ODD’S & SOD’S PAGE

Because the majority of your fishing will probably take place on “The Lad’s Pit” here are a few tips you might find useful.

Our junior pool fishes very well particularly in the summer months and is described in detail in the Club Waters Section of the main site. Fish can be caught on a wide variety of methods. Maggots fished with pole or rod on light tackle can bring very good catches of the smaller species with the odd bonus carp or tench to add excitement (be prepared to give line when if one of these turns upwhen using light tackle). The fish often respond to regular loose feed by coming up in the water where they may be caught by fishing on the drop” or with the float set shallow. These methods tend to produce mixed rudd. Roach and perch catches and sometimes an odd chub to around three pounds. Feeding caster in the margins for a while before fishing over it can be an excellent strategy for the larger species such as tench and carp which can also be targeted by using baits such as corn, meat, bread and worm using hooks between sizes 1and 6. I recommend stepping up your line strength accordingly when looking to catch these bigger fish. Out and out carp fishing calls for big baits on the bottom or surface fishing with baits such as crust pet biscuits or floating pellet. Bread and cereal groundbait is barred on all waters except the river and Heesom's pool.

Most of the youngster’s that are new to the sport of angling usually have a small 6/7 foot rod coupled with an underfilled reel and a few large hooks. They struggle to cast and catch, but nowadays you can purchase a decent 10/12 foot rod coupled with a good reel at a very reasonable price. Usually after visiting “the Lad’s Pit” and seeing the more experienced juniors with poles they go home to their parents and ask them for a pole, they normally end up with a 6 metere telescopic whip which is un-elasticated and the first time they hit one of the pits carp they are smashed. It’s much better to stay with a rod and reel until you become comfortable and competent with your fishing tackle, you will also land more of the fish you hook. Local tackle shops will advise newcomers on what tackle to buy and senior members can usually be relied on to help junior anglers. Remember the Club has a keepnet code and you will also need a landing net (especially if you get one of those carp)

                                     FILLING A SPOOL

A common fault amongst new comers to fishing is to have the spool of their reel filled incorrectly. A correctly filled spool should have line filled to about 1/8th of an inch below the lip of the spool, this helps with distance casting and avoids tangles. Over filling a spool results in birds nests (tangles), whilst underfilling a spool will stop yyou casting any distance. A spool filled correctly with 3 - 4lb breaking strain line should be adequate for most fishing venues. You can use a finer hooklength if required.

P.S To avoid using a lot of line on deep spools, cut pages from a glossy magazine into strips the width of your spool. Then wrap these around the spool, then wrap a few turns of insulation tape or better still use PTFE plumbers tape over the glossy paper. You will use less line and the line you do use will bed nicely into the backing. This tip is especially useful when using braid, it saves you using a backing line.

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