CATCHING tench, barbel, chub, perch, big eels and even carp from rivers has never been easier than it is today.
Match results on venues such as the Warwickshire Avon at Evesham and my local River Soar confirm what an impact big fish are now making.
On many of these waters chopped worm has become a must-have tactic in your approach, catching every fish that swims in rivers. It has the knack of picking out the better fish while still allowing you to catch the smaller ones.
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Here's six of my best tips for this devastating tactic...
Start with Dendras
For perch I’ll begin feeding with a couple of small bait droppers of roughly-chopped dendra worms – no casters.
Fish worm halves
My top offering on a size 14 hook is two halves of dendra, much easier for a perch to engulf than a whole one.
Fish sensible lines
Middy Lo-Viz in 0.14mm goes on my heavier worm rig, 0.12mm with an 0.10mm hooklength for caster fishing.
Choice of floats
I’ll start on a 1.5g float, changing to a 0.8g rig with a more refined shotting pattern when bites slow down.
Get on the casters!
When bites fade, I’ll loosefeed casters and fish two on the hook on the lighter rig, giving me the chance of some roach.
Fish close to cover
My target area is a clear area at the bottom of the near slope in the main depth of the river at around 5m to 6m out.
