There’s not long left now to fish running-water venues before the annual close-down, so you owe it to yourself to make your last throw of the dice a memorable one!
A NOTHER river season isalmostover, but with slightly warmer weather, longer daylight hours and the fish more willing to feed, it’s a time when huge catches are possible across the board.
It now looks as if the rivers will stay pretty high and coloured until the end of the season, but that’s not a problem.
Just take these conditions on board and adjust your venue choice, target species and methods accordingly and I guarantee you’ll catch!
A FISH THE MEAT FEEDER
On the Wye, my tactic for barbel in coloured water conditions is to fish a large open-end feeder crammed with 8mm cubes of meat and Bait-Tech Marine Halibut groundbait, with a large piece of punched meat on the hook. It’s a deadly combo.
MASTER UNEVEN RIVERBEDS
Some rivers have a bottom that’s all over the place so, on the waggler, I’d fish with very little shot down the line.
This way, I’ll be able to fish overdepth in some parts, at dead depth in others, and also off the bottom – without the float dragging under all the time. I’d also experiment with changes in depth, just to see if that brings a better response from the fish.
BEAT THE WIND
You can beat a downstream wind by fishing a DH Angling Heavy Base stick. This will help you to cast out easily and will be easier to handle than a lighter float. Casting well downstream will give you a chance of good control over two or three metres, before you need to ‘mend’ the line back to the float and start again.
ADD SOME SOIL
Groundbait might not be heavy enough to reach bottom where you want it to. The answer is to source some molehill soil, which adds lots of weight and bulks out your mix. Around 50/50 of each is spot-on, using Bait-Tech Pro Natural River as the base. Be sure to add the soil to the mixed groundbait, sieving it in gradually.
FEEDING IN ‘BOILY’ SWIMS
Pegs with horrible churning boils on the surface still hold fish – you just need to feed correctly. Use a heavy groundbait or, if fishing the pole, a bait dropper. This way, you’ll know the feed is on the bottom, where you want it.
HEAD OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Sometimes, if the main river is unfishable, seek out little backwaters or marinas. Marinas, in particular, are fish havens on flooded rivers and every one I’ve been to has produced well at such times. You will be faced with a lot of moored boats but, if you can find places to fish in among these, you are pretty much guaranteed lots of bites.
KEEP AN EYE ON THE LEVEL
Modern technology allows us to keep up to date with levels and flow rates on our phones, u
