Happy Paste Fishing the BCUK way

By Russ Evans

My sponsors BCUK sent me down a few tubs of the Bloodworm/Attract paste a few weeks ago and I have to admit that I have been getting on very well with the bait. One of five pastes in the BCUK bait list I have concentrated mainly on the bloodworm but I am sure the other four score just as well. No doubt I will try the other four pastes in due course especially the Shrimp and Aniseed range which appeal to me as good combinations. So how have I been getting on and how do you prepare the pastes.

It very simple to prepare especially if you are not that good at mixing or getting your mixes right or if you time is in short supply and you need a quick ready to use bait. The first step is to pull off the plastic seal around the lip of the lid and then open up, secondly pour in lake water to the top, close the lid tight and shake the mix for about two minutes. Put the tub down and leave for twenty minutes whilst your are tackling up its as simple as that preparation wise.

When paste fishing it is important to find a nice flat bottom in your peg as the paste will pull your float under if the lake bottom is uneven, basically the weight of the paste will act as a plummet so the more even the peg the better for float presentation. I normally as a rule plumb up dead depth and then add two inches on to allow for the weight of the paste. Ideally the closer in you can fish the better for speed purposes and being as I like to have my paste mix as soft as possible I always use a small pole pot for shipping out the float and bait. The texture of the paste I use is so soft that it would drop of straight away if I attempted to swing it out. The photos below are the simple basics steps to using a very soft paste to the best effect.

5 Steps to success

The first step is to scoop a lump of paste from the tub, walnut size and with your thumb press down in the middle to make way for the hook.

With the paste flattened down in the middle place your hook from a size 16 to 12 in the middle as shown.

The next stage is to wrap and fold the paste around the hook so that the hook is buried in the middle, gently squeezing the paste into a round or oval shape.

The next step is to place the paste in a pole cup as indicated which is fixed about 8 inches from the tip of your pole. I use the Preston pole cups which come in two sizes, shallow and a deeper version. I use the deeper version so I can be sure the paste will not drop out when shipping out.

When you have placed the paste in the cup, add a few feed pellets on the top. When I use the Bloodworm paste I like to feed the BCUK B1 3mm feed pellets as well, so not only are you baiting the peg with your hookbait you are also introducing feed every put in.The next stage is to ship out your pole to the chosen area, and when ready tilt the pole cup gently tap the pole to help the paste drop out into the water. Another tip if it is not too windy is to keep as much line from the pole tip to the float off the water surface. I recommend 15 to 18 inches from the pole tip to the float and by keeping the pole up directly above the float it gives you a much better lift into a bite when the float buries especially if you need to fish at 12 metres or so.

The proof is in the paste not pudding.

Big bits of paste are just small feed to carp like this I find the bigger the paste the much quicker the bite and bigger the fish. Another tip when paste fishing is also to feed a bit of hemp, BCUK Active hemp that is!

Believe it or not but this little fellow the Crucian Carp gulped up a big helping of Bloodworm paste.

Another good tip I find is to have my elastic set fairly loose when Paste fishing, the elastic shown pouring out in the photo is Drennan Bungee yellow which helped me land carp up to 10lbs in this session however for much bigger fish or snaggy pegs then its best to step up to the Pink bungee or similiar elsastics you prefer.

This nice looking carp was in good condition and put up a fair old scrap after taking the paste, the bite came within 8 seconds of the paste hitting the water which proves big soft baits can trigger the fish into action almost straight away.

At the start of the session I always cup out at least two small pots of B1 pellets in a line covering 3 feet and then introduce hemp in the same way. To build the peg up I start on big soft pellets soaked in Hi Attract additive catapulting small pinches of B1's and active hemp. When the fish are fizzing I then switch onto the paste and away I go.

7th June 2007 

All successful match and pleasure anglers have one thing in common, Preparation, without it you are wasting your time and simply not reaching the expectations of catching plenty of good quality fish and competing at the highest level on a regular basis.

Simple things make all the difference like looking after your bait, making sure your rigs are tied properly, your fishing tackle is clean and maintained plus everything is at hand when sitting on your box during a match.

