Silver Fishing: 3 Essential Tactics & Why We Love Catching Silvers

Why Target Silvers?

You don’t have to be a match angler to love catching silvers. However, if you are going to compete, silver fishing needs to be something you master completely. The great thing is (if competitions leave you totally cold) you can steal the methods developed during competitions (see below) to use when you’re fully immersed in nature on a pleasure fishing day.

For pleasure fishing, you don’t need to master all those different tactics (or invest in all the tackle for each method), you can just pick the one(s) you like best. In fact, taking my kids (age 5 and 8 at the time) fishing on Christmas Eve, 2019 is one of my best memories.

We took my grandad’s old wicker fishing basket (from the 1930s) to sit on and used £7.50 whips and single maggot. Theo’s first fish was a quality roach – that he promptly named “Barry”. His only previous fish was a trout that I “helped” him hook (OK hooked for him…) on a fly in a local river. So what a great fish to count as your first independently-landed capture. The fish is soft-focus because it was more Theo's face in the picture at the top of the article that I wanted to photograph.

Thomas (my eldest son, partly named after my grandfather on my dad's side) also had some nice (and quite interesting) hybrids that obviously had some rudd and bream - as well as roach -  in their makeup. Because it was quite cold, it took maybe 45 minutes to gently feed the swim close enough so the kids could reach with their 10ft whips and get a bite. We stayed for probably a total of an hour and a half - which at their age was just about right.

Silver Fishing Matches: You CAN Compete Without Being an A$$hole!

Who knew this was possible? Here's a good chance to introduce my big bro Ian Gaskell and his son Shaun Gaskell. There's a short angler profile for each of them at the bottom of this article.

My nephew Shaun has made it his business to dominate the silver fishing methods for matches. Both Shaun and his dad have a main focus on reservoir/loch-style fly fishing competitions. At the same time, these winter coarse fishing competitions are something they both love.

Here’s a short story of what happened when Shaun let us accompany him on one of his Sunday “Silvers League” matches at Hampton Springs Fishery (INCLUDING SHAUN'S 3 TOP TACTICS in Action):

Main Species of “Silvers”

Roach

Probably the all-time classic Silvers species is the roach. Often one of the first fish you catch as a beginner in the UK, yet it can be really challenging to find and catch the larger specimens of 2lb and above. Here’s the obligatory ego shot of me with my current PB roach at just a whisker under the magic 2lb mark:

It’s probably not the last time you’ll see that photo in one of my articles ha ha ha.

Others Species Included for Matches

Whether it is tench, perch, crucian carp or F1 carp - these are often counted within “silver fishing” matches. While not really answering to the description of “silver”, they do fit quite well with that mixed bag non-specialist fishing that a lot of us grew up with. Interestingly, there are often some behaviours and characteristics these different fish tend to share.

Easy Fish Biology: Secrets of Silvers

If you want to get a bit deeper into that, check out this next video. You can see really clearly both the "predator confusion" effect of shoaling silver fish - AND, it also talks about how important the communication between shoal members is for avoiding predators (and also finding food it turns out)...

So, if you need to get big to avoid being eaten, it’s a good idea to keep feeding in winter. The problem can be that it’s more difficult to find food in the colder weather – especially when you are just out looking on your own. However, when you’re in a shoal with loads of your mates, there’s a better chance that one of you will find food. Then it’s just a case of moving onto the food that your mate has found (which is where another aspect of shoal communication comes in).

This helps to explain why fish like skimmers and roach are more actively roving around and seeking out food in winter. Compare that to some of the larger fish like carp that tend to be more solitary or hang out in small pods...

The bigger the individuals of different “silver” species get, the more their body-colours tend to specialise into whatever their tactics for adult survival are (sometimes becoming much darker). But in those early to middle stages of growth, finding food that isn’t being dominated by larger fish and avoiding getting eaten are major priorities.

By the way, it’s possible that the red fins on some of these species could be involved in communication between different shoal members. However, there’s still a lot to be discovered about shoaling behaviour and fish communication (as you can see from the "Lens of Time" video above).

