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I know the tv show has attracted criticism for not giving enough technical detail , but IMO it's so much more than a fishing program - like for me the original Top Gear wasn't really about cars , but about friendship and growing old and still having fun like a bunch of kids . 😀

Yes yonny back again with the advice I needed to hear as the last few sessions I have noticed that the fish tend to show them selves in the same two swims but I just thought it was coincidence but now I'm starting to think that this could be where they are going to hold up being they have been showing there for the past month or so but no one's managed to catch any and my friend was in the swim where they where showing over the weekend but didn't get a beep so could defo be worth trying the zigs!! And with the water temp ive been thinking about it wrong I always thought that because the bottom layer doesn't go below 4c so that the lake doesn't completly freeze so always thought the deeper the better but this could of been where I've been going wrong! But thinking about it now the lake has slowed down so I thought they were pre occupied on the naturals before they die out but now I'm pretty sure that they've been up in the levels and from what I've heard on the bank no one's using zigs all fishing on the bottom which is probably why no one's been catching!! And you guys aren't wrong about it being hard to stay focused and accept the blanks as this is what normally makes me give in but I'm more hungry than ever and with the help from you guys I'm sure I'll get one! Also my lake has a lot of coots can I use them to my advantage in anyway or ignore them?? Cheers guys 👍

Good call mate. As water gets colder it gets denser so the coldest water will be on the deck, particularly in the deepest area. Some believe this is part of the reason the feeding spells are so short - because it's physically uncomfortable for them to feed on the deck due to temps. Obviously zigs can come into their own in this case.

Agree with Yonny but one thing I would add is watch the weather like a hawk. Even the smallest spikes can be a window of opportunity and on my winter water between 11:00-15:00 is always good when the winter weather is a bit milder. I’d also add that at least one of my rods would be on a zig,if allowed on your water. Good luck work hard at it and hopefully you’ll have a few. 😬😎🎣

You need to be looking now mate - they'll be starting to visit the winter areas already and those early signs can make or break a winter campaign. If you can, I'd be baiting those areas too (and keep that going all through winter). There is no point starting baiting in winter as you've already missed the boat and their metabolism will have slowed. If you keep it going in from autumn, they'll keep feeding. Regards fishing in winter itself, be ready for long periods of inactivity. They will show you where you need to be, but the levels of activity are very low, and it often comes in the dead of night (1 - 3 AM). When it gets dark at 4 or 5 PM that can seem like a very, very long wait (by 8 PM it feels like midnight!). Every pit is different but I've found areas of consistent depth near (not in) the deepest water can often serve as winter holding areas. Keep your eyes on shallower water when the sun comes out, especially if there are reed beds about. It's worth trying to find out about past winter captures as the holding areas usually stay the same year-on-year in my experience. Don't expect too much. Sometimes you can be bang on them but at the end of the day their metabolism slows so they simply don't need to eat much. That said, imo they will feed for a short period every day so if you can find where that is, you can sometimes set you watch by the takes. The hardest thing about winter is staying focused as the hours pass by with no signs whatsoever. Just one single sighting can make the difference between a great campaign and a whole winters blanking, so you absolutely need to keep those eyes open and just keep going. Good luck.