Five Steps To Work-Night Success

1. The Right Venue
This is probably my number one consideration for work nights now. On a lot of lakes, the primary feeding period is well after dawn. The time you’ll be angling effectively, therefore, will be reduced. I’ve wasted many nights, persevering on waters where they’ll not even start digging around on the bottom until after I’ve packed away, as fast as I can, to get off to work. Prime bite time has been later, when I’m sitting in the office! It’s a killer when you get a call advising that they’re bubbling on your spot, but it’s an increasingly common scenario on mature and weedy gravel pits, where the silt may be slightly acidified. Perhaps it takes longer for oxygen levels on the lakebed to balance out after a long night, the weed having used oxygen up. Always do your homework regarding feeding times before you part with your money and start a campaign.

2. A Stealthy Approach
Getting the rigs and bait out into the swim with minimal fuss and disturbance is key on these relatively short sessions, so you’ll need to have a rough idea of the topography of a good number of swims. Then, you’ll know where you can cast conventional rigs or need to put on longer hooklinks or Chod Rigs. Trust the drops you feel whilst using the smallest leads possible. If you have a few long, soft booms, and some Chods tied up in advance, you can swap and change as required, and won’t need to rush and tie complete rigs when you get to the lake.

I’ve rarely found arriving, finding fish, leading about and then Spombing a shedload of bait out a productive work-night scenario. Instead, the disturbance will often empty the swim. It’s then a roll of the dice as to whether they return during the time you’re there. It’s better to introduce just a scattering of bait when you set your traps. You can then put whatever bait you have left out in the zone, or better still, spread it over several key areas, when you pack up in the morning.

3. Tuning in and Consistency
If you’re like me, you’ll do better if you focus your attention on one water. The dusk and dawn windows tell you a lot about where the fish are, the areas they visit regularly and where they feed. Not being there through the day, however, slows down the learning, and the tuning-in process. By focusing your efforts on one venue at a time, you’ll get to the point of being tuned into the fishes’ habits that much faster—remember: location, location, location! Piecing the information together and making informed decisions based on what you’ve learned makes for interesting and rewarding work-night fishing. When you’ve learned where they’ll be through observation, you can start trickling in bait regularly. Then, keep your baiting consistent. Soon, you’ll build up their awareness of that specific bait. This has always been key when I’ve looked to achieve my goals on work nights. 

4. Good Bait is Critical 
I tend to steer clear of particles on work nights, for the simple reason that if I’m not fishing in the edge, getting the bait out in any volume will involve way too much disturbance. That means using boilies (I love boilie fishing!), and it’s key that you know they will eat your bait of choice. Early on in a mission, find a nice, cleaned-off snag that they visit regularly. When you’re there at a weekend, introduce a few baits and then watch.

Whilst most companies sell bait of reasonable quality that will work on most lakes, there are no guarantees—fish in some waters can be fussy so-and-sos! A few companies out there sell absolutely mustard baits. These will have proper long-term appeal and a good nutritional profile, and they’re accessible to all us carp junkies. Once you have a boilie you know they will eat, you don’t need to think about bait. You can then just fish, and that clean, focused mind means you will fish better and with more confidence. If you do blank, you’ll know the bait wasn’t the issue. 

5. Eat Rubbish, Feel Rubbish!
It’s very easy to run yourself into the ground if you’re really on-it, so make sure you eat properly during the day, and the evening.

Another consideration here is the lake’s stock. Sleep deprivation isn’t good for you, so I wouldn’t fish anywhere too prolific. I much prefer waters where, if I’m lucky, I can get just a bite or two. That, for me, is more than enough. The odd red-letter day (or night, perhaps) is magic, but if I’m good for nothing and incoherent whilst attempting a meaningful day’s work or when I’m at home later, something will eventually give.