Over the coming weeks I will update this page with the simple things that make my fishing more enjoyable and ideas that I feel help me compete well on a regular basis. I will go through some of my favourite methods like waggler fishing and pole tactics, feeding patterns, pellet and paste preparation, rods, poles and reels, reel and pole lines, shotting patterns, hook types, plus more as I go along.

If there is any angling subject or problem that I can help you with then please by all means leave a message in the guestbook.

 This was my peg (85) at a recent match on the superb Monks Lake complex in Kent. As you can see I like to have everything to hand so I dont have to walk about finding items of tackle during a match. To the left of my seat box is an adjustable platform with a side tray added to the rear, on the platform I have all my baits tubs and bits and bobs. On the side tray I have all my catapults, rig winders, hooks, shot tubs etc.

To the left of the platform I have the following resting on the side so I can just reach and pick up at ease if I want to change tactics during a match. I will have my landing net handle, feeder rod, waggler set up, cupping kit and my match top pole kits already rigged up for use.

At the front of my box I have a sliding adjustable foot rest which helps me sit comfortably on my box and with additional features I can attach keepnets onto the fronts legs without worrying about trying to get a bankstick in the ground. I also have attached just above my keepnet arm a pole rest or Tulip as it is called, this device helps me to keep the pole in place when shipping back on the pole roller behind me after unshipping the section to land a fish. You can see the pole to the right of my box secure which helps on very windy days.

Behind me I have my carryall which will have spare bait, riddles, groundbait bags, drink and spare accessories. To the left and out of picture I place my rod holdall and trolley which I dont expect to need and use again until I pack up at the end of a match. So as you can see everything is neat and tidy, ready and waiting for when I need to use which can save valuable time in close contests.

Nicely does it as another fish comes to the net at Monk Lakes on the way to winning my match with a nice weight of 53lbs 4oz.

Always take your time when playing and landing fish because if applying too much pressure the hook can slip or pull out at the point of landing the fish, resulting in lost weight which could prove crucial when the scalesman arrives. Just 1 ounce can make all the difference between winning or losing, maximum section points or dropping out of contention in a match league.

Balanced tackle which is something I will write about later on this page is very much the key to landing those bonus fish.

I would not say that I have a particular favourite method of catching fish as I simply love catching fish full stop, but if the opportunity to set up a waggler presents itself then I do not have to think twice. Especially of late I have had the pleasure to fish rod and reel with a waggler quite often and with great success but on rivers with a bit of flow I dont hesitate to use the stick float which is a great method and deadly on its day. One reason why I like to use these methods are because you are being active all the time by constantly feeding, casting, flicking the rod to sink the line just under the water and of course striking. Its all about getting into a rhythm and building up the peg as the match progresses but all the time knowing and understanding what is actually going on under the water. You have to ask yourself when feeding the swim, normally with the use of a magapult, how are the fish reacting to the feed going in, are they coming up in the water to try an intercept the bait quicker which is normally the case in the summer months. So what do you do when this happens and the bites start to get impossible to hit through liners and quick as a flash bites.

 It always pays to have a nice selection of baits as pictured left on my bait platform.

During the summer months, baits such as corn, meat, large and small hooker pellets, feeding pellets, hemp, caster and maggots always have a place on my baits menu.

Theres nothing worse than to watch an angler on the next peg catching well on a bait you have not brought along to the match or pleasure session.

The first thing I do is decide if the fish I am catching are going to win me the match or section, now that might seem silly at first but a good question to consider. There is no point continually building up a peg if the fish that have moved in are of a smaller stamp, of course if everyone else is stuggling you stay put and keep catching, but in most cases others are catching well and you have to react quickly, so what do you do? The first thing I do is cast past the previous catching area and wait for an indication as in most cases when smaller fish move in the bigger fish tend to back off. If this proves to be right and in my experience I say that this is 90% a certainty, I continue to feed the previous line and keep the small fish on that line knowing that the big fish will stay put further out. Its a great way of fooling those around you who think you are fishing the line you feed and if they decide to match you on the waggler then they will be catching the smaller stamp whilst you pick out the better fish. Nine times out of ten, by the time they have worked out what you are doing you are well in front and out of sight.

