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How to Fish Deep Snake Lakes

England’s Des Shipp explains how to unlock the margins on snake lakes

by Angling Times |

Published on30th April 2021 at 5.20pm

The majority of snake lakes are fairly uniform in terms of the contours under the water, typically made up of a deep central channel and shallow ledges close in and right across – but there are some exceptions.

Taking on a snake swim that’s got 4ft-plus of water tight to the far bank presents a lot of challenges. Here's how to overcome them...

Use a heavier float

You need the bait to get down fast but also have enough weight to hold back against, keeping a tight line. A 4x16 Carp Shallow is perfect.

Use a heavier float

Feed bigger pellets

Micro pellets sink too slowly. Use bigger, heavier pellets, namely wetted 4mm hard pellets fed via a small pot each drop in. These get down fast.

Feed bigger pellets

Bulk-shot your rig

There’s no point in trying to catch fish on the drop, so the shotting pattern needs to be quite crude, just a bulk of shot 1ins above the hooklength.

Bulk-shot your rig

Fish soft elastic

Although I’m fishing positively, I don’t want to drag the fish in quickly. A soft elastic such as the 13 grade Dura Slip Hybrid is ideal for fish from 1lb to 5lb.

Fish soft elastic

Search the swim

It’s still a little bit cold, so the fish aren’t always going to stay in one spot. If I stop getting bites, I’ll add a half extension and start a new line.

Search the swim

Try groundbait

Groundbait plays a part in deep water, fed as nuggets. When the swim fades, I’ll pop in a little ball of Thatcher’s Green and fish dead maggots.

Try groundbait

Use these tips on your local snake lake and catch nets like this!

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