most obvious one?
“92% do; 5% try but can’t reach it or cast in a straight line and then there will be the 3% that, rightly or wrongly, just do it differently. In all seriousness, yes, they do. I think certain things like an island, snag, overhanging bush, clear spot in the margin, etc. stand out like a sore thumb and will always draw the attention of a short-session angler, after all, time is money to these guys so they just want to see something ‘carpy’ and crack on! This why I have always tried to map out the waters I’ve worked on, as it gives visiting fishermen an insight into some of the more subtle features below the surface that they may not find if they’re bothered about thrashing the water to a foam while prepping for an overnighter where bites may be at a premium.”

In your mind, does recasting at the wrong time ruin a lot of angler’s chances?
“I’ve always been more than prepared to take three or four chucks to get everything exactly how I want it (in my mind’s eye) and then settle back and bore them out! Jokes aside, the advent of washing your baits out or using pastel shades on your pop-ups has taken the edge off the long game but after five years of sitting around a complex of lakes all day, every day, I failed to establish a proper pattern to feeding times, except during winter. A take could genuinely come at any time and how many of us have had a fish shortly after a recast due to banking one? If they’re having it, they’re having it.”