However if the fish on your main line are good stamped fish but have come up in the water making bites all of a sudden hard to hit you have basically three choices that you can try to correct the catching rate. First thing I would do is change my shotting pattern by stringing out all the shot so the bait falls slowly through the water almost mimicking the loose feed, secondly you have the option of moving the float down to fish shallow which is okay but when I do this I dont sink my line as I like to hit the bite quicker by having the line on the surface. The third option is to do the opposite of the second option by slightly increasing the depth by a foot and bulk up all the shot under the float bar one small dropper shot 10 inches from the hook. When casting as with all three options cast past the catching line and then reel in the float back onto the feeding area so you are feathering the line in a straight line to the tip of your rod. The third option I feel is an excellent way to intercept the fish up in the water as the bait falls very slowly whilst continuing to feed all the time. Another trick to make sure the bait slows down when sinking is too grease your line with a little vaseline. So that s few tips to try on the waggler that work very well and to finish I recommend that when conditions allow use a thin insert for added sensitivity but if the wind is blowing quite hard and creating waves use a full thick tip. Another good selection float choice when fishing shallow up to an island with baits such as meat and corn is to use a drennan loaded waggler which just plop on the surface without spooking the fish. 

6th April 2005

Anglers in action at Monks Lakes, Kent.

Concentration is the key to success.

Feeding your peg in response to what is going on under the surface will give you the edge.

Homework on new venues will make you better prepared.

As you can see by the picture above, the anglers in view are all in total concentration and ready for their next bite. But were they fully committed for all the 5 hours?

You can have all the best tackle, up to date fishery information, all the right baits, correct rig selection and a fish filled peg but if you cannot concentrate for the entire match then expect to lose on a regular basis. Too many anglers switch off half way through a match and fall well short at the weigh in, but why? I do not really know why, maybe its just a lack of self discipline, but by switching off it gives the angler on the next peg the opportunity to steal his fish by still working away at his own peg. When an angler stops feeding his swim, which I have seen countless times, his competitor can draw the fish away into his peg and into his net. Game over.

Paste fishing for the past few seasons has resulted in many match wins and enourmous weights. Mostly used in the warmer months this bait and method is deadly but if not fished correctly can simply drive you mad with missed bites. Getting the mix right is a personal preference as some anglers like their mix to drip off the hook where some like a more stiffer mix.

For most of my paste fishing, I use one mix only and thats the Sensas Crazy Bait Gold variety. The mix I use is quite simple and effective, first empty the contents of one full bag into a large bucket (as shown), then with a measuring jug, level off 900ml of water and pour very slowly into the bucket whilst mixing the paste mix. When all the water is mixed in, leave for 15 mins. In the mixing process you can add one of your favourite flavours to the water or as I do in most cases, leave just natural. After 15 minutes I pick up a pinkie riddle and another bowl and then push all the mix through the riddle into a bowl below. That should leave you with a nice fluffy mix that will knead nicley onto the hook when squeezed. For best results I always make up this mix the night before a match and keep bagged up in a fridge overnight, ready to use the following day.

Every good match angler is well prepared and carries items of tackle which make life easier on the bankside. The photograph shows just a few items that I use on the bankside. On the left is my yellow pole rest with attachment, this useful gadget keeps my pole sections in place when unshipping my pole to land a fish or change baits, with the main part of the pole behind me on the pole roller I simply push the top end of the pole into the pole rest or Tulip and it remains stable especially if the wind is blowing. The attachment fits on to the legs of my box so everything is close and at hand.

Other items shown are my green rod rest which is ideal for feeder fishing, two more variety of attachments which are ideal for fixing to my keepnets and a pole cup which I use to ship out feed in over my main feeding area or in the margins.

Pellets, a deadly bait when prepared right, from left to right top, Omega's and 6mm Ringers, from left to right bottom, sinkers and 4mm Ringers.

One of the most written and talked about baits are pellets, they come in all sorts of sizes, colours and flavours. There are so many on the market at present that it is mind boggling and so to make things simple for myself I opted to experiment with them rather than buy already prepared pellets, which I have found to be very inconsistent in texture and colour.

For feeding I basically use one brand of pellet which are the Van Den Eynde sinkers with swimstim extract. They are about 4mm in size and heavy enough to catapult at range when waggler fishing in the wind. I never go anywhere without them as fish just love them.

