ANGLING: UNTIL we get a settled spell of much warmer weather, coarse anglers cannot expect much improvement in their sport. Trout anglers, on the other hand, are much better off.
It is a scientific fact that coarse fish, carp for example, do not really get going until the water reaches a steady 15c or more. Trout however, are quite happy to feed readily at about 8c.
Clearly we have not yet reached a steady eight degrees, and we are much further away from the optimum temperature for coarse fish. Accordingly we must take this very much into account when determining our tactics.
That's not to say you shouldn't be optimistic when you go fishing this weekend, just realistic.
The rate at which fish feed is governed very much by the temperature. In winter a roach, for example, needs only to eat every three days or so when it will happily eat every three hours in the summer. This is because it is much less active in the winter and since fish eat only to fuel activity it needs little food.
It's quite clear then, having accepted this scientific evidence, why we generally catch far fewer roach in the winter than the summer - albeit they are often better quality. So it cannot be denied that to the fish at least, it is still winter, and you may have to use all our guile and experience into tempting fish. Clearly you must not start piling in the groundbait.
You are more likely to be successful with trout, but you should be aware of their rapidly changing dietary preferences at this time of year. This explains the need to have a few patterns of fly in your box, and different sizes. Very often the angler experimenting with different flies, and influencing factors, is the one to fill his bag.
For the coarse angler the choice of bait right now, locally at least, may be fairly limited. Bream will figure in most of the heaviest catches, whether canal or reservoir, and baits for bream are the ones.
On the canal you need bread, corn, caster and redworm. For the lake you need to add only red maggot to that list,.
Todmorden's Pete Cryer used the first of those baits initially, in the 50-peg Hyndburn and Blackburn AA open match on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Feniscowles last week. Combined with pole tactics along the far ledge it produced two bream for him. A switch to caster later on enabled him to add three more to his net.
Together they weighed 10-1-0 and were sufficient for a comfortable win. Pete's peg at Feniscowles held few roach, as did most of the stretch, but Dave Pilgrim (Sowerby Bridge) had a few from the Broken Cross stretch. Added to another couple of bream they totalled 5-3-0 for runners-up spot.
Hyndburn's young John Rogers (now fishing under the Ted Carter Preston banner) has caught plenty of bream from Rishton reservoir in his time. It was here he honed the old-fashioned swingtip skills which enabled him to score his first-ever victory at St Helen's Carr Mill Dam.
Many of the usually invincible locals were among the 66 anglers contesting the weekend event.
Peg 80, in the corner of the sunshine pegs, was the ideal draw for John. For the first couple of hours his red maggot, feeder fished at 30 metres range, produced only small skimmers. Then a decent fish prompted a change to redworm, and three more good fish, which boosted his total to 22-4-0.
Saints' Gary Whalley is a notable scalp for John Rogers and, being only three pegs away, he could see exactly how it should be done. Nevertheless his 9-7-0 was enough for second. Danny Sixsmith was third with 7-4-0. A final note as far as match fishing is concerned relates to an angler many of you may have known, and wondered where he has got to.
Bob Hulme is the name. He used to fish with the lads from Langroyd, but decided that the fishing in Ireland was just too good.
Still matchfishing, Bob now fishes for the excellent Future Image Dublin team. Last weekend, fishing the Drennan Super League, Bob caught 49-11-12 of bream on feeder and red maggot from the River Erne at Enniskillen. That was enough, from an unfancied peg at Trory, to beat the 89 other anglers (by over 25lbs) to the top money.
Back to the trout then. It's very interesting to me, and to you I hope, to note that there has been something of a change this week. The top 'lure' at our top local fisheries, is the Buzzer.
At Esthwaite it is the Buzzer, and at Pennine it is the Buzzer. Black ones, brown ones, big ones, small ones, weighted and non-weighted. Wherever you fish now you must have a good selection of Buzzers with you.
Montana Nymph, Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear, and little else needs to be in your box.
You do need however, to vary your tactics as well as your fly.
All you converted coarse anglers, and all you experienced game anglers will know exactly what I mean. The inexperienced among you may not. The same rules apply to both coarse and game fishing in many respects.
You must be prepared to vary the depth at which you fish. It's easy with a float of course, but not so without. The game angler can vary his line, he can vary the length of the leader, he can vary the weight of the fly/lure, and he can vary the speed of retrieve. Each of these affects the depth you fish - not so easy eh? You may find the right depth by reducing the speed of retrieve, but then you may not catch because the retrieve is too slow. The answer is of course, to adjust the weight and leader length.
It goes without saying that you can change the fly/lure pattern and size. Right now you need not go smaller than a 14, but a 16 in July may need consideration.
Mathematicians will be able to work out the odds of finding the right combination, I can't.
I can however, guarantee you will not discover what it is without trying and when you find it stick with it!
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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