You need a certain mindset to strip all your tackle to the bare minimum and fish with just one rod. Even more difficult is to stay away from your trusted spot and really look for the fish. That is where the true success of edge fishing lies: active and mobile fishing, and keep looking for the fish. Of course you increase your fishing chances if you feed somewhere, but by strolling around lightly you can eagerly look for the fish!
You don’t have to fish for a long time to be successful in this type of fishing. If like me you have little time to go fishing and often only have a few hours to spare, that could be enough. Search them, find them and catch them! It is bizarre how fast the bites sometimes come, often within minutes of setting the trap.
- Be careful
You have to be extremely careful at every shore spot you visit, and assume that there are fish on the swim. You will be surprised how often you find them right under your feet, as long as you are careful enough!
Almost all of us have been too rude when approaching a site. In that case, you just see a shadow flash away, and your chances disappear …
So position yourself a little further from the water, stay low, calm and be patient!
- Hide your line
The fish in the banks can usually detect your line without difficulty, so it is very important to hide it properly. Fishing with slack lines helps camouflage your line, but I also always use a lot of putty at the end of my leader.
This way I know for sure that the line is flat on the bottom. I also often use a top lead or even a small rock to hide the line above the leader.
- Less is more
You really don’t have to feed a lot in lace fishing. Stick to fishing with single hook bait or use a small handful of bait. Remember, you are fishing for one bite per swim, so the more bait you throw in the water, the longer it can take!
It is better to feed small amounts and come back regularly to check if the food is gone. This way you quickly know which cuttings are being baited and where you have better chances of catching a fish!
EXTRA: Top 3 bait to use in the edges
- Crushed boilies
Boilies that have been ground (or the so-called “flakes”) offer you various benefits. You can feed it more scattered because you have more small particles, so that the food signals underwater are greatly increased. In no time you can make a whole pile of crumbs and small pieces from one handful of boilies!
This will keep the fish occupied a lot longer than if you put about 10 whole boilies into the water. In addition, the anglers will be fanatical aces, so that you can greatly increase your fishing chances!
- Small pellets
Pellets are cheaper than boilies, easy to store and most importantly, carp love them! Small pellets break down quickly underwater, leaching necessary oil and amino acids into the water, triggering even the cautious fish to feed.
If you use different diameters, the time it takes for the pellets to break down varies, and it also becomes more difficult for the fish to judge which bait contains a hook.
3 Particles
Particles such as hemp, crushed tiger nuts, or corn are all perfect for edge fishing. Not only are they cheap, but they are also great for fish that are less accustomed to eating boilies. The different shapes and sizes of particles make it a breeze to hide your hookbait in between.
A bed of particles, for example made of hemp, is also very suitable on waters where you are often troubled by water birds. The bait is difficult for the birds to see, but the attraction to the carp is still the same!