Improve Your Coarse Fishing

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The lake where 3lb giants are common – and how YOU can fish there

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INSIDE

First look at Korum's brilliant new feeder

GOING SHORT TO BEAT THE WEED Tie the mini Chod rig tricking big tench

REVEALED

THE WORMBALL

The superb hookbaitpickingout thebig carp

Catch More Fish with Steve Ringer

NEW SERIES

l His perfect waggler rigl How to fill your reell Learn to plumb

ROACH

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SHAKESPEARE'S NEW AGILITY RANGE

MASTER THE FLAT FEEDERPinpoint casting z Tie the perfect rig z Prepare great pellets z WIN £1,230 of Daiwa kit

WithSTEVE

RINGER

High altitude carpDiscover the hilltop paradise that's home to Britain's rarest fish

The long-range feeder tactics to bag bream on a vast Yorkshire lake you can fish

Wild waterTOP TIPSz How to catch at

Redmire Poolz Going afloat for

River Severn zander

REVEALED – 13 SECRET WATERS YOU MUST FISH

BRITAIN'S GREATEST FISHERIES

22-PAGE SPECIAL

RIVERKINGSHow barbel are powering the return of the Trent & the rig to catch them

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ISSUE 267 – December 26, 2012 - January 23, 2013 £3.35

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WAIST DEEP IN

CHUB"THERE'S MORE ROACH THAN WATER"The incredible day-ticket lake where silverfish fight for your bait!

50 BEST VENUES REVEALEDBRITAIN'S FINEST, MOST SCENIC, WEIRDEST AND MOST DAUNTING FISHERIES

Rig secrets: The flavour cone

P22

How garlic gets bites in the cold

Plus – Pump pellets with

baby milk!

NEW WINTER CARP BAIT

METHOD MASTER Phil Ringer's dead maggot tactic for winter bream and carp

Discover the paradise float swims that make the River Wye magic

Dock ofdreamsPort Talbot docks is hardly a typical coarse fishing venue, but

Iain Swanson reckons the angling it offers can be second to none…

4 • IYCF Issue 258

Words Mark Parker Photography Lloyd Rogers

As the sun began to fade the sport got better and better

IYCF April 18 – May 16, 2012 • 5

Dock of dreamswith Iain Swanson

A S THE sun slowly set and the darkness of night started its inevitable decent, the view began to take on the hue of a scene from a Ridley Scott film

rather than a fishing venue.The Bladerunner-cum-Alien vista along

the distant bank was produced by the stark outline of a steel works, not something you would expect to see towering over a great coarse fishing location.

But then, this is no ordinary place to come coarse fishing.

The docks at Port Talbot offer the visiting angler the very essence of bran-tub fishing.

Literally paved with decent-sized bream, skimmers and roach, the docks also host many other species.

Although silverfish fishing makes up the main part of the dock’s match and pleasure weights, within its deep, warm waters swim big carp, perch, pike and tench, with just as many mullet, bass, flatties and conger as there are freshwater fish.

One regular face on the banks of the waterfront is Ebbw Vale-based Iain Swanson.

Iain has only been fishing here for just over two years, but was initially drawn by the reports of big silverfish weights, caught even in the depths of the harshest winters.

It was a place that the Welsh matchman just had to check out for himself.

“Once experienced you will find it hard not to fall in love with the place,” he told us.

Joining him for an afternoon and evening session, Iain set about showing just how good this strange-looking fishery can be…

Out of the ordinary!Covering around 500 acres, the docks actually comprise two main areas, a set of floating inner docks – the older of the two, completed in 1834 and also the place that Iain was fishing – and the outer tidal basin, which was built in 1970.

As well as a host of heavy industry surrounding the waterway, including the Port Talbot steelworks, the docks is one of the few UK harbours capable of handling Capesize vessels of up to 170,000 metric tons deadweight – some very, very big boats in layman’s terms!

As well as being deep – around 40ft-50ft – the inner docks never freeze even in the coldest winter due to the inflow of hot water often released by the steelworks.

This makes it not only popular with the local anglers, but the fish also do well.

Oddly, the water can be so warm that the National Anguilla Club stage one of their fish-ins every February when eels should normally be all but hibernating in the silt.

An offshoot of the River Afan flows into the inner dock and there is a huge set of dock gates that can be opened for the passage of vessels.

This means that the water is brackish – slightly salty – and although the theory would indicate otherwise, freshwater fish are actually thriving with plenty of large specimens being regularly caught.

For added interest anglers often are broken off by unknown creatures taking their bait.

Together with hordes of silverfish, carp, tench and pike, the docks hold a massive head of sea fish.

The fishable pegs are all along the bottom of the peninsula

“The brackish water doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference to the coarse fish. In fact, many of them seem to survive better in this environment than pure freshwater,” said Iain.

