Class Room

   The classroom I thought would be a good idea to incorporate in the website as some of the most common problems in fishing and improving your catches are so simple you tend not to give them a thought. I would be the first to agree not all fall into this category some of them not so simple and you need to be shown, others and I'm one of these offenders can't be bothered or it will do. I never gave any of the above much thought till Jen wanted to start fishing, at the time I could not see how something so basic and what seemed to be straight forward for me was so difficult for her (after ruling out she's a woman! So what do you expect )

I'll skip the early stage of her tuition you nowhere you set it all up and put the bait on the hook. Plonk them on a seat put a bit of loose feed in the swim and off they go just pop back to them now and then to undo the umpteen birds nest they have created that bit is simple. The hard bit is when the bird's nests have gone away they get their own bait on, catch fish, and get it in the keep net without chasing it all over the bank after it fell off the hook. Before long you have them sitting in the next peg to you and not on the other pool out the way because now there competent, and you can talk about what your doing to catch fish you don't have to continually tie their hooks on, get the hook out of the keep net and of course they know now there's no such thing as a snow float for winter fishing. Hence the birth of the classroom ware ill explain to you some of the problems I have come across, how to get around them some very obvious others not so. And hopefully, give you some ideas to try. 

Comfortable Fishing With Tommy

Setting your stall out when you get to you peg is as important as putting bait on your hook this I learnt a long time ago when my set up looked more like a car boot sale than a 5 hr competition. I can't remember how many time I would have to get up off my seat to get something I had not got at hand. Just having everything to hand gives you so much more time fishing.

Being comfortable is another major point riddling round on your seat after the first hour is not good for you or the fish especially when your fishing the margin at 2 or 3 sections having the pole over their heads will spook them so you rocking around on a wonky seat or riddling round because you did not get it level is not going to do you any favours, so take the time to get this right as making adjustments  once you have all your accessories on can be a nightmare and not to mention the chance of you breaking something or an item going overboard.

Once we have the seat box and foot plate level I like to put my keep nets in next. As most places we fish now require two keep nets its important you place them to suit you and out the way so you don't get your hooks in them when shipping in and out with the pole, next the bait tray is fitted and a ground bait bowl and loop attached to the front leg so I can move it under my bait tray or move it out, the reason for this I have found is if it rains bait like maggot paste etc can be kept dry by pushing it under the bait table it all so helps when you fish the right-hand margin as you find your bait is too far away from you when trying to lose feed so you can pull the bowl closer to you making it easier to lose feed I also find it helpful in hot weather to keep the sun of the bait. Next is the carryall  I place this right at the back of my box so I can access it with ease. The landing net I like to have siting between the bait table and box for easy reach. Many anglers don't use a bump bar but in windy conditions and venues where it's slow to get bites its a must and will help with the presentation. Though I would say get a good strong one that adjusts easy so you can slide it down to the foot plate should you not need it. Next is a pole sock very important piece of kit as you always know the poles not going to nosedive in the pool when you ship of your top two. For me a pole roost is a must for your spare top two kits, putting them on the floor is a none starter. When you come to pick them up only to find the line stuck in the grass or the wind gets hold of them and blows them everywhere and my favourite one is you get up to answer the call of nature and tread on them. However were to put it so its out the way, and at the same time get easy access to your top two's is tricky and I have found putting it to your right-hand side at a slite angle works well, so as to still have access to get off your seat should you need the call of nature. I also find it a good idea to put my rod holder alongside the roost so no one walks into the top two's stored on the roost, now you should find everything is now at hand. 

Pole feeder fishing with Wayne Swinscoe

I was first introduced to the pole feeder back on my winter league days on the river Sour when the going was really tuff and I have to say a method I don't see used a lot these days the myth of it being used when all else fails is far from true, and its very versatile as well as rivers I have used it on commercial waters and canals. I'll go through some of the plus's you get with it first I have found its a great way to increase your catch rate on carp pools when a lot of bites are being missed or your foul hooking fish on the pole float, switching to the pole feeder can get you a lot more hooked fish and less foul hooking. Its canal use can be devastating if locks keep opening coursing the toe to get to much for your float a quick change to the pole feeder will often bring you a bonus fish you other wise would not have had on the float due to the toe. For the river fisherman its second to none when a still bait is required in fast-moving water or deep water and it's a struggle to get your bait and feed in the same place every time.

Setting up a pole feeder is a simple process just set up the feeder on the pole line as you would on your rod then just attach it to the top of your pole, the trick to getting the feeder in the water is with a cable tie on your pole by putting the line over the cable tie just above the feeder it will enable you to ship the pole out without the feeder dragging in the water then when you get to the point were you want to fish just twist the pole releasing the line off the cable clip. Placing your pole on the spray bar and the butt between your legs just keeping the line tight you will feel the bite through your pole or your elastic will pull out.

