Packed with expert advice from top anglers to catch you more
Commercial fishery expert Tony Curd reveals why this soft bait is the key to unlocking the full potential of silty stillwaters
LOTS of commercial fisheries around the country have been established for many years now, and age is starting to take its toll on them.
One common problem that this leads to is a large build-up of silt on the bottom, and that can pose problems when it comes to trying to catch the lake’s inhabitants.
Feed any bait and there’s a good chance your swim will instantly resemble a Jacuzzi as the air is released from the silt as the fish rip it apart, trying to get to their share of the meal.
While getting the fish into your swim rarely proves problematic, getting a bite can seem impossible at times. It’s easy to see why anglers tear their hair out on such venues as they sit in a swim that is teeming with feeding fish that they can’t catch.
Thankfully, there’s a way to get on top of the situation, and it’s all down to bait selection.
Today, I’ve brought the cameras to the Snake Lake at Puddledock Farm Fishery in Essex.
It’s a commercial angler’s paradise full of carp, and purpose-designed for pole fishing. Approaches can vary, from fishing tight to the far bank to down the edge – both are productive at some stage of the session. When those zones aren’t firing, it’s time to look down the track – and this is where the silt awaits you. It's an area full of fish, and relying on paste is the way to turn those inevitable bubbles into bites.
Winning choice
Visibility is bound to be low on the bottom when fish are feeding amid silt. They’ll root around, and huge mud plumes will make the water even murkier.
With that in mind, you need a bait that has a higher chance of being seen and is also super-soft, so that it can be hoovered up almost accidentally as they investigate an area by scent.
Paste offers both these properties. My mix is as simple as it gets, with no fancy recipe required. A bag of Dynamite Baits Amino Original groundbait mixes into a soft paste, and it’s worth noting that the stiffer the paste mix is, the fewer bites you tend to get. The softer you can fish it, the better.
This is transported out to the swim via a pole
