Peg Tutorial 101

So its here by popular demand by a few guys. Just a peg specific post regarding what i'd do on certain pegs. I am going to pick several pegs from all of my different venues and go through everything with you from rig choice to bait choice.

The posts will be starting on friday and will be posted every friday a long with my usual posts through the week.

So keep a look out:)

Nate @ Fish4Thought

Ant Baits Review Part 2 - Lucys Lake - Hayfield Lakes, Doncaster

Hi Folks,

So i thought i would give my old fav venue a try for a couple of hours during the week and so i decided to topple out a few barrel pellets on the tip on Lucys Lake (Dannis Island) just to test the Ant bait products i had been sent further.

First of all a Nate classic of the adapted Drennan groundbait feeder set up, (Not giving this away yet!). Matched to a hair rigged Ant baits barrel pellet. I decided to fish this with a 6 inch hook length.

I had spoken to Rob at the kiosk prior to fishing and i got a feeling that the fishing was best casting halfway to the island from the back. I did opt for the rear of the island but i actually went my own way, I was fishing a peg which had a view straight on to the corner (My Fav Peg)....

The day was very miserable, constant rain through out the day and we have had some showers or recent times so i opted to cast right up to the island.

Well, the result were pretty good after around 4 hours. I had 8 Carp over 10lb and masses of carp around the 1lb/2lb mark. I found the bait worked very well overall - once again. Its very tough bait, it'll stay on during a powerful cast and it also makes a great bait used with artificial baits as a snowman.

Biggest one Top 15lb bottom 16lb.

Evaluation.

*****

The bait performed well today, i didnt have very high expectations during this field test but it surprised me. I will continue to update on my field testing for another 4 weeks. I reckon a good testing is in order on several different  venues.

Keep In touch!

Nate @ Fish4Thought

Ant Baits, Match Pop Ups & Boilies

Hi Folks,

Sorry its been so long in reposting my field testing session, I'm half way through moving home so its sort of on the back burner. I did how ever manage a nice little 6 hour session at Wetlands and i thought it went very well.

First of all here a little bit about the bait i will be using, as above. Its from the firm 'Ant Bait' i my self coming from a specimen back ground have used this brand before and had mixed results, however i have only ever used the tiny 4mm boilie's. My first thoughts as i opened the batch at home were pretty good. Its a well made pop up with hard skin, which has good ingredients and it is very much focused towards the fish digestion system thus as i have previously done, if you put enough of it in over time, fish will actively seek out food and nutrients which are good for them.

So the day on the Bank...

I chose wetlands (Back Lake) for the session, mainly because i wanted to target the bigger carp 10lb - 20lb and i am very much used to this venue. Its a classic large sized carp lake - Shallow, maybe 60 islands? and the fish follow the wind. My first thoughts as i seen the lake was very grim....

As you can see it is very low. There must of only been 2-3ft of water in the deepest parts. I reckon the water level was a good 13ft from the peg. So a platform was important for this session. I opted for a peg that had this....

I have had very good results in the past just by casting in between the islands so i didn't think i should change my tactics for today, obviously just drop back a little.

My First trial was the pop ups...

For those of you who have venues which Boilies are banned. Its possible to avoid bans by using these 'Ball Pellets' A very good tactic but i would suggest asking the bailiff prior to fishing and/or showing him the tub labels. I fished with my Old method rod from years ago (Old Fox 1.5lb TC thing!) and just waiting for the tip to swing round. Brutal yes but very much needed.

I opted for a through feeder set up (One of my own adaptions, which i will show you at some point) which is basically an inline Drennan ground bait feeder (NOT A METHOD) tied to 10lb Maxima and 8lb Reflo Power Line. You really do need to gear up on this venue! For my hook i used a size 8 ESP Raptor hair rigged to a pop up with a D ring type set up just with enough counter balance of some rig putty to keep the pop up around 1 inch off of the deck, if you fish this with a 1.5inch hook link you bait will JUST appear above your G/bait. After around 10 mins i had carp going over my feed and after 15 mins i was into my first. Took me around 15 mins to get in but it was a nice 16lb Common! They really go in the shallow water. After 3 hours i had banked 8 carp to plus 100lb with the bonus Zander. I decided now was the time to try my second bait....