“The main difference is that the roach and bream tend to be a little rough to the touch, rather than slippery-smooth like their freshwater cousins.”

Iain puts this down to the salty water possibly affecting their skin.

Another characteristic Iain has noted is the pleasing lack of disease and lesions affecting the fish. This, again, is probably due to the salt content in the water.

It is well known among koi keepers that salt baths help ailing fish as it thickens the natural coating of mucus helping to get rid of external parasites as well as purifying fish kidneys.

Sitting on the dock of the baySituated on the South Wales coast, the docks can be a cruel environment because the prevailing south-westerly wind can make fishing difficult at times.


Fixed paternoster style, the feeder is taped so that most groundbait reaches the deck

The hooklink is 3ft-4ft so that it encourages fish sitting mid-water to move down to the bottom

Iain impales two red maggots on a size 16 hook

Iain’s Port Talbot dock rig

IYCF April 18 – May 16, 2012 • 7

Iain shows off a dock-caught roach just under the 2lb mark

“Iain approaches the place in the more time-honoured fashion that he might display when fishing a commercial”

Iain recalled one occasion when he could only fish around 20 yards out due to the force of the head wind. He still caught well though, proving that the elements are worth braving because of the results you can get.

With 25 pegs along the south side of the central peninsular, the visiting angler is somewhat restricted to swim locations. More important, though, is the time of year that you are fishing.

Although plenty of large tench are caught on the pole during the height of summer, this tactic hardly gets get a look-in between October and May.

The name of the game for eight months of the year is feeder fishing, and usually into the deeper water.

“Due to the ships coming and going, there is a dramatic shelf about 20 yards out from the bank,” Iain explained.

“With this in mind I usually look to fish at around 40 turns of my reel – 35 yards, give or take. This gets you well into the deeper water where a lot of the shoals tend to sit.”

Otherwise, it’s textbook fishing, according to Iain, with bream feeding better when there is a

ripple on the water or the day is overcast.The water is often very clear but this can

rapidly change into muddy turmoil if the steelworks releases water.

One surprising element is that the docks suffer from very little ‘tow’ unless there is a water release or the dock gates are opened.

A blast from the pastTo fish the docks, Iain approaches the place in the more time-honoured fashion that he might display when fishing one of his local commercial pools.

For a start, the rig set-up is a fixed paternoster, rather than free-running. This may be a blast from the 1970s but Iain reckons it improves the sensitivity of direct contact with fish in deep water.

The hooklink is also very ‘old-school’ being around 3ft-4ft of thin mono – 0.14mm (4lb 6oz) Silstar Match Team mono.

“Because the water is so deep there are many thermoclines – layers of water where the temperature differs. Relatively warmer layers may sit above cool water so the fish will often be sat well off the bottom,” Iain explained.

“By having a long hooklink, when the feeder gets cast in, rather than sinking like a stone, it will tend to flutter to the bottom.

“With the long hooklink dragging behind, fish sat mid-water will see the bait fall past and follow it to the bottom. Even if they don’t go down straight away, they soon will because greed overcomes their natural caution.”

At Port Talbot docks the view is industrial and rugged but outstanding fishing compensates

Iain prefers a size 16 Drennan Red Maggot hook because the fish are not hook-shy and in the deep water they will not be able to pick out the hook anyway.

In any case Iain has rarely experienced shy bites, with even the roach practically pulling the rod off the rest.

Unusually, Iain casts his feeder in a manner that would normally be dismissed as incorrect!

On a typical commercial you would cast and hold the rod vertically before the rig hits the water so the rod can be placed on the rodrest without moving the feeder.

But when fishing the docks Iain casts his rig but leaves his rod pointing horizontally towards the water.

He will then wait to feel the thump through the rod as the feeder hits the bottom. At this point, he will gently drag his rod to the side before placing it on to the rodrest.

As well as moving the feeder, helping to deposit the contents on the bottom, it also enables Iain to straighten his long hooklink.

When it comes to bait Iain again adopts

old-school bream tactics, with his main groundbait feed made up of a 50:50 mixture of plain brown crumb and Supercup. To this, Iain then adds a 100ml-150ml of Liquid Brasem, a sweet vanilla-smelling additive which was hugely popular among bream anglers prior to the fishmeal explosion.

“I really like sweet groundbaits,” said Iain. “It is something I have always preferred, but it is really a personally choice. There is nothing wrong with using fishmeals, as the bream will still respond to it. I think you could use almost any groundbait and still get a few bites.”

To bulk out the flavoured groundbait Iain will add a pinch of casters to any ball he is about to introduce. If you added a pint or two all at once at the start of your session, you cannot remove them.

