People ask me this expecting a specific tip – a secret rig, a magic bait, something they haven’t heard before. The honest answer disappoints most people, but I trust it completely after twenty years of fishing.
There isn’t a single trick. What separates anglers who catch consistently from those who don’t comes down to a handful of fundamentals, done properly, every session: finding fish before you fish, presenting bait naturally, and matching your approach to actual conditions rather than habit.
Finding fish first is the biggest factor by far. I’ve watched anglers with beautiful technique blank repeatedly because they were fishing water with simply nothing in it, while a less polished angler fishing the right spot caught steadily. No rig or bait compensates for fishing where the fish aren’t.
Natural presentation matters more than most people realise – a bait that looks or moves unnaturally puts fish off far more than an imperfect rig choice. And matching your approach to what the day is actually showing you, rather than repeating what worked last time regardless of today’s conditions, is where I see the biggest gap between good and average anglers.
If there’s a real “trick,” it’s watercraft – reading where fish are likely to be and why – combined with patience and natural presentation. It’s not secret information. It’s just less exciting than what people want to hear, which is probably why it doesn’t get talked about as much as it should.
Gear that fits this
Gear that suits what this covers, by type.
Floats and terminal gear: Preston Innovations Wire Cage Feeder XL 30g, Guru F1 Carbon Stem Float 0.15g and Guru Hybrid Inline Feeder Small 24g.
For baits, Sonubaits Pro Hookable Expander Pellets Fishmeal 4mm, Mainline Match Bagga Mix Groundbait 1kg and DNA Baits Omega-Xtr Pellets-4mm-1kg are all worth a look.
Reels worth adding: EOS 12000 FS Reel, 22 Power Aero 14000 XTC Reel and Ceymar XT Reel CXTR-30 RD.
On the rods side, Middy Power Phase M120 Feeder Rod 12' 2pc, Acolyte Ultra Float Rod 11ft and Guru Aventus R Waggler Float Rod 13' 1-15g 3pc.
Rob Hadley grew up fishing the rivers and drains of the Norfolk Broads, and it was inevitable that pike would become his species of choice. He’s been targeting predators seriously for over 20 years – starting on dead baits, moving through live bait rigs, and eventually landing on lure fishing as his preferred method about eight years ago.
These days he fishes the Broads through winter, travels to Chew Valley Lake each spring for its outsized fish, and spends the warmer months working soft plastics on rivers across the East Midlands for perch and zander. He’s had pike to 31lb and perch to 3lb 9oz, and reckons both records are beatable on the right day with the right set-up.
At The River Bend, Rob writes the predator species guides, lure fishing technique articles, and most of the winter fishing content.
Covers: Pike, perch, zander, lure fishing, winter fishing, predator rigs