Words and pictures by Carl Bullock;
Should you ask any newly proud parent what it’s like trying to balance work, parenting, husbandly duties and fishing, he will almost certainly tell you that something has to give.
For me I wish it was work, but the pension is just too good to give up. It certainly wouldn’t be the daughter as they grow up far too fast, and I really don’t want to miss her growing up. The wife??? Well, without her there wouldn’t be a daughter, so unfortunately for me the 48 hour weekenders on the bank had to give.
Not a problem, I thought, I’m dedicated enough to throw in a few short overnighters each week, that should be easy.
Well how wrong was I.
It’s almost like a different sport, suddenly there is no more dump your gear in a likely looking swim and spend every daylight hour searching for an individual fish or spots that they are feeding on or, on the bigger waters, maybe just where they are spending there time. There is no more baiting up areas and keeping your eye on them over the weekend, or sneaking up the margin of the bloke next door at first light to check your baited spots. There certainly isn’t any time, or light, for spending a few hours in the best viewing tree with a few cold cans wondering how the hell are you going to get down once you’ve drank them. You can’t heavily bait a spot and sit on it for a few days.
Oh no, this was going to require a completely different approach and, to be completely honest, quite a bit more dedication than I imagined. That’s just a small part of it, the fishing itself. But there is a lot more that comes into it, i.e. pulling your weight at home so that you can leave and fish comfortably, without guilt. There are the excuses and reasons at work why you must leave early or start later the next day. There is a lot of preparation before a session in the evenings leading up to it, or at work during breaks, tying and baiting up hooklinks, because every rod hour is precious.
The hardest bit I’ve found is spending time at the beginning doing some viewing and watercraft, because my chosen water is like many throughout the country, where a lot of the runs come early evening and early morning, so you want to get the rods out as quickly as possible. You know you have to do it to a certain extent, but on some waters location is more important than the fishing itself and, at times, you just have to weigh up the choices and go with your best guess.
If it’s a new water you’re targeting then you will find it very hard to tune in with it, because at the end of the day this comes with time which is what you don’t have. I’m just starting my second season on my current water and only now am I starting to feel comfortable on there.
Luckily for me, I’ve always travelled light regardless of the length of the session. For some of you this will be the biggest culture shock. How can I possibly survive the night without a TV or, I must take at least six spods and four markers just in case. Well, believe it or not, you don’t actually need them all. Neither do you need every possible shape and size of lead or method feeder. You certainly don’t need enough cooking equipment to feed everyone on the lake, or even a chair for that matter. I’ll go more into what I take with me shortly.
That is just a brief cross section of the changes you may come across should you ever find yourself forced into short session chaos. But don’t despair, catching them is possible with a little thought and, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of dedication.
I’ll start with baiting and how I changed my approach. I used to be able to spend a while locating the fish and perhaps where they were feeding, then at the appropriate time fill it in, so to speak. I’d bait up with anything from 2-10kg of either particles or boillies or even a mixture of both, then either sit on it for a few days or leave it for 24 hours before giving it a go. Another approach was to work out patrol routes and set traps, small or large, along these routes. The latter approach may well still work for you on short sessions if you know the water, but the previous ones simply won’t.
If you have the luxury to be local to your water then this is a big advantage. If it’s not such a busy water then that’s even better. What I have found that works for me is baiting up certain spots 24-48 hrs prior to a session. I do this either just before first light or just after dark, to reduce the amount of onlookers finding the spots (it’s amazing how many fish you see showing at these times).
It also pays to bait two or even three swims should your first choice be taken on your arrival, or you find that the fish have moved when you return. You don’t need to use loads of bait, I just use around half a kilo per spot. 2-3 swims and 2-3 spots in each, that’s a maximum of 4.5kg and when you think about it, two 20’s could mop that up.
The other advantage of this style of baiting is that the fish get used to picking it up all over the lake and quite often without the pressure of the lines in the water, giving them more confidence in picking your bait up. With this approach you’ve also got flexibility and you don’t end up losing all confidence when you turn up and someone is sat in your only choice. When it comes to actually fishing over these spots you don’t need a lot of bait at all, maybe just a stringer, small pva bag or a scattering of freebies, as the fish are probably looking for a few leftovers.
If your chosen water is a hungry one then sticking another load of bait out probably won’t hurt, but remember this may well be a feeding period and do you really want to spod your swim for an hour? Just apply some common sense.
Coupled with baiting certain spots is clipping up and marking up of the line. If you use the same spots over and over, it pays to mark each spot on each rod with different coloured bait floss for different swims i.e. swim one with yellow markers, swim two with green and swim three orange etc. Or if you don’t like your lines looking like washing lines then pace the lines out and take a note of the distances.
