Leaf it out will ya!

[Ddgx]

Dear all. I'm hoping to get some help selecting some appropriate end tackle. I'm fishing a new water, after a recky yesterday it is clear that the bottom of the lake is almost exclusively covered in twigs, leaves, leaf goo. Almost every cast with the marker float was returning debris. I should say the fish in this particular water are an unknown to me, I would be quite happy to catch single figure fish which I know are there for sure because I saw them loitering in the summer. There might be larger. Might. I've no real idea how many fish are present. The water is quite small, very well established but not pressured, far from it. Despite that, the person responsible for the lake alledges that the fish are difficult to catch - frankly this might just be because no one really targets them with any conviction so I'm not giving that bit of info much weight.

So, in my mind a pop-up of some sort seems logical to make sure bait is visible and hook point not snagged up. Although, I have to say another part of my brain wonders if a pop-up bait is going to seem suspect or unnatural to fish who aren't used to being fished for? Opinions?

I plan to fish one rod boilie, one rod real/synthetic corn. I feel like we're still in between warm and bitterly cold weather so the bait selection is meant to cover both bases (as far as water temperature affecting fish desire to eat particular baits is concerned) . I feel like I'm over thinking things, I can't settle on a hair rig that suites all the factors in play. I can't help but feel like simplicity would be beneficial here somehow. Does such a rig exist that is braid for the main part, mono for the 'popped up' length? (bolt rig, safety clip). Braid with some putty to lay flat over the undulating bed, mono for best chance of invisibility and for a bit more stiffness? Sorry, long post I know!

[chillfactor]

Good morning, I don't think a pop up will stand out to much and will give you the piece of mind the hook points not masked in any way , could also use pva be it bags or sticks to ensure your rigs are fishing.

regarding the rig you mention sound like a combi rig but the other way around with the more supple material first rather than second, personally I think it would tangle badly if I've read what you mean correctly.

[newmarket]

I got a two word solution for you .

 

Naked Chod .

 

 

Sorted.

Edited November 16, 2014 by newmarket

[salokcinnodrog]

Pop up of 50mm from the bottom, tight to the back of the hook on a braided hooklink.

 

D rig, Savay looney rig, or dare I say it, Withy rig

[hawkman]

You say it's a small lake, full of rotting leaves. Has it got a water inlet and outlet? I ask this because leaves will be smelling on the lake bed now. The description you give give me a vision of a small,stagnant pond. The decomposing leaves in such a small water ( without an inlet) will affect the ph and water quality. Stock density also has an effect on this.( going off on a tangent here!!)

If it has got an outlet, try your best to find a clear area. Raking a couple of mariginal areas may be an option, if allowed . This will benefit your presentation as well a being a potential point of investigation for the carp. Baiting these spots regularly with a few hand fulls of bait will also stack the odds in your favour. The weather is still relatively mild, so they will surley still be on the move and up for a bit of a munch.

[Ddgx]

Hello everyone. Appreciate all the replies. It does have an inlet and outlet. The 'inlet' is however barely noticeable, it appears from under some thick overhanging trees somewhere lower than bank level. A bit tricky to describe. Adjacent the inlet/trees is a very shallow area where the water hardly moves and I noticed it did indeed smell up that end. The outlet end was deeper water and there was a fair old gush feeding the stream. I am contemplating visiting a couple of times in the week for some pre - baiting... And now, perhaps some raking!

[newmarket]

Dont discount this out of hand straight away but rotting leaves = silt .

Which , as we all know , Carp feed IN and UPON.

 

So raking MAY ( in my opinion ) decimate a possible feeding area so it may be a better option to try fishing in the detrius for a while before opting to rake it up.

 

Hence my original suggestion and , i think , Nick's

[hawkman]

I thought he was talking about rotting leaves. Leaves that have been broken down by bacteria (rotted) in the substrate produce organic silt ( underwater soil) . My theory behind it was that at this time of year, leaves in the process of rotting may not be a pleasant place to feed. Avoid if possible was my advice by raking the rotting leaves out of the way. Raking won't destroy natural food larders, it's a bit like turning your garden top soil over.

Carp obviously do feed on or over rotting leaves, and if it's unavoidable then so be it. I would try to find or make a clear area if at all possible.

[Ddgx]

Some of what I retrieved was real gunk but mostly whole leaves. Unsurprising, that time of the year isn't it. The lead, immediately after being cast (3oz) was pretty well buried in the deeper water, definitely silty. I've got 1 week to think long and hard about this, tie some test rigs. Most importantly, haven't been this excited about fishing a water in ages! The mystery! Well exciting!

[ianain]

If it's a feel for the place kind of fishing, I'd suggest float fishing, keep whatever bait dripping in and see what happens. Maybe a mixture of hemp, sweetcorn or caster. Try bread (punched and flake), maize, large particles as bait.

 

Have a second (maybe even a third) rod with variations on as suggested above.

[newmarket]

Dan , was there any progress here ?

[Ddgx]

Afraid not, I won't be able to fish it until about 4 weeks time. The lake is out of action while they do works. When it's open I'll be straight down there.

[newmarket]

Have you gi ven any more thought as to how you will fish it ?

[Ddgx]

Sorry Nm, I didn't get the right end of the stick there. Yes actually, we've kind of been talking about this lake in other threads - this was the same place I was talking about pre-baiting. I can't remember what I said in the other threads, but I'm going to try and fish 'natural' baits for reasons we discussed.

Have been experimenting with some artificial corn, I'd prefer to go balanced so it sinks slow, but haven't found the right combination of weight/buoyancy to get it sinking as slow as I would like yet. It's tricky because the corn is that much smaller than a boilie so balancing it is a pain. I'd like not to have any shot immediately under it (working on possibly making a cavity under the corn to poke some weight in). This all sounds very complicated but it's actually an attempt to make the rig simple and get the corn to sit as natural as possible.

My backup, if I feel like there's too much chance of masked hook point or I keep getting leaves etc on the return, will be the corn just slightly popped up. pic attached, sorry about quality; 

 

Edited January 15, 2015 by Ddgx

[newmarket]

Sorry Nm, I didn't get the right end of the stick there. Yes actually, we've kind of been talking about this lake in other threads - this was the same place I was talking about pre-baiting. I can't remember what I said in the other threads, but I'm going to try and fish 'natural' baits for reasons we discussed.

Have been experimenting with some artificial corn, I'd prefer to go balanced so it sinks slow, but haven't found the right combination of weight/buoyancy to get it sinking as slow as I would like yet. It's tricky because the corn is that much smaller than a boilie so balancing it is a pain. I'd like not to have any shot immediately under it (working on possibly making a cavity under the corn to poke some weight in). This all sounds very complicated but it's actually an attempt to make the rig simple and get the corn to sit as natural as possible.

My backup, if I feel like there's too much chance of masked hook point or I keep getting leaves etc on the return, will be the corn just slightly popped up. pic attached, sorry about quality;

 

That'll work mate , i think if these fish are relativley unpressured then what you have there , with a few free bits of corn/maize around it will do the trick .

As they keep telling me on here , and i'm not very well equipped for it myself , ....location location location .

Which is where , if you can , the prebaiting comes in

[Ddgx]

I don't think they're at all pressured. I'm counting the day til I can get down there...and blank! hehe, No, I've given myself a year to bank one, that way if I do it in a few sessions I'll have totally exceeded my goals for this year.