Now for the hookers, I started off using natural Juicy Pellets with some great results at places like Bury Hill where the bream snapped them up but after buying some later tubs I found them to be bigger in size and too soft for the hook. So armed with a few bags of the Ringer expanders I set about trying to develop the perfect hooker pellet and after a few attempts achieved this to my satisfaction. I don't use pellet pumps as I always find time to prepare my pellets the night before a match which I feel is important especially if I am using flavours on the pellets. I have found the following proceedure perfect for my Ringer expander hooker pellets.

Using a 3 pint maggot box, pour in 4mm or 6mm pellets to the 1 pint mark and slowly pour in cold water until it reaches the top of the pellets. At this point add a favourite flavour and then place the lid on the box and shake to make sure all the pellets have been covered by the water, remove the lid and leave for one hour. On 20 minute interevals I give the box a shake to loosen up the pellets as the pellets on the bottom of the box can stick together and by shaking the box regularly prevents this happening. After one hour I give the pellets a little squeeze test to make sure that the middle does not feel hard and then I bag them up and place straight in the fridge. I find the 6mm Ringers require just a little more water and swell up to a nice fat size of around 10mm which are ideal for decent sized carp in a hungry mood. I like my pellets to be as soft as possible without the risk of them falling off the hook when shipping out, this way of preparation is spot on. Who needs pellet pumps?

13th April 2005

Big baits sort out the better stamp fish that can make all the differance during matches, last weekend I won my section easily at Hartleylands during a Beastmaster round on Pear Tree Lake. The peg I drew compared to my other competitors was in my favour as the wind was certainly on my side but despite winning the section and picking up the 4 points, I also won the lake. Now the peg I drew was peg 8 and I was competing against pegs 11,12 and 15 so like I have already said I considered myself to have the better peg. But I definately did not have a lake winning peg as I considered pegs 6,4,3,2 17 and19 to be more proven. So what did I do to beat those pegs around me?

The first hour was very quiet for all with the odd fish being caught but I continued to feed quite heavily over towards the island, up tight and then about 5 feet back from the island on the deep slope. My waggler was set up 12 inches over depth with a No 8 shot 4 inches from a size 14's B510 Kamasan barbless (my favourite hook pattern) hook. I started off with double red maggot and picked up a few gudgeon and silver fish plus the odd small carp. I was just starting to get concerned after a slow first hour when the fish moved in and I started to bag up much to my section competitors dismay. (just friendly banter) But every now and then it would all go quiet with the odd liner so I switched bait to sweetcorn and hey presto the float buried straight away and a few minutes later a nice 4lbs mirror carp was in the net, very handy considering the average stamp of fish is about 14 ounces. Now this pattern continued four or five times during the match and everytime I switched baits on either corn or big ringer pellets a bonus carp came to the net.

So it pays to switch to big baits when all of a sudden your swim goes quiet as more than likely big fish have moved in pushing the smaller stamp out for a while. Give it a try.

Luncheon meat 

What a deadly bait this is when the carp are very hungry and looking for big baits. Last season all of my big match carp including a 17lbs 15oz mirror carp caught on the pole in a Fish O Mania qualifier in Bathampton came on the luncheon meat.(cube)

Now this tip is no secret but well worth a mention anyway. After a match when bait is thrown in at the end, the big carp move in when all has gone quiet to mop up the free offerings. Luncheon meat when in the water for an hour or so swells up and loses it colour, going a very pale colour. I tend to cut up my luncheon meat the night before a match after chilling it in the fridge for a few hours as it helps to cut nicely. I then pour all the pieces in a plastic bag and put back in the fridge for the morning. Sometimes I flavour the cubes of meat but 90 times out of 100 I use the meat as it comes from the tin. When I arrive at my swim the first thing I do is pour 2 inches of water in a spare bait box and pour all the cubes in the box and let them soak whilst setting up my tackle. By the time the whistle blows the luncheon meat is swollen and pale imitating a discarded bait at the end of a session. The idea is to put a cube on the hook with a few offerings cupped out to fool the fish into thinking that the bait has been laying there for quite some time. With confidence a big fish will snap up the bait and then its up to your skills to try and land that match winning specimen. This method has caught me so many decent sized fish when all else seems to fail, you'll be surprised.