Throw in some already baited hooklinks that can be clipped on and you’ve just got yourself fishing with minimal fuss and disturbance. No thrashing the water to a foam to clip up or splashing bait everywhere, and all at a time when they are likely to be feeding.
By far my biggest saviour for overnighters is my little bucket, it’s amazing the difference such a small thing can make to getting the rods out quickly. Mine consists of all the things I may need to put the rods out. For example a pot with baiting needles, hook baits, bait stops and scissors & floss etc (you won’t always be able to do this before hand). A pot of pop-ups, some stringers and pva bags ready tied up, the receiver for the alarms, foam nuggets, and spare pva, pre-tied and baited hooklinks etc. Basically, anything you may want to hand when you first arrive at the lake. This saves you having to unload your barrow as it can just hang off one of the handles.
Once you have got the rods in place, you then have to decide whether or not to put the bivvy up, as it’s not always necessary. If the forecast is for clear skies and a sunny morning then leave it packed away, however if you do put it up, think carefully about how many pegs and poles etc, you actually need. If it’s just to keep light rain off and it’s not windy, then you won’t need many at all, probably just enough to keep the main structure in shape. I took one look at the Tracker Pioneer Ultralight Specimen and thought that fits the bill. I certainly wasn’t wrong, it goes up and down in less than one minute and, contrary to popular belief, even though it is a brolly design you don’t need the storm poles for anything less than a stiff breeze. You can even leave the winter skin on permanently.
Bedchair in, kettle on, bits back in the bucket and now your fishing. After a quick rossie lee, you can start packing away again. I know you’ve only just got there, but there will be things out that you don’t really need i.e. spod and marker rods if you used them, unused bait etc. The unhooking mat can go back on the barrow unless you are certain that you are going to need it. The fish can be secured in the net until you ready it and wet it etc. I actually load my mat on the bottom of the barrow to start with so don’t need to take it off unless I catch. With the mat on the bottom of the barrow this doubles up as a chair I just simply remove the ‘v’ rest. If your barrow doesn’t lend itself to becoming a chair then all you need to sit on is a bait bucket, it’s not like you are going to be sitting on it for hours on end. Then there’s always that thing you sleep on, without the bivvy up it’s a panoramic view so you shouldn’t miss anything.
All that is left to do is go to sleep and hopefully catch a fish or two. If the boss actually believes thatyou are still having to drop the wife off on the way to work for the fifth time in as many weeks and you get a late start, then you don’t need to worry too much about this next bit. However, he may well have overheard your boasting in the rest room about catching a right lump whilst packing away last week, and told you to wind your neck in (or words to that effect). So, if this is the case, you may need to do a bit of rushing around in the morning. All of which can be kept to a minimum, which also reduces the chances of spooking them early morning feeders.
Before you go to sleep just double check you have packed everything away that you don’t need, so there is no need for a bivvy table with enough tackle on it to start trading on the bank. You can just use that good old bucket again, (quite handy aren’t they) just leave your receiver, phone and headtorch on there. If you need to re-bait through the night you don’t need to unpack your holdall as everything is to hand in the bucket. I also prep my cup with a tea bag and kettle with enough water ready for a quick cuppa in the morning, the rest of the brew kit gets put away. Bivvy, holdall and bedchair on the barrow, then all that remains is the rods. You can lay these on the deck or reeds so you can keep an eye on the rod tips, or spools, as you pack away the banksticks and buzzers etc. (every second counts at this time of the morning) It is imperative you ensure that the line will depart the reel without dragging the rod in.
All that remains now are the rods themselves and the landing net, pack them away in the holdall throw it on the barrow and you’re ready to go. If it’s quiet enough, without too many prying eyes, you could also introduce more free offerings at this time. If you’re like me and try and squeeze every last minute in, leaving yourself just enough time to get home washed showered etc and into work, then should you catch a fish whilst packing up, everything goes pear shaped! Particularly if it is a good one and you want photos etc. This is when you use the ‘I broke down’ excuse, because that one is best left for emergencies.
All in all it is about making life easier when you get there, try not to over complicate things, by keeping things simple you reduce the risk of confusing yourself and wasting time making decisions. Lighten your load decide what you really need and get rid of the rest, things like spare clothes, spools and things you may need can be left in the car. With things like televisions and generators etc you aren’t going to have much time left to use them. And last but not least apply some common sense with baiting plans.
More importantly though enjoy yourself, you should think yourself lucky to be fishing at all. Get out there and give it a go!
Carl Bullock
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