Assistant editor Jake Fowles gets out on the bank with Frenzee’s FXT Match+ 8ft 6in Feeder rod.
Over the past year or so I have declared my admiration for short-length feeder rods. Of course, these pint-sized weapons are not a particularly new thing on the scene, but in my opinion – and evidently that of tackle companies alike (judging by the amount of these rods cropping up in their catalogues) –now more than ever they have a place in the armoury of the modern match angler. Not just since the rise of F1 fishing, either; yes, the soft action of these rods does lend itself perfectly to targeting species such as F1s, as well as skimmers, but in actual fact they are so much more versatile than they are often given credit for.
Jamie Hughes explains how, when and where he likes to fish paste…
For this month’s feature I have decided to talk about my thoughts on a method that is both loved and equally hated among match anglers.
Paste fishing is a real ‘Marmite method’, that I feel is often not used enough in bigger matches but for some unknown reason seems to have a much stronger place during club and small open matches.
For me it can be a vital method to have in my armoury and in certain situations there is no other method that can compete.
Jamie uses either green or natural coloured paste.
Andy Oldham explains why snags needn’t be as scary as they first look!
It’s a situation that crops up on many of the more established commercial fisheries around the country… lakes full of fish, but the carp are only too happy to reside in any snags dotted around the lake. These more cautious fish have been caught time and again during match hours and know that the snags offer them a bit of safety.
Hooking fish in snags is rarely the problem. Fish tend to feed with confidence when they are holed up in the safety of the snags so bites are usually easy to come by.
Marukyu, a Japanese manufacturer of high-quality baits and eco-friendly fishing products, is excited to announce the launch of their brand-new range of high-quality groundbaits for natural venue anglers.
Marukyu is renowned for their high-quality fishing baits and, after working with some of the UK’s top natural venue anglers, have created an extensive range of groundbaits to cover a wide variety of venues, species and techniques.
The new range consists of seven different natural groundbaits, which is available to buy in 2kg and 4kg bags:
• Big River
• Bream
• Lake
• River
• Spiced Breach Punch (1kg bags only)
• Fishmeal Bream
• Roach
Currently being rolled out in tackle shops across the UK, the groundbaits have already generated a big reaction among pro and pleasure anglers, and have begun to enhance their fishing experiences at natural venues. Because of this, Marukyu have started developing additional baits for their natural range, which are expected to be launched later in the year.
Last Saturday I decided to get booked on at Partridge Lakes for the Open, it's is probably one of the only venues in the country, where the open matches at this time of the year are sell outs most weekends.
With plenty of anglers on the match, a good peg was needed to have any chance of framing, but my drawing arm let me down again, peg 66, Covey 3. Properly couldn't have drawn much worse. I knew it would be a hard day so decided to fish for everything that swims.
On Friday I attended a Cheshire Maver Club Match on Heronbrook, I drew peg 10 on Meadow, a good peg but with the wind blowing down to peg 1, and the peg being flat calm didn't fancy it too much, Spent the first 30 minutes on the feeder, didn't have a bite, had a look on my shallow line, had a couple of F1s, but then nothing, tried fishing deep shallow again you would nick a couple then they would dissappear, think the peg really needed a ripple for them to settle properly.
About 3 hours into the match had about 30lb and was going nowhere, watching a few other anglers catching steady shallow. At this point in the match I decided to get my head down and fish for carp, as it was the only way I had any chance of getting back in the match.
I started feeding groundbait some big pots of EFG131 mixed with Luxus Active down the edge and fishing paste over the top, and then started catching some decent carp, the stamp of the fish were averaging about 6lb so, Spent the rest of match down the edge on corn and paste, feeding another big pot after every couple of fish, to finish the match with 15 F1s and about twenty proper carp for 155lb 8oz, which was good enough for second in match, just behind the winner who weighed in 159lb.
Middy-backed matchman Kieron Rich reveals his against-the-grain tactics for tackling ‘The Mud Line’…
The warmer the weather, the more inclined carp are to investigate the very shallowest areas of lakes. If you have ever fished or walked around a fairly clear lake you will often observe carp lying in shallow water in the margins. You will also see them colouring up the water as they root around for food items.
In a match, the far banks and islands of lakes become very favourable areas to target, as the pressure and disturbance from anglers around the lakes pushes the fish out to these features and cover.
John Allerton unveils a modern innovation for shallow fishing that is simple, cheap and wins him lots of matches!
Like last month, the only bait that graces my side tray today is a bag of 4mm fishery pellets, and a few slightly bigger pellets for the hook. This minimal bait menu has won me hundreds of matches at this time of year, especially when I’m planning on fishing shallow. What I want to show you today, however, is a method of fishing shallow that is a little different to the norm.
I often hear anglers refer to shallow fishing as a method that they often try during a match, but if it isn’t a fish-a-chuck pretty much straightaway, they dismiss it quite quickly.
Closed-faced reels are the subject for the Dorset Bard this month, as he extols his love of a certain model that’s been a regular in his armoury since 1989!
When I started out match fishing, the rod and line ruled and if they were float fishing, the majority of anglers would either ‘dab’ or ‘ping’ before they cast out! I know what you’re thinking… “What’s the idiot talking about this month?”
Well, unlike today there wasn’t a massive choice of reels available and I reckon in a competition around 90 per cent of the field would be using either a French-manufactured Mitchell Match or one of the Swedish Abu closed-faced models, the 501, 503, 505, 506, 506M or the bigger 507. I’d go as far as too say that during the 1970s and 1980s everyone who match fished would have, at some point in time, owned one if not more of these reels!
Now, all these reels had something in common: you didn’t have to manually lift the bail arm to cast. The Mitchell you dabbed, and just like when a mouse touches the cheese on the trap (although I’ve found a dollop of peanut butter equally attractive!) the bail arm would ‘thwack’ over, releasing the line? On the Abus, depressing the front button would make a lovely ‘ping’ sound, causing in a similar result. I can clearly remember an old advert in the angling press back in the 1980s for the Mitchell Match, stating that using its finger dab would save a second a cast, which would in turn equate to minutes gained each match to catch your prey!
Now being the confirmed tackle tart that I am, you’ll know that I had at some time or another examples of all of these reels.
