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How to catch deep-water chasers
You can still catch in deep water using a pole, says Ray Malle
by Angling Times |
Published on17th October 2022 at 3.18pm
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Faced with deep water on a lake or river, most anglers will reach for a feeder, thinking that it’s much easier to deal with 15ft of water this way then using the pole – but they’d be wrong!
Yes, a feeder will still catch fish, but you’ll be missing out on catching in a way that seems to be coming more and more into play on deep venues, and that’s targeting the fish that are what I call ‘chasers.’
These are fish that spend much of the day sat a few feet off bottom but, when presented with a hookbait falling past them, will follow or chase it down to the deck and then take it.
Here's how I catch them...
<strong>Faced with deep water on a lake or river, most anglers will reach for a feeder</strong>
Ring the bell!
I throw my opening balls of feed in. This makes a lot of noise to get fish into the area quickly. It also puts cloud into the water near the bottom. Ten balls go in at the start.
<strong>Ring the bell!</strong>
Make a cloud
I want fish to chase my hookbait down and stay there, and adding damp leam to groundbait will do this. I use 50 per cent leam to 50 per cent mixed groundbait.
<strong>Make a cloud</strong>
Focus the fish
I’ll put next to no particles in my opening balls so I can create a small area to fish over by introducing two more cupped-in balls of groundbait that are rich in feed.
<strong>Focus the fish</strong>
Make the feed visual
There’s one final ingredient in my feed and that’s a handful of Sensas Pastoncino. These are small yellow and red pieces of biscuit that I think bream and skimmers can home in on.
<strong>Make the feed visual</strong>
Start on a light rig
The fish could be at any depth, so using a lighter float is best to begin with. That’s a 1.25g or 1.5g Daiwa Carpa Gloucester, shotted with spread No8 shot down the line.
<strong>Start on a light rig</strong>
Be positive!
If the fish are feeding well or there are lots of little fish above the better ones, it’s time for a heavier float. A 2.5g Colmic Jolly is ideal, allowing me to bomb the bait down.
<strong>Be positive! </strong>
Get on the chasers!
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