Match Fishing - October 2020

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POLE

FISHING

A matter of size
... or is it?
that scaling down on bait size can SMpeoaSnMCtLpsRmFioovEArteasDtsIesagG:M:dyiBcsB‘UiTrF:aroNiRinnswDItGnoSGilnEgR, ’
Craig Edmunds reveals there’s actually much more to it.
bring rich rewards, but
Words and photos: Steve Martin

VCwIawArDywUV.vaCilaTledyFu,IcSStfiHosmEhReeYrrtyo.nco, mSomerset TA11 6LJ

52 | Match Fishing

Catching a big weight big weight of silvers when just pull in small silvers likely to attract smaller
of fish on your local the carp failed to show. and you’ll just have a fish at first, so it gives the
commercial during frustrating match being bigger fish a chance to
the autumn months “By targeting the big pestered by fish trashing move in. However, having
of September and October silvers doesn’t mean that the soft hooker.” a bigger surface area they
can be a challenge once the I’m not looking to catch big are more likely to gain
water temperature drops carp. I still want to catch as A quick look at what the carp’s attention. The
due to cooler nights and many as I can, but the bites Craig had on his side tray Coppens pellets are also
the effect of the cold water can be sporadic, and if I revealed that he had three much better when fished
that you get from heavy can catch five or six two to 6mm options to choose on a band, as they last
rainfall. It’s not that the 3lb skimmers while those from. From a distance it longer. That being said, the
carp will not feed, they around me are struggling looked like a tub of cubed Skrettings pellets give the
will, but it’s never a given, for bites, it could put me meat, plus two tubs of fish more time to spot them
and it’s likely that it might ahead of the game. hard pellets, but closer as they fall. It boils down
not be until later on in the inspection revealed a to which is the right choice
match when the warmth “Obviously it’s a tactic little more about his pellet on the day, and that’s why
of the day raises the water that’s only going to work choice. I recommend that you
temperature. It’s when you if a venue holds a head bring both to the table.”
get these conditions that of big skimmers, and of “When it comes to bait
you need a firm Plan B, course where you get big size I think that you need Craig’s pellets for the
and for former Parkdean silvers there are going to to look a little closer. day were Spotted Fin
Resorts Masters champion be small fish too. It’s all There’s no doubt that one Catalyst 6mm pellets,
Craig Edmunds that means about working out how 6mm hard pellet differs which are flavoured
targeting big skimmers and to catch the better silvers, from another. Coppens, and plain
bream. still catch carp and avoid Skrettings 6mm carp
getting pestered by too “The two main brands pellets. To give his carp
“Once the water starts many small fish. You are on general circulation are pellets a boost, he first
to get cold, you can find not going to compete if you Skrettings and Coppens, placed his hook carp
yourself drawn on a peg are only catching four or and although the pellets pellets into a small tub and
that’s not going to produce 5oz skimmers. are stated as the same then slightly dampened
a lot of carp, as they start size, if you look you will the rest by adding a little
to shoal up,” explained “Bait choice is the key. In see that the Skrettings Catalyst spray.
Browning-sponsored summer it’s big baits, 8mm pellet is a bit rougher and
Craig. “Even if you drop hard pellets and the like. overall slightly lighter, “Some of the lighter
on a swim where the carp They will catch you carp which means that it will pellets do float, so a little
are present, bites can be at all day long, but once the sink a little slower than added water ensures they
a premium, so do you wait water cools I find that you the Coppens. If you drop quickly sink. You don’t
20 to 30 minutes for a bite, need to scale down so that one of each pellet in the want any floating pellets
or try and catch 20lb of big you are fishing a size that water, you will see that dragging the fish away.
skimmers when others are the carp and skimmers are the Skrettings pellet also You will have noticed that I
blanking? happy to feed on. breaks down quicker. This have meat too. For me, it’s
makes it more appealing to a great alternative, if the
“There are a lot of “For me it’s a switch silvers as they can peck at fishery allows it, in spring
venues that hold large to 6mm hook baits and the pellet as it breaks down and autumn. It’s no good
shoals of big skimmers, feed. I cannot say that it’s on the bottom. However, a in the summer as it just
and if you target them you a one-size-fits-all option, downside is they are more gets ragged by small fish,
can catch a big back-up but experience has taught likely to attract small fish. but in the cooler water it’s
weight to bolster your carp me that it’s a good size a good switch bait for carp
net. If fact, I’ve known to switch to. It’s a happy “The Coppens pellets and skimmers, especially
matches to be won with a medium as until the water sink more quickly and take late on in a match.”
temperature really drops, longer before they start to
micros and expanders will break down. They are less