Hook Pellets. As soon as i seen this product i though it looked very good. I tried it on the exact same method but didn't have the same results. I had a fair amount of fish, but nothing of any size, i even had roach on these. I had 5 Bream and 1 Tench and a good few nice roach. Obviously no complaints, but as a match bait i am not really sure if its for me. Obviously it'll take more than one day to assess all these baits fully, so keep posted and i'll keep you informed. I will  be trying a couple of these baits @ Hallcroft Croft pool tomorrow, so i will let you know how they go on commies.

Evaluation Bait 1

Fish4Thought Rating - ****

Over all the bait is very good, it comes in a wide range of flavour's and sizes but i do feel the name will put a lot of people off. If you try it, You will do well. As i said above i am not to sure about the smaller carp. But certainly the bigger ones love it, i can see me having some good success in the winter league on a Single bomb and bait tactic for a fish at a time. It has 4 stars for me, the only thing i dont like about them and the only reason it doesnt have 5 is they do take a fair bit of weight to pin down, but nothing a size 6 shot and abit of putty wouldnt solve.

Evaluation Bait 2

Fish4Thought Rating - **

Over all the bait its self is very good, its well made and the flavours that run off it once in the water are very good. For wetlands however and other similar venues i feel a simple pellet approach could match or better its performance. The evidence above will suggest that the large boilie shapes bait exceeded this, but as i also say above. Its only one venue. All in all its well made and very good value for money.

Nathan
@ Fish4Thought

A bit of field testing...Match size Pop Ups.

Hi Folks,

So i have been giving a few tubs of trial pop up boilies to field test on some of my venues by a well known bait manufacturer. I havn't tried them yet but they are fairly good quality. Obviously i am from a specimen and match back ground so i tend to look at the ingredient quality for the products and so far they are good.

Check back on Friday for a naming of the product and the performance!

Nathan
@ Fish4Thought

Save your Elastic and Ca$h:)

So folks,

Tired of spending your money on those little elastic protectors that go missing ALL the time or don't want to be specialist Preston Tubes? Try this!

For this you will need:

• A No.1 Section.
• A rod Tube.
• Tape:).

Right folks, here's the easy way to protect your elastic when your top 2/3's are broke down. Its very simple to do, but extends your elastic life dramatically.

First get a rod tube....

Clean it, then measure your top 2/3 to the side of the tube and mark 1 cm above the elastic line.

Drill a whole where you have marked.

Then put your No.1 section through (Small end first), You dont have to use No.1's but i have loads hanging around.

Cut off the remained then tape off.

Then simply place your top 2/3s into the tube.

Try it out, its cheap and convenient and really easy to do.

I'll be doing various fishing outings this week including a visit the the Classic Wetlands at Sutton Cum Lound so just keep your eyes open.

Catch you later

Nathan
@ Fish4Thought.

What Size Elastic?

Alright Folks,

So i have just finished cleaning all my Top 2's and sections off (Paste gets very dirty) and i just thought i would give you quick post on what size elastics i use for individual areas.

First of all. I always have spares. I have 3 of all the above. Its good to know your prepared if anything happens. I personally only use hollo for carp venues and i only use Preston Hollo is the sizes from 11h - 19h.
11h is just about big enough for F1's if you want a bit of fun, but for the 2 - 5lb mark i'd opt for the 13h (Green - I have had carp to 17lb out on this!).

I'd stick with the rule of 13h - 15h for open water on commercials. (13h for up in the water just for the softness for self hooking).  I generally just use 19h for the margins as i fish a lot of matches, i dont want much of a fight and want to get them in as quick as possible, although i do sometimes use 17h for under my feet fishing or when i am fishing off my top two.

Basically, keep them in good condition and check them for week spots and you will have them for a good while. Try to get a few top 2's so you don't have to keep messing around with rigs, but be weary with the universal ones they can lower your poles reaction speed although they could also improve it on the cheaper models.



Nathan.
@ Fish4Thought

Langold Lake, Pegs for Late summer.