29th April 2005

Pear Tree Lake at Hartleylands Farm in Kent.

Looking from peg 13.

Sport One squad member Mike Jameson from Kent has been busy trying out new rigs to win more matches in opens and team events. Mike has developed the lift rig method on the pole and tried it out during a match at Hartleylands earlier in the season. Read on for Mike's thoughts on the method.

 The thinking…

I’m always on the lookout for something new, something different, something to give me an edge. Over the years many methods have come and gone. Several including the ‘method feeder’ and ‘floating pole’ to name just two, have their pro’s and con’s. Love them or hate them (or ban them!) at some venues they are here to stay and are part and parcel of a successful angler’s armoury. We can thank forward thinking anglers for such methods. Let’s face it, where would we be without such anglers? – all using cane rods, porcupine floats and centrepin reels with a pint of maggots sitting on a wicker basket?. I place myself firmly in the bracket of ‘forward thinking’ although I cannot lay claim to fame for a new method or bait. Never the less I have recently re-invented my thoughts on an old method of fishing. You have no doubt seen John Wilson (Go Fishing) using what is commonly known as the ‘lift’ method on many of his TV programmes or even seen the odd angler paste fishing for carp with one of the many purpose made pole floats designed specifically for the job. But have you thought about using this very same tactic as an alternative to the traditional pole float style of fishing for carp, skimmers, bream, tench and crucians? Well I have, with amazing results. I have, however, had to tailor my approach for pole fishing to cater for a combination of popular baits including pellet, paste, corn and maggot and more importantly, wait for it…..All with the same rig without having the need to change anything except the bait you put on the hook. So, for those of you with very few top kits, or too lazy to set them up, here is what it’s all about:

Before and After

 The Rig…

Is nothing more complicated than a 1.5g Maver Paste Float. I have, however, made a couple of adjustments. Firstly I have removed the carbon stem and replaced it with wire. This should dot the float down to the base of the 8cm long tip. All the float needs now is a 0.4g Drennan Polemaster In-line Olivette to just about overshot and submerge the float. Now comes the important part, plumbing up. You must plumb so the olivette is actually resting on the bottom of the lake with your hook just two or three centimetres away, no more. The distance from olivette to hook is vitally important if you are to see the lift bites. You must have roughly 1cm of orange float tip showing above water. Secondly, I have painted the remainder of the float below the 1cm tip black to aid bite (or should that be lift) detection. The idea is simple yet effective. The fish picks up the bait and subsequently moves the olivette off the bottom registering the lift bite. Now, some of you at this point may be thinking the fish will feel the weight and drop the bait?. I thought the very same thing initially but I assure you they don’t. In practice the float rising to expose any of the black tip indicates a bite. Incidentally, don’t strike at bites, dips or knocks of the float or even when it sails under. Just wait until you see black, then strike. The remainder of my set-up was simply White Hydro and 0.12 Ultima Omega Pro line just in case the occasional bonus fish turned up.

The lift bite clearly indicated, are you ready for action.

 The Proof…

I have only used this particular method on four or five occasions with fantastic results. I recently received an invite from my mate and fellow Team Sport One member Chris Jones to fish a Bromley & District Angling Society match on Pear Tree Lake, Hartleylands Fishery, Kent. This fishery has to be one of the best in my neck of the woods. There are several lakes and ponds on site that cater for most types of angling. Pear Tree consists of 26 pegs with two reed fringed islands running the length of the lake at about 20m and an average depth of six feet. This lake if full of small carp predominantly under 1lb with plenty of skimmers, roach, small tench and occasional bigger carp. An ideal venue to practice the lift method. Unfortunately only 12 anglers turned out for the days fishing due to a few people dropping out at the last minute – hence the invite!. All methods work well on the lake but I was here for a reason, and that was to fish the ‘lift’ method to compare results to traditional rigs. I still had a few things to iron out before I was completely satisfied with the rig.

Plumbing up, always take your time to plumb up and get a picture of what is going on below.

Remember preparation is the key.

