ADVANCED POLE FISHING80

Tactics Hemp Fishing On Lakes

Hemp and tares are a winning, yet underused, bait combination so wejoin seed expert Nick Edwards at Ferry Meadows Lake to find outhow he sets out his stall to catch roach on the pole.

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>>ADVANCED POLE FISHING 81

ANGLER PROFILE

NICKEDWARDSTeam: For hire!Sponsors: NonePole: Daiwa TournamentProfessional 16mLine: 0.09mm main line to a6in hooklength of 0.06mmFloat: 0.6g Sensas KatrinaHook: Size 20 Kamasan B511Shotting: Spread-out bulk positioned at half depthwith three No11 droppers below, the last one justabove the hooklength

FERRY MEADOWSLocation: Peterborough, CambridgeshireDirections: From the M1 Junction 19 take the A14and then the A605 to Peterborough. At Peterboroughget on to the ring road and follow the signs for OrtonWaterville. Then pick up the brown information signsfor Nene Country Park and, once inside the park,follow the signs for the Watersports Centre. When youreach the car park head to the right and park at theend.

Nick was fishing just to the right of the disabledswims, which can be seen from the car parkContact: Ken Wade on 01733 565159Day tickets: Controlled by Peterborough & DistrictAngling Society. Day tickets are £4, season ticketsare £20Bans: None

VENUE FACT FILE

I’ll tell you what, if it wasn’t for the factI’m at Ferry Meadows to do a feature forAPF I wouldn’t have even got my kit out

of the car today! It’s blowing a gale, lookslike it could chuck it down at any momentand the only baits I’ve got with me arehemp and tares. Having just these baitsusually isn’t a problem here because thevenue is solid with roach, but you’dnormally want better conditions beforeconsidering the pole, not to mention hempand tares.

The reason I say this is that presentationwith light rigs is all-important whenfishing these baits, so a strong windcreating waves on the water is far fromideal. However, it’s an experiment that I’mkeen to see through; fishing a lake withhemp and tares isn’t commonly done and,with good weights of roach from the lakerecently, I’m pretty sure that it’ll be anexercise that you’ll find useful thisautumn.

On rivers, hemp and tares is one of thebest combinations for catching roach, buton lakes you’ll rarely see their use outsideof feeding to hold carp on commercials.It’s a shame, really, because roach areroach wherever you go and the sametheories for flowing venues can be easilyapplied to stillwaters.

I’m sitting with the wind blowingstraight into my face, partly because itallows me to hold the pole better but alsobecause I know this bank holds a betterhead of fish. With these baits you need avaried head of fish – the smaller fish willfeed on the hemp, which in turn will bringin the bigger roach that will really go fortares fished on the hook.

These baits really have come of age onceagain over the last few years and it’s now‘fashionable’ to use them. Often, beginnerssee seed fishing as being hard work, but it’sa case of working out where the fish wantto feed, feeding them correctly and havingthe option to catch better quality fish.

I’d go as far as to say that with increasedexposure, especially to hemp, lake roachnow need little of the weaning on to thebait through careful loose feeding that wasonce essential. Also, you don’t necessarilyneed to carry back-up baits like maggotsand pinkies in order to catch – it seemsthere’s never been a better time to starthemp fishing, as you can virtually catchon the seed from the word go!

It will be difficult today, though, becauseof the conditions, and it will definitely behard to tempt those bigger roach intohaving a go because natural presentationwill be hard.

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Tactics Hemp Fishing On Lakes

Fishing seeds is one thing but actuallyknowing the diffference between them isanother. However, you can easily tellwhat is a grain of hemp and what is atare.

Hemp is black or dark brown with ashell that splits when soaked, revealing asmall, soft, white shoot. Basically, itlooks like a small, crunchy snail at firstglance, a likeness many anglers believeis the reason why hemp is so good atcatching fish. Hemp is also very oily, sowhen you feed hemp you’ll see a slick onthe surface. This is very attractive tofish.

Tares, on the other hand, are muchlarger than standard hemp (you can getgiant hemp that looks about the samesize) and are much softer looking,having a deep-brown colour. If youovercook them (ready-prepared, tinnedtares are good for first-timers) the skinbecomes loose and will peel off, and thetares will be very soft and crush easily.This is an ideal bait for large roach thatoften hang off the edge of the feedingarea.

larger seed on the hook compared tothose you’re feeding, as they stand out.

I’ve also got tares to use on the hook asan even larger alternative and with theseI’m happy using the precooked DynamiteBaits variety, which are good quality.Some anglers add bicarbonate of soda totheir tares when cooking, which dyesthem black, but I’ve never found this hasmade much of a difference.

I’m happy to use them in their originaldark red/brown colour. Incidentally, onceyou’re on the bank, keep all your seedscovered in water to prevent them fromdrying out, even in the winter.

Feeding is the area that’s hardest to getright when fishing the seed. You have toget it spot on to reach those roachcompeting for the bait. A question I’moften asked by anglers is, “How do youknow when to cup in the feed and howdo you know when loose feeding will bebest?” The answer is quite simple really: ifmy target weight is low (like on a canal,for example, where a few pounds will do)I’ll always pot in the feed to keep thosefish that are present in one area, makingsure the hook bait is in the right spotevery time. If I’m on for a big weightthen loose feeding is definitely the way togo, making sure there’s always baitfalling through the water column. Thefish will be in more of a frenzy, and justplonking in the rig while catapulting feedwill usually see a bite ever time.

Conditions today really do make mecautious, so potting insome feed and followingthis up with loose-fedhemp is the best option.I’ve also fed about 30 taresat the start.

