Fishing with Emma E-Book

David Overland

• Herausgeber: Merlin Unwin Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 123

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Fishing with Emma is for all who already enjoy or would like to take up coarse fishing. It will also appeal to those who fish for certain species but want to branch out to try some new ones. Emma knows her stuff and she's prepared to share her knowledge in a clear, no-nonsense way. • Completely up-to-date with 21st century techniques at affordable prices • Includes waggler, stick and controller float fishing, legering techniques, feeders, spinning, dead baiting, groundbaiting, responsible fish-handling, and much more • An inspirational and enjoyable cartoon strip which will have you rushing for your local river, gravel pit, commercial fishery or canal bank to get fishing  And for any members of the angling fraternity who might ask: why are we fishing with Emma and not a man? the simple answer is, 'Why shouldn't a woman be an all-round expert at coarse fishing?' She hasn't got a problem with that…  

Leseprobe

Merlin Unwin Books

Fishing

with

Emma

David Overland

HOW TO FISH FOR:

Carp, Roach, Rudd, Barbel

Perch, Chub, Zander, Bream

Catfish, Dace, Tench and Pike

ii

For Dad who taught me to fish

and taught me to paint

First published in Great Britain by Merlin Unwin Books, 2013

This ebook edition published in 2021

All rights reserved

Copyright © David Overland 2021

The right of David Overland to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. All enquiries should be addressed to Merlin Unwin Books (see address below).

Published by:

Merlin Unwin Books

Palmers House

7 Corve Street

Ludlow

Shropshire SY8 1DB

U.K.

www.merlinunwin.co.uk

Designed by Merlin Unwin Books

ISBN 9781913159450

iii

Contents

1.

Roach on the Canal

1

2.

Carp from a Commercial Fishery

8

3.

Dace Chase

14

4.

Tench: the Glorious Sixteenth

20

5.

Carp on the Controller Float

25

6.

In Search of Canal Bream

30

7.

Emma Goes for Gold (Rudd)

33

8.

Difficult Fish from a Hard Place (Crucian Carp)

36

9.

In Search of Big Bream

38

10.

Emma Rigs up to Catch Carp

43

11.

Emma’s Night Out (Eels)

48

12.

Emma on the Edge (Carp)

54

13.

Emma in a Spin (Zander)

57

14.

Emma’s on a Roll (Barbel)

61

15.

A Mackerel to Catch a Pike

67

16.

Emma and the Big Cat

73

17.

Emma’s Bad Day (Chub - and a surprise guest)

76

18.

Emma’s Revenge (Pike)

81

19.

Spikes and Stripes (Perch)

86

iv

About the Author

David Overland was born in Newport, Wales, in 1960 and throughout his working life as

a civil servant, for the charity sector and later in the ornamental fish industry, he’s also

worked as a Freelance Illustrator, writing and drawing comics, book illustrations and

record covers.

David lives in Monmouthshire with his wife Mary and their two sons, Sam and Ben. He has

been a passionate coarse fisher all his life.

Foreword

As a child I spent many happy hours fishing with my Grandfather on the banks of the

Norfolk Broads. He was a man of few words and so I watched what he did and copied him,

putting on worms, maggots or small lumps of bread. Things were simple in those days,

nothing more than a rod and a few floats. We caught roach, perch and other types of small

fish, with rarely a blank day.

Later when my sons were small, I in turn took them fishing and passed on the knowledge

I had gained from my Grandfather. But I wasn’t able to explain why we did things like we

did; I had never been told, I had just copied Grandad. If only

Fishing with Emma

had been

published then. It explains all the different techniques for catching the main species of

coarse fish – and why they work.

Fishing with Emma

has great appeal for everyone: young and old, beginners and experi-

enced hands, men and women alike. In fact, everyone who has an interest in angling will

both enjoy and benefit from Emma’s words of wisdom. It is easy to read, informative and

entertaining: the pictures are delightful.

I wasn’t certain that I liked Emma at first – I think I was jealous of the tight jeans!

However, as I looked through the pages I became more keen to see what she was up to

next, and what she was going to catch, and how she was going to do it.

As for me, I have recently acquired a small stream of my own and I am able to spend a

few contemplative hours fishing quietly, just as I did when I was young. But now, having

read this book, I will know exactly what I am doing and why, I hope, the dace will be there

waiting for me!

–

Sally Pizii, Angling Coach

1

MONMOUTHSHIRE CANAL BETWEEN PONTYPOOL

AND ABERGAVENNY ON AN EARLY SPRING MORNING.

IT’S SUNNY NOW

AND GETTING WARM

BUT IT WAS COLD

LAST NIGHT.

I WONDER WHAT’S

MOVING DOWN

THERE...

1. Roach on the Canal

2

LET’S SEE...

