There are three secrets to ensuring consistently good catches and they are:

Location, Location and Location. In simple terms, If it is possible to identify

where the fish like to congregate, Even a novice angler will eventually be able

to work out ow to catch them. But even the best angler in the world cannot catch

anything in a swim devoid of all things fishy.
 

Finding the so-called hotspots is no easy task, and one of the main reasons

that experienced anglers catch so many more fish than beginners is that they

have learnt somthing called Watercraft, a far-reaching concept that could fill

a whole book rather than just a few pages.

     Watercraft is not only about targetting likely-looking swims along the river,

although that is obviously the first step. Just as importantly, it encompasses

decisions regarding in which part of the swim you should place the bait, and

when to fish ( and when not to fish ), so that you are always maximizing your

chances of success.

Choosing a swim

What makes a good river swim? Well, it depends not only on what species you are targetting, and the time of year, but also on the venue itself; Broadly speaking, big fish do not like to fight against a strong current for too long. preffering to conserve their energy in the stretches that have a more evenly-flowing pace.
     Big fish will stay close to the bottom of the river, Where the slower

water they prefer meets the faster water bringing down morsels of food. From this position they can nip into the fast current to grab food as it passes. These are the stretches which the angler should run his bait,

and luckily the presence of such areas of water are given away by whats

called a crease - A disturbance on the water's surface indicating where the

faster and slower bodies of water merge. Towards the inside curve of a bend is a good place to look for creases.
     In winter, when the weather gets really cold, fish tend to

congregate in the deeper pools and holes in the river bed where

thay are protected from rapid changes in the water temperature. In summer, fish may be more widely dispersed in a river because there is so much natural food about, and it is worth travelling to find it. Fish prefer well-oxygenated

water during the summer months, so if your favourite river has a weirpool, this will be an especially good area to fish when the weather is hot.

     The clarity of the water is important. If it is crystal clear, the fish will be able

to see you just as well as you can see them. On such rivers you must adopt a careful, quiet, stalking approach, and look for pegs with far bank cover, such as bushes and branches which drape into the water. Alternatively

look for rafts of debris that have collected against a snag in the water, or evidence of under-cut banks. Fish as close to these features as you can, or even under them when possible. You can be confident that this is

where species like Chub will spend the day, occasionally darting out to grab a meal.
     The condition of the river is vital too. you may find anglers thrashing a swim for days on end

catching nothing and moaning
" The river isn't what it use to be ". Then when the rain comes down and the river floods, the banks are deserted.
     The expert fishermen will now be watching the river carefully. He knows that the

floodwater will have put 'colour' into the river, giving fish the cover of which they were deprived in clear water and, consequently, more confidence to venture out in daylight. The fish will also expend more energy

than usual as they combat the extra flow, and will soon need to feed heavily.
     The experienced angler will be looking for just the right day, when the flow is subsiding and the colour is just starting to dropout of the water so he can see a short distance under the surface. Only then he will arrive on

the river bank. He will use a large, smelly, highly visible bait like flavoured paste,

bread, or a lobworm because he knows the fish cannot see as far as usual and

they will use a combination of sight and smell to locate a meal. And he will catch

fish that other anglers can only dream of. Lesser anglers will call him lucky, but he

is not, Far from it. He is using years of experience to make sure he is fishing the right

swim, in the right way, at the right time. That is watercraft.