Toggle Nav
Get the Most out of Bank Holiday Fishing Trips - Beginner's Guide to Busy Banksides
Each year, the number of people using rivers and lakes for fishing increases. It's not just a matter of day tickets anymore; many syndicates these days have members who fish regularly every week regardless if it is rain or shine! To succeed, you have to be on top of your game, but you don't have to complicate everything, just get the basics right. That is where this Beginners Guide comes in. We are going to cover some top fishing tips you can apply to those busy weekends or bank holiday sessions to ensure that the upcoming sessions do not leave you blanking!
As the nights get shorter and the days grow longer, the fish are happier, hungrier and moving about a lot more at this time of year. If you're looking for some good catches on other busy day ticket venues then it's worth taking the right approach with hard work! There is a large head of fish present in these waters, that are used to lots of angler activity, so they won’t be put off by anglers.
Finding a Swim on a Busy Bank
For a successful fishing trip, you do not want to just take any swim as you need one with access to the fish! The first empty swim you see could well be devoid of fish, so it makes no sense to plot up there. The best way to choose a swim on bank holidays and weekends depends on the length of your session.
If you plan on an overnight session overnight, select a free swim close to where the bulk of the fish are holding up. Any lake should be walked around before setting up, just to ensure you have made the right choice and to avoid wasting time. You should search for fish in the middle of the lake or close to the bank. The surface doesn't have to be completely clean either, light weed growth is easily covered with the right kit. Fish like carp will change course throughout the day, so always remain alert and look for every opportunity.
Baiting with Maggots
If there are not any bait bans in place at your chosen venue, maggots are often the way to succeed for carp and coarse fishing in late April and early May. In the spring, baiting with maggots makes such a difference that many anglers can't approach a busy day ticket venue without bringing a bucket of wrigglers! The addition of chopped boilie and crumb will provide a good mix for the maggots to thrive. In this way, you can use it as an awesome multi-layered base of attraction that attracts fish on most venues!
View our Maggot Fishing Tips
Use Sweetcorn as Fishing Bait
If you're getting a response from your bait, then make sure there's plenty of corn in the mix. The visual effect and saltiness as well as ease-of digestibility will give any spring spod mix an excellent foundation to stand on for busy venues. The bright yellow of corn will certainly help. You can combine sweetcorn with hemp, boilie and ground baits to form a devastating bait mix. In addition, make up some oily bags of sweetcorn and a thorough a few bright corn singles (kernels) as this should cover all your bases!
Read our sweetcorn bait tips, here.
Pack your Brightest Pop-Ups
If the classic zigs rigs do now work for you and you know fish are present, then try switching to fishing with bright, highly visible pop-ups over a scattering of particle mix and boilies or the bait mix suggested above. At this time of year, the fish may not be in full-on feeding mode yet, so loose feed with a bright pop-up over the top is often a successful tactic.
Avoid Over-Baiting
If you are happy with your swim choice as there is a good number of fish present, and the weather conditions are good, only apply a low number of good quality boilies and your loose feed to the spots you are fishing. It is ideal to use somewhere in excess of 1-2kg as you start your swim.
The amount of bait you need will mainly depend on the weather on these busy banksides. It is also worth paying attention to the moon phase and water pressure surrounding your fishing session. Always bait lightly and start with little as you can always add more but cannot remove if you overfeed the fish! Try to save the most of your feeding and baiting for lower light and nighttime hours as daytime will find fewer fish being productive.
Zig Rigs for Spring
Zig rigs are a good approach in busy venues in spring. Fishing on a busy lake with the singles approach means disturbance is minimised and distance maximised. Anglers can pop the odd spod of bait over the top of the zig rigs or a little bit of corn for a visible attraction. Liquid attraction is also a good combination with zig rigs as it creates attractive clouds around your rig.
D- Rig or Ronnie Rigs?
As covered in our how-to guides regarding fishing rigs, your choice of rig will depend mostly on the type of venue you are fishing. On busy venues where you are fishing over gravel, silt or clay, it is best to opt for a simple D-rig presentation with a wafter bait. On venues that are less clean and have lots of debris, use a Ronnie rig.
Bank Holiday Weather? Prepare for Sun and Rain
May bank holiday can either be super sunny or bring a rainstorm so your choices for fishing will depend on what the weather is like on the day. Decent weather conditions will require anglers to frequently top up their swim with bait. If the weather conditions are poor, spodding tactics are better over the use of PVA bags or zig rigs. Read more on spodding, here.
In addition to the baiting and rig choices on the weather, be sure to bring shelter and appropriate clothing depending on the weather you have this bank holiday. View our guides for summer and winter clothing.
Rest Your Swim
Throughout the session, however long it may be, it is always a good item to rest the swim and therefore the fish. Even if this rest is just for an hour or so as you have your lunch or wander down to the venue's facilities, if the fish come into the swim and do not see any lines, it will certainly help the fish trust your swim for later in your session. You can take up stalking opportunities or even a bit of surface fishing whilst you rest your main swim also if the venue allows it.
Resist Being Predictable
