Crack your local day ticket water
Clearly, there’s no one better to ask on how to crack a pressure day ticket venue than the chaps who live and breathe them, so here’s your guide to unlocking the UK’s most popular type of venue…
Ben Gratwicke
Previously a lecturer at Sparsholt College, fish farmer and now owner of Diggerlakes in Devon, Ben has a wealth of knowledge and experience
When walking around Diggerlakes, what is the No.1 thing you’d change on most angler’s set-ups which you think would instantly increase their chances of getting a bite?
“With some anglers this is simple: swim choice. They haven’t looked around, they’ve have just plonked themselves in the most comfortable or nearest swim to their mate. Soooo many times I have walked the lake and found the fish only to watch anglers turn up and go in two swims beside each other on the basis that they “look good”. I often cringe at some of the rigs I see and know they would be far better off with a 12-inch nylon hooklink with a soft Hair and a running 1oz lead, but hey, no one makes money out of that now do they! But really, my number one would be swim choice. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Come on guys and girls, it’s not rocket science: find ‘em and fish for ‘em!”
Do you believe in the phrase: classic, ‘being different to the next guy will catch you more’?
“Doing exactly the same as everyone else will catch you the same as everyone else. Being different doesn’t mean being radically different – it means turning up and fishing mid-week; or pre-baiting in the middle of the night; or using bigger or smaller baits; or different shapes or type of bait – all of those things will add a few per cent in your favour, so yes, being different will catch you more.”
Describe how the most successful angler on your lake goes about their business?
“They are consistent, they don’t change bait like the wind, their rigs are good, standard rigs with maybe the odd touch or tweak, they go fishing not camping, they watch the water and use a no-nonsense approach. They have watercraft.”
How does your top five most common mistakes differ to Rupert’s?
“(1) Not wearing polaroids (even in winter). (2) Not looking at the water, just looking at the swims. (3) Being heavy footed/talking loudly. (4) Picking the first swim nearest the car park. (5) Leaving rubbish… If I catch ANYONE leaving rubbish it’s an instant ban.”