Bagging Up On Commercials

This entry was posted on 4th November, 2020

Commercials fisheries can be prolific, whether it's F1s, carp, bream or silver fish you're targeting these venue play host to countless weekly matches as well as pleasure/coarse angling sessions. Generally with the commercial venues being well stocked well there’s the potential to catch or ‘bag up’ with a huge number of fish within your session. Here’s a few tips to help you ensure that your keep net is bulging the next time you hit a commercial, which is a great idea way to spend a winter day on the bank.

Plan Always have an idea in your head of what you are going to do/target when you arrive for your session. The internet, other anglers and social media are great sources of information on the venue in terms of species, target weights and areas of the lake that are more prolific at certain times of year. This information will help you gather a picture of how you will approach fishing the venue and this then leads into your choice of methods and baits. An example of this would be fishing like Cudmore where there is a good head of carp to target on the pole or method feeder; however it's worth feeding a secondary pole line with chopped worm and caster for the silver fish especially if the carp aren’t playing ball, this could still leave you with a huge bag of silvers at the end of the day.



Prepare To catch a big bag of fish you need to be prepared. You have to spend as much time in the water fishing as possible rather than tying rigs, finding new lines, preparing bait or whatever else takes away from active fishing time. Make sure you plan for every eventuality with spare rigs, top kits, rods and plenty of bait so that you can effortlessly chop and change throughout the course of the day. Always check everything over the day before and if needs be re tie or change things that you are not 100% happy with, there’s nothing worse then having a swim full of hungry fish and you not being in a position to make the most of it. Have everything you need to hand so you can settle into a rhythm of fishing.



Options Probably the thing that separates the ‘men from the boys’ so to speak in terms of big bags of fish. With sensible feeding you can get fish feeding, but so often people only fish on part of their swim. When bites dry up due to maybe loosing a fish or them wising up, that means you either have to stick at it or try and feed a new area to get things going again, with both tactics resulting in a drop in your catch rate. From the off have two or three lines which you are regularly feeding, so that when bites dry up on one line you have the option to drop on another instantly where the fish have been happily feeding without pressure. The same goes for baits; have plenty of options. Invariably pellets, maggots, corn and worms will cover the spectrum of what you could expect to catch on a commercial venue. Don’t limit yourself, always look to keep bites coming.



Feeding Whether its feeder, pole pot or catapult feeding is so important. Not only does it keep fish in the area of your rig but it also draws fish into the area. The old adage of ‘a little often’ is what you should be thinking; keep a small, steady trickle of bait going in. Once you are receiving bites adjust your feeding in accordance to it. If you are having fish come up in the water causing hard to hit bites on the drop, feed a larger quantity less often or fish shallow for them. If bites aren’t coming, stop feeding altogether, or change lines. Knowing what to do with your feeding and response is the key to not ruining your chances.



Watch Have a look at others who are catching well; this will not only give you a comparison against what you have been catching, and an idea of what you should look towards but also what methods are being used, how anglers are feeding their swims, and what species they are catching. You can do this whilst fishing a match or when you are pleasure fishing but it’s a great gauge for your angling and the venue. Don’t get too distracted however as the more concentration and focus you put into you angling, the more likely you are to be the angler everyone else is watching.