I've just spent 2 enjoyable days fishing a private lake in Norfolk that's teeming with rudd - but I failed to catch a 'biggy'. My best was 9oz, though my host had caught them to about 1lb. Actually, I caught quite a few around 9oz, and they were beautiful fish, even though it doesn't sound much. The most obvious problem was finding a bait that the small ones wouldn't take. The best answer seemed to be boilies. I used 10mm ones, but even these would be taken by 6oz fish. My host had used 14mm boilies. I didn't seem to have much luck on these, but maybe I should have persisted.

One issue was whether to float fish on the top or ledger. The surface temperature was 19.5C, whereas the bottom was only 14.5C. Actually it was only the top 2 or 3 feet which were warm. I couldn't see how any sane rudd would be on the bottom in such conditions, so started on the surface. The problem, with that kind of fishing, was how to attract the bigger fish. There was no visible shoal of bigger fish. My host assured me he always caught on the bottom and, sure enough I did catch some - but nothing substantial.

Driving home it occurred to me autumn might be a better time to target big rudd, because it would be more natural for them to be on the bottom - leaving more possibility of selective groundbaiting. But how certain is it, in a lake teeming with fish up to a pound, that bigger fish are there?

My host and I would be grateful for advice from anyone who has succeeded in pulling out some big rudd from a lake teeming with smaller ones.

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John - I'm no Rudd expert at all but I regularly fish a local lake full of stunted tiny to small silver rudd, gudgeon, skimmers, roach and a small population of larger Golden Rudd (my best is about 1.5lbs).

I've never found a bait that the small ones won't take. The only way I found to get the occasional biggie is too fish on the drop with light float tackle, self cocking float, a small light hook and single caster. I then keep throwing in small handfuls of freebies almost constantly - maggots as free baits and caster on the hook. I cast regularly, the large rudd only seem to take the bait on-the-drop and once it's sunk to a static depth I only catch smaller ones. At first I only see small rudd, gugeon, roach and skimmers but eventually (sometimes!) bites will slow and a larger rudd will appear. It takes time though and I probably only catch a large one 1 in 3 sessions.

I've only ever had these fish from close to the surface, in warm summer conditions.

Strangley the lake also contains a sub-population of larger roach which I never catch in summer on any tactic, only in autumn/winter when all the rudd have stopped feeding!

[ 19. May 2004, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: David Johnson ]

Do rudd tend to be closer in to the margins?
On a lake I fish on my club's waters, there are gudgeon, roach, rudd, silver bream, bream that I can catch within a rod length or 2 from the bank on a waggler. What we found was similar to David in that the smaller fish went for the bottom bait after it settled but bigger fish were intercepting on the drop. In fact it seemed the further we fished out the smaller the fish. Closer in by a feature (overhanging trees) the fish were smaller as well but right under our feet the fish were better, not huge but bigger.

Big Rudd are very hard to catch.

My club lakes have a mix of Normal and golden Rudd, from the spring to the autumn you can fire in maggot, caster or small pellet and hoards of them will attack the bait, the water really boils.
Amongst them you can see the bigger rudd.

One thing myself and other members have found is that the Golden rudd are harder to catch than the normal rudd.

To catch them I fish on the drop with NO shot down the line.
I cast further than I need, fire in some loose maggot feed then reel my float among the feed.
Its hit and miss but I have caught the bigger fish in the shoul.

Another method is to use a short rig with a pole or long whip and to drop the bait in front of the fish you are after as it cruises on the surface.

A third method is to use a light ledger with a bit of breadflake on a long hooklength fished under the smaller rudd on the surface.
A pouch full of 4 or 5mm pellets will be chased to the bottom by the rudd, then the bigger ones may spot the bread flake.

Top specimen hunters fishing big lakes and pits for monster rudd stalk them then use a trail of floating casters and cast a small crystal type float in front of a feeding fish.

Have you tried the rubber baits from enterprise tackle? They may well help catch some bigger ones as the small fish cant rip your bait apart.

Rudd,

Totally agree on Golden Rudd being harder to catch than the Silver Rudd. In my lake there are no small Golden Rudd, but hundreds of smaller silver rudd. Does this mean the silver Rudd turn golden as they age and grow? Or are they completely seperate strains? It's odd that you never catch small Golden Rudd on this lake.

One thing is for sure, the Golden Rudd are amongst the most beautiful fish I've ever caught.

David

There are two strains.
I think once a normal rudd starts to mature it turns from silver to the nice darker golden colour.
Golden rudd are a bright golden colour (alot have black spots or lines in places) from when they are small.

Rudd, Interesting thanks, I think these are Golden Rudd, they are bright metallic gold with very blood red fins. They have no spots or lines but are much more vivid gold than the large bronze/gold rudd I've seen (such as the one caught by Bob James in Passion for Angling if you've seen it).

Strangley, although the lake holds huge numbers of small silver rudd, they never seem to grow above a few ounces.