Making the most of an ‘average’ draw is what sets good anglers apart from the field. Steve’s had a plethora of these, so how and why does he always catch?

We'd all like to draw fliers every week, but in reality that doesn’t happen. However, the difference between good anglers and the chasing pack is turning an average draw into a framing peg or even a match winner. This is all down to making the right decisions, at the right time. Today I’ve chosen a peg on Pool Four at Roy Marlow’s Glebe complex to explain the thinking behind my typical five-hour match plan in winter.
The Glebe holds a large head of fish and at the moment weights of around 60lb have been winning the matches. So, straightaway I have a target weight to aim for. This is important because without a target weight it’s difficult to devise a plan. The obvious way of catching the required weight is to target carp.
But, although carp may well form part of the weight, what happens if they don’t feed? Most commercial waters have a large head of silver fish and at this time of year they can be a godsend.
On a lot of waters carp tend to feed in bursts, usually early in a match then possibly again in the warmest part of day. Are you one of those anglers who will sit there in those dead periods and hope the occasional one opens its mouth, or do you try and keep your weight ticking along with other species? I'm the latter angler.
Having surveyed the peg and plumbed around it’s clear there are two distinct shelves in the swim. One is around five metres out and the other is the same on the far bank, which is around 40 yards away. In between the shelves the bottom is basically flat, with a depth of around six feet. Normally I’d set a line up for the bottom of this near shelf, but the water is very clear and only 3.1°C. As a result I can’t see me being able to catch any amount of fish close in. I’ve decided to fish two lines on the pole, one at 13 metres and one at 16 metres. The closer one is my silver-fish line because they’ll feed closer to the bank than the carp, which tend to back off at the first sign of disturbance.
Normally I would want my silver-fish line to be as close as possible, to make it worthwhile going for silvers. The 16m line is an out-and-out carp line, although, with the temperatures being so low, if this swim is going to come to life it will be late on in the match, probably in the last 30 minutes.
The other advantage is that carp tend to sit off the feed at this time of year, so by feeding it relatively close to the silver-fish line, any passing carp might stop and have a look.
The last area I’ll target is somewhere across towards the far bank, on a straight lead set-up. Casting around to find the fish at this time of year is the best way of locating them.

Tackle
As for tackle, the straight lead set-up consists of a size 14 Preston PR27 hook to 0.18mm Shimano Antares Silk Shock hooklength with a hair rig. The tail is around 21/2 feet.
The carp-pole rig for fishing 16 metres consists of a 0.3g Mick Wilkinson Diamond float, with a bulk of No10 shot 18 inches from the size 18 Kamasan B911 hook. Line is 0.14mm Silk Shock fished straight through.
For the silver-fish rig, I'm using a 4x14 KC Carpa Tricky float, with a bulk of No10 shot situated two feet from a size 20 Kamasan B911 hook. There are four No9 Styls spread evenly between the hook and bulk. Main line is 0.12mm Antares Silk Shock and the hooklength is 0.10mm. This rig is fished at dead depth to try and pick fish up on the drop, and once the bait has settled. Silver fish, especially skimmers, often like a bit of movement in the bait. The light rig helps to accentuate the tow.
The other pole rig I’ve set up for the silver-fish line is a slightly heavier 4x16 KC Carpa Tricky float with a bulk of No10 shot a foot away from the hook and two No9 Styls as droppers. The hook and line is the same as the previous rig. This rig gets the bait down quicker than the lighter rig. I’ve also set it a couple of inches overdepth to hold the bait still and pick up some better-quality fish.
Now, you may think I’ve just contradicted myself by saying that movement can be vital, then saying a stationary bait might pick me out some better fish. But, every day is different and I’m making sure I’ve got my options covered.
The carp rig has a No12 Colmic latex and the silver rigs both feature No10 latex through two sections. A No10 elastic may seem excessive for silver fish at this time of year, but there’s a chance of a carp.
Latex is very forgiving and I rarely bump fish. Also, remember, I'm targeting weight-building fish, not 1oz and 2oz ‘pairs of eyes’.
Bait is the next consideration and, again, I like to have my options covered. I bring 11/2 pints of casters, some maggots and pinkies, groundbait, corn, hook pellets and some change baits for the straight lead. This may seem like a lot, but when I fish for roach and skimmers I always fish positively. If I can’t catch silvers in any number they aren’t worth targeting.

