5 day ticket lessons I have learnt

1. Look, and then look some more

“The word watercraft means a hundred different things and there are so many aspects that contribute to successful watercraft. The first of which is to simply watch the water for signs. Use your eyes to look and your intuition to react on what your eyes are telling you. Be sure to set your alarm for first light, more often than not that will be the best time to see fish showing, bubbling and fizzing and this will be a massive giveaway as to where they are and where they want to feed. In recent trips to Bluebell’s Kingfisher, that first hour of light, from 5am, is when the fish are most active; giving away their whereabouts and the areas they visit to feed.”

A mega result caught from an area I had seen a number of shows at first light the previous morning

2. Know your chosen venue

“Spend time with a marker rod to build up a picture of depths and likely spots. I always map out each swim the first time I fish it and will log spots in my diary. Once a swim has been mapped out, it will save you so much time and disturbance in the future. I pay particular attention to spots I have caught from and these get etched into my carpy logbook for future reference.”

Taking the time and making the effort to map swims has helped me out no end in the future…

3. Do your own thing

“Whenever I fish a venue for the first time I will always approach it ‘my way’ despite what ‘the regulars’ will tell me about the venue. I would always start off by fishing areas you see fish and employ tactics and bait you are most confident in. Always take note of any advice but never take that advice as gospel. The very first time I set foot on the very tricky Bluebell Swan Lake I was told, in no uncertain terms, that spodding doesn’t work. That was music to my ears, and after spodding heavily I went on to catch seven in my first night and backed it up with another fourteen fish in 48hrs from my second ever trip to the venue; a season’s worth of fish for the single hookbait crew.”

A Swan Lake unit caught over a heavily baited area when I was told spodding doesn’t work

4. Do not stress too much on rigs

“Always fish a rig which suits the bottom that you are fishing over. Rigs do not need to be complicated, they just need to be well presented so that a carp can find your hookbait and suck it in. There are far more important things to think about and rigs are pretty much the last thing on my mind when tackling a venue. A simple stripped back combi rig, solid bag or a Ronnie Rig will always score well on a clean bottom. A Hinged Stiff Rig or Ronnie suits choddy ground and a Chod Rig will give you a better chance to present a bait in weed.”

Get your watercraft right and a simple, well presented rig, will produce the goods

5. Be prepared to change and adapt

“If it is hot then make sure a ready-to-go floater set-up is always in the armoury. Zigs are always worth a shout in spring. Solid bags are a great way to get a quick bite when cast to a showing fish and a well chosen baited spot will come good over time. Just be prepared to have to work for a bite and try not to take a one-dimensional approach. Conditions change from one hour to the next, from one day to another and throughout the seasons. Just be ready to adapt and change and let the fish tell you how they want to be caught.”

A wonderful floater-caught carp when there was no chance of a bite on the bottom