This means that you have reduced your options on the day, especially if the fish do not want a lot of particles.

For hookbaits, Iain sticks to tried and tested baits – maggots, casters and floating maggots.

“I like to use a couple of floating maggots on the hook to negate the weight of the hook and prevent the hookbait from burying itself in the silt,” he added.

To make maggots float, Iain places a handful in a bait tub then just covers them with water before placing the lid on top.

Adding a little water forces the maggots to suck in air and after a couple of minutes this makes them float. It can also be done using a can of carbonated drink.

Dock of dreamswith Iain Swanson

In deep water Iain tapes up holes in his feeder so the bait reaches bottom before spilling out

At dusk, the docks really come alive


IYCF April 18 – May 16, 2012 • 9

Iain shows how it’s done…Fishing to the line clip at 40 turns of the reel, he kickstarted the swim with half a dozen feeders of his sweetened groundbait with a pinch of casters added, before baiting the hook and making a seventh cast.

It took a handful of casts – every five to 10 minutes – to get his first bite, from a small plump roach. But this was no shy, tentative pluck, but a full blooded wraparound of the light quivertip.

A dozen others, all in pristine condition, quickly followed.

After going quiet for a couple of casts, Iain had a savage bite, which turned out to be a good roach close to the magical 2lb.

This proved the last of the roach sport, as the skimmers moved in. Now regularly catching 1lb-2lb fish, Iain was unlocking the potential of Port Talbot docks.

It may look like daunting venue, but you shouldn’t be intimidated. Anyone who overcomes their initial doubts will find the rewards very rich indeed.

The pristine nature of Iain’s catch shows how productive brackish water can be

FactfileDay tickets cost £5 for up to two rods. Contact Head Bailiff Dai Morgan on 07886 301754 the day before visiting to make arrangements


Tackle That Swim Going for big fish on canals

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I F YOU thought canal angling was all about size 24 hooks, 5oz bottoms and thirty fingerling fish to the pound, think again.

These days Shakespeare Superteam matchman Darren Massey reaches for his commercial carp kit when he visits the canal to target big, elastic-stretching bream and tench that are rarely landed on ‘traditional’ towpath tackle.

The 40-year-old canal ace told IYCF: “There are increasing numbers of big, powerful fish in every canal in the country. Depending on the venue it could be bream, tench, chub or carp, but they’re there – and rarely get fished for.

“When they are hooked accidently by anglers using traditional light canal gear there’s usually only one outcome. Anglers get smashed up and go home with tales of the one that got away!

“I come ready for a fight with the same gear I’d normally use on a commercial carp water – that’s Power Top 2 kits with size 16-18 rated elastics, heavy line and powerful, forged hooks. It might sound well over the top for a canal but, believe me, once you’ve hooked a 5lb tench that bores its way straight into dense weed, you’ll be glad of this kind of firepower. Canal crackers like these need a bit of welly to get them out!”

‘Welly’ and weed for canal

crackers!The nation’s canals contain an untapped wealth of neglected big fish – great sport if you have the tackle and tactics to catch them.

Shakespeare Superteam matchman Darren Massey explainsWords Dave Woodmansey Photography Lloyd Rogers

IYCF July 11 – August 8, 2012 • 97

Darren Massey reckons you need to

give tench like this a bit of ‘welly’ to pull

them out of weed


Tackle That SwimNEW SERIES

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Darren has brought the IYCF cameras to a section of the Wyrley and Essington Canal in the West Midlands town of Brownhills just north of Birmingham. He’s never fished this stretch before but his clued-up Shakespeare Superteam buddies have told him it holds a healthy population of big bream and tench.

The canal here is seven feet deep, gin clear and polarising glasses reveal irregular patches of heavy, vertical weed growth. With bright sunshine and clear water, conditions are far from ideal.

Darren aims to establish three different lines at 10 o’clock, 12 o’clock and 2 o’clock in front of him (see swim diagram, below right). This will give him the opportunity to try the three best baits for big canal fish – worm, caster and bread.

It is imperative that you try all three baits because canal fish can show a marked preference for one or the other on the day, explains Darren.

Careful plumbing up is the first, and most important job. Darren locates two relatively weed-free spots at 11m at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock ‘down the track’ in the deepest part of the canal channel.

A third line will be straight ahead at 12 o’clock at 14.5m in the shade of overhanging bushes. In the bright, clear-water conditions fish could seek the protection of this shade to hide away from overhead predators like cormorants.

All his rigs will be fished three to four inches overdepth which is perfect for predominantly bottom-feeding species like bream and tench.