Groundbait
My groundbait for today is a 50/50 mix of Ringers Bag-Up Mix and Van den Eynde Expander Gold. The fishmeal-based groundbait is ideal for skimmers, they love the stuff. Fishmeal groundbaits also attract plenty of roach on commercials. Some days you can’t stop catching roach on pellets – backwards or what?
I’ve also brought a selection of pellets to fish for the skimmers. They love soft baits and if they really get their heads down on the groundbait this can be the only way of catching them. Here at The Glebe you can’t feed expanders, but they’re well worth a go on the hook. This rule applies for other waters that ban pellets as feed but allow them as hook bait. I’ve also got some corn with me. The larger skimmers in here love it and it’s my number-one winter carp bait, I won’t leave home without it.
I’ve brought some pop-up boilies with me too, which may seem like an odd bait choice, but carp rarely sit on the deck in the winter. I can fish these pop-ups anywhere from an inch off the bottom all the way up to the surface, allowing me to search the water.

First Hour
I’ve started by potting in two large balls of groundbait full of casters on the 13m line. I’ve also fed around 30 grains of corn on the 16m line.
To begin a match I’ll always feed my pole lines and spend at least the first 30 minutes on the straight lead. Due to the water clarity, I’m starting two thirds of the way across the lake, around 25 to 30 yards away, in the deeper water. My hook bait is three pieces of hair-rigged corn. In these conditions I’m a big believer in giving them a bait they can see. All the time I'm on the lead I’ll feed the silver-fish pole line with 20 to 30 casters every few minutes. There are no signs at all on the lead after 10 minutes, which is worrying, although not altogether surprising. I’m tempted to recast further across, so as to cover more water, but casting too often will only spook fish, so I’ll leave it for 15 minutes before I recast.
After 12 minutes the rod flew round. Normally, bites are slow at this time of year, but this one obviously hasn’t read the rule book. Three minutes later a 10lb mirror is in the net. I have a couple more casts and no more bites or indications are forthcoming – the carp obviously aren’t moving around.
After a cast five yards further over at the bottom of the far shelf, and leaving the bait in for 10 minutes, carp number two heads for the keepnet. This one’s smaller at around 6lb. After an hour I’ve got around 16lb in the net and all the time I’ve been loose feeding the silver-fish line with casters. I’ve not topped up the longer, corn line.

Second Hour
Although I’ve only had two bites the fish have been a good average size, although the lack of liners concerns me. Both bites have come after 10 minutes of the bait hitting the bottom. I always time how long each cast lasts before I get a bite, you'd be amazed how often you can work out a routine from it. Some days all your bites seem to come within two minutes of the bait going in and on other days, like today, the longer the bait is out there the more likely it is to be picked up by a fish. In the next half an hour no more bites result and if this was a match I’d be keeping an eye on what’s going on around me. If it seemed the carp had shut up shop, I’d think about making a switch.
It’s time to look on the pole. After 11/2 hours I have my first look for silvers on the 13m line, with single caster on the hook.
I’m a big believer in casters sorting out the better fish and, as I’ve said before, I like to fish the same bait on the hook that I’m feeding.
It seems there are a lot of fish there but they aren’t having it properly. I move the bulk closer to the hook on the light rig to try and give me a more positive indication.
This seems to work and the first fish is a skimmer of around 6oz and is followed in the next 10 minutes by around six similar fish in the 3oz to 6oz bracket. I’m not bagging, but when you work it out I’m probably putting 2lb in the net every 20 minutes. That means, in effect, I can put the equivalent weight of a carp in the net every 40 minutes and if this was a match, and no carp were being caught, this would allow me to sneak ahead while keeping an eye on what the other anglers were doing. The rest of the second hour continues with mainly skimmers and the odd roach, with around 4lb being added in the remaining 30 minutes.