www.matchfishingmagazine.com | 53

POLE HOOK BAITS

FISHING

Banded on the hook and not hair rigged On the day it was 6mm meat that won

is best when targeting skimmers. over the big fish.

Meat does the trick.

The venue for the day to yellow No8 Browning They might all be 6mm The 4x14 Malman carbon stem
was Viaduct Fisheries in Stretch 7 hollow elastic. baits, but there’s a is perfect for slow-falling, strung-
Somerset, and Craig was big difference when out rigs; if you want a more
sat on Peg 96 on Cary “It’s pretty much a it comes to how they stable on-the-deck presentation
Lake. As he plumbed up constant depth here so I can react in the water. then try a 4x16 wire stem option.
he explained his plan for plumb up both rigs knowing
the session: “It’s a busy that I can fish them on any is a downside with fishing the hook bait before it
lake today, so it would be of my three lines. Just a lighter rigs, as you can see. reaches the deck. The more
interesting to fish as if it word about the floats. The However, those two big I think about it, the more
were a five-hour match. strung-out rig has a carbon skimmers weighed far more I feel that meat might be
I’m going to keep it simple, stem, so that when I swing than the six earlier ones, the right option. I’ve just
as I believe that this it out, everything falls in a so I’m going to stick on the checked the depth at 13
time of the year you can line. The other has a wire 11m line, but as the pellets metres in front and to the
overcomplicate things if stem as it’s a setup that are attracting the carp I’m right, and I’m going to
you have too many options. gets to the deck quickly, going to start feeding meat feed the carp pellets in
I’m looking to fish three so I want to see the bite short.” front and ping meat to the
lines; top-two-plus-two, immediately and it’s more right. I’ll stick to 11 metres
11 metres and 13 metres. stable if the wind gets up. That first hour saw for a while longer but I’m
I’m going to start short to I like to plumb up with Craig catch around 12lb of going to fish the Skrettings,
see if I can bring the big the float’s bristle and body skimmers, which included as I think the lighter
skimmers in close, as the showing as this ensures a 3lb fish, so it had become option might get a better
quicker you can catch them that the weight of the pellet clear that the fish wanted to response.”
the better. The 11m line will doesn’t pull the rig under, as feed away from the angler.
be where I hope to catch I like to dot my floats well A quick look short on meat
best, but if that doesn’t down.” resulted in a nice tench but
come good, then I can move only small skimmers, so to
out a bit further.” With the session on the try and push the longer line
watch, Craig kicks off by Craig upped the feed by
On the matter of keeping loose feeding a few carp pinging out the dampened
things simple, Craig had pellets short and pinging Skrettings and fishing the
just two rigs assembled for some Catalyst pellets over banded Catalyst pellets on
the session. The first was a the 11m zone. Over the first the hook. The result was
4x14 Malman float set on 30 minutes he caught six a few good fish, but the
0.18mm Browning Cenex 4oz skimmers before an action was slow.
Hybrid Power Mono. This early bonus carp moved
was cocked with a spread in, but the disturbance put “You can see that the
of No9s and two No10s. the brakes on the short line. fish are there as the water
Hooklength was six inches Those early fish were caught is fizzing. I don’t think the
of 0.14mm Cenex Hybrid on Skrettings baits so to Catalyst pellets are right,
with a size 13 Browning try and bring the short line as I have a feeling the
Sphere CPF LS hook. The back, Craig continued to skimmers are intercepting
second rig consisted of a feed it and switched to 11
4x16 Malman float on the metres.
same main mono, with a
bulk of No9s plus a No9 Two bigger skimmers –
dropper. A smaller size 14 one 2lb and another slightly
CPF hook was attached to smaller – came quickly, but
this. Both rigs were attached they were followed by three
carp, only one of which
graced Craigs net. “There

54 | Match Fishing

A move to 11 metres saw an That’s a right lump!
increase in action and fish size.

