Everyone looks at improving themselves at some point. Be it getting fitter, obtaining better qualifications or increasing their knowledge of a chosen subject. Fishing is no different.
We all strive to improve and adapt our fishing so that we can take on any obstacles that get in our way. One of the areas that I had overlooked until recently was distance casting. It's no secret that I fish smaller waters where putting a PVA bag at 60 yards is the norm for me but if someone had asked me to put a single hookbait at 110 yards I would have struggled and not hit that distance.
A while ago I started talking to Mark Watson about his fishing and tuitions and he said that I should come along one time. So we arranged a date and had more of a social than full on tuition which allowed Mark to fish as well as show me the finer points on distance casting.
I arrived at A1 pits on a Tuesday morning around 8am and found Mark on Pit 6 fishing into a savage head wind. He had set up on the railway bank and had fished the night before but sadly not getting into any fish that had held up in the middle of the 26 acre lake. The first thing Mark suggested was to get my rods out and have a cast to see what I can do without any guidance. So I attached a 3oz distance lead to my lead clip Nashy leader and hammered the lead out on what I thought was a good cast. Mark told me to take up the slack to lead and clip up, then we used some distance sticks set 5 yards apart.
84 yards, not the mega huge distance I thought I would hit. Mark gave me some pointers and we tried again, and again, and again. 95 yards was my next clip after ten minutes of tips. I started to get a feel for the cast now and on the next clip managed 99 yards! Mark said to me "The next cast is going 100 yards, I can feel it!" Well he was right, the cast felt good and I clipped up after tightening down to the lead at 105 yards! That was a 21 yard gain in little over an hour of coaching. I was well impressed and I think Mark was too.
Now I was using my gear for the first hour. Nash Entity 3.5tc rods, 12lb Nash line with no shockleader and my Shimano 10,000RA baitrunners. The spools on these reels are not really made for distance casting so Mark said to try out with his rods. Nash NRXD's with Diawa Tournament big pits and super low diameter line, a 30lb Whiplash shockleader and 4oz distance leads. It took me a lot of miss-casts to get used to the 'different' gear and when I clipped up we landed at 103 yards. I was chuffed to bits but Mark thought I had more in me. I gave my arms a rest and Mark had a few casts with some final pointers and we clipped one of his casts up at an impressive 124 yards. My turn again and after a few more attempts we clipped up on what I thought was a good 'un. 123 yards! Boom, and in to a head wind. To say I was pleased would be an understatement!
Mark suggested that I put both my rods out with single hook baits for the time being then we would put the kettle on and have a chat about the rest of the session. After the rods had gone out we sat with brew in hand, Jaffa cakes opened and had a natter about what to do while we watched the fish lump out at about 300 yards in the centre of the lake. After a chat we decided to do a bit of accuracy work as it was pretty clear the fish were along way from us so the disturbance shouldn't interfere with our fishing or those about us. Mark set up his marker rod and we located an area about 65 yards out that was 'deep and soft' between the two bars that ran out towards the middle from our bank. He outlined the importance of getting an overall view of the area in which you're fishing, there could be anything either side of your chosen spot so finding out what is there will be a big help.
After mapping out the swim we found the area around our spot to be 'deep and soft' so I cast to the marker, clipped up then brought the rod in and attached a rig. Now, I am a boilie angler and don't own a spod rod etc so have never really done any spodding or spombing before. Mark suggested I try and work on it so he produced his spodding gear and loaded up the Spomb with hemp and talked me through casting one out. It is a much different cast to anything I had done that morning and if anything it felt to me like the cast I would use for a PVA bag, which Mark agreed with. So I had a good few casts not quite hitting the float every time but once you get used to it and are in a rhythm and balanced I noticed that it became quite systematic and I got it close on most casts.
So we sat watching the fish bosh at silly ranges for another hour and we decided to reel in and have a walk around the other lakes in search of fish that might be within casting range. After spying a few fish on pit 4 we walked around the bottom corner of 5 and saw a group of three or four fish cruising on the surface and Mark suggested the fish were on the back of the wind and a move down here was on the cards so we headed back to pit 6 and packed the gear away before driving around to the back of 5.
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| On the move!! |
As we got there someone had beat us to it and had settled into a few of the swims but the corner was still free and had fish in the area so Mark ordered me to set up some zigs and get fishing! I cast out a 6ft zig which was way too deep as I felt the lead down and on the other rod I set up an 8ft zig. With the 8ft rod out fishing I tied a 10ft zig, attached a piece of PVA foam to and replaced the 6ft zig with the longer one.
I left the rigs out for about an hour but nothing much was happening and it was time to decide on where to set up for the night. Just as I was packing away to move I saw a fish lump out about 60 yards away from me. Mark saw it too and we decided to move around the corner as he knew there was two bars that ran parallel with the other bank and it looked like the fish were definitely on the bars. I made a crucial error here.
As we were on the 4/5 split I decided to fish pit 4 because the swim was easier to navigate and to be frank I was being a bit of a pansy. The bank wasn't as steep and wouldn't be as difficult for setting the bedchair up etc so I would be more comfortable. We all make mistakes and that was mine. Not long after we had set up and Mark had told me to stop messing about on 4 and get in the peg next to him his middle rod signalled a pick up and the line pulled out of the clip. Mark was on it and lent into a fish that made the NRXD take on a healthy curve. After several minutes and a bit of expert filming skills the fish was soon secured in the net and I was to undertake fish watch as Mark set up the cradle and sling. And what a fish at just a touch over 32lb and gorgeous in the late spring sunshine.
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| 32lb of gold! |
Seeing Mark with this beautiful creature and also the swim he was fishing made me rethink my situation and I decided to move into the less that hospitable swim next door. It was on a 45 degree slant and just enough room for my Supa-brolly at a squeeze. Once I was in and set up though I realized that it was not as bad as I first thought. I got my bed level, bivvy table level and was actually quite comfortable. If I take anything other than the casting away from the session then it will defiantly be that I can squeeze into these tight swims and be comfortable and relaxed.
Mark took two more fish into mid doubles and we both thought that some more action was on the cards as night drew in but alas it was not to be. I did have a savage liner on my left hand rod that I struck into and a drop back on my PVA bag rod fished to the near bar but both resulted in nothing.
Even though I didn't catch I feel that in this session I learnt more about myself and my own fishing than I have in a long while and to add the casting element on as well just made it a great session. Mark is an excellent guy and we get on quite well so I am looking forward to tagging along with him on another session I hope. As for his coaching skills then I couldn't recommend him highly enough. He has patience a plenty and focuses on you when it matters rather than himself. If you are looking for tuition then I would give him a call first and you will not be disappointed.