Third Hour
Having made the decision to stick with the skimmers, I’m now into a rhythm. I’ve switched to the heavier rig and have more of the bristle showing – that’s sorted them out. I can see my bites very positively now. The only worry is that the skimmers are thinning out and more and more roach are appearing. Due to this I’ve decided to feed another two balls and come off that line. I’ve also decided to cup in another 20 grains of corn on the 16m line because, with the amount of small fish present, I’m sure some of the corn will have been eaten.
All this time I’m loose feeding, but as there are clearly loads of fish there I’ve upped my feed in an attempt to keep the fish down, as there were a lot of small roach starting to make life difficult up in the water. A quick look on the 16m line brings nothing. If there’s a carp there you will get an indication or a bite fairly quickly, so I come off that line after a couple of minutes. I’m going to have a look on the lead. Due to the fact there’s been no disturbance by me repeatedly casting, it’s possible that a few carp will have settled there. Three carp in three casts prove it was the right decision. If I had kept casting in all the time I might not have had those three fish because they wouldn’t have settled. All three bites have come around the 10-minute mark and the last one came from tight over in the shallow water, which just shows that, even though it’s freezing cold, the fish aren’t all sitting in the deep water. That’s the beauty of the straight lead. You can cast it around the swim without overfeeding any area. After this short burst of activity no more bites have been forthcoming.

Fourth Hour
I’m sticking with the lead for the time being, especially as all of a sudden I’m getting the odd liner. A frustrating half hour leaves me biteless. Getting liners is not always a good sign, but it means there are fish in the swim and they’re moving about.
Something that has worked for me when I’m getting liners but no bites is a pop-up boilie. A quick cast on a fluoro pink bait, popped up two feet, sees another carp in the net. Despite more liners I can’t get another bite after this fish and I now have a decision to make.
If it was a match I’d be looking at what’s going on around me and that would influence my next plan of action.
I’m going to assume everyone is quiet and have another look at the silver line. It’s solid and I'm catching a skimmer or roach every put-in.
The stamp has gone back up and a 1lb-plus perch has also put in an appearance, which is always a bonus. Coming into the last hour the silver-fish line is getting better and better. Due to the cold weather, the best chance of carp may have gone. At this time of year, the best time of day to catch carp is between 1pm and 2pm, simply because it tends to be the warmest period. Having said that, the last 10 minutes of a match, when the light fades, often lead to a bonus carp.

Fifth Hour
I’ve topped up again with groundbait because the roach started to appear. The skimmers return immediately and are the ideal stamp, they’re four to the lb, if not bigger. With half an hour to go it’s a fish a chuck and I’ve decided to feed 10 or so grains of corn on the long line, but stay with the skimmers for the next 10 minutes. I’ve tried double caster briefly, but the fish were no bigger and I struggled to hit the bites. Pellets have had the same effect. It’s important to try different baits, but keep things in perspective. Back to single caster and I'm catching a skimmer every put-in. Unless the hook was buried in the caster it took a lot longer to get a bite – interesting don’t you think?
With 15 minutes to go it’s time to gamble and a quick look on the 16m line produces a few knocks and taps and one small skimmer.
I spend the final 10 minutes of the session looking for a last-ditch carp on the lead. The 10 minutes fly by without a sign and I wish I’d stayed on the skimmer line. Hindsight is a wonderful thing as they say. I thought that as the light faded I’d get another carp, but it wasn’t to be.

Conclusion
Considering the conditions, I’m well pleased with six big carp and more than 20lb of silvers. I’ve been fortunate because the carp have been a good stamp.
If I could fish this same session again I would definitely have an even heavier silver-fish rig set-up. I would have tried to bring the skimmers closer, because there were loads of fish there and I think by gradually feeding shorter I could have increased my catch rate significantly.
One thing I will stress is that unless the silver-fish line had been very productive I wouldn’t have stuck with it for long. You have to be able to build a weight to make it worthwhile. It’s no good getting an odd bite or two. You need a bite a cast, otherwise your not making up enough weight to cover any carp that are caught. This is why I fish so positively for the silvers.
From a carp point of view it was difficult. I’m surprised I never caught one on the long pole, but I feel I gave myself every chance. All in all I combined the two lines well and kept my weight ticking over. I could have just sat there hoping for a carp, which may never have come.
It’s all about making the right decisions at the right time and unless you’re on a flyer, the chances are you won’t catch carp all day long. With a bit of luck this will get you thinking about how you can get the best from your peg on commercials at this time of year. It isn’t all about carp, carp, carp!



This article appeared in the March 2005 issue of Match Fishing magazine.