THE way we fish for skimmers has changed radically. Rather than fishing with the bait lying on the lakebed over a good helping of groundbait, catching them up in the water is now the name of the game!
Here's how I do it...
Use groundbait
Two balls of a mix of Van Den Eynde Gold Pro Bream and Black Turbo holding micro pellets and dead maggots are enough to begin with.
Give it some time
On some days it can take a while to catch. Keep feeding positively every time you drop the rig in, otherwise you’re unllikely to succeed.
Dead maggots rule
Small fish aren’t fans of dead maggots, maybe because they don’t move. My favourite hookbait for skimmers is two dead fluoro pink maggots.
Think about floats
A DT Floats BN Nevis is ideal in the 1.5g size for fishing near the bottom, with a much smaller 0.6g float for when the fish move up in the water.
Fish a big hook
Fish up in the water have little time to inspect the bait, so you can get away with bigger baits and hooks. A size 18 Browning Sphere Match is about right.
Set the hook
For striking in 10ft of water I use a grade 5-7 hollow elastic, the 1.5mm Orange Browning Microbore. This has enough power to drive the hook home.
