Exploring a new water.

Exploring a new water.

Once you have found a New water you want to fish and have your permits to fish.
You need try to get as much local knowledge from other Anglers who fish the water.

Then if the water is a large water bigger than an Acre your next step is to get
yourself a 1" to a Mile map if possible or in this modern age I use Google maps
to help me get an outline of the water.

This will help you create depth & feature maps
of your chosen water.

Next thing to look at is the position of Each bank & Peg/swim
relative to North as this is for knowing how winds will affect the water and how the
Suns rays will warm the water up.

Little Tip is to Take a compass to the water and mark north on your outline map.

You also need to take account that in Spring and Autumn
the Suns rays will be at a lower angle than it is in the Summer.

The changes of the suns ray angle from day to day are so small, but you do need to know
if peg/swim A receive early morning sun and peg/swim b receive the last rays of the sun
in the evening.

The North bank will receive sun almost all the time sun the is shining,Making the North Bank
the Sunniest bank and warmest peg/swim all day, except in the shade of any big trees which is another
factor to consider.

Lets say you are fishing the north bank and you have trees to the west & east of your peg/swim.

In the early morning the north bank peg/swim will get shade from the Easterly tree and
shade from the westerly tree in the evening.If the water is deep this might be a good late
season peg/swim.

If Fishing from the west bank the peg/swim will receive the first rays of the sun and usually
you will also have the wind off your back. This bank usually makes a good early season and early morning
peg/swim.

If you are fishing for Tench they love the sun during spring & Autumn but look for shadier
Easterly peg/swim in the height of summer in the Early mornings.

During the Summer the East bank peg/swim are best providing good late Evening sunshine and if the
wind is coming from the Westerly direction it is usually a warmer wind which will push warm surface
water to the east bank.

The Southern Bank is the Shadiest part of the lake and usually gets the least of the suns rays and most
of the cold north winds. Making the water a lot cooler in the south. This makes peg/swim in the south the
least productive except in the height of summer where it can offer shadier swims.

Wind is another factor to consider when choosing which bank to fish.
If possible always fish in to a warm wind and keep a cold wind on your back is good advice.

Usually Southerly & Westerly winds are the warmer winds.The Northerly & Easterly winds are usually the bitter cold winds.

Remember the old fisherman's proverb.

When the wind is from the west the fish bite the best.
when the wind is from the east the fish bite the least.
When the wind is from the south it blows the hook in to the fishes mouth.
When the wind is from the north the fisherman catches nout.

Finally explore the banks of your chosen water and check your depths & look for features in each of your peg/swim
as you fish and make a record of your findings.

 by John Williams (2015(c))