The draw, as always, was a hive of activity. One and all exchanged the usual talk of good and bad pegs. I drew peg 14. To my right was Graham Roffey (Sport One) who set up the feeder and pole. To my left was Martin Charnock (Sport One/Bromley) who set up waggler and feeder. I did my usual and set up pole only!. I very rarely set up anything else at this venue because I’m very confident in giving the feeder and waggler lads a run for their money any day of the week. Fish to your strengths I always say. Anyway, like I said, I was here for a reason. The weather today is scorching, clear blue sky and just a slight breeze. Just three pole rigs for me today. One of my ‘lift’ rigs plus a shallow dibber rig and 0.5g Drennan Tipo full depth rig. Feed was my usual pellet and paste – nothing more nothing less. Medium Omega pellets were my choice with ground up Omega’s (coffee grinder) for my paste mix. Hook baits consisted of a combination of pellets, VDE and Ringers of various sizes with an accompaniment of dips, namely Assain8 and Active8 to entice bites if the going was slow.

The business end of the lift rig method.

The all-in sounded and the usual bombardment to the island with feeders and wagglers commenced. I fed just three pole lines, one inside with pellet, which I didn’t expect to touch unless I was struggling. The second at about 8m with pellet and my third line at 13m with pellet and the occasional blob of paste. After 15 minutes the fish arrived on both my 8m and 13m lines but the bites were iffy and the float was bobbing about all over the place. No amount of shot manipulation, bait changes or feeding patterns improved things and after an hour on my traditional pole rig I had a lowly 6 fish to show for my efforts, all under 8oz. A change was needed so out came the ‘lift’ rig which, incidentally, is what I call a ‘combi’ rig because I can fish a combination of most popular hook baits without having to make any significant adjustments. Over the next couple of hours I made fine adjustments to the rig to improve my catch rate with different hook patterns and hook lengths using pellet and paste. I decided on a Preston’s PR21 size 14 for the final two hours and also spent a little time figuring out the best way to hit bites. The Zorro strike was out of the question, with a wire stem the tangles were a nightmare. Striking to the left or rite I missed too many bites. I eventually settled on a gentle lift of the pole to set the hook. Regular feeding was essential and on several occasions fizzing could be seen coming from both swims. Regular feeding is no problem with a permanent pole cup. This also doubled as my method of getting a paste hook bait out to the swim. I fish with very soft paste so for me a Kinder Cup is a necessity. At the all-out I had counted 88 carp from just a few ounces to a 3lb bonus fish. Most bites were very positive lifts of the float. It certainly made a refreshing change from watching a float bury beneath the surface. I had no idea of my weight because of the varying sizes of fish, all carp, apart from two solitary skimmers, but I guessed I had about 45lb. The best weight was 41lb when the scales arrived, I then weighed 57lb 3oz beating Graham to my right who had 32lb on his combination of pole and feeder. Unfortunately to my left Martin put exactly 58lb on the scales for a well-deserved match win which relegated me to 2^nd on the day. His combination of waggler and feeder fish being a little bit bigger than my average size fish. At the end of the day I achieved my objective, which was to give my ‘lift’ rig an airing under match conditions to iron out any problems. Now, get out there and try something different to the norm. Even if it’s just dipping your bait in a bait dip or trying a new rig, it doesn’t matter.

You may be pleasantly surprised by the results, but only if you dare to be different?.

Martin Charnock, Sport One was winner on the day which included bonus fish in his winning weight.

Pictured here on the Reservoir Lake in June 2005

13th October 2005

Mike Jameson

“Sharing information is part of the joy”

One of the joys I find in my fishing is the spreading of news, tactics and tips between my fellow teammates or competitors on the bank. I receive quite a few phone calls and emails asking me how to fish one of my favourite venues, Hartleylands Farm. Now I don’t get asked for information because it is my favourite venue, I get asked due to the fact that I have had plenty of consistent results, especially on the new lakes, Nicks, Bramley and Pear Tree. I have not as yet fished any of the small ponds and could not offer any advice on them and as for The Reservoir Lake I am more successful in the winter on the lake than in the summer months, which is something I am trying to over come and with the help of some better draws will probably find the answer.

