Breadpunch my way by Derek Skinner
Posted: September 7th, 2011, 9:38 pm
Derek Skinner, Spilsby, Lincolnshire.
I have fished punch for the last 11 years.
With considerable success, I have won 4 matches on the Old Nene at March, with 3 weights of
over 20 lbs., 18 places and 20 section wins.
I have won 8 on the Bargate Drain, 1 with 20lbs 2oz, 3 other weights over 12lbs. and 10 good
places. I have recently had success on the Sincil Drain, The Fossdyke Canal and the
Ancholme.
My method also works brilliantly on my local River Steeping at Wainfleet, where I have won
numerous sweeps, and had some terrific pleasure catches, only recently, taking 111 fish for
20lbs 2oz. During the last week of the season I took over 75lb of Roach in 4 sessions, including
15lb with Roach to 1lb 6oz from the Steeping, and weights of 21lb 12oz and 30lb 2oz from The
River Bain (Conningsby) on the 4mtr. whip.
PUNCH FISHING, MY WAY
By Derek Skinner.
FEED.
I still think that liquidised bread cannot be beaten as a feed for punch.
I prepare mine by buying 4 - 6 cheap loaves, then leave them for about a week,
before cutting into small pieces and putting in a food processor, I then tip onto a squatt sized
riddle, and just shake it through, don't rub it through, as this forces larger bits than you want
through the riddle. I then bag it up, putting approx. 4 pints in each bag, then put into the freezer,
I find that freezing it makes it better than using it fresh.
Most people worry about feeding liquidised bread, fearing that it fills the fish up and bites dry up.
With the way I riddle it, I find that the bits of bread are so small that it disappears into nothing
very quickly, and sometimes the more I feed the more I catch.
I tend to fish the more prolific waters, where I can attack the water rather that pussy footing
around with tiny pinches of feed.
HOOK BAIT.
The texture of the bread I use on the hook is vital for fishing the punch method at speed, I need to miss bites and re-cast several times without the bait falling off.
The day before (or if possible, the morning of) the match I get the freshest loaf possible,
usually with 4 - 5 days sell by on them. They think I am mad at the local supermarket, I am
always going and asking if they have any fresher loaves in the warehouse as the ones on the
shelves are not fresh enough, surprisingly they usually have, so don't be afraid to ask.
I then take every slice out of the packet, and feel for the softest, doughy slices (if the bread is
full of holes, and looks like " Aero", eat it and try a different brand, (I have been known to get as
many as 4 loaves before finding the right texture,) I then take the best slices and cut in half, by
changing regularly it does not dry out and fall off the hook
My wife always laughs at the Warburton's, T.V. advert. Where the lad is feeling a slice of bread,
and his mum says, " do we have to go through this rigmarole every time DEREK just throw it to
the ducks", She thinks the person who made it must have seen me on a Saturday night.
FLOATS.
As most of my fishing is done with the whip, I mainly use one of my own wire-stemmed
wagglers, which I invented 10 years ago, to enable me to cast accurately, and give stability in
less than perfect conditions, with these floats I can use a whip when others, using top and
bottom floats have to give up.
They are made from a small piece of peacock, piano wire and either a cocktail stick or a
thickish nylon bristle, the float is a combination of small peacock wagglers that I used to use
with a 3 metre whip on The Sibsey Trader (when there were fish in it), and a top and bottom
float that I made for running water.
When I first used it I attached it to the line with a small float rubber; this was not successful,
because the line kept cutting through it, I solved the problem, when I found a small scrap of
thin electric wire, and found the plastic coating, fitted the wire perfectly.
When I first used it at a match, other anglers fell about laughing; saying it would never work,
because of the funny angle that it hung from the line, anyway since then I have had the last
laugh, beating those same anglers several times with this float.
PUNCHES:
I also make my own punches; I use pieces of old rod, with either solid glass or cane inside, to
compress the bread into a firm pellet.
They are very shallow, and with no slit, I find that it the consistency of the bread is right, by
inserting the point of the hook straight into the top of the punch, it will come out perfectly,
I also find that I can bait up quicker than putting on a maggot.
