| Over recent months a lot of questions have been posted on the forum page concerning the Bag and Wag method, a lot if not all the questions directed towards the maestro of this type of fishing, Steve Ringer. I contacted Steve and asked if he would like to do a feature on the magical art of 'method up in water' for talkangling readers and he agreed without any reservation. See, Steve like all class anglers, is so approachable and will gladly talk about methods of fishing all day long. He will gladly show how he operates but for a star like he is, and who can argue against that with his famous fish o mania win and many other notable victories, he will also listen to other ideas from fellow anglers, no matter how big or small they are. He, like the rest of us, is always on the lookout for new ideas and techniques to apply to his own methods and style.
So it was in the middle of June (2002) when I met up with the Shimano backed angler at the infamous British Waterways controlled Drayton Reservoir. Famous for its big head of fish and usually guaranteed big bags of fish. I say usually because contrary to popular belief, the fish don't always feed here they can be temperamental like every where else! It was a Thursday morning and the sun was shinning. Steve had already approached the bailiff, Mick Carrick and sought the appropriate consent for the feature and by doing so was able to reserve a peg. You see such is the popularity of the venue, two matches were being run on the water that morning, one on the dam wall and the other on the boards, both being very noted catching areas. However, this was what we wanted. So many features are compiled by anglers on the so called 'hot pegs' on venues that when they have room to themselves they can't help but bag up. When we compile a feature at talkangling we like to show the angler in their true colours, on a peg that isn't brilliant and one with no guarantees of anything except a possible hard days fishing. After all anyone can sit on a flier and bag up if they have a little bit about them, to do it off an unfancied peg is something else. Any way I digress, peg 29 was booked for the day, which was a peg at the end of the 'boards' match, not right at the end, we did not want to interfere with the match and upset the angler on the end peg! Other anglers were fishing below Steve.
The problem with Drayton is the walk, its not for the feint hearted, especially with so many commercials allowing you to park near your pegs today. So having helped Steve carry his gear to the peg I was glad for a rest whilst he set about sorting his gear.
The first thing that he did was to carefully position his seat box. The platforms at Drayton are well made, strong, roomy, flat and sturdy but like everywhere else comfort is still a big factor. Get it wrong and your back will tell you when its time to go home, get it right and you can fish all day long, no problem. The Matchbox was positioned at a slight angle to the left, a position that suited Steve, allowing him to follow the current, giving him a little more room to keep his groundbait bucket and unhooking matt, which is now compulsory at Drayton, near to his feet. All the hooked fish could then be placed on the matt and easily dealt with before going into the net. Likewise the bucket was easily reachable. Attached to his box was an accessory tray which was to contain everything he needed to hand.
Next Page
Return to top |