Hello People,

So i have had a few people contact me now regarding best places to fish for the Bream at langold at this time of year, so i thought while i was out with the dog i would take a few pictures and drop a few hints as to where to fish. I'm not going to touch on methods on this post as if you back date it'll all be there. If you need a closer look click on the image and it will pop up in a bigger window...Enjoy.

I would just tackle this peg with a feeder. Any small/medium ground bait feeder approach would work. I use a simply loop to loop with my set up. Feel around when casting to find clear spots. You want to be ideally on the ledge and not over it around 40 Yards maybe a little less. I recommend a light tip with 4lb Maxima - 2lb Powerline and a B911 14 barb.

Main weed bed between 13 - 16m. Only a very short one in width but it goes down the length of the lake. Best results for me have came between them both. You do sometimes have problems with Perch but just feed plenty of Casters. I Personally go for No.6 Solid Elastic paired with 4lb Powerline - 2lb Powerline hook link with a b911 16 barb. 

There is a few methods that would work here. Its normally a pole/waggler peg for the Tench and Bream, as it is raked and dredged fairly frequently but i would totally dismiss the feeder. Going along the same lines as Peg 62 with distance and set up, but i would choose to chuck slight to the right. Pole/waggler wise, expect very shallow water.

I normally go straight on the attack to the 13m Line here on just off the second ledge. Late on or early morning is worth trying between the two weed beds, but they are so close together to struggle to present a bait right. Any one of the ledges will fish well but ideally on all pegs of the lake you are looking for 6ft of water MAX at present.

I feel that this is one of the best pegs of them all. As you will see there is several Lines, mostly weed free because of the depth. I personally opt for the middle left around the 5-7ft region. on about an 8m Line. I havn't had anything of any special size but the average skimmer is around 1lb or so with some very good roach in too.

So there you have it. 101 on Lake summer pegs. Like i always say, its just my opinion, but these are the pegs i have fished on several occasions and had very good days. Just keep the bait going in and make sure you plumb up well and don't be surprised if you have a pike take a good skimmer!

Have a go, Guarantee you'll catch.

Nathan

@ Fish4Thought

Excellent Paste Margin rig.

Alright Folks,

So i am just in the process of making a good few rigs for my big tournament on Friday and i thought i would show you my very basic VERY SHALLOW paste rigs. I have fished this with various methods including with bubble floats and other such round poly balls but this seems to be the best way i have found.

I start off by changing the stem on my float to a much shorter one. (Save the stem instead of chopping. Comes handy later on sometime).

Get your line sorted first. In my opinion i use a 8-9lb direct as the fish in the lower than ft deep regions of water kite off like a steam train, match this to a 17-19H elastic or 16 Solid.

 For my rigs i have used 0.21mm Power line or 8.15lbs in old money, I couple this with a .8g customised Garbo Dc8. Then add a bulk of 4 number 6's, Always easiers going large on a beefed up bagging rig.

I then proceed to put a no.8 or two (dependant on weather) 3 inches away from the hook ( Size 10 Middy T8). I use this number 8 on the deck. To pin the line down. This really does help stop spooked fish and will no doubt help in reducing liners and bringing in a higher catch rate. I have even gone up to 1ft over depth in some instances.

This is how it acts in the water. Its a very good Method. I used to use it a lot in the opens at Wisby Garden Centre and won a good few matches with it. Its like any method. It has to have the right swim for it, I wouldn't go much deeper than a ft or 1.5 with this rig, but i guarantee you can go as shallow as you like.

Try it out, It'll get you some decent lumps!

Nathan,
@ Fish4Thought

Get organised!

Hey Folks,

So there i was just cleaning my box when i decided to help out you guys and maybe come up with some organisation tips for your box & area around it. Yes i know its an aged Preston Box. But i like it, You don't get much storage in the newer ones for my liking. So you feel comfortable during a match. As i always say, this is just my way of doing things...



For Lakes/Commercials...

Commercials can be pretty tight. So its worth just putting your spares top kits and rods to the left rear of your box. It keeps then out of the reeds and/or Margins. I also only ever put kit on my left side so i have a sort of clear walk way from my box. My Landing net then sits tight between to of my bait boxes.

For Rivers/Canals...

Obviously not much difference. If i could get this kind of set up on a commercial peg then i would, its its few and far between. Only one key difference is my rooster kit is going length ways here.

