Turning the tide tables

The Young Angler of the Month final has a special place in Keith's heart as the tide times thwart his own fishing attempts.

I had one of my favourite days of the entire year at the end of last week: the special Young Angler of the Month final which Drennan International lay on for the monthly 'winners' at Willow Park. We were delighted to be able to entertain all nine 'champions', even the three winners from Dublin: Dave and 'Anto' (who is a genuine character) and Alan. They were 'coached' for the day by a team of England internationals in the ways of pole fishing on the prolific Small Lake at Willow. There were some superb fish caught, including at least two carp over 10lbs. The youngsters really adapted to the techniques shown to them by the 'pros' and it wasn't long before they were all fishing themselves and catching loads of fish to boot. The internationals are VERY competitive and want nothing more than for their young angler to do better than anyone else's. Des Shipp in particular likes to win - in the nicest possible way of course - and at one stage he had Olivia, his Young Angler, Daniel, his son and Steve Hemingray's son all catching fish destined for the Des Shipp keepnet. He was the most disappointed angler on the bank when a decision was made that a catch shot - and the customary weigh-in - wouldn't be taking place. The sun shone, the fish bit, the youngsters smiled and a great day was had by all and you can see the resulting film on Tight Lines next Friday, 24th August. My own attempts to get out there on the bank have been thwarted by tide times on my local River Thames, just at a time when river and weather conditions are close to ideal. My good pal John Gard had a trip to the river a couple of days ago chasing the carp that inhabit the river between Teddington and Richmond locks. He had one, a lovely common carp weighing a little over 15lb but disaster struck when what felt like a VERY big fish fell off. John tries to avoid the hordes of bream by using two 18mm boilies on a long hair rig and it was almost certainly this that caused the loss of the fish: the hair had wrapped over the hook, masking the hookpoint. Although John is a far more experienced carp angler than I, he even has his story in Terry Hearn's first book: "In Pursuit of the Largest" of the day he caught the then Tidal Thames record carp, a 37lb 4oz mirror, I had read a piece in Terry's NEW book, "Still Searching" about rig construction. Terry has adapted his bait presentation by using a piece of silicone tubing, similar to pole float rubber, to trap the hair on the very bottom of the hook's bend. This presents the bait almost underneath the hook point and ensures a clean penetration. This tactic refers to bottom baits of course, as against pop-ups, which are better coming off the shank of the hook, tipping the point at an angle creating almost a bent-hook effect. Another thing that most top carp anglers in general and Terry Hearn in particular, demand is sharp hooks. Not just hooks that go into your finger, but hooks with points sharp enough to NOT run over a fingernail. They want them to catch. Because much carp rig development involves the carp being hooked by pulling against either a tight line or a heavy lead, the sharper the hook the greater the chance of success. It has to be remembered that people like Terry Hearn will often spend an entire season chasing a single fish - not every hour of every day, or every session, but the season overall - imagine if that fish takes your bait and the hook isn't sharp enough to penetrate properly and the chance is lost. There is little doubt that the quality of hooks available these days, especially the quality of specialist hooks, is so much better than it used to be. Chemical sharpening, tempering and grades of steel make today's hooks almost unrecognisable to those of 20 years ago. Some hooks are even teflon coated, which has two major benefits: first it aids penetration and second gives the hooks a matt finish, reducing glare; unimportant maybe in 2 metres of murky water, but in a shallow margin in bright sunlight a shiny hook could flash and reflect, and there is little in the natural diet of carp or any other non-predatory fish that flashes. In real terms hooks are still probably the least expensive component of the rigs we use so be fussy, check each packet you buy and settle only for the best. I am hoping to have Terry Hearn in the Tight Lines studio very soon: not only is he a brilliant carp angler, I believe he is one of the greatest anglers of his generation and he will prove that in the bothy. Now let's take a look at your questions this week...