METHOD:
On most of the venues I fish, I will tackle up three whips, 4m, 4-5m and 5m, I fasten the rig to
the whip with the double rubber and twist method.
I will also rig up a pole, but the sole purpose of this is to plumb the depth accurately, if the water
is likely to run I will also set up a stick float.
The shotting on these rigs is basically the same, with 2 No 6 about 15ins. from the hook and a
No 8 half way in between. I use 1-7 to a 1-1 hook length, with a 22 Kamasan 611.( I used to use
Tubertini series 2 but I cannot get them at the moment ).
I plumb up at the three distances that I intend to fish, making sure that the tip of the float is level
with the surface, I then mark the respective whip with correction fluid, when I take the plummet
off the hook should be about «inch off the bottom, this is my starting point. this may need to be
adjusted ,due to weed on the bottom, or if you dont get a bite, then shallow up by about 1inch at
a time until you find the fish. Later in a match, laying 2-3 ins. on the bottom can produce fish
when all else fails.
I then put a small amount of water into my groundbait bowl, and add the liquidised bread until it
is stiff enough to throw, ( it can be used dry, but I find that it is difficult to throw especially if it is
windy).
I usually start with the 4-5m whip, with a medium sized punch, I will feed a walnut sized ball of
feed first, and then a slightly smaller ball every cast, I will be looking for a fish within the first few
casts, but sometimes it may take 10 - 20 mins. to get a bite, when the fish start to come, it is
most important to keep the feed going in. ( if I have not caught after ½ hr. it is usually time to
think about who's playing football on the telly, as there are obviously no fish in the swim.)
There are exceptions to this but it is very rare.
When I start to catch, I count the fish by the hour, on a venue like the Old Nene, I will be looking
at something between 40 and 60 fish in the first hour, with this tailing off, towards the middle of
the match. at some point I know that I am going to have a lean spell, when I may not catch for ,
sometimes up to an hour, but it is most important not to stop feeding, if you continue to feed , I
find that they will come back, you may also have to experiment with different sizes of punch,
and towards the end of the match, a very tiny piece of punch will often produce some
unexpectedly large Roach.
My method is very simple, and to some it may seem crude, but it is very effective , and often
proves that using complicated elaborate rigs often fools the angler more than it fools the fish.
Anglers around me often wince when they see me fishing ,as I dont mess about when landing
fish , if I am catching quickly fish of up to 4oz come flying straight out of the water to hand , I
only use a landing net if absolutely necessary, I find that this causes less disturbance to the
swim and can get back in and catch another while others are still landing the first. yes , I do
loose a few but I find that the time I gain , far outweighs a few lost fish.
This is my Method for Roach and Skimmers in the colder months , but this method can be
adapted for catching Small Carp, Tench, Bream and Crucians on stillwaters in warmer
conditions. See next months edition for details.
During the last summer I also had great success on local stillwaters, catching good nets
of small Carp, Tench and bream etc. I had 8 wins and 15 top 3 places in midwek sweeps on
Tothby Lake (Alford) and Hill View ( Hogsthorpe) , My best weight was 21lb 9oz at Hill View.
in 3 hours.
I have started this close season with a win at Waterside (Ingokdmells) with 14lb 3oz of Rudd,
Skimmers and Crucians. Then followed this two weeks later by winning again at Waterside with
7lb 12oz of Rudd and Crucians, and the next day won at Woodlands (Spilsby) with Skimmers
and Crucians for 10lb 8oz.
I will now describe the changes to my Winter methods, to take good bags of fish in warmer
conditions.
FEED:
When I liquidise my bread I normally only use what will go through a Squatt riddle, but small
Carp, Crucians Etc. being very greedy need something more substantial to keep them
interested, So I take any bread that wont go through the riddle, and put through a maggot riddle.
there wont be as much of this, but there will be enough.
I take both sizes of feed to a match.