Down the ‘track’ at 11m in the

deepest water. Worm and caster

line

Shallower but shady. Worm and

caster line at 14.5m

Down the ’track’ at 11m in the deepest water. Liquidised

bread and red maggot line

10 o’clock line

12 o’clock line

2 o’clock line

These are Darren’s all-time top big-fish canal baits. You must try them all on the day as fish can show a preference for one in particular


He will lift the rig a foot and drop it slowly to entice

bites

Darren lowers all his rigs vertically

down to avoid draping them

over weed

On the day Darren’s 2 o’clock liquidised

bread and red maggot line didn’t produce and

was abandoned. He concentrated on the

10 o’clock and 12 o’clock lines with chopped

worm and caster

Light rigThe float: This is a sensitive 4x14 Shakespeare ST8 with a bullet sight tipShotting: Four No.8 shot are strung out evenly over the bottom half of the dual depth rig Line: Darren uses 0.14mm (4lb) Berkley XWR match line straight through with no hooklengthHook: This is size 13 Kamasan B711 barbed. Darren believes a barb is essential with so much weed about

Heavy rigThe float: This is a 4x14 Drennan Carp 2 pattern with a long thin sight tipShotting: Again, four No.8 shot strung out over the bottom half of the dual depth rigLine: This heavy-duty rig has 0.16mm (6lb) Berkley XWR match straight throughHook:This is an ultra-strong Kamasan Animal size 14 to cope with the biggest fish and snags

RIG CONSTRUCTION


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BAITING OPTIONS

The 10 o’clock and 12 o’clock swims are each primed by cupping in half a pot of finely chopped dendrobaena worms and around 50 casters.

The 2 o’clock swim gets a full cup of finely liquidised sliced bread containing a few red maggots.

Darren points out that if he was angling for small canal fish he would use a bag of Punch Crumb because this light, fluffy product doesn’t fill up tiddlers. Solid, liquidised bread, on the other hand, does quickly fill up the nuisance ‘bits’ and leaves the table free for the big fish he’s targeting.

Darren plans to use only two top kits to fish all three swims.

The 11m swims ‘down the track’ at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock are identical depth and the 14.5m swim is a couple of feet shallower. Darren marks the depth of both with Tippex on each top kit. He only needs to push the float down to the lower mark when he fishes the shallower far bank swim, and back up again when he returns to deeper water on the two 11m lines.

His ‘light’ rig comprises 0.14mm (4lb) line straight through to a size 13 Kamasan B711 hook. Float is a 4x14 Shakespeare ST8 with four No.8 shot strung out.

There’s a stretchy size 16 hollow core elastic through the Power 2 kit. This will be Darren’s main catching rig to be fished with double caster, a piece of worm or an 8mm punch of bread.

His ‘heavy’ rig has 0.16mm (6lb) line straight through to a size 14 Kamasan Animal hook. Float is a 4x14 Drennan Carp 2 pattern, again with four No.8 shot strung out. Elastic is Shakespeare Superteam solid size 16.

This rig will be used when especially big

By quickly sliding the floats up and

down the line to the Tippex

markers Darren can use both rigs

to fish any of the three swims he’s established. This is especially useful if you have only two top kits

Even though depth varies

between the two deeper 10 o’clock

and 2 o’clock lines down the track and the shallower 12

o’clock swim, Darren has

marked both depths on each top kit in Tippex

Use an 8mm or 10mm punch to create a disc like this from a fresh, medium-sliced loaf. It swells in water to twice its size and hides the large hook

Hide as much of the big hook as possible by mounting two casters like this. If fish are really ‘having it’ use three but leave the point showing

Darren uses big dendrobaena worms hooked in the thick (head) and then cut in half with scissors to allow fish-attracting juices to escape

Bread punch Casters Worms1 1 1

2 2 2


fish are encountered, when the weed is extra heavy, or when he’s fishing hard up against lily pads. Baits will be treble caster or a large piece of worm.

Facing so much weed, Darren holds his pole tip high and drops the rig directly down so that it slips between the upward-reaching fronds. If he lays the rig out in a line, the chances are that the hooklength will drape over weed and not be on the bottom where the target fish are located.

Alternating between 8mm punched bread, a half dendrobaena worm or double caster and rotating the three swims soon starts to produce fish.

Small roach and perch arrive first but Darren patiently keeps a trickle of bait falling through each line until the float buries and a lift strike meets solid resistance, followed by the size 16 elastic spilling out as a powerful fish bulldozes through dense underwater weed. After an epic battle that tests even the commercial carp gear he’s using, Darren has a gleaming, muscular 5lb tench in the landing net.

A big pot of chopped worm and caster goes into the 10 o’clock line that produced the fish and Darren quickly goes back out on his 2 o’clock line.