Rigging the pellet

Hi Keith, Could you please explain the best method for hair rigging a pellet. I have fished using a band with the pellet directly underneath the hook, but have heard that sometimes leaving a gap between hook and pellet works better. Thank you, Kevin.
Kevin Tull
KEITH REPLIES: Hello Kevin, Up until last week I was a firm believer in the band on hook' method, especially float fishing, but Steve Ringer told me that without question hair-rigging the band is more effective, especially where fish are regularly caught on hard pellets fished shallow on the float. For legering, or feeder fishing, I invariably use a band on a hair rig. I'll deal with the bands first, then the method. I have found that the new Drennan Pellet Bands and the Gardner Pellet Bands to be excellent. Some brands use material that is affected by the oils in pellets: this is not the case for these two. There could well be others, but I can vouch personally for the Gardner's and Drennan's. I use the smallest size of both: they will easily hold an 11mm pellet. If you use eyed hooks, and the knotless knot, simply tie the band to the end of the line using a grinner knot, then tie your knotless knot with the band set at approximately 10mm from the hook. I like to have the pellet hanging DIRECTLY under the centre of the hook so I use a small piece of pole float silicone over the hair on the hook to hold it in place. If you use spade end hooks, tie the band on a separate piece of line and then tie it to the bottom of the hook's bend once the hook is tied to the line. How you fix the pellet to the band is up to you: I usually drill my pellets and use a mini baiting needle to pull the band into the pellet, but if you prefer you can simply pull the band over the pellet. If you want to be 100% perfectionist, use a junior hacksaw blade to cut a groove round the centre of each pellet so the band is recessed. That's for people with too much time, ha ha.

Canada calling

Hi Keith, Can you please help me out and tell what reel to use on a fox sea trek spin rod? It is the 9ft 6" rod and cast 40 -100 grams. I am off to London in Canada were my boy lives and there is a big lakevery close by, will this rod be ok to take over and what fish might I catch? Will I need to take some plugs over with me what do you think might be the best to take? I hope you can help me out.
Many Thanks, Chris Mannig
KEITH REPLIES: Hi Chris, First of all, unless you have a great stock of lures and little luggage to fill your allowance, I suggest you buy your lures in Canada: they will be way cheaper than here, maybe $ = £ equivalent! I have asked around and believe it or not the River Thames is nearby and holds carp, pike, walleye (zander) and probably perch (white perch they'll call them, and the pike may be called 'northerns' locally). Usually the carp are commons, unfished for and will eat corn until they can eat no more.They are relatively slim by comparison and fight like crazy. Look for them around any cover (like in the UK) especially marinas or anywhere they can get a free lunch.The other species will all take lures of one kind or another, obviously much depends on size. The locals will be more into 'rubber' baits than over here, where jigs are still little used. They also don't bother with wire traces much as most fish will have the lure in their mouth rather than the line. I think you are in for a great time, but one word of caution: there have been lots of fish deaths in the Ottawa area caused by a bacteria. Whether it has been contained or not I don't know, but it is mostly in the Kawartha Lakes region. I have advised people through my Angling Times column NOT to take nets or unhooking mats, but to buy them out there and leave them behind when returning home. As a percentage cost of the trip they will be minimal, Wal Mart will see to that!

Proof of payment

Hi Keith, Could you tell me whether the Environment agency would accept a photo copy as proof of payment? The reason being is that I have three different boxes i.e.: match, pike and fly and a couple of wet suits. Of course on occasions I forget my licence and leave it in one of the other boxes so I have photo copy in each box obviously with other identification i.e.: photo driving licence which I have on me at all times thanks for your time.
Peter Smith
KEITH REPLIES : Hi Peter, A photo copy and other POI is a very good idea and most fisheries officers will accept it. EA Fisheries Officers usually carry a small computer-thing with them that they can access the EA database from, so your postcode and a proof of identity will suffice, although a really pernickety one may insist on you sending the genuine licence for inspection, when they will promptly lose it and charge you a fiver for a replacement. I'm not kidding! I actually carry my original licence in a little pouch along with my Leatherman, a small torch, spare glasses and chewing gum, which goes fishing with me wherever I go. I have licences in there dating back about 15 years, although I have handed over the odd one as keepsakes for people.