Dean Watson

VENUE

We all have different ideas of what we want from our own fishing; the big windswept pits to the small intimate pools, the low stock waters that offer a hard challenge and other places that have a healthy stock of fish, known for a few bites. What I’m getting at here is choose a venue that suits your requirements and somewhere that’s not going to leave you down hearted and beaten if you have a few blank sessions. If you want few a bites and some action then find a venue that can offer that kind of fishing. Do your research and find out everything you can about your chosen quarry. This includes tactics, fish stocks, finding those key areas that fish tend to hold up in, certain swims that have good winter form, speak to other anglers who have done a bit of time on that venue. Basically, leave no stone unturned, remember that knowledge is power, grab as much as you can!

Picking the right winter venue is essential.

BAIT

Having confidence in your chosen bait is paramount! The current bait industry is a minefield, the choice us anglers have today is massive with a lot of companies claiming to have the next wonder bait etc. it’s very easy to get caught up in the romance of your mate Dave who just rolled a new wonder batch of boilies in his shed. You have to ask yourself ‘’is this best I can get my hands on?’’

Working in a tackle shop, I speak to hundreds of anglers each week. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard of new bait firms popping up. I’m not knocking anyone who rolls their own bait here, each to their own, personally I stick to what I know; baits that have track record for producing the goods in the winter. What I’m advising here is take the doubt out! I don’t want a flicker of doubt entering my head on my winter sessions, if I don’t catch it’s me that got it wrong, not the bait choice. I know with the bait I’m using, if the fish come across it, they’ll eat it, then it’s just down to me to get the location right.

You want to look for highly digestible bait with low oil content, one that the fish can pass quickly; it’ll keep them active and continuously searching for food. Bottom line, stick to the 3T rule: tried, tested and trusted!

When it comes to bait remember the three Ts!