            So for the time being I will concentrate on the three newest lakes and offer my reasons why I think I have been successful. Nicks, Bramley and Pear Tree lakes opened for angling in august 2003 and on my very first visit which was for a how to catch feature for the Surrey Mirror I immediately clicked with the lake which was in this case Nicks. The stamp of fish at the time was 2-4oz mirrors and commons with a sprinkling of silvers and 10oz commons plus a few bigger carp in the 2-3lbs range but at the time few and far between. Now I love my roach fishing and being brought up on the canals in East London and Essex I also enjoy fishing light elastics and fine terminal tackle. So I thought to myself I will fish for the small carp in a roach type of way, which included setting up a waggler, which is my favourite method of catching fish, plus pole using light elastics.

Dave Walker (Sport One) with some of the smaller stamp of carp that can be had on Pear Tree Lake. However Dave's catch was rewarded with a section second and a good placing in the 2005 Beastmaster League.

Feeding was and still is the key to these lakes especially in the winter months and even more so in the spring when the weather is up and down. In the summer months which I consider to be July and August as they seem to be more temperature consistent the lakes really switch on and to be honest I have fished the lakes less in this period as I always seem to be elsewhere and therefore consider myself unlucky not to be joining in with all the fun. Anyhow lets take my approach in the winter first when a good majority of the small carp are right over to the island or in the deeper water. To me in matches I really don’t care what lake of the three I draw as I am confident of catching no matter where I draw and 90% of the time I seem to miss out on the really good pegs but still feel that if I draw a fairly decent peg I can still beat the good pegs, which I am glad to say I do on most occasions.

            So what is considered to be a really good peg on the lakes in the winter, on Nick’s pegs 8 and 9 are outstanding all year round but more so in the cold months. Pegs 12 and 15 (feeder to the tip of the island), 21 to 26 are also good with some of the pegs faced by the islands and by using a small feeder and waggler will do the damage. On Pear Tree which is more exposed to elements as its set higher up and next to the road the following pegs are considered better in winter, 4,5,6 and 17,18 and 19, which are basically opposite each other split by two islands. Again feeder and waggler score better for weights up to 20-40lbs plus which is very good fishing at that time of the year. Bramley Lake has one island running down the middle with pegs 4-10 and 14-21 being most favoured as you can reach the island quite comfortably which is the case on all of the lakes facing islands.

Paul Kell (Sport One) with his winning catch of 50lbs from Nicks Lake during a 2005 Beastmaster round.

As I mentioned before feeding wins the day in relation to the time of year and conditions on the day and the angler which can make those important changes often, takes home the spoils. I know that no matter what peg I draw the fish at some point will turn up if they are not already there at the beginning. So lets say its winter time and I have drawn peg 8 on Pear Tree with the wind blowing behind me, now its not a world beater of a peg but I have won a Beastmaster League round from it in conditions that felt winter like. I had an island to fish to which was going to be my main line of attack, so I set up a small maggot feeder with a size 18 hook. A 3AAA waggler set up 6 inches over depth with a No 8 dropper 4 inches from the hook and two other No 8 shot above my hook length. The waggler was going to be my main catching tactic with the remainder of my shot bulked around the float. Main line is Exage 2 ½ lbs breaking strain as I find it very strong and easy to sink when required, if I can get away with having my line laying tight to the float on the surface then that’s what I do but the wind direction and strength normally decides the final outcome. I always set up a pole line just in case at around 6-8 metres and at the whistle cup out a pot of 4mm sinking pellets with a few maggots and then leave well alone for 30 minutes before cupping out some more. If I am catching on the island then I will leave the pole line alone for nearly 2 hours but topping up in 30-minute intervals. With the wind blowing behind me I have no problem in catapulting out my feed and at the start I pouch out three medium size amounts of 4mm pellets plus a few maggots and a few grains of corn.

Mike Ewin (Sport One) took this nice bag of small carp on the feeder from Nicks Peg 8.