Caster and worm seem to be the top baits on the day with fish falling to both, but the 8mm bread punch fished over the liquidised bread line only results in a single

small roach. Darren abandons this line and concentrates on the other two, as it is obvious that there are good fish on both.

On another day, bread or red maggot could have been the killer bait and Darren impresses on us the need to experiment

until you find out exactly what the fish want.By early afternoon, bright sunshine and

high temperatures have killed the tap-water clear swim but Darren has winkled out two nice tench, two bream and well over 10lb of ‘bits’ including roach to over 1lb (who says

“Who says big canal roach are tackle-shy? This cracking 1lb plus redfin fell to what is really a heavy commercial carp rig”

Darren marks the depths of both swims in Tippex on his top kits

This is the mark for his shallow swim

“If I’d been using delicate canal kit I’d probably never have caught this,” says Darren

Keeping his elbow in line with the end of the pole ensures Darren is

always fishing at the same length

This is the mark for his two deeper swims


Fake baits

THE REAL DEALFrom flight of fancy to fish-catching phenemenon in barely a decade fake baits are realistic, sophisticated and catch more fish than you’d think possible. Try them today

Words: Mark Parker Pics: Jaques Portal

1 Artificial offerings give you longevity. As any big-fish angler and fan of natural baits will know, it is often impossible

to use small baits like maggots, casters and corn at venues containing masses of small silverfish. Real, delicate hookbaits can be devoured in seconds without your knowledge.

2 Fake baits are great when casting long distances. Soft baits like sweetcorn or luncheon meat can easily fly off on the

cast or be knocked off the hook when the rig hits the water.

3 They offer an element of surprise, as they’re not a bait that the fish are used to seeing, especially if you are using

a glow-in-the-dark or fluorescent offering. There is nothing in nature like these baits.

The only way a fish can find out what this strange object is and whether it is edible, is by picking it up in its mouth. By this time it’s too late and they’re hooked!

4 Most artificial baits are very soft and they feel ‘right’ to the fish, as well as looking very realistic.

5 They may appear unnatural to the human eye when laid in your hand, but when they are in the water surrounded

by the debris kicked up by feeding fish it becomes difficult to tell fake baits from the real thing.

6 Fake baits can also be buoyant, perfect for popping-up a bait off the bottom or with a zig rig, or for negating the weight

of the hook you’re using.

Glow worm!They may look ludicrous, but glow-in-the-dark baits are excellent for producing curiosity takes from wary fish, often the big ones!

For stockist details contact:ENTERPRISE TACKLE: www.enterprisetackle.co.uk or 01767 691231AVID: www.avidcarp.com or 01952 290520NASH: www.nashtackle.co.uk or 01702 233232

There are six main reasons for faking it

Flaked maizeRarely used these days, fake flaked maize is excellent for fishing over soft silt

SnailsAn Enterprise Tackle, oddity, this offering is doing very well for carp anglers

Fluoro cornHi-Vis baits and corn have caught thousands of carp. This is the perfect marriage of both

IYCF March 21 – April 18, 2012 • 35

Tiger nutsA superb edge where nuts have been banned from a water

MaggotsGreat for targeting bigger fish, fake maggots cannot be destroyed by tiddlers

Corn stopsTipping off boilie hookbaits with corn is a great edge and these corn hair stops do the same job

BoiliesProduced in a range of bold colours these Avid baits can trigger curiosity feeding

More anglers are coming to recognise the advantages of Dacron pole elastic connectors over conventional methods of attachment

“This method may seem fiddly but the advantages

are worth the effort”

D UMP your old-fashioned pole connectors and depend on Dacron, says England International and former

World Champion angler Tommy Pickering.

The Yorkshire ace has used standard connectors since first picking up a pole as a lad, but now swears the new style Dacron connectors are superior in every department.

Tommy reckons a Dacron connector is neater, virtually tangle-free when

fishing and far lighter than traditional connectors – an important factor when fishing at length.

Not long ago it was a DIY job to make your own but now you can buy ready-made, colour-coded Dacron connectors to fit all sizes of elastic ‘off the shelf’.

The advantages of using Dacron connectors far outweigh what initially looks like a difficult method of attaching your pole rigs, says Tommy.