HOOK BAIT:
The fact that I am using bigger pieces of feed means that I need to use a bigger punch, so I
tend to buy thick sliced rather than medium, but I still go through the same proceedure when
choosing my hookbait, apart from that I will cut it into quarters, as it dries out much quicker at
this time of year.
PUNCHES:
The punches I use are virtually the same, but larger sizes, they are still made from old pieces
of rod .
FLOATS:
The floats are exactly the same ones that I normally use , the only difference is that I tend to
undershot them slightly to compensate for the heavier bait.
METHOD:
On venues where I am allowed groundbait , I will start exactly the same with either a 4mtr. or
4«mtr whip. and feed a different swim with small balls of the coarse feed, hoping to catch a few
small fish while the bigger fish move onto the feed.
For the bigger fish I will set up two poles, of 4m and 5m. with line to hand, I usually have No.4
or 5 elastic through the top two sections. The reason I use these rather than the whip is that,
Carp and Tench up to 2lbs. tend to be too much for the whip to handle.
The rigs I use on these poles are 2-8lb main line to 1-8lb hook length and a 18 or 20 hook,
I will start with the bait just touching bottom , but may have to lay on a few inches when the fish
start to feed .
This is not as fast a method as the winter one , but with the fish being bigger this does not
matter .(You may have to wait longer for bites).
On venues where groundbait is banned I have to be crafty and use only the coarse feed,
I have to put this in by using a pole cup , with this method I tend to feed less often, but I put in
more feed at a time.
I will put in 2 -- 3 cup fulls at the start , and not bother with the whip, I will start with the heavier
rig and wait for bites to start.
When the fish start to feed I will feed again , and continue to feed at regular intevals , if you dont
the fish will move out and it will be very difficult to get them back.
I will start off with one of the smaller of the large punches, and as the bites get more frequent
gradually increase the size of punch, I will vary the size according to the ammount of bites ,
probably having to cut down towards the end of the match to keep the fish feeding.
Most of the venues I fish, contain Carp, Tench, Crucians and Bream that are generally on the
small side (up to 2lbs.), This method works perfectly for this size of fish, But on venues where
the fish tend to be on the larger side I would recommend, stepping up your tackle and your
elastic
I have fished punch for the last 11 years.
With considerable success, I have won 4 matches on the Old Nene at March, with 3 weights of
over 20 lbs., 18 places and 20 section wins.
I have won 8 on the Bargate Drain, 1 with 20lbs 2oz, 3 other weights over 12lbs. and 10 good
places. I have recently had success on the Sincil Drain, The Fossdyke Canal and the
Ancholme.
My method also works brilliantly on my local River Steeping at Wainfleet, where I have won
numerous sweeps, and had some terrific pleasure catches, only recently, taking 111 fish for
20lbs 2oz. During the last week of the season I took over 75lb of Roach in 4 sessions, including
15lb with Roach to 1lb 6oz from the Steeping, and weights of 21lb 12oz and 30lb 2oz from The
River Bain (Conningsby) on the 4mtr. whip.
PUNCH FISHING, MY WAY
By Derek Skinner.
FEED.
I still think that liquidised bread cannot be beaten as a feed for punch.
I prepare mine by buying 4 - 6 cheap loaves, then leave them for about a week,
before cutting into small pieces and putting in a food processor, I then tip onto a squatt sized
riddle, and just shake it through, don't rub it through, as this forces larger bits than you want
through the riddle. I then bag it up, putting approx. 4 pints in each bag, then put into the freezer,
I find that freezing it makes it better than using it fresh.
Most people worry about feeding liquidised bread, fearing that it fills the fish up and bites dry up.
With the way I riddle it, I find that the bits of bread are so small that it disappears into nothing
very quickly, and sometimes the more I feed the more I catch.
I tend to fish the more prolific waters, where I can attack the water rather that pussy footing
around with tiny pinches of feed.
HOOK BAIT.
The texture of the bread I use on the hook is vital for fishing the punch method at speed, I need to miss bites and re-cast several times without the bait falling off.
