Tip-Top Silvers Tips!
Just concluded a great few months targeting silverfish on commercials at the weekend. I managed a very satisfying 4th place finish in the Fish South Silvers Final at Southend Farm, then won the Ivy House Silvers League on Sunday with a perfect 5 points.
I thought I’d share a few tips that I felt have really helped me this year:
1. Stay busy
Some people have a one or two swim mindset, but I’ve always fed numerous areas, which is something that stems back to my canal fishing days. This allows you to rotate swims and keep putting something in the net. That’s vital when it’s clear or if nuisance carp are getting hooked and upsetting swims. Quite often there’s a delay between feeding and getting a bite, especially with skimmers, so swapping between a couple of swims helps to fill in the gaps rather than sitting and waiting for the fish to return. Some days you’ll only catch one or two skimmers from a swim before you have to rest it, too. It’s therefore vital to have somewhere else to go.
2. Fish overdepth
I don’t know if it’s all the wind and tow we’ve had this winter but I’ve caught next to nothing off the bottom recently. Varying the depth from an inch to as much as five inches overdepth has definitely brought more bites. I feel it gives soft-mouthed skimmers and finicky roach a little bit more time to take the bait without feeling any resistance and rejecting it.
3. Pinkies
I have been guilty of just taking maggots and casters to a lot of silvers matches in the past, but pinkies have been vital the last few months. They are so soft and slow falling that they’re really attractive and fish take them really confidently. Singles for roach and doubles for better fish. I often feed them early just to drag some fish into the peg, but be careful loose feeding them in more than 4ft of water as they fall so slowly it can attract lots of tiny fish in the upper layers. Pack them into a ball of groundbait if it’s a deeper swim. If carp are a problem, feeding pinkies will often keep you catching silvers when maggots, casters or worms brings unwanted carp.
4. Mixing it up
Don’t be scared to feed a mixture of baits in one swim. I often feed both maggots and pinkies together, for instance, or maggots and casters in the same swim. This gives you more options and keeps the fish occupied and gives you more hook bait options. Later on I might ween the fish onto my chosen feed, but feeding a variety can be particularly good at the start of a session.
5. Winning combos
If it’s roach and skimmers you’re after then groundbait is a must. Sonubaits F1 Original and Thatcher’s has been my go-to mix for deep venues and Supercrish Expander and Supercrush Green on shallower venues. The only time I might not feed groundbait is when I’m specifically targeting ide.
6. Short success
A short swim where you can quickly put a few roach together can really boost your catch. It can be a nice place to start a session or drop onto whenever things go quiet. Importantly, I try to make it as close to me as possible, so I can catch as quickly as possible. A top kit and one section away is perfect. I fish nice and light with strung-out ‘roachy’ rigs and soft elastic, but it’s surprising what bonus fish you’ll catch there too.
7. Fish your own match!
Don’t be scared to fish your own way and to your own strengths. You’ll always get certain anglers sticking their chests out and exclaiming there’s only one way to catch these fish properly. We all have our own unique styles and techniques, so it’s all about developing what works best for you, rather than being a sheep. I’ve fished numerous silverfish venues the past few years and the winning pegs and the best way to feed has been different on every single one of them. What works best one year can be totally different the next year, too, so keep an open mind, stay busy and work hard for those fish!
Hope that’s given you some food for thought!