Hook bait wise I bring along Ringers 6mm hooker pellets which I soak overnight, sometimes with a flavour which will be either Sensas scopex and whiskey additive or fish gutz (coffee flavour). A pint of maggots, corn and a 3-pint tub of van den eynde sinking pellets, which will be my main feeding bait. On the hook I normally start off with a single red maggot on a size 18 and cast out three feet off the island, which will put my hookbait lying on the slope in about 5-6ft of water. With the float settled I will then flick out 10 pellets every 20 seconds until I see the first indication on the float which can take anything from 5 minutes to 20 minutes I have found. On my first bite or indication I stop feeding and wait for either the float to bury or lift, normally the float slides away and the fish is on. I find that the first few fish you catch is always an indicator of how to feed for the rest of the day, the fish have grown steadily over the past two seasons and seem to swim around in shoals of 4-10 oz or 12oz to over the pound mark. If the first fish is in the latter bracket I continue to feed at a rate of 10 pellets every 20-30 seconds, if the fish are on the smaller size I feed double that amount but in the same time span to encourage bigger fish in the peg because they will respond to the heavier feeding.

I feed away from the island on the bottom of the slope but occasionally feed tight up to the island every now and then to stop any of the bigger fish in the 3lbs upwards stamp that roam along the edges. From time to time the bites will stop or start to space out and this is the time when matches and sections are won or lost. I have seen this happen to anglers on the next peg and there initial reaction is to start feeding heavily in the hope of coaxing them back or stop feeding altogether as they fear that they have overfed. The fact is that the fish have not moved at all but the bigger stamp of carp have moved in to feed on the pellets which I find stop the smaller carp from feeding. As soon as this happens I reel in and put on a piece of sweetcorn and cast further towards the island lying on even more and wait. I find normally within 2-3 minutes the float slowly slides under with a much bigger carp on and if you can get the fish in fairly quickly you can go back out with another piece of corn and catch another bonus fish. The next cast in normally is met with a much quicker bite which means the smaller carp are back on the feed again as the better stamp have moved off, only to return later when they have moved around the island in circuit fashion. If you can wise up to the fish movements in your swim then these bonus fish will no doubt push you close to winning the match outright and if not certainly giving you a section win.

This small bag of carp came out on the pole during my first visit to Nicks back in 2003. The average size was 4 ounces and this lot weighed just over 35lbs all caught on the small pellet from Nicks Peg 2.

In Spring, the lakes are most definitely at there more testing times even though you may have bites all day long, your fish in the net to bites ratio maybe very poor with most scratching their heads in frustration. Again I put it all down to one thing, feeding again and bait presentation. The fish are definitely beginning to wise up now and so adjustments need to be made to avoid disappointment. The fish are still clinging to the islands at this time of the year but in some areas you can with good tactics catch on the pole line and put together a nice weight. I would approach a pole line at say 8-10 metres and fish it dead depth finding the flattest bit of bottom possible which is not hard as the lakes are very consistent in depth. I would use a 05g Tipo float with shots strung out in No 8 shirt button style, fished with a size 14 hook baited with big ringer soaked pellet or corn fished over a few pellets, with few being the key word. I would cup out a pot of pellets at the start and leave the line well alone for an hour plus and concentrate on the island swim. Obviously if the island was producing to the wag or small feeder then I would stay on that line but most definitely would try the pole line at some time. For some reason the pole line does not like to much feed and if over doing it will produce no end of fast liners that I have seen drive anglers mad, but with very gentle feeding you will have slow but positive bites resulting in, I find better stamp of fish than what you may be catching on the island pegs. Again these better stamp of fish win the matches and put coin in your pockets plus good points if it was a series of matches.

In summer time the fish are off the islands and looking for food in much bigger quantities and I believe that an 8 hour match produced 184lbs to the winner of good sized carp on bread, which is totally different to how I have described above, but it just goes to show how the months change feeding habits of fish in these lakes as well as other venues.

Nicks Lake.

So to summarise my approach in winter and spring I look to fish this lakes as big roach fishing with waggler being the most effective and enjoyable way of catching them. Corn will sort out the bigger fish when you know they have turned up and fishing dead depth on the pole line with gentle feeding will produce when others are over feeding on their lines. Towards the end of the autumn I tried another feed bait fished over with big pellets and although I did not win the lake I came fourth overall and won my section. Method feeder won the lake but I had the top pole weight which was interesting and I will look to try out the feed bait again in due course when the method feeder will not be so effective. Ill let you know how it pans out and will go through a peg by peg account of the lakes.

Russ Evans

15^th October 2005