Coarse fish require fats as part of a balanced diet, and these dietary components provide fish with important nutrients. Trout need a diet far richer in fats than coarse fish which – typically – require only 7-8% as adults and slightly more as juveniles.
Many fats and oils are highly palatable to fish, which may consume far greater quantities than they actually require, but this can lead to problems which can have adverse consequences on fish health. For example, excess fats can be stored in several parts of the body, impairing the correct functioning of vital organs.
The passage of excessive quantities of fats and oils through the intestine also compromises the immune system of fish, leaving fish open to infections that – ordinarily – they would be capable of combating. This can lead to bacterial infections, in particular, which can cause premature death.
It is not just the quantity of fats which can jeopardise fish health; their quality is also important. Fats and oils become rancid when they become oxidised, and this is of particular importance with oils containing unsaturated fatty acids. The changes take place through exposure to oxygen, light and heat, and they can induce specific ailments in fish.
The use of fats and oils in baits and groundbaits is perfectly safe for fish providing they are used in moderation and are of high quality. If fish consume large quantities of bait, the oil and fat content should be low to avoid adverse health implications.
Quality control at manufacture should be matched by frequent stock rotation and rapid through-put, with bait stored in cool, dark conditions to maintain its quality. The use by anglers of fish oils left in light, warm conditions for months or even years can, quite literally, be a recipe for disaster for the fish that eat them!
It is fact that Marukyu is a world leader in bait design and manufacture, employing stringent quality-control systems to ensure that its bait is made from the best ingredients. Raw materials are sourced from trusted suppliers and assessed in the company’s laboratory to determine and pinpoint key quality factors before shipment. It means that anglers can be assured that their baits are of high and uniform quality, as well as ensuring that they are highly attractive and healthy for fish. |
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Now that winter has arrived and water temperatures are dropping, the amount of food that fish require also declines. Under most cold-water conditions, fish will be eating very little and merely snacking to keep themselves going.
In addition, they will be far less active than in summer, and baiting and fishing one spot in the expectation that fish will soon arrive can be a misguided tactic; finding where the fish might be greatly increases your chances of catching a few. And fish definitely respond to and select areas of warmer water in winter, even if the temperature difference is miniscule. Rather than being scattered and active around the fishery, fish can shoal quite tightly in these warm spots during the cooler months.
The old adage that ‘deeper is best’ for winter fishing is not particularly helpful. Water is at its most dense at 4ºC, and water colder than that will lie above the densest layers (one of the reasons why ice floats). However, warmer water can also lie above the four degree water when the water column separates into distinct temperature layers - known as ‘thermal stratification’.
Although the tactic goes against the grain for many people, fishing a bait off bottom can put it in the warmer water layer. This might entail setting your float so that the bait is suspended off bottom or using pop-ups or buoyant baits if legering. Some degree of trial and error many be required to find the right depth, of course.
Areas where springs or other forms of ground water enter are also going to be warm spots – underground water is often at about 10ºC – and the entry points of feeder streams are often productive fishing areas during and immediately following wet (and, usually, warmer) weather.
Dense snags, such as fallen, submerged trees, can also harbour large numbers of fish in winter. Fish are attracted to such areas of cover probably through a sense of security against predators, notably cormorants.
Top Tip
If you are familiar with your lake venue, try fishing into or alongside the areas where, in summer, there were water-lily beds. They can also be winter hotspots, maybe because they are very slightly warmer than open water areas.
Try soft baits when the going gets tough, a big bunch of dead krilled maggots will often produce a specimen fish. |
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Now that the equinox has come and gone and the first, early frosts will be with us any day, the weather has the feel of autumn. Fish should still be feeding well, laying down food reserves that will see them through the winter ahead, and the fishing should be excellent.
Good through autumn catches can be, there is one factor that bedevils sport over the next few weeks… leaves. The collection of leaves in fisheries is not just from the bankside trees; leaves that fall over a wider area can be blown across the ground onto the water surface. Before they sink, which may take several weeks, they tend to be blown to and fro across stillwaters, although it is easy enough to avoid them; on rivers, the flotillas of leaves can be a pain in the neck when legering or feeder fishing, especially when fishing fine. This can be exacerbated by weed drifting downstream after being uprooted by flood water.