Another question I’moften asked is whether ornot it’s possible to fishbaits like hemp on morethan one line? To behonest, it’s not somethingI like to do, simplybecause it’s hard enoughto keep the fish feeding onone spot, never mind two!You always need to be ontop of your hemp swimwhere feeding isconcerned, and if you fishtwo lines you’ll have twohemp swims that aren’tbeing fed correctly. It’sdefinitely best to have justone hemp swim that isbeing fed correctly.

The Right BaitQuality bait is vital for catching roach,and although you can buy precookedhempseed and tares, I don’t think they’reas good as home-cooked bait on thehook. This is because they tend to bebrittle and fall apart when hooking. Also,the kernel becomes mushy because it’sbeen soaked for so long, and if you try tohook the bait by pushing the bend of thehook into it (the method I prefer), there’snothing for the hook to grip on. However,it’s ideal for feeding.

Cooking seed isn’t a case of simplyboiling it in a pan and then leaving it –you have to be a bit more of a JamieOliver than that! If I’m fishing on aSaturday I’ll begin by soaking my hempon the Wednesday before I go to workand then cook it on the Thursday.

To cook it you need to bring the waterto a boil and then leave it simmering.Once the seeds have split you can turn offthe heat. I then leave them to soak in thepan for another day, which finishes themoff nicely, and they’re then ready to useon the Saturday. This sort of preparationmight seem a little over the top to someanglers but, if you want the best qualityseed, you have to do it.

I actually prepare two types – one lotfor feeding and a smaller quantity forusing on the hook. The hemp for feedingis Dynamite Baits’ uncooked seed, but forthe hook I use the much bigger SensasGiant hemp. Obviously it pays to use a

ADVANCED POLE FISHING82

Generally, all silver fish will

respond to hemp, both on the

hook and as a feed.

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ADVANCED POLE FISHING84

Tactics Hemp Fishing On Lakes

RigsRig-wise you need to fish as light as theconditions will allow while still beingable to present the bait correctly. I’dnormally fish 0.2g or 0.3g in this type ofswim, which is seven feet deep at eightmetres. Today, though, with this howlingwind, I’ve got to fish much heavier, and0.6g (hemp) and 0.8g (tares) rigs are theminimum I can use. It’s much heavierthan I’d like but if I fished any lighter therig would be blown all over the place.

I’m using bulks of shot spread out onboth my rigs rather than an olivette, andthere’s a good reason for this. Strongwinds like this create an undertow onstillwaters and the strung-out bulk helpsme to pick this up. Today, although thewind is blowing straight into my face,I’ve got an undertow going from left toright. By picking this up it helps toimprove my presentation, makingeverything look more natural.

Floats for these conditions need to bequite bulky and I like pear-shaped ones. Iquite like the Sensas Katrina because it

0.6g SensasKatrina

Pairs ofNo10 shot

spread outfrom half

depth

Size 20 KamasanB511

0.06mmhooklength

WHEN HEMP FISHING,FLOATS BOBBING UPAND DOWN WITH NOCONTROL AREN’T WHATYOU WANT; PRECISIONAND NATURALPRESENTATION ARE KEYTO CATCHING.

WHEN HEMP FISHING,FLOATS BOBBING UPAND DOWN WITH NOCONTROL AREN’T WHATYOU WANT; PRECISIONAND NATURALPRESENTATION ARE KEYTO CATCHING.

“

”

“

”

0.8g SensasKatrina

Spread bulk ofNo10 shot

Size 20 KamasanB511

0.06mmhooklength

0.10mmmain line

0.10mmmain line

No7 Styls spreadbelow shotNo7 Styls spread

below shot

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If this had been a standard match hemp

would never have been on my agenda.

However, today’s experiment has really

paid off and, with magazine editors

breathing down my neck despite the

weather, it’s been fun to find out just how

far you can push hemp on a venue that

isn’t normally associated with seed fishing.

When hemp fishing, floats bobbing up

and down with no control aren’t

what you want; precision and

natural presentation are

key to catching. Toenforce this point, and

because of the roughconditions which have

helped the spread-out

bulk pick up the tow,I’ve fished tares moretoday because theextra weight helpskeep the rig in checkand looking natural.

I’ve had a fairfew skimmersand hybridstoday,whichhas

also been a big surprise, but keeping thefish coming at every put-in has beenhard. I suppose playing it safe with theamount of feed introduced can bedetrimental and, in the end, I’ve had tofeed nearly triple my original estimatethrough the catapult. This clearlyimproved my catch rate – it doubled!

Fishing hemp is not quite a science,but there are key points regarding

presentation that have to beremembered. Fishing it on lakes is

not far removed from thetraditional approach on riversand canals, and as long asspecies such as roach andskimmers are present, it’d be a

shame to overlook this highlyeffective – and fun – way of

catching thisautumn.

actually has two bristles that can beinterchanged to improve visibility. I’musing the thicker of the two today, but ifconditions were more favourable I wouldsimply pull off the thick bristle to leavethe thinner tip underneath visible –brilliant!

For terminal tackle I’m using a size 20Kamasan B511 (the best hemp hookaround, in my opinion) on 0.06mmhooklengths. With such fine tackle, fineelastic is a must. I’m using a Middy 2/3on my 0.6g rig and Middy 2/4 on my0.8g rig. I use light elastics for most ofmy fishing, so many of you may besurprised to hear that I cut my tips rightback so I can fit a large-bore internalbush. The elastic works so much betterwhen you do this and because of that Inever have to use any lubricant. I findthat water does the job for me, and I’dmuch rather lose a few inches of mypole to get the elastic working correctly,than have a pole that’s a few incheslonger with elastic that constantly sticksinside the pole.

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