Location Corner: Rich Wilby
Ever turned up to a lake and been unsure of what to head for? Here we describe a situation to a successful angler and get them to detail what they'd do.
As many a great fisherman has said over the years, “Five minutes in the right spot is better than 24hrs in the wrong one,” so getting your location spot-on must be at the top of everyone’s agenda when you turn up at your chosen venue.
For this month’s Location Corner, we’ve posed this hypothetical situation and venue to fishery owner, Rich Wilby: ‘the fishing conditions are dry and sunny with clear skies and a steady breeze. There’s a warm west wind of around 8-12mph and the air-pressure is fairly high at 1028. You have 24hrs fishing ahead of you at this hypothetical venue which is 12-acres in area. Swims 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 15, 19, 20 and 24 are already taken, so where would you head for and how would you fish that swim?’
Okay, that’s the scenario, now lets see what Rich will do…
“Turning up to a venue for the first time is always daunting, but it is a situation I find myself in regularly for magazine work. I also get bored of lakes quickly so I do love heading to different venues and always keep an ear out for lakes that I have not been to.
“The conditions on this 24hr session look okay and are typical of what we get a lot of in the summer months: high air-pressure, bright sun and westerly winds. It is not the perfect weather I dream of when I head to the bank, but the carp are very catchable in these conditions if you get things right and have a little luck.
“My first question would be: where is the shallow water? As I would be pretty sure that is where the carp would like to be. The map shows some shallow gravel bars in the centre. The wind is pushing into the east bank as well, so swims 12 and 13 jump out at me as a place to start. Peg 13 also has no one either side which is a bonus, although you never know who is turning up. The deeper water at 7ft looks very good for working a Zig Rig or two around in. So if I was in the swim I would be fishing my bottom rods on the shallow bar and roaming Zig Rigs around in the open water, day and night.
“The other swim I think would be worth a go is Peg 9. Once again you have a shallow feature in front of it, but the snags down the right margin look good, especially with the wind pushing into them. I would certainly be looking in these snags when I got to the lake to see if fish were present as there is a fair bit of angling pressure on the venue.
“In general what I am looking for on a venue for my first trip is a swim that gives me several options and a good view of the lake. Going from the map for 24hrs I would pick Peg 13. But I might be tempted to do the night in Peg 9 if it stayed free. Peg 13 gives you plenty of open water and if no one turns up next-door you could also fish the corner of the island in front of Peg 14. If the lake has a reasonable head of carp present I would fancy my chance of winkling one or two out.”