Obviously as i said above, i keep all my gear to my left with one rule and that is that i keep my pole sock to my left. Its on a long foam grip just so its away from my body and it gives me plenty of space, as well as giving a secure place to put my No.4s etc. My keep nets simply clip to the front of my box.

You will notice too that i always keep the last section of my Preston landing net handle on my rooster. Just for abit of insurance! Final tip, Always keep your holdall behind you. Be easier to get bits and bob without moving then.

Wont be fishing until Friday, so unless i make a large batch of rigs for you, i'll see you then.

Nathan
@ Fish4Thought

Hallcroft, General

Hi Folks,

Following on from my previous lake specific threads. I thought i would chuck you out a few tips in general for a better days fishing on the venue in a whole. As the lakes basically fish the same.

Its purely my opinion which has been made up of all of my good days on the venue.

So here it is, Hallcroft top tips for the pole:

Margins.

1. You cant fish too close in (I have caught in 6 inches o water).
2. Never underestimate Chop worm and Caster on difficult days.
3. Always start on paste. Its not just a warm weather bait. It'll beat any bait on any day (in the right season).
4. Try the margins before anyone else and don't be afraid to pile the bait in.
5. If you DO try the margin, if you haven't had an indication within 2 minutes. Try another line.
6. Keep an eye on the margins for Mud clouds, bubbles, reed movement and swirls. 
7. Every fish out, Feed in (Whilst playing it).

5/6m Line.

1. Be sure to start on day on this line.
2. Be sure to plumb up correctly and find the bottom of the shelf.
3. Never put any pellets in, you will only attract silvers.
4. Keep bait going in via a cup and only feed large volumes of paste.
5. Fish 2 inch over depth on good days, up to 6 inch on windy days.
6. Once your hooked into a fish. Get it off of your line as soon as possible and feed your margins.
7. The bigger fish here stay deep. So be aware of your stations legs.

11/12/13/14.5m Line. (Up In water).

1. Do several rigs for depth start at 3ft. Make some up to 2ft-1ft.
2. If your going to give it a good go, Feed constantly 4 pellets every minute on your line whilst fishing others.
3. Use a slider rig if possible to demonstrate a falling bait.
4. Use a simple Hooker pellet, corn or meat. Corn will out perform anything on good days, also worth looking at worm on rainy days.
5. Use a soft elastic, double 8 or 13h should suffice for Surface carp.

So, Few simple rules and tips.

Stick to them and you should have a good day.

Cheers,

Nathan

Fish4Thought

Hall Croft, Reed Pool

Hi Folks,

Well you'll be please to know i didn't break any sections to day - All in all i had an extremely good day.

As stated above i fished the Hallcroft Complex once again but this time choosing the Reed Pool.

I had already made my mind up to which lines i would be fishing the night before. I set my mind on:

1. Feeder to the Island.
2. Left,Right Margin. (Before the drop of).
3. 6m Line. 
4. 12m Line. (Up in water).

Those that are frequent viewers of the site will know that i am mainly a Paste fisherman at the venue and today wasn't any different. I begin on my 6m line not feeding anything as usual (just a large amount of sloppy paste).

After around 10 minutes i had my first fish on. A nice common around 3-4lb mark....

Still not feeding they continued to come through out the day....

As you see, the stamp of fish are mostly averaged around the 5-10lb mark. I had alot around and under the 5lb mark too.

Its was a strange but yet very rewarding day, i didn't have a touch on the tip and nor did i really get the margins going. But i certainly got a couple of Bonus fish from my right margin....

The bigger carp at Hallcroft really stick to the bottom like a dead weight.

Had around 6 or 7 of these nice bream, Nice bonus but not very fun on the margin gear.

Biggest carp of the day, Went to 17lb on th scale. Nice well conditioned leather by the looks of it!

So the evaluation then, all in all in was a brilliant day not only did i catch around 90lb of Weighed fish, but also  200lb which wasn't big enough for individual weighs. The day didn't go entirely smoothly as i got broke off 3 times and also got my 13h elastic snapped but it had some hammer and looked a bit worn. On top of everything which happened today i have also qualified for a Fish for 5k Tournament very soon.

I'll Keep you posted.

Nathan