Dacron connectors come

in a variety of sizes

Dacron connectors can be used with hollow (above)

or solid (right) elastics

DACRONDepend on

How to attach the dacron connector to the pole

How to attach your pole rig to the dacron connector

Thread the elastic through your top kit and form a simple, double-overhand knot in the elastic that comes out of the tip section

Form a double overhand knot to create a loop about 5cm (2in) like this on the end of the line on your pole rig

Now pull the two small loops forward so they butt up together. This creates the doubled-up loop you see here. It’s easy with practice

Wet the knot with saliva. This prevents friction damage when you tighten it. Tighten and cut off the tag end close to the knot

Wet the knot and pull tight, then cut the tag end close to the knot. We’ve used thick, bright coloured sea fishing line for clarity

Pass the elastic (knot first) through the centre of the doubled-up loop so that it protrudes by about 2cm (0.75in)

Rig line loop goes over Dacron. Grip Dacron knot and pull mainline until loop bites. Wet finger and slide tight to loop against Dacron

Pull the bead to the end of the knot and open the Dacron loop. Twist the Dacron over on itself to form two small loops like this

Now create a smaller loop in the larger loop (the smaller the better) using the same wetted, double overhand knot

Wet the Dacron and pull tight to the knot in the elastic. Now push the bead down to cover the knot and streamline the rig. Done!

The pole rig is now in place and you can fish. To remove the rig from the connector, just pull the small loop and it comes undone

1

1

4

4

2

2

5

5

3

3

6

6

IYCF April 18 – May 16, 2012 • 29

Make a loop in the rig line, just below the double loop, and pass that loop through the larger of the two knotted loops you created

TACKLE SPECIALXxx xxx xxx xxx xxxxx x xx


TackleHONEST OPINIONS AND PROPER TESTS ON TACKLE WITH DAVE WOODMANSEY

SHOP

“This creates a steady beat and vibration said

to be irresistible to hunting predators”

IYCF February 22 – March 21, 2012 • 59

Dave Woodmansey has been a pleasure and specialist angler for over 40 years. He’s been testing new tackle as a full-time job every week for the last 15 years and has probably fished with more new kit than any other angler in the UK. Dave is passionate about angling and prides himself on helping readers with honesty and integrity.

Visit www.gofishing.co.uk for all the latest tackle news

In this issue...Our award goes to super

warm Cyclotherm suits 60

New Fox Stalker rod pod is clever and well-equipped 62

Tackle special: A dozen umbrellas from £17.50 64

New gear: centrepin, clever chair pack, Krimp Tool 68

On-the-bank test: Desperado rod tames big carp 70

New gear: rig bits and a vacuum storage system 72

On-the-bank test: MAP Flat V roller is a breakthrough 74

Reader offer: You won’t find a better 12.5m pole for £60 76

PREDATOR lures like these have developed into mini works of art with textured translucent and holographic effect bodies, internal multi-colour custom paint jobs, 3D effect eyes and internal sound chambers.

These colourful Clackin’ Rap patterns from legendary Finnish lure company Rapala feature a metal-on-metal Cadence Rattle or ‘clacking

noise’ generated by a single ball bearing bouncing off the walls of an exposed steel sound chamber built into the lure.

This metal ‘noise maker’ creates a steady beat and vibration as the lure is retrieved and is said to be irresistible to hunting predators like pike, zander, perch and chub.

The lures come in lengths

of 2.5in-3.5in and casting weights up to just over 1oz so they’re suitable for light to medium spinning/baitcasting rods.

The lipless design and top-mounted trace attachment gives the lure a swimming action with the internal holographic foil producing the predator-attracting flash of a sickly prey fish wobbling in the water. RRP £12.99.

Rapala Clackin’ Rap predator lures (RRP £12.99)


BERKLEY GULP RED CRUSTACEAN BOILIES RRP from £5.99 These deep red boilies get their colour from the genuine ‘Haith’s Robin Red’ spice mix it includes.

The crustacean part of the name comes from the added mixture of shrimp, crayfish and krill. Liver extract and soluble fish extracts give them four-season instant attraction.

Pay £10.99 for 1kg in 12mm, 16mm, 20mm and 24mm, and now available in new 400g packs in 12mm or 16mm costing £5.99.www.berkley-fishing.co.uk

FOX ROYALE 1 MAN DINNER SET RRP £34.99If you fish on your own it’s pointless carrying a standard, two-man cooking set. This compact, one-man model is far better.

Contents include stainless steel knife, fork, spoon and teaspoon,

square black Melamine plate with Fox logo, mug, corkscrew, chopping board, one large and one small screw top tubs and a micro fleece towel. The kit is contained in a tough carry case. www.foxint.com

MAVER ELITE CARP POLE RRP from £699.99

This stunning new addition to Maver’s acclaimed Elite pole range has been built to handle big elastics and powerful match carp.

It’s available as a 13m package with an introductory offer price of £699.99, or £799.99 for the £14.5m package.

Package includes four ‘Easy Flow’ Power Kits (including one in the pole), Cupping Kit and Cups, Mini Extension, Holdall, Tubes and user DVD.www.maver.co.uk

MAVER PRO FLEECE RRP £69.99

Angling clothing is becoming ever smarter and this tasteful and practical fleece jacket will look as good in the pub as it does on the bank.

