Good Morning.
I must admit yesterday was one of the first days since I have begun my trip when I really thought there was little point in fishing. It is so hot at the moment and I don’t think the fish are really interested in doing much rather than hide in the submerged bushes and trees. It is very true that if you don’t have a line in the water then you can’t catch, but sometimes when it feels like you are flogging a dead horse, I think there comes a time to admit it is a waste of time and throw in the towel!
It is like a mill pond at the moment!
I have been walking up and down the banks looking for fish in the margins for a stalking opportunity, but the usual safe stalking areas are devoid of fish. The Tree Line always has fish present, but this is not an area to stalk in. It is just a great area to observe them at close quarters, and that is all.
In a way I guess it means I can get my writing up to date, and I am now gearing myself up for next week. Secretly I am hoping I may get a chance to fish the Tree Line swim. It all depends on the guests that are turning up on Saturday, and where they end up choosing to fish. My fingers are crossed anyway!
The fish have certainly not been in the mood for food this week but I suppose I have not given it 100% by any shape or form. I have chucked a zig out for a few hours but again this technique has not been explored to its best potential. I am going to zig today but in the bay near the lodge, as what very little wind there has been, seems to be blowing in that direction.
One thing I will not be joining in with next week, is the food option offered at Gigantica. The food is fantastic and there is never a morsel left on my plate. The only downside to this luxury is the fact your fishing ends up being affected by the serving times. The rods obviously must be reeled in before you go and eat. Once in the morning and then again in the late afternoon/early evening. Are you reeling in during possible feeding windows? Probably! Next week I will buy a weeks worth of food from the supermarket and I will stay in my swim for the whole week, keeping the rods out the whole time; something I really prefer to do.
Danny's particle pit!
One other thing I will be doing next week is using a killer bait; tiger nuts. Not in large quantities but in small PVA bags and the great thing with tigers is they can be left out till they get taken. When it is really hot, they do sometimes seem to work in preference to other baits. We shall have to wait and see I suppose. I cooked some up yesterday evening and by the weekend they will be ready to use. I will probably fish these popped up with cork, and fish with two or three of them on a hair. I have an excellent tiger nut dril from ACE which works really well and the nuts don’t split when you drill them out to accomodate the cork sticks that are supplied with it.
Always ensure particles are prepared properly.
Last night in fact was the first night in a long time when I did not even put my rods out. I am set up in the Alamo with my mate Ian. The thought of a good nights sleep was more appealing than chucking out rods which I knew weren’t going to produce a bite. We really could do with a drastic change in the weather; some rain, heavy clouds or gale force winds. I do think sometimes in certain periods you can learn more from actually not fishing!! Just observe the water and walk round the lake. Sometimes that exercise is far more educational!
Zigs!
The Adustable Zig.
To tie up an adjustable zig you need a small pike controller. This sits underneath the water and acts as a submerged float. The zig floats above this pike controller, and by cranking the float up and down underneath the water, you can adjust the height that the zig sits in the water. The way to tie up the adjustable zig is as follows.
Firstly you need to make a stiff boom to prevent tangles. I used a small 20″ length of strong shockleader mono. I thread the small pike controller onto this and then tie a small link or swivel on each end. (see pic)
The stiff boom to prevent tangles.
I then tie my D rig hooklink up. I generally make it about 4 foot long and tie this to one end of the stiff boom. I use a small hook with a rig ring, which I thread onto the tag end of my knotless knot. I then push the tag end back through the eye of the hook and blob the end with a lighter. The foam or whatever you use for your floating zig material can be attached to the rig ring using dental floss for example.
Now get the end of your mainline and pass this through the swivel of a lead. Place on a bead and then tie the loose end of main line to the other end of the stiff boom. In effect you have a very long running rig.
When you cast this out, let the pike controller and hookbait rise to the surface. When you see them both on the top, slowly reel in a little. When you see the pike controller disappear your zig will be left on the surface. Reel in a little further and then your zig will also submerge. If you reel in two feet it will be two feet from the top. You can then play around with the depths you want your zig at and hopefully by doing this you can find out what water level the carp are swimming around in. You can also work off the lake bed. If you know the depth is 20 feet and the distance from the end of the boom to the zig is 6 feet, when you cast out the rig, reel in till you feel the boom hit the lead. Then you can give line a foot at a time. If you give 4 feet (4+6) you know your zig will be 10 feet under the surface. If you want it 2 feet under the surface in 20 feet deep water, give out 12 feet, and so on.
As for the zig itself, you can use anything. Foam, cork, anything that floats! Apparently, odourless baits seem to work better and it is the curiousity factor that usually catches the carp. They are simply interested in this floating object sat under the water!
You can play around with colours!!
This one looks like a bug!
I am now off to have breakfast and I will get my zig rods out. I can watch them whilst I write the rest of my latest article.
Have a good day.
Jake Langley-Hobbs & his Doberman dogs.
