The cold war

Keith Arthur has worked long and hard trying to eradicate the cold from his angling pleasure.

Tight Lines
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Email Keith Arthur Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness some clever poet once wistfully wrote. What they forgot was Flippin' Freezin' Feet! With a huge high pressure system ensconced over us for a few days at least we are going to be 'blessed' with dry, sunny weather over the weekend and for some of us into next week too. But now that dark hours outnumber light, the absence of cloud and its insulating wrap means temperatures drop like the proverbial stone once the sun goes and each morning will see the grass white and crispy. The effect on fish can be quite dramatic and the amount of feed, size of bait and even types of bait need to be looked at carefully, but even allowing for getting all that dead right none of it will add to the enjoyment if our extremities feel like they are dropping off through cold. I hate cold and have worked long and hard to try and eradicate it from my angling. I can actually enjoy cold, dry weather - not too sure about cold wet stuff yet, more of that later. Let's deal with feet first and I am old enough to remember padding my waders out with crumpled newspaper as insulation and standing on polystyrene ceiling tiles so I could cut round them and use as insoles. The problems started when the polystyrene crumbled and I was left with what felt like gravel in my socks all day. The cold numbing them was almost welcome and the tops of my legs didn't feel any warmer for their contact with The Sun rather than the sun, if you get my meaning. 'Multiple socks' was something else that never really worked for me, especially in wellies. The cold always seemed to slip down through to tops and up through the soles, especially the 'steel shank' variety that seemed to be popular. In the 1960s I came across things called 'Barbour Bucklers' made by that famous wax-jacket company. These were designed as sort of mid-calf galoshes that buckled up. I was lucky enough to find a pair huge enough to wear OVER carpet slippers. I used to put on a normal pair of socks, then my slippers (all right, all right, EVERYONE had a pair back then) and then put a pair of 'fisherman's' (as opposed to firemen's) hose over them. Clip the bucklers on and bingo: no more cold feet! Whoever stole them off me did themselves a favour. Everything changed in the late 1970s with 'moon boots'. I actually know the original story: a company bought these yellow coldstore boots from Italy. On first glance they were all one-footed so they were advertised for £1 each rather than by the pair. The first I saw were worn by Ray Mumford, that great southern match angler, who immediately gained the name 'Custard Feet' because of the colour. He had the last laugh though because in my experience of a couple of pairs (green or blue, naturally) since it is IMPOSSIBLE to get cold feet in them. They are now the famous 'Skeetex' boots and have stood the test of time...although I saw some boots this week that I have ordered that could be more suitable for the fishing I do these days. I'll keep you posted once they arrive. Body-wise, I have reached a position now where I think I can keep myself warm in any conditions. My latest thermals, having run the route from Damart to pyjamas, are as worn by top sportsmen. Very clever design and materials wick away any sweat, keeping me dry, which in turn means no evaporation; nature's ice bath. I have only one criticism: having seen some of the leading football and rugby players bearing their undergarments, when I look in the mirror, it isn't quite the same. They seem to have some ridges sewn into theirs where I seem to have a great big lump. It's the area between chest and waist I'm referring to: I'm sure you know where I'm coming from. It even seems to inflict the top of the underpants too! I now ascribe to the 'layers' theory: several light and thin items of clothing are far warmer and more practical that a couple of thick ones. On top of the vest goes a normal polo shirt, then a sweat shirt. On still, dry days I am happy to fish in that. When the wind gets up I have a 'Windstopper' fleece made for me, in Tight Lines livery, by Halkon Hunt Design almost 10 years ago. It is still perfect and works brilliantly. On the lower half I wear a pair of fleecy joggers: not exactly haute couture, but lovely and snugly warm. I always wear waterproof trousers, or bib and brace, over those as a wind and wet barrier. They came with the Windstopper from the same source at the same time and are made in Goretex material. I have looked after them with regular washes (wet CAN invade through mud, groundbait or fish slime - removing it keeps them bone dry) and, like the Windstopper, are still perfect. I have two matching jackets; a short hip-length that I use when sitting and a longer, thigh length when standing on a boat or beach for example. To keep my head warm, and a warm head goes a long way towards a warm body, believe me, I have a faux-fur lined waterproof cap, known as my 'Deputy Dawg' because when the earflaps aren't tied down...you can guess the rest. If it is SERIOUSLY cold, then I wear that over the hood of my sweatshirt. So, the whole body is now warm and snug - except my hands. This is the angling nightmare of course and as a sufferer of 'white finger', cold hands are about the worst thing that can happen. I was told a cure, or more correctly a prevention, several years ago and have used it ever since, particularly in damp conditions: good old Vaseline. On arrival at my angling destination I take a good dollop of petroleum jelly from the pot and spend several minutes massaging it into my hands and fingers. The massage actually promotes circulation and the barrier the jelly puts on works for a few hours at least. If you haven't tried it yet, give it as go. You have to rub it right in, until the greasiness disappears. And finally, some advice I received from a jockey who rode 'work' on the early morning gallops. He told me to try taking Gingko Biloba tablets regularly. I tried them and have taken them ever since. If you take any aspirin for cardiac reasons, check with your doctor first, but for me they work brilliantly. The natural extract of the plant's leaf aids 'peripheral circulation', so blood flows more freely to the bodies' extremities, including hands and feet and it's this which has helped with my white finger I believe. The extremities also include the brain so expect a possible improvement in short-term memory. Now what was I saying about the cold???

