Lighten Up!

So you need to go snag fi shing? Deploy the riot gear, right? Well not necessarily! Maver-backed Ben Sharp does it altogether differently…

- Ben Sharp

Fishing to snags in your swim will always present a challenge and Ben Sharp’s approach, and gear, may raise a few eyebrows. But on the flip side it can offer an alternative solution to snaggy pegs, a bountiful net of fish at the end of the day and just reward for applying a bit of logical thinking.

Today Ben has set himself the challenge of catching fish from the features and shallow water across the central island on Marina Lake at his local Lakeview Fishery in Leicestershire. It was soon apparent that expectations would be met and the opportunity to practise and develop an alternative to big gear was on the cards.

Ben explains that the geography of this peg is not really the norm for a commercial swim as the measures taken to support and preserve the narrow island have left wooden pegs sticking out of the water, and underneath lies a very random array of sandbags and log rolls. This area of the swim will, however, offer many advantages in providing an environment where the fish are more likely to feed.

The water is shallow, still coloured and warm enough for the carp to feed as a willing participant and they also feed with that bit more confidence when in the vicinity of snags and features. There are pitfalls, however, and here the fish may simply bolt through the gap in the island or perform several interwoven routes around the wooden pegs – brilliant!

Both scenarios are going to present a challenge, but to some degree you have to accept an air of inevitability that at some stage you will be pulling for a break or battling to steer a fish back through the gap, so here goes. Over to Ben…