The day before (or if possible, the morning of) the match I get the freshest loaf possible,
usually with 4 - 5 days sell by on them. They think I am mad at the local supermarket, I am
always going and asking if they have any fresher loaves in the warehouse as the ones on the
shelves are not fresh enough, surprisingly they usually have, so don't be afraid to ask.
I then take every slice out of the packet, and feel for the softest, doughy slices (if the bread is
full of holes, and looks like " Aero", eat it and try a different brand, (I have been known to get as
many as 4 loaves before finding the right texture,) I then take the best slices and cut in half, by
changing regularly it does not dry out and fall off the hook
My wife always laughs at the Warburton's, T.V. advert. Where the lad is feeling a slice of bread,
and his mum says, " do we have to go through this rigmarole every time DEREK just throw it to
the ducks", She thinks the person who made it must have seen me on a Saturday night.
FLOATS.
As most of my fishing is done with the whip, I mainly use one of my own wire-stemmed
wagglers, which I invented 10 years ago, to enable me to cast accurately, and give stability in
less than perfect conditions, with these floats I can use a whip when others, using top and
bottom floats have to give up.
They are made from a small piece of peacock, piano wire and either a cocktail stick or a
thickish nylon bristle, the float is a combination of small peacock wagglers that I used to use
with a 3 metre whip on The Sibsey Trader (when there were fish in it), and a top and bottom
float that I made for running water.
When I first used it I attached it to the line with a small float rubber; this was not successful,
because the line kept cutting through it, I solved the problem, when I found a small scrap of
thin electric wire, and found the plastic coating, fitted the wire perfectly.
When I first used it at a match, other anglers fell about laughing; saying it would never work,
because of the funny angle that it hung from the line, anyway since then I have had the last
laugh, beating those same anglers several times with this float.
PUNCHES:
I also make my own punches; I use pieces of old rod, with either solid glass or cane inside, to
compress the bread into a firm pellet.
They are very shallow, and with no slit, I find that it the consistency of the bread is right, by
inserting the point of the hook straight into the top of the punch, it will come out perfectly,
I also find that I can bait up quicker than putting on a maggot.
METHOD:
On most of the venues I fish, I will tackle up three whips, 4m, 4-5m and 5m, I fasten the rig to
the whip with the double rubber and twist method.
I will also rig up a pole, but the sole purpose of this is to plumb the depth accurately, if the water
is likely to run I will also set up a stick float.
The shotting on these rigs is basically the same, with 2 No 6 about 15ins. from the hook and a
No 8 half way in between. I use 1-7 to a 1-1 hook length, with a 22 Kamasan 611.( I used to use
Tubertini series 2 but I cannot get them at the moment ).
I plumb up at the three distances that I intend to fish, making sure that the tip of the float is level
with the surface, I then mark the respective whip with correction fluid, when I take the plummet
off the hook should be about «inch off the bottom, this is my starting point. this may need to be
adjusted ,due to weed on the bottom, or if you dont get a bite, then shallow up by about 1inch at
a time until you find the fish. Later in a match, laying 2-3 ins. on the bottom can produce fish
when all else fails.
I then put a small amount of water into my groundbait bowl, and add the liquidised bread until it
is stiff enough to throw, ( it can be used dry, but I find that it is difficult to throw especially if it is
windy).
I usually start with the 4-5m whip, with a medium sized punch, I will feed a walnut sized ball of
feed first, and then a slightly smaller ball every cast, I will be looking for a fish within the first few
casts, but sometimes it may take 10 - 20 mins. to get a bite, when the fish start to come, it is
most important to keep the feed going in. ( if I have not caught after ½ hr. it is usually time to
think about who's playing football on the telly, as there are obviously no fish in the swim.)
There are exceptions to this but it is very rare.
When I start to catch, I count the fish by the hour, on a venue like the Old Nene, I will be looking
at something between 40 and 60 fish in the first hour, with this tailing off, towards the middle of
the match. at some point I know that I am going to have a lean spell, when I may not catch for ,
sometimes up to an hour, but it is most important not to stop feeding, if you continue to feed , I
find that they will come back, you may also have to experiment with different sizes of punch,
and towards the end of the match, a very tiny piece of punch will often produce some
unexpectedly large Roach.