Now to your email...

Email Keith Arthur Keith, Any tips on catching open water mullet? I see quite a few over rocks as I drift in a kayak catching small pollack. I just don't know what to do to tempt a mullet... any tips welcome.
Mr JA Symonds KEITH REPLIES: Open-water mullet are just about the most difficult fish to catch I know of. The first problem to overcome is species, because that will decide tactics. There are three species to worry about: thick lipped, thin-lipped and golden grey mullet. The thin-lipped is the most common, the description based on the lip being narrower than the diameter of the eye. Thick-lipped mullet have a smaller eye and thicker lip. The third is the golden grey mullet which is similar to the thin-lipped but has a distinct golden patch on the gill area.The first two can be weaned on to bread, sometimes, by feeding small quantities of mashed bread (not bread groundbait for some weird reason, I've never been able to make that work) uptide and allowing it to drift down to them. They can ignore it for an hour (or ever!) and then suddenly one will eat some and they will all follow suit. I have had most success using a 'sensible' sized hook, 12 or 10, with a SMALL piece of bread. They don't know what hooks are and when they are eating the hook matters not, but bigger pieces of bread allow them to suck it in without the hook. Small bits mean they don't miss the hook! On red-letter days maggots or even sweetcorn can work but I wouldn't bet on either in front of bread. Golden greys are different and the best way to catch those is with tiny spinners baited with a sliver of squid, mackerel or even a small harbour ragworm on each hook of the treble and casting in front on the shoal. They can be caught on fly too, indeed all 3 species can, but use fluffy, bread-looking flies for the greys, along with groundbait, or green wispy flies (like a tiny damsel) if they are close to rocks, so the fly looks like a puff of weed. More fry-like imitations can fool the goldens. If you are thinking of catching one for dinner, make sure you take back-up sandwiches because they are VERY tricky! Hi Keith, I am thinking of entering a fishing match and was wondering if you could give me a few tips. I was thinking of seeing if a small method feeder on the pole would work? What I am interested in, is a basic set up, line length, feeder size, etc. The pond is a snake lake and it's about 13-14m to the central island. Fish are about 1lb but go up to 4-5lb, just to keep you interested (black hydro set slack maybe?). Do I set up quite a short length of line (couple of feet maybe?), do I need a float as it's only about a foot deep on the shelf?
Mike Keith replies: Hi Mike, Although I am not a purist, I would flinch at the method on the pole. It is a means to an end but not, in my mind at least, a pleasant way to pass a Sunday. I would suggest that instead of the method, simply fish a lump of paste with one of those 'Blobs' (fluorescent Styrofoam balls, threaded on the line) as a float. Perfect for shallow water. I'd use 4ft of line in 1ft of water with the blob set 3ins over depth and allowed to drift to set it tight to the paste. The longer line would prevent inadvertently moving the bait, or worse still pulling the hook out. Use a kinder-type pot on the line to ship the paste out. I'd use paste in the conker to small hen's egg size bracket. However, when I say 'I', in fact 'I' probably wouldn't do any of that: I'd floatfish with a small dibber on a longish line, the same 4ft, with the float set 6-8ins over, and loose feed pellets (6mm, carp pellets) with the same banded on a hair rig as hook bait. I'd use 0.16mm line to an 0.14mm hooklink with a couple of no 10 shot at half depth. I would ship the rig out, and push the pole as close as I could to the island, so the rig could lay up the slope. Any bites would then automatically swim away from the island rather than in when I set the hook. I'd catapult feed to give a decent spread but I'd also use a kinder-type cup with a dozen or so pellets each cast. Change hookbait would be 6mm cubes of meat or corn if it's clearish. I'd probably use the equivalent of white hydro, but through 1.5m of pole rather than black through 2.5m. It makes the pole lighter and doesn't allow the fish so much leeway.