Now the technical bits if you are not going to use a pole feeder bite indicator keep the elastic to no bigger than a white hydro otherwise you will not see bites the other problem is larger fish will be tricky to play and land on lighter elastic using the bite indicator enables you to use any elastic you choose as the bite is registered through the indicator elastic and not the pole elastic. A video of the set up is in my video section as for the feeder I find any work though you can buy purpose made ones.  

 Alan Scotthorrne using the AS floats

 With the number of pole floats on the market, its very difficult to find the one for you, read an advertisement and they tell you there's is the best pole float since sliced bread. So now you decide to go to the tackle shop and the man behind the counter will recommend something entirely different and before you know it we have draws of winders with different floats on, that at best some only get used once a year. This is a problem I have come across when starting out fishing commercial waters after my long lay off from fishing. The second being shotting patterns. However after some research on who is using what and where I came up with some floats made by Drennan or should I say Jen did. While at the tackle shop one day these pole floats caught her eye so she brought a couple all ready set up, for me a bit pricy never the less when she first used them they did what it said on the packet, she took it of the winder attached it to her pole and set the depth, put on a maggot and of she went using it as the instruction said and had a good session with it (ok beginners luck) that was not to be she had several good session on this set up. So I took a little more interest in the float rig and tried it for myself and I have to admit for basic maggot fishing it takes some beating on commercial waters were F1s and silvers play a big part of your weight the float is very sensitive the shotting is spot on, the line is of good quality with a sensible hook unlike a lot of ready made up floats. After a few sessions of fishing this float for F1s and silvers I decided to just buy the float on its own and make my own up ( much cheaper) the float is a Drennan AS.3 designed for F1 and silver fishing, it comes in different sizes from 0.2 to 0.5 gram the shotting pattern is spot on if you buy it ready made up, However if you space out the shot more the bait drops through the water a lot slower making it a very versatile float for the maggot, but the great beauty of it ready made up is the shot however often you move it. It does not come loose, also it comes with a spare hook length so changing it is not a problem. When I make them up myself I shot them up with Stotz and not shot as I find they sit more central on the line and they're less likely to come loose. I only us number 10 Stotz and string them out evenly and it works just as well but be warned the float is very sensitive and requires some patience to set up. I find it easier to overshot so the float sinks and then just remove one number 10 Stotz then it should be perfect, always us the same size shot all through and space them evenly If you have any doubt take a look at Jen's winter league results with Breakingstone a/c. Harescombe section Win and a Match Win, Manor farm section Win, Hillview a very good weight when some of us really struggled all on this set up feeding maggot lightly over the top. I'm not saying you're going to be matchman of the year fishing this setup but you will catch fish on still waters using it.

Steve Ringer on bread punch fishing

I'm going explain my thoughts and approach of fishing with the bread. On commercial waters as in the colder months, it can be the only way to catch fish. My number one method will be the pressed bread method this is were you take a slice of bread and put in the microwave for thirty seconds remove it and cut the crust of then roll it out with a rolling pin or something similar so its nice and flat, then cut in half and wrap it in foil to keep fresh for your session. The reason I like this method is it holds on the hook a lot better making it easy to fish on the long pole the other great advantage to this method is if you're waiting long periods of time for your bites it will stay on the hook a lot longer than using it straight from the packet. The rig set up is simple I like to fish it with as little shot as possible near the hook as I want the bread to fall through the water as slow as possible for example if fishing in four foot of water then I put no more than two number nines spread out between the float and hook the rest of the shot ill but directly under the float. moving on to hooks I like to keep it to a size eighteen but this is usually governed by the size of punched bread you are using six mm and above will require a sixteen hook but this is more a trial and error of what you are conformable with. Remember you are fishing the drop so keep lifting and laying the float all the time. As for feeding the swim I will never feed anything at all till I'm certain there is no fish in the swim at this point Ill feed a few dampened micro pellets at a regular rate ill also alter my shot so I have at least two number nines above my hook length then just keep lifting the float about two inches and then lower it again. I have incorporated a video that explains this proses.

Moving on to fishing the bread on the bomb I fish this two ways pressed bread is great as it will stay on the hook when casting long distances but I do find it has a disadvantage in some cases because its pressed it does not fluff up and lies heavy on the bottom So to get out of this ill use a standard piece of bread not steamed rip a piece of a slice of  bread and band it the same way as you would a pellet (don,t be afraid to but large peace in the band)This way you can still cast it a good distance without it coming off the hook and it sits nice and light on the bottom. I fish this method very basic with a free running bomb to a stop, my hook length is anything from twelve inches to a meter long, hook size an eighteen to a 0.17 hook length I don't like to fish bread to light on the bomb as bites can be very violent I start my session by clipping up at a manageable casting distance if I'm in open water and recast every five minutes in a slightly different place than I did before but always at the same distance ( hence clipping up ) Remember at this early stage of your session you are not only looking for bites but also liners as they will give you an idea to ware fish are sitting. Moving on if I have a feature to fish to I will always start short about two meters from the feature and proceed the same as if I was in open water this way if I'm fortunate to catch on this line it gives the fish some ware to back off to and I still have the option of fishing right up to the future later in the session.