The two, opposite approaches which are adopted, depending on the river and the fish being sought, are to (i) sink most of all of the line (and even the rod top) to keep it below the leaves, and to (ii) keep the rod high and, if necessary, use a sliding stop knot so that it sits just below the point at which line enters the water. This helps prevent leaves or weed sliding down the line and fouling the terminal gear.
Successful bait application on both still and running water will probably need to be more subtle that earlier in the year, especially if the fish have been subject to angling pressure during the summer. Groundbaits that attract but not feed fish - delivered by hand, catapult or feeder – should be matched with smaller hooks and hookbaits, and finer lines. The exceptions to this approach occur during river floods, when big, smelly baits can be highly successful as fish lose some of their natural caution and feed eagerly.
Top Tip
On both stillwater and rivers, don’t ignore floating leaf rafts that have accumulated in corners or against snags. Fish will often use this temporary cover, making location easy.
Top Baits
Glug your baits with Marukyu SFA 430 this Sanagi and Crayfish liquid contains 14 amino acids and two triggers that all species will respond to.
Also it is PVA friendly yet contains no oil so it is perfect for cold water conditions. |
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There is no doubt that fish can detect and respond to odours and flavours, and these sense are far more acute in fish than in humans. Indeed, one of key features of Marukyu baits is the ‘pulling power’ of the smell and taste of the ingredients. But there is little point using the best baits available if you undermine their benefits by accidentally tainting them.
The baits and groundbaits that anglers use are all subject to one procedure that can ruin their effectiveness… handling. Anything on our hands can easily be transferred while baiting a hook or making a groundbait mix, yet few people take any precautions to avoid this form of bait contamination. For example, if you fill the car with petrol or (especially) diesel while travelling to a fishery, the smell will linger for ages. Fortunately, most filling stations provide disposable gloves so this potential problem is easily avoided. Many sunscreen lotions and insect sprays have been proven to repel fish, and if you use either, thoroughly washing your hands afterwards is a good habit that will ensure that your day’s sport isn’t ruined by thoughtlessness. Several soaps and hand sprays are manufactured specifically for anglers’ use to prevent tainting.
Human sweat contains a cocktail of chemicals, some of which are repellent to fish, notable an amino-acid known as L-serine. Once you know that, baiting up or making a mix with sweaty hands makes no sense whatsoever. And smoking is another obvious way in which your hands can become tainted while fishing.
Washing your hands on the bank is easy – scoop out a small quantity of silt or sand from the fishery margins, or use bankside soil, and rub it into your palm and fingers (especially the ends of your thumbs and index fingers). Wash in water or towel your hands clean… quick, simple and effective.
Top Tip
You can use this bait tainting factor to your advantage if you rub a little of your preferred bait flavour onto clean hands. It can prove somewhat anti-social but it could give you a small, important edge.
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| As we move towards the back end of the patchy summer and the days get shorter, the key dawn and dusk fish feeding periods occur at more civilized times. No longer is it necessary to arise at silly o’clock to be on the bank before sunrise, and it’s well worth doing so over the next few weeks.
Fish can respond strongly to underwater light levels. In part, this behaviour is protection against predators, although many of their natural, invertebrate prey also only venture away from their day-time hiding places during low-light conditions.
However, the penetration of light underwater is rather different to what we observe from the bank. When the sun is high in the sky, light penetrates the water surface and illuminates the underwater world. But when the sun is rising or setting, light bounces off the water surface and, beneath, light levels remain low. The critical angle between the sun and the horizon is about 10 degrees.
To us, the light becomes slightly brighter or more dim, but to fish the difference is akin to turning a light switch on (or off). We’ve all experienced early morning sessions which begin well before bites dry up. Conversely, evening sport may be patchy until the last hour or so of daylight, during which sport is fast and furious.
This factor is of particular importance on well-fished venues where, by now, fish will have re-acquired caution and leaned to avoid crude tackle or poorly-presented baits. Fishing at the ends of the day – even if sessions are short – can be the best way of maintaining catches.
Top Tip
On many commercial venues, departing anglers toss any unused bait and groundbait into the margins prior to leaving. Where allowed, try fishing close in during dusk – you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it can be to catch fish in these areas.
Top Bait Tip
It follows that with low light levels, the smell of the bait (in the case of fish it is the Taste) is very important.
That is why I recommend a few drops of SFA 420 liquid Sanagi to any hook bait.
SFA 420 is also PVA friendly and is perfect for enhancing any stick mix or PVA bag. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
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