It’s just luck isn’t it?

Unless you are fortunate enough to live in a part of the country rich in specimen fishing, you might be hard pushed to find top class specimen fishing locally. It can be very demoralising, looking at the same old faces in the Anglers Mail each week, their grinning mugshot with another huge fish, but behind each fish often lies a tale of hardship and long hours without catching anything. Make no mistake, to compete at the highest level on a regular basis is hard work for most of us (and if your aim is to get your picture in the papers, then you are competing). It doesn’t have to be like this though, and it is all too easy to become caught in a vicious circle whereby a fish is demeaned because it doesn’t measure up to some arbitrary weight. You don’t need to travel hundreds of miles to find good specimen fishing as long as you are willing to set your sights a little lower. After all, catching a specimen fish is all about percentages. If the venue you are fishing contains tench which average five pounds then a six is a specimen. If the average size is eight pounds then a specimen might be a nine. Either way, to catch specimen size fish consistently should be the ultimate goal, not the occasional monster.

It’s just luck isn’t it?

Obviously, there’s an element of luck in all fishing but consistency is the key. If you can adapt to the conditions and catch specimens regularly then you are getting things right. Look through the pages of Anglers Mail on a regular basis and you will see who the consistent anglers are, it is this consistency that you should be trying to emulate. Remember though, that many of us dedicate our lives to the pursuit of specimen fish. I think nothing of driving three hundred miles to a water that is producing, and then staying for anything up to a week in search of the specimens I crave. This is obsessive behaviour, and isn’t to be entered into lightly. People tell me that there are more important things in life than fishing, I’m sure for them there are, but for me, very few things compare, the only things that come higher on my list are my wife and my job, everything else comes in a very poor second.Compared to some, I’m only a part timer – that’s OK, I’ve found my own happy medium and I would urge you to do the same, rather than to believe that you must compete at the very highest level. The most important part of specimen hunting for any species is finding the right venues. How many times has it been said that you can’t catch fish that don’t exist? Yet, still people prefer to stick to easy local venues rather than move on to harder ones containing monsters. Local knowledge is a big help but even if all you have to go on is an ordinance survey map, you can quickly build up a picture of what’s in your local waters. At this time of year fish can be particularly easy to spot. Most species will be preparing to spawn and larger species, like carp and tench can be spotted patrolling the margins at dawn and dusk. Time spent now walking around new waters looking for fish might seem like a waste of time, when you could be fishing but at the end of the day, time spent looking now will reap big rewards in the future. All you need for recce sessions on new waters can be carried in your pockets. A pair of good quality polaroid glasses, a pair of pocket binoculars and a pair of walking boots are all that you require. If you have a poor memory, then a note book might be a good idea but the first sighting of a big fish in a new water is unlikely to be forgotten in a hurry! Most venues won’t give up their fish easily and it can often take several trips before a sighting is made. Try to vary the times that you visit a water. Dawn and dusk are good times as the fish will be active but light conditions are much better later in the day, making fish easier to spot, especially if they are several feet down. So you’ve had a good walk round your local venues and have spotted a few fish but are still not sure about the venue. There is a great deal more that can be learnt than you might imagine. Small rivers are generally the easiest to read. The classic fish holding spots, overhanging vegetation, weed beds and changes in the flow of the water often hold fish. On all venues it’s worth making a note of any well-worn swims, swims with good access or which are particularly easy to fish. All of these areas will tend to see a great deal of angling pressure and are probably best avoided. For the most part, larger specimens will be on guard when in these swims, or even worse, may avoid them altogether. Look for features on the bank, like overhanging trees and areas of inaccessible bank. Most species will be found close in when they are not constantly being disturbed. Look at the shape of the lake. Often features like gravel spits will continue out into the lake. Also, most gravel pits are dug in a single direction so the direction of islands and spits will probably mirror the direction of gravel bars. Diving birds can tell you a lot about what’s going on under the surface. Grebes and cormorants will often work along ledges and bars where small fish congregate. These small fish congregations will also attract predators like perch and pike.

Coots and diving ducks feed on water weeds and small insects. You can get a rough idea of the depth by counting how long the ducks stay underwater. Weed beds and silt pockets attracting concentrations of birds mean food and fish can be found. All this takes time and you must be prepared to spend a considerable period at each water. Get out there and have a good look, you never know what you might find!