The changes that will keep your catch-rates rising
Little edges to keep you catching
Size does matter
Hook size is a subject that’s been covered by much more qualified anglers than me but I have my opinions. I’ve never been massively bothered about hook patterns – the Multi Rig was always tied with a Chod-type hook but even that can be adapted using silicone tubing to use pretty much any type of hook. However, I can’t stress enough that hook size can play a massive part in how effective a rig is in certain situations. These days I wouldn’t dream of fishing in weed on a size 6, instead I’ll be on at least a size 4, sometimes bigger. On Vinetrow I lost a couple of fish on the bounce by using size 6’s but once I went up a few sizes that stopped all together. Anglers should never be afraid to use big hooks, even in the depths of winter.
Know when to change
You hear a lot of people look back on a session and say that in hindsight they’d have done something different. I’ve done it, believe me, but it’s important to use those occasions to strengthen your thought process and decision-making ability. The day I realised I need to see how this ‘new’ rig would work I knew that just fishing it on one rod was pointless, namely because I could be getting done over on my other rods if I persisted with my usual rig. If you’re going to make a rig change then do it on all rods. I’m a firm believer in the saying ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’… be bold and be brave with major changes.
Supersize your lead
Anglers need to seize any opportunity to use bigger leads. I can’t stress enough how much of an edge a big lead is. You’ll see people using something like a two-ounce lead and thinking that going to a 2.5oz lead is enough of a change. It’s not. Half-an-ounce extra of weight is easily shaken out by a small carp, not to mention a thirty or forty-pounder. Here at Linch Hill and on many venues like it, boats play a massive part in rig and lead placement and where you do have access to a boat, you need to really take advantage of that. I’ve been using 8oz leads recently because I knew that the fish can’t shake them. They hook fish and more importantly, as I believe carp and tench do this, they can’t be picked up and moved out of the feeding area.
Once a fish picks that bait up and the hook goes in, there’s no shaking that rig and the hook is set. Used on a lead clip they drop-off and you can play the fish as normal. I can hear people saying “but I don’t use a boat” – you could try casting a big lead but more logically, the same thing that boat users are doing can be done in the margins using a bait spoon or by wading out if it’s allowed. At the end of the day, regardless of whether a spot is at 150yds or under a marginal bush, if the spot looks proper then if you can lower a big lead onto it you have an edge.
