You could that say F1s are fickle creatures – their behaviour can certainly change markedly with the slightest change in conditions. The recent rise in temperature has spurred them into feeding for slightly
longer spells and looking for bait, and the winter shoals are slowly breaking apart.
All these are signs that it’s time to change your tactics if you want to fully capitalise on your opportunities the next time you get out on the bank. MAP’s Mark Malin spends a lot of his fishing time on commercials, and has noticed the changes in fish behaviour over the last couple of weeks.
“It only takes a few days for the water to warm up once the air temperature rises, and that’s the catalyst for F1s to emerge from their winter mode,” he explained.
“Now is the time to adapt, and everything , including rigs and feeding , must change to stay on top of your game.”
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Plumb up several lines
The areas that the fish want to settle in will change day by day, and the key to success is having a swim that offers plenty of options. That means putting the plummet on and finding areas with different depths, and then having a rig ready to fish several of them.
Your early action will come on the longer pole lines, but once you find out what depth they are settling in, that’s half the battle won. If bites dry up, it’s a case of switching to another area with the same depth to try and relocate them. You may think that the difference between 3ft and 4ftis minimal, but you’d be amazed how one spot can be alive with fish, and the other virtually barren.
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Alternate your rigs
I have two types of rig that I rely on, and how aggressively the fish are feeding at that stage of the session will dictate which one of these I opt for. The first is a 4x14 slim bodied, carbon stemmed float with a bulk of No9 shot and two No10 droppers. This is my positive rig for when the fish are feeding well, and I want to speed up the bite time and get the bait to the bottom quickly.
My other rig is the same float in a lighter 4x12 size that is shotted with strung-out No10s down the rig to give the bait a more natural fall, which can be so important when the fishing is harder. This is my starting point. The water is still quite clear, and the fish naturally watch the bait fall through the water. The longer that they see that bait falling for, the more chance there is that they’ll pounce.
Both rigs are set up on 0.15mm MAP Optimum Power mainline, to a 6ins hooklength of 0.10mm and a size 18 hook. Although this is light, when teamed with a grade 6-8 MAP Solid Core Hybrid it’s balanced enough to bank any bonus carp that may show up.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT ELASTIC WILL HELP YOU LAND MORE FISH...
Rely on these baits
Maggots are my favourite bait at this time of year. Although F1s are the target, having smaller silverfish in the area can trigger curiosity from the F1s and tempt them into feeding. They also help reduce how much bait is in the peg when the F1s are absent.
When they finally show up, there isn’t a lot of loosefeed for them, so it’s more likely that they’ll turn to your hookbait. My other option for loosefeeding is dampened micro pellets. If you can’t get through the silvers, tap a few in with a small cup and fish an expander on the hook. When the float finally goes under, something sizeable is likely to be responsible.
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Vary between the catty and pot
I always ‘feel my way’ into a session, loosefeeding cautiously. I don’t know how the fish will respond, and a small cup filled with just a few maggots or micros each time will create a tight pile.
My hookbait is then lowered directly over the top, making it likely that a feeding fish will find it when it wants to get its head down. If you’re catching quite well and don’t feel you need to make any adjustments, this could be the winning formula for the remainder of the session. But there will be times when you sense you need to change, and that is where the catapult can come in.
If your peg appears devoid of F1s, catapulting in 10-20 maggots every few minutes will get more bait trickling through the water column which nearby fish may spot. It also makes a little bit of noise that will alert them to the food arriving.
A catapult obviously spreads your bait around a little, which can increase competition. Fish moving around the swim create a little commotion, and that can trigger others into feeding, as they fear they’re going to miss out on a meal.
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Prime a short line
Even if I find that a certain depth on the long pole line is working well, I will always feed a short pole line positively. As the light levels dip and the water temperature reaches its peak, the fish are more likely to come closer to the bank.
Loosefeeding a small handful of maggots every five to 10 minutes is the way forward, and it is important to maintain this rhythm for several hours. Keep fishing elsewhere, though, allowing the late swim to settle, as dropping in and catching the odd F1 early on can unsettle the shoal and lead to fewer bites later on.
Stay patient until the final hour and the F1s will have dropped their guard – it can then often be a fish every chuck until the end.
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