Location Corner: Jerry Hammond
Ever turned up to a lake and been unsure of what to head for? Here we describe a situation to a successful angler and get them to detail what they'd do.
Finding the fish first and before choosing your swim is great advice for any session, but how do you put that into practice at busy day ticket venues? Well, one carper that’s been consistently able to beat the crowds on these types of venue is experienced carper, Jerry Hammond.
So lets see what approach he decides upon with our hypothetical venue this month.
To get things started we’ve told Jerry that he is permitted three rods on this fairly busy water. The fishing conditions are cloudy with sunny spells and rain showers. There is a steady west wind of around 10 - 15mph; the air-pressure is not too high at 1006. Already there there are a number swims taken, with pegs 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 14, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27 and 30 occupied by anglers plotted-up around this lake roughly twelve-acres in area.
Okay, that’s the scenario, now lets see what swim Jerry goes for and where he’d cast his rods…
As you can see from the map of the whole lake, there are plenty of features creating lots of ideal fishing spots. Although the wind is blowing westerly, I would not automatically just take it for granted that the fish will be on the end of that wind. There are a few things to consider, how long has it been pushing that way, so is it an old wind? And the time of year, because it’s now autumn so maybe the fish are feeding in the deeper water and in the silt gully between the bars making the most of the natural larders to see them through the winter.
With a lot of swims already taken, you have to be quick and try and make the right choice before other anglers arrive, it’s always a gamble unless you are seeing fish or signs of fish feeding. I would still take a brisk walk round, as I might spot something that no one else has. In this situation I think I’m going to be looking for a swim that will give me some options. Access to the deeper silty areas, but still let me fish one rod in a position where if fish have moved down the lake on the wind, when they move back I will be able to intercept them. So I want to choose a swim that gives me these opportunities.
I like the look of swim number 4. In this swim I can either fish one in the close channel between the bank and the island, or place a bait to the gap between the islands to intercept any fish that move from one end of the lake to the other. The other two rods I will fish out towards the bars in the silt. By the look of the map there are lots of good spots around those bars and I’m sure the carp will be feeding in these areas. On the channel rods or the gaps where I’m hoping to pick-up fish as they pass through, I would fish a Chod combined with my ever-faithful white hookbait, and just a scattering white freebies.
I don’t think the fish will be hanging about too much as they are on the move, so I want something visual to hopefully catch their attention and tempt them to stop for a feed – I’ve caught well in the past using this approach.
To the rods positioned in the silt gullies, I would spod out a bit of hemp maybe a bit of pellet and corn and fish just a single Snowman presentation. I prefer to use the Snowman because if the fish are feeding deep in the silt, I feel I will have a greater chance of a pick-up than if I was using pop-ups. The fish are hopefully already feeding in these areas, so there is no need to ‘fill it in’, my bit of spod was just to hopefully draw them to my hookbait. If feeding signs are evident before I start I will just cast singles to these areas and see what transpires.