tips on winter fishing

[*Ant*]

try your local canal and look for a turning bay. i've had some results with a boilie with the skin cut off along with a small p.v.a bag of Sensas pellets...they break down quickly. try Richworth frozen tuttis aswell... GREAT !

[raz2003]

i have not got a local canal but there is hull drain just down the road and i tried fishing it on satureday and did not have any thig to show for it.

the flow is very fast could you recomend any good rigs for this.

the drain contains:

roach...

perch...

chub....

bream...

eels....

pike....

some carp...

the spesimen that i am after is bream..

[*Ant*]

sorry never tackled a fast drain.

 

if i was after the bream i'd look for any slack water and use an open end feeder with a sweet ground bait and corn with perhaps a few casters or red maggies, with a single grain of corn on the hook.

 

ant

[Newt]

raz2003 - for fast water in cold weather, location, location, location.

 

Most of the fish will prefer any sort of object that breaks the current and gives them a slight bit of slack where they can hover without fighting the current so much. There may be nothing showing on the surface to indicate the underwater rock, root, stump, depression, whatever but they are there.

 

The more even and unobstructed the bottom, the less of a feature the fish will require to find a good spot.

 

My favorite rig for those conditions is a very simple one. Mainline to a swivel. Hooklength of about 2 feet and lighter b/s than the mainline. Above the hook a stop knot. Above the stop knot a bead. Above the bead a flattened weight that can slide on the line. That way if you get a crack off the fish only has the hook length and a small stop knot to deal with.

 

The flattened weight holds the bottom well so can be lighter than other shapes. We have weights over here that simply have a hole thru the center to thread the line on and I really can't see a reason for anything fancier.

 

The hook and bait will be free to float about near the bottom in the current and that is the way most food presents itself in that sort of water.

 

A feeder cage would probably be good to try as well to put a little more nice smell upstream of your bait.