FISH ARE DRAWN TO STRUCTURE AND COVER

BRIDGES PROVIDE BOTH – SO

ARE A GOOD STARTING POINT

OVERHANGING TREES ARE

ANOTHER FISH MAGNET

THIS SPOT

HAS OVERHANGING

TREES ON THE

FAR BANK

AND A BRIDGE

TO MY RIGHT

EARLIER I THREW

SOME BALLS OF

GROUNDBAIT INTO

THE SWIM FROM

THE BRIDGE

Emma’s first decision is where to fish.

Cover from the bridge and the trees

on the far bank provide an excellent

holding spot for fish. As well as shelter

and cover, later in the year berries and

insects will fall from the trees making

them a superb larder. Although it’s

early in the year and they’ve no leaves

yet, there will still be fish hanging

around under them.

Most canals have a shallow shelf

either side of a deeper middle

channel, so the first job is to work out

the depth. Emma’s fished here many times and knows the depth,

contours and layout beneath the surface, so she doesn’t need

to do this (but check out the chapter on Crucian Carp where

she’ll show you how this is done).

Throughout the book Emma’s using cheap basic tackle to

demonstrate that you don’t need to spend too much to get

started in fishing. Her rod today is an 11-foot Match rod

(basically a float rod) which is ideal for this sort of fishing.

The rod is an entry level rod from one of the main tackle

manufacturers which she bought with the reel for around £30.

She’s prepared her swim with Groundbait. This powder, when

mixed with water, attracts fish into the area and gets them

looking around for food.

3

OUR RIG IS

SIMPLE –

A WAGGLER

THE BULK OF THE

WEIGHT OF SHOT

LOCK THE FLOAT

THE REMAINDER

ARE EVENLY SPACED

ALONG THE BOTTOM

HALF OF THE LINE

UNDER THE FLOAT

A FEW SHOT

AND THE

HOOKLINK

NOW WE

CAN CAST TO

THOSE REEDS –

TREE ROOTS

OR SHOWING

FISH

THOSE BUBBLES

ARE FISH ON TO OUR

GROUNDBAIT –

SO I’LL JUST FLICK

THE FLOAT –

RIGHT INTO

THE MIDDLE

OF THEM

LIKE

THIS

Emma added some breadcrumb and maggots to the mix and has

brought maggots and a small tub of worms along for bait.

Her line is 4lb (0.14 dia) breaking strain and she’s using a size 18

barbless hook on a short 2lb (0.08 dia) hooklink. The weaker line is

hookside to protect the fish. If the line does break it’ll break at its

weakest point on the hooklink, well below the float, so a fish won’t be

left dragging the float and shot around with it.

The Waggler is a float that’s perfect for stillwater. It is attached

bottom-end only and locked into place with the bulk of the shot.

Splitshot are tiny round weights that can be squeezed onto the line,

tight enough to hold their position but not too tight that they can’t

be reopened with a fingernail and moved.

This Float takes 4AAAs, so

Emma uses 3AAAs and a BB to

lock the float and then six No.

8s go on to the lower half of

the line. So if there’s 4 feet

of line below the float then

the smaller shot are evenly

spaced on the lower 2 feet of

line.

This is all about casting –

splitting the weights in this

way will keep the hook and the

float apart as they’re cast.

THE BEST WAY TO HOOK

A MAGGOT IS TO NICK

THE POINT OF THE HOOK

THROUGH THE LOOSE SKIN

AROUND THE TWO DARK

SPOTS (BREATHING TUBES)

ON THE BLUNT END – THIS

WAY THEY’LL LOOK NATURAL

AND STAY WRIGGLING

LONGER.

4

NOW EMMA CAN’T SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING UNDER

THE SURFACE BUT LOOK HOW EASY IT IS FOR US.

THERE ARE THREE MAIN

SPECIES THAT THE ANGLER

MIGHT COME ACROSS ON THIS

PARTICULAR STRETCH

OF CANAL –

AND IT’S ROACH

THAT ARE EMMA’S

TARGET SPECIES

FOR TODAY.

AND ROACH

PERCH

SKIMMER BREAM

The trick to casting well is practice – do this with just the float and the

shot and practice wherever and whenever you can. Practice distance,

practice accuracy, try different shotting patterns, try different types

of float, practice!

It’s a given that fish will seek shelter and cover; it’s another matter to

be able to confidently cast your rig up to, rather than into, obstacles

and avoid snagging up. So: practice.

Emma’s using maggot on a size 18. Now this may seem a small hook but

this is a lightly-fished canal. On some of the really hard-fished ones,

you’d need to go even smaller.

It takes a while to get used to hooking maggots like this so don’t worry

if yours aren’t perfect. Some anglers deliberately hook them through

the body saying that this releases their juices which draw the fish in.

There are three main species in this part of the Canal:

Skimmer (juvenile Bream), deep-bodied shoaling fish which are a

favourite with Match anglers.

