3 January, 2024 | Match & Coarse | Angler Blogs | News

2 Comments

Kev Sanders’ Floodwater Rudd Haul!

Specimen ace banks a string of rudd to 2lb 12oz during ‘terrible conditions’ for the species!

Kev says… 

The rivers had been high and very coloured recently. I was waiting for a window in the bad weather where I could get to the river and be able to present a bait effectively.

Such a window came along and I had a few hours available for some Rudd fishing. The river was lower but still very coloured. Cage feeder, liquidised bread, flake and lashings of Dynamite Baits XL Liquid Strawberry were the chosen tactics. I could present a bait in slack water areas where the fish would hopefully be.

 

 

First cast I had a bite which resulted in a Rudd of about 1lb. The second cast also had the same result. The bites dried up as soon as they started and for the next hour the tip was motionless.

I was recasting every 5 minutes due to debris build up on the line. This was no problem as it kept the feed going in to hopefully draw fish into the swim.

It took about an hour but the bite came and I struck into a heavy fish! I had to guide the fish towards me through the branches and other debris that was still coming down the river. When the fish got in close, I could see a big Rudd flash in the muddy water. I netted the fish first time thankfully. It was a very deep bodied fish and weighed in at 2lb 12oz.

I put the fish in the keepnet as feeding spells can be very short with big Rudd, especially in the Winter. I recast the feeder to the same spot in the hope of another quick bite.

Within seconds of it landing the tip pulled over and it felt like another good fish. I had hopes of another big Rudd being netted but to my surprise a lovely chub popped up instead! Far from disappointed I placed the fish in the net so I could get the bait out again.

The bites dried up again for 30 minutes but I kept recasting like I did before. Again, a bite occurred and I hooked into another solid fish. Another good-sized Rudd was netted and weighed 2lb 2oz. I placed it in the keepnet so I could make the most of the feeding spell.

Sure enough on the very next cast I had a bite before the feeder could even hit the river bed! Another Rudd almost exactly the same size as the previous one was the result.

I had another biteless half hour after that so I decided it was time for home. In what I can only describe as the opposite of textbook prime Rudd conditions I had just had 3 hours of the best Rudd fishing I could have hoped for!

They were obviously hungry after fighting the strong water flow for the previous couple of weeks. The high attraction of the XL liquid strawberry definitely helped them home in on the bait too. I’m looking forward to getting out after the next flood now for sure!