Sunnyside / Zigs
Hi Zack, really this is a bit of a late response but as it happens we have already tried to respond, the system kindly deleted Josh’s detailed response and we have not been able to get back on until now.
You asked about Zig Rigs so I will mention a quick session a few weeks ago on Sunnyside 1 at Wyreside Lakes Fishery in Forton, Near Lancaster. I will also post a fact sheet on Zigs for you….
Sunnyside is a medium sized venue with around 12 pegs; it ranges in depth from a few feet to ten feet near the “bund” which separates it from its big sister – Sunnyside 2.
Sunnyside 1 has a large stock of fish and when they are in your swim you are almost guaranteed to catch one. In this particular session I arrived at tea time on a Saturday [not the best time to go fishing I know]
Conditions where near perfect and as I walked down the path along the back bank I noticed several Carp showing themselves in the evening sun. Normally the lake is full on a Saturday, and you normally have to do a minimum of two days – strangely this was not the case and several swims where vacant. I opted for the swim next to the jetty / platform which is normally quite good.
After arriving in style – that is the handle of my barrow detached itself from the rest of my barrow leaving all of my tackle to roll, on its own, towards the lake!!
I watched in horror as my tackle, including my rods and reels capsized and landed in a heap two feet from the water’s edge…. Thankfully everything was ok! - I managed to quickly set up.
TOP TIP: Tighten all the fittings on your Barrow or meet your doom when going down hills!!
Anyway at this point the fish where still crashing out of the water [thankfully] so I opted for three rods at different ranges in order to cover as much water as possible. The lads in the next swim had caught 4 between them since Thursday and my confidence was high….
After getting to sleep around 4am due to the incessant “Saturday night” noise from the camp site, open fires, Chinese lanterns and drunken foolishness I hoped the fish where in the mood. Evidently not as I woke to find the indicators had remained motionless.
A quick move / trolley ride to the swim to my right which had by now been vacated seemed a better option; however it was not my session and things where about to get worse….
The old walk round technique:
From my new swim I could easily cast on to the “bund” bank, next to the pipe, and walk round to gently drop my rig into the lake… This is a technique I love to use whenever possible as it makes for excellent presentation and is a real confidence boost.
The first cast landed perfectly on the grass and as I had no other rods in the water I was able to take my time to get this rod right.
I prepared a small bucket with a rig, new lead, pva bag and bait and set off to gather my line which had been cast over so well…
As I sat on the grass overlooking the pipe swim I could see fish moving close in – I excitedly tied on my rig and was just about to tighten my knot down when another angler from the swim opposite bungled down the bank towards me shouting “did you see where my lead landed”…
I said I did not see where his lead landed and told him that he should maybe consider using a marker float, one thing was certain is that his lead was not near me as this was not his swim.
Ignoring me he proceeded to come closer and began to peer into the water where I had seen the fish, I asked him to move back and said that I had seen fish and was just about to drop a rig in, again he came closer, tangled his big feet through my line and dragged everything out of my hand.
The commotion spooked the fish, ruined my rig, tangled me into the bush, lost me a lead and knocked over my bucket. I shouted “mate you are in my line” but he continued to walk away – I shouted again “you’re in my “$&£”@@% line” he said “oh is that yours”….. And returned to his swim… I had by this point lost the will to fish!!
Top Tip – Take a megaphone fishing to keep joker anglers away from your swim, if you are the guy responsible and are reading this I am sorry to say but you are in need of a course on common sense! Or maybe it was the seventeen Stella you had been drinking that caused you to behave like such a twit! Either way thanks for ruining my chances….
I returned to my peg and opted to spread the rods out, by this time another angler had appeared next to me. We had a chat and decided that a Zig Rig Approach might be a good idea.
I opted for an adjustable Zig on the left rod and two “bottom” baits on the other two….
The angler in the next swim fished all three on Zigs.
Within five minutes of him casting he was into a 20lb Mirror, the cast was made right out into the lake where it had been quiet all morning, his rig was simply a piece of fluorocarbon to a size 10 curve shank hook – his bait, a bright yellow pop up which he had trimmed down! Interestingly he used a Korda Safe Zone Leader and flying back lead to keep everything pinned. This approach obviously paid off….
By this time I was virtually suicidal so left the lake, fishless, and not in a very good frame of mind!!
The Zig rig worked for the guy next to me for several reasons:
- He was on the fish
- The fish were up in the water
- It was sunny but windy
- The bait was presented very tight to the hook and a small hook ensured a good hook hold
- He did something different and was fishing away from pressure….
See the Zig article for more info!
Conclusion
You can’t get it right all the time but no matter what you do there is always someone else who can rain on your parade, that is Carp fishing and not everyone has got the full picture… Check the next posts for a bit more optimism, and some fish!!