The soft and warm jacket is fully lined and ideal as an outer garment in summer/autumn or as a mid-layer under an outer shell garment. Sizes M-XXL. www.maver.co.uk

KAMASAN B911 F1 HOOKS RRP £1.25

The legendary Kamasan B911 hook pattern is now available in a lighter gauge pattern developed especially for shy-biting F1 carp.

The F1 hook retains the famous strength of the original B911 which has deservedly become one of the most popular hook patterns on commercials.

Barbless, spade-end B911 F1 hooks come in sizes 10-22. A pack of 10 hooks costs £1.25.

“If you fish on your own a one-man cooking set is what you need”

The whole kit fits neatly into a small carry-case

NEW GEAR

Reels don’t come much better looking than this latest piece of angling eye-candy from the famous Mitchell stable.

Older anglers may detect features like the distinctive handle design borrowed from the legendary Mitchell Match model of the 80s.

This futuristic looking reel boasts lightweight magnesium body and rotor construction, carbon effect, double anodized aluminium spool with drilled skirts, 9+1 superior HPCR bearings and anti-twist titanium line roller. It has a fabulous, super

smooth, sealed front drag system.

Supplied with a spare aluminium spool (capacity 300m of 0.25mm diameter mono for float/feeder or light spinning work) plus a protective Neoprene pouch. www.mitchell-fishing.co.uk

IYCF April 18 – May 16, 2012 • 77

MITCHELL MAG-PRO EXTREME REEL RRP £159.99

Far left: The amount of design detail is outstanding

Centre: Even the dust cap on the ambidextrous handle is great

Left: Drilling on the spool skirt is ace

Far left: The sleek lines of the Mag-Pro extend to every aspect of the reel

Left: Older readers will recognise the old Mitchell Match handle tweeked with carbon-effect veneer

The multi-washer front drag mechanism is brilliant

A titanium roller is designed to reduce line twist on fast retrieves

The 5.2:1 gearing retrieves 86cm (34in) of line for each full handle revolution

ON-THE-BANK TACKLE TESTS

THIS MONTH...

Dave Woodmansey has been a pleasure and specialist angler for over 40 years. He’s been testing new tackle as a full-time job every week for the last 15 years and has probably fished with more new kit than any other angler in the UK. Dave is passionate about angling and prides himself on helping readers with honesty and integrity.

Team Daiwa XR2 poleDaiwa’s TDXR range of poles has been uprated for 2012. We test the brilliant mid-price TDXR2 model

Carbonactive Power Carp – P90A new addition to Preston’s acclaimed Carbonactive Mini series of rods gives you vital extra casting range

Super Ultegra Multi Float – P92Shimano’s classy new 15ft-17ft Super Ultegra silverfish rod is so good it will even land upper double-figure carp

We reveal who wins our Product of the Month Award – Page 94


When fishing near lily pads you need a pole with the strength to boss powerful fish...

IYCF May 16 – June 13, 2012 • 89

I CAN’T remember the last time I fished a river or canal on the pole. All my time is spent on the commercials where powerful fish pull back hard.

So, for me, the most important features in a pole are strength and balance.

If that pole can also handle occasional silverfish or delicate winter F1 work at a comfortable length on the carp pools, then even better.

The new, improved 13m Team Daiwa XR2 fits this bill nicely. Plug it together and squeeze the sections and you’ll get a reassuringly strong and solid feel from every section, including the top kits. That feel is better than bank notes in the hand to me because it gives me complete confidence.

The package has a Match 3 kit in the pole, three Power Top 2s, a Cupping Top 2 kit, a reversible Mini Extension and a pole holdall with rigid tubes.

That allows four rigs to be set up – more than enough for the average match or pleasure angler. Spare Match 3 kits are £39.99 and Power 2 kits £34.99.

The TDXR2 will carry maximum size 20 elastics through the Power 2, and 14 through the Match 3, giving ample power to bank powerful fish.

Large end bores on the Power Kits mean you don’t have to cut them back, even when fishing the biggest diameter elastics.

The main sections of the pole take it to 12.5m but you need the supplied Mini Extension to take it to the advertised 13m. The Mini Extension is reversible to fit the No 8 section, or the butt. This gives you scope to tailor the length to suit the swim you’re fishing.

Daiwa’s ‘Slide Easy’ finish down to the

No.5 section means it’s slick enough to slip through the hands smoothly.

I liked the TDXR2 as soon as I picked it up. That first impression was reinforced after I’d caught some nice carp – nothing massive, but chunky, hard fighting 3lb-4lb fish that are typical of modern commercials.

I needed 12.5 metres to fish tight up to far bank lilies and every carp had to be bullied into open water. The TDXR2 never missed a beat and left me with a smile on my face.

