How to dob for fish in summer, by match fishing star Darren Cox

WE HAVE  had lots of climate changes recently, which dramatically affects our fishing. The main catalyst for this is the increase in air temperature during the day and also at night time.

The warmer weather will encourage algae growth, which puts colour into the water. The fish will also become a lot more active as the water temperature warms up quickly; consequently they will need to feed more which also means that they will in turn colour up the water. This all adds up to more bites.

Just recently the weather has reached a temperature whereby the carp have been spawning and to help you catch more fish over the next month here are a few pointers…

In warm weather look out for cruising fish. They may not be in a feeding mood, especially in match times when the days are at their hottest, but present a bait to them in the right way and they won’t be able to resist. This is where ‘dobbing’ comes into its own!

Don’t worry about feeding them, just try and get a big visible bait to them without spooking them.

By using a long rig the full length of your top kit and a slightly heavier than normal float you can swing the rig in front of cruising fish. The secret is to get the rig just the rig distance in front of them not to spook them and so that your hook bait has fallen to the correct depth they are swimming at.

The rig is simple; I tend to set mine up on 0.18 mm Garbo Line for most fish and then I can put a smaller hook length on if required. The clearer the water the more difficult they will be to catch! The best hook bait for me if allowed is a 6 mm or 8 mm cube of meat hair rigged on a size 16 Drennan Carp Feeder Barbless hook.

Meat is a great dobbing bait.

The float is usually a Garbolino DCX4 in 0.20 g or 0.30 g. All the shot is directly below the float which helps give it momentum to swing it out and also encourages the hook bait to fall as naturally as possible.

Elastics need to correspond to the size of fish you are targeting but I like to use the Garbolino COEX 2.5 mm diameter hollow which is perfect for anything above 3 lb.

By picking off fish throughout the match you can build a huge weight by the end especially if combined with a swim that you are feeding such as a margin line for later. Always have your dobbing rigs at the ready just in case!

So watch for the signs, get your Polaroids out and keep an eye out for those cruisers which could help top up your weight to become a match winning one!

Good luck!

Darren