Despite the proven pulling power of zigs, they remain a tactic that is largely unused by the masses. And those that do use them tend to do so only during the hours of daylight. However, by dismissing their efficiency at night could mean you’re missing out big time. One angler with a reputation for catching on zigs once the sun has set is the prolific Tom Maker.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to use zigs at night. This is particularly the case if it’s been hot during the day, as it means the upper layers of the water will be far warmer than the depths,” he explained.
“As such, carp will continue to spend time in these warmer layers, and a well-presented zig in the top third of the water can be an absolute winner."
“I use a black hookbait, as I think everything looks black at dusk and into night-time."
“If you’re outside at night and a bird flies over, you haven’t got a clue what colour it is, so why shouldn’t it be the same with baits in the water through darkness?”
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Attention grabbers
While the ‘match the hatch’ principle of using black foam to imitate emerging insects makes perfect sense, it is one that is countered by another school of thought. Many anglers argue that carp take zigs purely out of curiosity. Since fish don’t have any hands, the only way they can investigate an item to ascertain whether it’s worth eating or not is to ‘mouth’ the suspended object.
If that’s the case, making your zigs stand out after dark is an ‘edge’ well worth considering. Over the years, anglers have experimented with all manner of illuminated baits, including luminous plastic corn.
THE BEST CARP RODS WILL HAVE YOU CASTING ZIGS OUT AT RANGE WITH NO ISSUES AT ALL.
Glowing reference
One or two have even replaced their hair stops with tiny isotopes – and with some success. However, apart from being ridiculously expensive, they’re not the best option from an ecological perspective.
We’ve even known of some companies trying to develop luminous zig sleeves and suchlike, but without success. One man who swears by using luminous zigs at night is Frank Warwick.
Working alongside Enterprise Tackle, Frank actually developed a glow-in-the-dark option which he has used to take his night-time zig fishing to a whole new level.
Although there are no fluorescent natural baits which the carp eat, the curiosity factor means that they’re seldom able to resist a hookbait that emits its own light.
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“Carp are curious creatures, and they will sample all manner of things,” said Frank.
“This was driven home to me way back in 2012, when I was fishing Rainbow Lake in France with my friend Guy Aitkins."
“Conditions were hot and calm, and the fishing on the bottom was terrible, so we discussed trying zigs, as we doubted they’d ever been used on such a snaggy venue. Our peg was snag-free, so we decided to try it."
“I guess about four minutes is all it took before Guy’s zig rod ripped off, in a swim that had produced nothing over three days of fishing on the bottom!"
“Soon we had zigs on two rods each and, as the light faded, I decided to try a glow-in-the- dark bait, due to my confidence in how effective nightglow sweetcorn had been for me on many waters down the years."
“The result was incredible, and both standard and glow-in- the-dark baits turned a poor trip into a truly memorable session. "
“Take it from me, if you’ve never tried zigs at night, then you’re missing a trick!”
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The magic depth
The other good news about fishing zigs after dark is that you don’t need anything different in end-tackle terms from how you’d fish a zig during daylight hours.
Frank said: “I fish them on the same rigs as I would a daytime zig, but the depth that you fish them at is crucial.
“The most productive starting depth for any zig is about 2ft below the surface, and at night this is even more apparent. You don’t need to mess about – just set them at that depth and you’ll catch loads!”
Maintaining these ‘glow-in-the-dark specials’ is easy. You can either leave them out in sunlight or use a UV torch to ‘charge’ the baits.
Frank also has a clever way of supercharging them: he dips them in a boiling kettle for a few seconds. This gets the baits burning brightly. So, the next time you’re considering tying up a few zigs, and begin to wonder which colour to go for, while black may be your starting point, give some thought to these unique and very different hookbaits... especially if you’re the first to do so on your water!
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