How to guide - Using the Slider Float

After my recent trip to Shearwater I was contacted to explain how my set up. To be honest this was the first time I had fished the slider in a few years, so I was almost a case of re-teaching myself. The slider is a great method for float fishing deep venues on what could be described as almost normal waggler tactics. Unlike Polaris floats which work on a float/ledger principle, slider float fishing is essentially heavy duty waggler fishing. Once you have cracked it, it is a great method and viable alternative to fishing deep on the pole or short range bomb/feeder work. There are also a few hints and tips which make the whole process of fishing using the slider a whole lot easier.

Trip #70 - Shearwater Lake

I really need to practice other styles of fishing other than pole fishing. It's my first port of call whenever I go to most venues. I find it allows for greater presentation, a concentrated feed area and usually a bit of fun. I also prefer watching a float to watching a tip, but that means that a lot of my other fishing skills have gone to rust. Feeder or straight lead fishing is something I do in the winter or when targeting specific species and conventional waggler fishing is something that rarely gets a look in at all. This has to change, and with reports that Shearwater Lake was putting out big bags of Bream despite the freezing conditions this presented the perfect opportunity to ditch the pole and give rod and line an airing. I find the idea of fishing new venues exciting, and the prospect of a day on the Feeder and Slider float meant I was one giddy kipper going to sleep Friday night – A kid at Christmas comes to mind. It was going to be an early start, but arriving at the lake just before 8, and to be greeted by this view meant I wasn't disappointed.

Trip #69 - Tough times at Somerset's finest.

This was going to be my first coarse fishing outing of 2015. To be honest it was a tossup between going Pike fishing on one of the local(ish) drains or going for a bit of a confidence boost on a commercial. In Somerset I am spoilt for choice for quality venues, The Viaduct, Summerhayes, Trinity, Land's End and Sedges - a lot of which I am yet to fish! I mentally flipped a coin and decided to fish a commercial. Aiming to get up and head for a new venue was my original intention, but not stirring from bed until 8, meant my initial choice of Sedges or Summerhayes was cast aside for a trip to the Viaduct, where I arrived just after half 9. My last trip to this venue was fantastic with F1's and Carp popping up on every put in, so I was hoping for the same. With a match on Campbell and 4 pegs taken out of Cary I chose the Match Lake (again) and opted for peg 45, hoping the fish were in the feeding mood!

Plenty of options on Peg 45

Trip #58 - Duffryn Springs Res Lake

Spring (or is it summer?) seems to have finally arrived and with the promise of Spring, usually brings the promise of Tench. I had already caught a couple on a recent trip to the Viaduct, so I knew they were feeding, but it was now time for me to try and help my father in law Jeff catch his first ever Tench. Duffryn Springs Reservoir lake in South Wales is where we would be heading. This venue had produced plenty of Tench for me, so here's hoping it would stand up to my assurances and do the same for Jeff. I had a very specific peg in mind, and because I knew it as a "flyer", we set off early to make sure we got to the peg first.

 

After paying, driving down to the second car park and heaving our gear down to the lake by 8.30am, we were both surprised to see that we weren't the first people at the lake. Happily enough though, my chosen peg was free, so I showed Jeff where to fish and decided to fish the open water peg to his right. With Jeff on the corner peg, I would be fishing open water. 

Trip #57 - Higher Kingscombe - Lodge Lake

After last week’s trip to this complex I left and immediately wanted to return. The conditions were pretty horrific and despite catching, I knew these lakes had more to offer. Also after a few emails to Dorchester DAS to find out more on the license swap situation I discovered that as an Ilminster AA member I was also allowed to fish Higher Kingscombe Farm’s Lodge Lake. Not that I was shying away from the previous lake, but I was keen to see what the other lakes had to offer, and the with prospect of some "clonking great big roach" as described by Dorchester match secretary Steve Sudworth I was keen to get back out there and give this lake a whirl.

A very comfortable peg on the lodge lake!

Trip #54 - Viaduct Fishery - Match Lake

Everyone in the South West knows about the Viaduct fishery. It's a well established, heavily stocked match fishery with multiple hundreds of pounds required to place in the matches. It regularly features in the Angling Press and has been a Fish'o'mania qualifier and Maver Match This qualifier venue. Clearly this would be the place to go to learn from the big angling names! I found out that on Saturday (12th) there would be 3 matches on, but chatting to a few angling facebookers the night before persuaded me to give it a whirl. With 6 lakes on the complex I called in advance and was assured there would be plenty of room, with at least 2 other lakes open for pleasure fishing. So I set off, slightly later than planned to see what all this Viaduct fuss is about.

