The commercial fishery superstar reveals the time-honoured little edges that will help to put more fish in your net this month
SPRING is a time of great change, in more ways than one.
Air and water temperatures start to rise, thousands of anglers step out of hibernation and the fish respond by switching on to the feed.
How you target your favourite fishery needs to change too, with the tactics that have served you well throughout the depths of winter slowly becoming redundant.
It’s time to re-analyse every element of your attack – adapting your rigs, feeding methods and overall strategy to cater for the mood that you’ll find the fish in.
Preston Innovations and SonuBaits-backed star Des Shipp is one of the best anglers in the land and a veritable mine of knowledge when it comes to unlocking the full potential of commercial fisheries at this time of year.
So, with the warmer weather just around the corner, we picked the brains of the former England star to get his top 10 tips for getting your campaign off to a flyer!
1 CAST MORE OFTEN
“Patience has been the buzz-word during the winter months, and leaving the feeder in for anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes has often been the best way to tempt a bite on the Method or Banjo feeder.
“The fish are now starting to move about more and look for food and, while the noise of a feeder would have spooked them just a few weeks ago, it now does pretty much the opposite and ‘rings the dinner bell’, drawing them in.
“It’s important to strike a balance though as you don’t want to overfeed your swim. Aim to recast every five to 10 minutes, hitting the same spot so that a bed of bait is slowly built up over time.”
3 USE THICKER FLOAT TIPS
“Sensitive pole floats are important when it’s cold and you want to spot every single bite.
“But once it warms up you need to switch to different float patterns to prevent being plagued by line bites and foul-hooked fish.
“This happens because the fish are a lot more active, competing more aggressively for feed and brushing up against your rig as they do so. “Use a float with a thin bristle and those false indications when the fish make contact with the line will look like proper bites. When you strike, there’s a high likelihood of foul-hooking.
“A thicker bristle will be more buoyant and resistant to this, giving you more confidence that it is a proper bite when the tip flies under.”
2 TURN TO MEAT
“The timeframe between when the fish had suppressed winter appetites and getting ready for spawning isn’t that long, and they need to pack on a few pounds quickly in order to be ready for that stressful period.
“That means they favour high protein baits to replenish their energy suppli