•There are six poles in the improved TDXR range for 2012 with promotional prices from £199 to £999.

Dave’s verdictAn honest pole with a nice feel to it that will appeal to a lot of decent pleasure and club anglers. I’d have one!z www.daiwasports.co.uk

TEAM DAIWA XR2 POLE (RRP £550, PROMO PRICE £450)

The XR2 put a smile on my face

Built for fish that pull back – hard!Daiwa’s gutsy XR2 pole gives you the confidence to bully big fish away from the sanctuary of snags

...so that when you hook them, like this, you can coax them away from danger


TACKLE TO CATCH

Carp on the pellet waggler

Everything you need to catch...

If you only try one new tactic this summer get on this deadly method

P ELLET waggler is one of the most successful commercial carp catching tactics ever devised. And the method is at it’s most effective right now as fish cruise

up in the warm water.The tactic is simple. A banded, hard 8mm

pellet is fished shallow beneath a dumpy float while the angler catapults a constant drip of feed pellets over the top. Carp come to the sound of the splashes and intercept the slowly sinking pellets.

The secret to success with this method is hard work! The angler must keep constantly feeding and casting. Most bites will come as the hook pellet sinks naturally under it’s own weight with no shot down the line, mimicking

the falling free offerings. Bites can come when the pellet is suspended

under the float at the limit of its fall, but the best pellet waggler anglers only leave it static for a minute or so before recasting. A slowly falling bait is far more effective.

Essential items of tackle are a rod with a soft action to prevent hook-pulls, good catapults to accurately fire tight groups of pellets around the float at up to 25m (you’ll need more than one in case the elastic snaps with heavy use) and the right kind of dumpy, buoyant, Pellet Waggler float in loaded or unloaded versions.

Catapults: Buy good quality ’pults

like these capable of delivering tight groups of pellets to about 25m. Accuracy is essential. From £5.99

1

Shot: Big SSG and

AAA shot will be needed for unloaded pellet wagglers. Choose dispensers or single pots

3

Loaded: Base-weighted pellet

wagglers fly well but dive on splashdown unless feathered. From £1.60

2

Pellet bander: A superb tool to easily get slippery

bands on pellets. From £4.994


Bait bands: Essential for

attaching the hard pellet hookbaits. Buy good quality ones that won’t easily snap. From £1.20

6

Adaptors & stops: Designed

to attach heavy pellet wagglers without damaging the line while allowing easy depth changes. From £1.99

7

Hooks: Heavy-

duty hooks like these that can be hair-rigged or banded for a pellet bait are a must. They will take loads of stick with this type of fishing. From £1.20

8

Pellets: Good quality plain or

flavoured hard pellets in 4mm, 6mm and 8mm sizes are best. The bigger pellets obviously fire further. From £2.99 a bag

10

Unloaded: These floats need to be

shotted and, arguably, don’t cast as well as loaded versions, but don’t dive. From £1.20

5

Reel: A quality reel with loads

of winding power and smooth clutch is needed. Spend as much as you can

9

Rod: Buy a powerful Pellet Waggler rod

designed with a forgiving top section to prevent hook-pulls. From £100

11


Why you must feather your cast

Feathering the line to brake the flight

of the float slows it down rapidly. This

throws the hooklink past the float

The hooklink and dropper shot are

duly laid across the surface in a straight line to avoid tangles

Once the hooklink and dropper shot have

been laid out the bait drops in a smooth arc

that replicates the speed freebies fall at

A natural fall of the hookbait will earn you

more bites ‘on-the-drop’ from species

like roach, carp and skimmer bream

If it makes it to the bottom the hookbait

will often be taken there by fish that

have watched it sink smoothly

CATCH MORE FISH - TACTICSInstruction


As the float travels through

the air the hookbait trails close behind it

Steve’s simple bait tips1 If you’re using

double maggots hook one through the thin (head) end and the other through the fat end so the bait spins less on the retrieve and tangles are reduced.

2 Corn is a more selective bait

than maggots. Hook it through the skin at the top. The hook grips it tightly to prevent it flying off on the cast.

3 To catch fish up in the water feed a

pinch of bait every 30-60 seconds, the pitter-patter draws fish high in the water. To get fish feeding on the bottom feed a pouchload every few minutes. The lower frequency attracts fewer small fish so bait has more chance of reaching the bottom.

Feathering the line and casting

accurately helped Mat to this great bag

of bream and carp – his biggest ever

catch by a mile!

Venue fileThis feature was shot at the superb Oaks Pool at Wold Farm Fisheries near the Santa Pod Raceway in Northants For details call 07974 000230 or go to www.woldfarmfisheries.co.uk

WIN10 DAIWA BOXES WORTH £1,500 – TURN THE PAGE

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