A great set up at the Viaduct

Trip #43 – Mathern Mill

After my disaster of a fishing trip to Acorn fishery in Clevedon, my next trip had to be filled with fish to compensate. After a Google search and speaking to some friends I decided to try Mathern Mill. This hugely successful match fishery frequently produces 200lb bags of carp, and as I would be accompanied by one of my friends who was after a “lump” I thought this would be the perfect place to catch some good quality fish. Speaking to my local tackle dealer, he warned me that the main carp lake usually has matches on both weekend days (Saturday and Sunday) and fishing the same lake on Monday might prove tough. There was only one way to find out...

After a slow start this was the third double of the day!

Trip #41 - Woodstock and Morgans Pond – A Tale of 2 halves.

With the weather on the change, I decided that this week’s fishing adventure - again re-introducing Guy to angling, should be spent targeting F1’s and the other species that we had caught previously on Lamby Lake. After a bit of research and a few phone calls, I decided to fish Woodstock, one of Newport Angling Associations’ waters just off Bettws Lane. The lake was heavily stocked with “everything that swims” and seemed to offer a good all round mix of fish without it becoming a glorified stock pond.

All the pegs around Woodstock looked fishy!

Trip #40 – Peterstone Lakes

After reading recently that Peterstone Lakes was fishing well for good mixed bags, I thought it was time that I paid the fishery a visit. The drive to the venue goes very close to the coast, and is surrounded by small waterways which got me thinking about fishing them. A trip involving jungle warfare for another day perhaps. Today I would be fishing with my grandfather (Colin), and together we had decided to fish the pole on one of the smaller match lakes to try to entice out some fish that these lakes held. The Biggest lake on the complex is now part of the Birch Syndicate and although it has previously been a match fishery, it is holds some big carp, and some equally large Pike.

I stayed firmly on the bank after seeing these platforms.

Trip #36 – Tinca Time

2013 has been an up and down year for me (so far), but fishing more regularly meant that I was rattling through the fresh water species list. But one species that had evaded me so far was the Tench! I had thought that, given the current weather conditions and time of year, maybe my chances of catching one were coming close to an end. I knew of a venue which had produced well for me in the past and decided to give it a whirl (especially because if it produced it would be a venue I could take my father in law who has never caught a Tench), and the venue I had chosen to fish was the Reservoir Lake of Duffryn Springs.

The Reservoir Lake is on the bottom left, and I would be fishing the southern corner.

Trip #35 - Lucky Horseshoe

After being incredibly impressed by the quantity and quality of the products sold at Cefn Mably tackle shop, the lakes now had a lot to live up to. I have fished Cefn Mably numerous times in the past, I knew roughly what to expect, but this was my first trip back to the venue after several years of living up North. Not only have substantial changes been made to the tackle shop but also the lakes. Since my last visit, the complex has seen the addition of a few new ponds, and the entire complex is now entirely Coarse fishing where as previously it was Coarse and Trout. I aimed to fish one of the original ponds known as the Horseshoe (using meat and pellets), as I wanted to avoid the suicidal F1 and Koi Carp. I was also hoping that my old favourite peg would be free, although this seemed unlikely as I arrived at the venue at quarter to 11 after a busy morning of wedding planning.

Cefn Mably is stuffed full of skimmers this size or bigger!

Trip #32 – Hendre Lake Trip 2 - Bream Bash(ish)

After last Monday’s trip down to Hendre lake (and my first fishing trip in well over a year) I was very enthusiastic about getting back out there and catching some more fish! Hendre Lake provided me with a great platform to re-master the forgotten basics of waggler and feeder fishing. A quick trip to Garry Evans earlier in the week to gather some intel on the best methods, meant that I left slightly more clued up on the best baits, locations and tactics to use on the lake. Jeff and I decided to get down to the lake for early morning to see if we could target some of the bigger slabs before the sun came out and killed off our chances, and we would also be joined by my Brother (also fishing) and Father (taking the photos).



Plenty of room for the 3 of us fish next to each other on the bank at Hendre Lake.

Trip #31 – Hendre Park Lake

After not wetting a line in over a year, the idea of going fishing to a new venue was an exciting one, but one which also made me feel a bit nervous. The dexterity and sensation of my hands is slowly returning, but nowhere near 100% so this ruled out Pole fishing (my favourite method). After ringing a local tackle store I was told Hendre Lake was fishing really well despite the heat, that it is very accessible and producing good bags of bream on the feeder. I can tie hooks and wind in, feeder fishing would have to do, and it may be a good way to break me back into fishing after a pro-longed dry spell.



Plenty of features to fish too.

Product Review - Mosquito Angling - Speedy Feeder

I was recently asked to field test a new style of inline method feeder made by Yorkshire based Mosquito Angling called the Speedy Feeder. Having a look at them on their website, the design and concept was quite interesting and a new idea on me. I was naturally very interested in trying out this new style feeder. So when a package of them recently arrived I couldn’t wait to get out there and put them through their paces.