Deep venues can be very off-putting. The combination of 10ft-plus of water matched to any flow, plus strong winds that create tow, all seem to add up to it being a bit of a chore to catch well.
The truth, though, is very different. Yes, deep water has to be treated in a particular way, but the nuts and bolts of catching fish remain the same – you just need to be a bit bolder and more positive in your approach and be prepared for things to change.
Here's six tips to help you tackle them...
Groundbait extras
My bream groundbait holds casters, dead maggots, choppie and dead pinkies. For roach it’s squatts and pinkies.
When to top up
Gone quiet? Feeding one ball, not two, helps the fish to settle back down and you’ll get a far more immediate response.
Big floats
I use a wire-stemmed 1g-2g pattern shotted with an olivette and four No10 droppers in two separate small bulks of two shot.
Hooks and elastic
A size 18 N-20 is my pick, tied to 6ins of 0.10mm line. Elastic is a solid No5 Slip through two sections – strong, but soft enough not to bump fish.
Keep changing depths
Fish coming off bottom? First thing, I’ll change my depth, either coming 3ins-4ins off bottom or laying an extra few inches of line on the deck.
Chopped worm
In 10 large balls of groundbait I’ll put in 250ml of chopped worm. This lets me try a small piece of worm on the hook later on for a big fish.
