ASK THE EXPERTS
Dear Panel
My local carp lake has some great fish in it but I am finding it difficult to fish as the depth in the margins is 10ft, going down to a depth of 50ft in the middle where there is an island. How would you approach fishing such a deep water?
Many thanks
Neil Beesley
Walsall, West Mids.
Hi Neil
I know just how you feel with fishing deep waters, I too have fished a number of deep venues, with some of them having depths of over 70ft – the lead seems to drop forever! I have found the marginal base to be productive on such venues, i.e. before the lake levels out to the deeper areas. Most of the natural food falls down the steep sides and gathers around that zone. After about 15ft there is very little natural food. I have personally witnessed this on a number of occasions whilst scuba diving on deep lakes in Holland. Consequently, I would probably concentrate on the drop-offs, both in the margin and at the island, I would also try to locate the depths at which they prefer to feed; this is relevant on any lake, but is more important on deep venues.
Try using a balled groundbait mix that starts dissolving on hitting the surface. This will leave a trail down to the lakebed that the carp may follow.
A method of detecting this is through observation or by fishing at various depths until you receive action. It may be necessary to use a flat Grippa-type lead and chop the boilies so that they are less likely to roll down to the base. Other areas worth a try are plateaux, even if the pinnacle is still at a significant depth, because such areas are, in my opinion, amongst the most productive spots on deep lakes.
These methods are very effective in deep waters, especially in the summer months when the fish are in the upper layers
You may notice that the fish crash regularly in the deep areas and you may get frustrated with the lack of action when fishing directly below them. In these instances you have two choices; firstly, try to pull the fish down using some highly-attractive feed that has an amount of buoyant ingredients that hover and drift up slowly. This may draw the odd fish down as they follow the bait trail through the levels to the lakebed. Alternatively, it may be worth trying a Zig! A 50ft Zig wouldn’t be that difficult to cast. It’s a Zig with a difference, a method I mentioned in a feature I wrote based on fishing a very deep lake in Belgium called Lac Terte. The method outfished all others by as much as 10-1. It was then adopted by anglers fishing here in Blighty. It is, quite simply, a Bubble Float Zig Rig; the bubble is buoyant enough to pull the weight of the line to the surface, unlike a standard Zig with pop-up. I created a graphic for said feature – as the saying goes, ‘a picture paints a thousand words’. The method can be used with a casting approach or a remote control boat.
A nice carp caught in 45 foot
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Rod Simpson