My method is very simple, and to some it may seem crude, but it is very effective , and often
proves that using complicated elaborate rigs often fools the angler more than it fools the fish.
Anglers around me often wince when they see me fishing ,as I dont mess about when landing
fish , if I am catching quickly fish of up to 4oz come flying straight out of the water to hand , I
only use a landing net if absolutely necessary, I find that this causes less disturbance to the
swim and can get back in and catch another while others are still landing the first. yes , I do
loose a few but I find that the time I gain , far outweighs a few lost fish.
This is my Method for Roach and Skimmers in the colder months , but this method can be
adapted for catching Small Carp, Tench, Bream and Crucians on stillwaters in warmer
conditions. See next months edition for details.
During the last summer I also had great success on local stillwaters, catching good nets
of small Carp, Tench and bream etc. I had 8 wins and 15 top 3 places in midwek sweeps on
Tothby Lake (Alford) and Hill View ( Hogsthorpe) , My best weight was 21lb 9oz at Hill View.
in 3 hours.
I have started this close season with a win at Waterside (Ingokdmells) with 14lb 3oz of Rudd,
Skimmers and Crucians. Then followed this two weeks later by winning again at Waterside with
7lb 12oz of Rudd and Crucians, and the next day won at Woodlands (Spilsby) with Skimmers
and Crucians for 10lb 8oz.
I will now describe the changes to my Winter methods, to take good bags of fish in warmer
conditions.
FEED:
When I liquidise my bread I normally only use what will go through a Squatt riddle, but small
Carp, Crucians Etc. being very greedy need something more substantial to keep them
interested, So I take any bread that wont go through the riddle, and put through a maggot riddle.
there wont be as much of this, but there will be enough.
I take both sizes of feed to a match.
HOOK BAIT:
The fact that I am using bigger pieces of feed means that I need to use a bigger punch, so I
tend to buy thick sliced rather than medium, but I still go through the same proceedure when
choosing my hookbait, apart from that I will cut it into quarters, as it dries out much quicker at
this time of year.
PUNCHES:
The punches I use are virtually the same, but larger sizes, they are still made from old pieces
of rod .
FLOATS:
The floats are exactly the same ones that I normally use , the only difference is that I tend to
undershot them slightly to compensate for the heavier bait.
METHOD:
On venues where I am allowed groundbait , I will start exactly the same with either a 4mtr. or
4«mtr whip. and feed a different swim with small balls of the coarse feed, hoping to catch a few
small fish while the bigger fish move onto the feed.
For the bigger fish I will set up two poles, of 4m and 5m. with line to hand, I usually have No.4
or 5 elastic through the top two sections. The reason I use these rather than the whip is that,
Carp and Tench up to 2lbs. tend to be too much for the whip to handle.
The rigs I use on these poles are 2-8lb main line to 1-8lb hook length and a 18 or 20 hook,
I will start with the bait just touching bottom , but may have to lay on a few inches when the fish
start to feed .
This is not as fast a method as the winter one , but with the fish being bigger this does not
matter .(You may have to wait longer for bites).
On venues where groundbait is banned I have to be crafty and use only the coarse feed,
I have to put this in by using a pole cup , with this method I tend to feed less often, but I put in
more feed at a time.
I will put in 2 -- 3 cup fulls at the start , and not bother with the whip, I will start with the heavier
rig and wait for bites to start.
When the fish start to feed I will feed again , and continue to feed at regular intevals , if you dont
the fish will move out and it will be very difficult to get them back.
I will start off with one of the smaller of the large punches, and as the bites get more frequent
gradually increase the size of punch, I will vary the size according to the ammount of bites ,
probably having to cut down towards the end of the match to keep the fish feeding.
Most of the venues I fish, contain Carp, Tench, Crucians and Bream that are generally on the
small side (up to 2lbs.), This method works perfectly for this size of fish, But on venues where
the fish tend to be on the larger side I would recommend, stepping up your tackle and your
elastic