It’s all about finding the right bait By the end of the second response was noticeably
to keep the action coming. hour, Craig estimated that slower, and the fish were
he had 20lb of skimmers, smaller.
LOOSE FEED plus 30lb in carp.
“The skimmers are 100 per
For keeping the fish interested on both Just the job to kick off the short line “I would be happy with cent on the meat today but
50lb plus after two hours, I’ve noticed that I don’t get a
11m and 13m lines. and the same again regularly. considering the atrocious bite once the bait has settled
weather. Is this rain ever on the bottom. The fish are
going to stop! It’s cold off the deck, and I believe
rain too, and I’m certain that they are following the
it’s having an effect. I’m bait down, which is why a
not seeing so much carp slower falling bait has had
activity now.” the best response.

Having trickled meat “To get them to take the
over his longer right- bait, I either have to lift and
hand 13m line for around drop the rig once the bait
45 minutes, Craig had settles, or better still, if I
an immediate response. swing the rig out and allow
Two big skimmers were the meat to swing down,
followed by a few smaller I get bite before the float
fish, plus another tench. reaches the horizontal. It’s
To see if was just the case like a little dink on the float,
that the silvers were happy it doesn’t even go under. It’s
to feed at that distance, he not easy to see in this rain.”
switched to the 13m pellet
line. He caught, but the With the best action
coming on the meat, Craig
Loose-fed meat was the key to getting spent the remainder of the
the big skimmers feeding. five hours on the one line.
It wasn’t all action, as there
were periods when the
bites slowed. However, and
it wasn’t unexpected, the
carp did move in, which
boosted his catch for the
day, although unfortunately
he wasn’t able to land every
carp he hooked.

It hadn’t been the best of
days weather-wise, as for
most of the session it was

www.matchfishingmagazine.com | 55

POLE

FISHING

Who doesn’t love
a tench?

Who cares that it’s chucking it down!

dark and the rain had been Proof that you should
heavy, except for the first never discount meat
50 minutes and the final 40 (where allowed).
minutes. It had been cold
rain and the temperature had
dropped dropped too. Your
typical autumn day!

“Well that was horrendous!
The conditions didn’t make it
easy, but I hope I’ve been able
to demonstrate a way to get
the best out of a session once
the weather starts to change
and the water cools.

“The carp were actually
a bit more active than I
expected, but I’m pretty
sure that if I had turned up
with a plan to target them
specifically, I don’t think I
would have caught as much.
I reckon that I have had 130lb
of carp, and that included
four double-figure fish.

“I did foul hook a few
too, so it was clear that they,
like the skimmers, were off
the deck. I’ve caught 85lb of
silvers and I’ve been a lot
busier than if I had decided to
wait for carp. The skimmers
here at Viaduct do play a big
part in match weights, and I
firmly believe that you need
to target them once the season
starts to change.

“It’s quite an eye-opener
when you look at the
baits I’ve fished today. It’s
definitely not one size fits all,
as although I’ve fished ‘6mm’
hook baits and feeds, the
actual weight of each can be
critical when it comes to the
way it reacts in the water, and
how you present it can make
a big difference on the day.”

56 | Match Fishing

£3.O9N9LY

MONTHLY ONLINE VIDEO MAGAZINETHE ONLINE VIDEO MAGAZINE FOR THE THINKING ANGLER

www.think-fishing.co.uk ISSUE 55

81ISSUE 55 » 81-MINUTE HD VIDEO
HD VIDEO » 40-PAGE DIGITAL MAGAZINE
» DES’ BAIT & RIGS IN DETAIL
» VENUE FILE

Des tackles Monkhall fishery for a demonstration
on how to catch tricky springtime carp on pellets.

SPEPLRLEINT TGATCITMICES TOPICS DETAILED:

- Pellet feeder fishing
- Baits and prep
- Priming pole lines
- Hair rigging bread
- Feeding pellets
- Rotating swims

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