Pegged Back

Fresh from his gold-medal-winning performance in this year’s rivers international, Kieron Jenkins gives the lowdown on fishing a pegged river section and explains how we can apply this to our fishing.

- Kieron Jenkins

When it comes to competition fishing on the river there are two main types, a roving match and a pegged match. A roving match is where an angler is given a beat with a start point and can then wander anywhere within the section boundaries, often moving away from their start point in search of better water and/ or more fish. This is extremely useful if you happen to draw a bad start point and how a home international is fished.

However, a pegged match is much different, such as those fished to FIPS-Mouche (world) rules. With these, you’re given a set amount of water to yourself and you must make the most of everything you have. Quite often, if the water is tough you might be given a longer section than others but most are usually around 200 metres or so.

Making the most of the water you’re given can be challenging and fishing the same section of water continuously for three hours can be daunting, but your strategy is key to giving you the best chance of taking the most fish.

My Approach

When looking at a pegged section of river there’s no point in dwelling on what’s around the corner. On many matches I’ve fished, it’s obvious that some team-mates have beat themselves up because they’re more worried about the guy around the corner fishing their favourite part of river than focusing on the job in hand, catching on their water.

Choosing where to step in at the beginning of the session to give you the best possible start is key. I look for the ‘fishiest’ water depending on the conditions. If the sun is high and there is little to no fly life, stay clear of the back of the runs and glides for now and leave them for the possibility of a fly hatch. Head to the main runs where you’re less likely to spook the fish, as well as putting a few in the net to settle the nerves, and work from there.