Perch – bold, striped predators – are Emma’s favourite fish (or more

specifically a big Perch is Emma’s favourite fish) and there are Roach.

Roach are found everywhere: rivers, ponds, lakes and streams as well

as canals. Roach are a favourite of many anglers. A fish of a pound is a

good one, a two-pounder is a real specimen and anything over two and a

half is a monster!

Like many of our Coarse species small Roach are much easier to catch

than big Roach which are a real challenge and a great achievement.

5

A LITTLE

ROACH

THAT’S A

BITE!

A TINY

BREAM!

ANOTHER

EMMA FISHES FOR ABOUT AN HOUR CATCHING

LOTS OF SMALL ROACH AND SKIMMERS UNTIL –

NOW THERE’S A BOAT –

I’LL BRING IN MY LINE WHILST

HE PASSES AND SHOW YOU

A TRICK –

YEP! DOESN’T

ALWAYS WORK

BUT WHEN IT DOES IT’S

USUALLY A GOOD ’UN AND

IT’S USUALLY A ROACH

I’VE SWAPPED THE

MAGGOT FOR A

WORM AND MOVED

THE SHOT UP AND...

– THAT MIGHT

JUST FIND US A

BIGGER ROACH

Emma casts into the area which she Groundbaited earlier as it’s

already showing signs of the presence of feeding fish. As soon as her

float settles she throws a handful of maggots at it and after a few

moments her float slides away.

The first Roach is small and can be swung safely to hand. Emma keeps

a small pair of forceps within reach for easily unhooking small fish like

this and the tiny barbless hooks come out easily.

The next fish is a Skimmer but for the next hour or so after, it’s Roach

all the way.

Now lots of anglers get annoyed by the boats but you must remember

that these boats bring with them an opportunity.

Emma’s got to bring in her line anyway, then she moves the shot up

under the float and swaps maggot for worm. As the boat chugs past,

its engine churns up the water, pulling great clouds of mud from the

bottom.

She flicks her bait into the wash from the engines where the worm will

sink slowly and bounce around in all that stirred-up muddy water.

Remember that the fish are used to the boats and that the older fish,

the wiser fish, the bigger fish, have realised that as the boat stirs up

the bottom, all sorts of goodies get drawn up in the water.

Moving the shot away from the hook allows the bait to move naturally

around in the churned-up water but it also makes the rig much harder

to cast. This is where all that practice bears fruit. With all the shot

6

under the float, a tangle is much more likely. Casting with an upward

underarm flick will prevent this (if you practice) or simply cast as

normal but stop the line by dropping your finger onto the spool as the

rig’s about to hit the surface, which will straighten everything out as it

lands.

Emma’s trick finds a bigger Roach. Whether they follow the boats or

whether the boats draw them out, she doesn’t know but many of her

best canal Roach have fallen to this method.

A soft rod with a full action is a rod that bends easily along its length.

This allows the rod to act as a shock-absorber, especially useful with

barbless hooks. Playing a fish is the process of tiring it out prior to

netting. It’s natural to want to see the fish especially if it’s pulling back

a bit but trying to hurry a fish or get it to the surface too soon can

cause real problems.

Emma uses her Landing net to get the fish out; she keeps the net out in

front of her with one hand whilst drawing the fish over it with the rod

in her other. It pays to practice this with smaller fish so that on the

day you bag a monster, you’ll know what you’re doing.

Emma carries on fishing and soon swaps worm for Caster. She also

fishes around the edges of the area where the fish are feeding as the

larger fish are often suspicious and can hang back. She feeds regularly

but sparingly and soon puts together a good catch of Roach. She

doesn’t usually use a keepnet but on this occasion it allows us to see the

results.

I’M GOING TO

NEED THE NET

FOR THIS ONE!

THIS IS A REALLY

SOFT ROD WITH A

FULL ACTION

WHICH MINIMISES

THE CHANCE OF THE HOOK

PULLING OUT

THE TRICK TO

PLAYING A FISH IS NOT

TO RUSH IT

I’VE GOT THE NET JUST

UNDER THE SURFACE IN

MY LEFT HAND

THERE HE IS: AN OUNCE

OR TWO OFF A POUND

I RAISE THE ROD IN

MY RIGHT TO DRAW

THE FISH OVER IT

THAT’S A SUPER FISH FOR HERE

RIGHT – I’M KEEPING

THE WORM ON – I’LL SEE

IF I CAN FIND ANOTHER

ONE

7

ANOTHER

SMALL FISH

A BITE!

THAT’S

A FISH

SOON

ANOTHER

AND ANOTHER

I’VE GOT TIME

FOR ONE MORE

SEVERAL MORE

FISH LATER –

THAT’S WELL

OVER 40 IN A

FEW HOURS