Using all these facts will help to guide your rig and tactics choices without you needing to learn each combination of conditions and tactics “parrot-fashion”. That’s why we value principles over lists of unconnected facts here on Fishing Discoveries.

Silver Fishing Baits

As you’d expect for fish in the smaller to medium size-range, baits tend to be on the smaller side. At the same time, it’s probably fair to say that the sizes of particle-baits go up a bit in the summer compared to the winter. There’s exceptions to every rule of course…

Here are some great standby baits that you’ll see used in Silvers matches most weekends:

Maggots

One of the worlds greatest all-round baits and one that isn’t going to go out of fashion any time soon. These are the larvae of larger blowfly species (bluebottles). Match anglers often allow their maggots to feed on specially flavoured attractants overnight before a competition. We’ll get into that in future content…

Under different conditions and for different species, it’s worth having a choice of colours between natural, red, orange and yellow-dyed.

Don’t neglect the dead-maggot option too…

Pinkies

These slightly smaller maggots are the larvae of greenbottle flies and can be a great tactical option for tricky-to-hook fish (and also some of Shaun’s special feeder tactics – but look out for more on that in other content!).

Expander Pellets

Good sizes are 4mm and 6mm for hookbaits – and you can just as easily use both those sizes for loose feed also.

Casters

Casters (the chrysalids of maggots before they turn into flies) can be a good “change bait” when you’re trying different tactics or rigs at different ranges. Where you have crucian carp and roach feeding at short range – these can be a really successful hook bait (and they are easy to catapult accurately at short range too).

Chopped worm

As well as making a smaller mouthful (particularly useful in winter fishing, where fish metabolism is slower and appetites easier to overwhelm), feeding with chopped worm puts great attractive scent into the water.

Scent, however you achieve it, can be essential to draw roving shoals of silverfish into your spot.

Shaun Gaskell’s Three Essential Methods for Silver Fishing

While these are far from the only ways you can catch silvers, they cover a lot of bases to help you cope with a range of conditions. You’ll also find a lot of people who agree with Shaun’s favourite choices!

If you find any of the terms unfamiliar or confusing – watch this space as we’ll be opening up an academy full of content to take you from zero to hero (or from hero to legend!).

Quiver Tip and Small “Method” Feeder

Essential winter tactic that scores for fish feeding on the bottom. It can also be a more comfortable/safer way of beating the wind and fishing at range compared to trying to hold a long pole steady in a gale! That last option is also a good way to break several thousand pounds’ worth of carbon if you’re not careful.

A safe bet for groundbait in winter for this method will be a mix with “F1” in the name and good hookbaits include single maggot (perhaps single or double dead red maggot) as well as double pinkies.

Pole (either fished as a margin line or out up to 13m)

In winter, bulk shot closer to the hook link will get the bait through the unproductive upper layers of water quickly. In summer, shotting patterns that are more subtle and spread-out will allow a smooth fall of the bait to fish effectively on the drop. Quick tip, the temperature of the fish will accurately reflect the temperature of the depth-band of water it has come from.

If you can only get bites hard on the lake-bed (and the fish are like blocks of ice when you handle them), you know that you must be extremely wary of overfeeding your swim. For instance, just two and three loose maggots at a time.

Waggler

Spray loose feed via catapult and then quickly follow up with a cast beyond the feeding range – then reel back with the rod tip below the surface. That way, your line will sink below the worst of the influences of any surface chop/cross wind.

You will have to modify the amount of loose feed according to the conditions and metabolism of the fish. The broad rule will be that the warmer it is – the more you’ll need to feed.

Tackle for Silver Fishing

Hooks

Starting with the fundamental connection between angler and fish – hooks. These will be in the size 22s and 20s for small baits and up to 16s for larger particles. Wires can be a bit wider gauge for the method feeder compared to float-fished tactics. Although you get better penetration with a finer wire, the stresses of playing fish at longer range with more line between you and the fish (especially with greater weight on the line from the feeder) can risk straightening your hook. Hook-links will be short – in the 4” to 6” range and from 0.10mm to 0.12 mm diameter.

"Method" Feeder

Obviously a light-ish feeder rod with a quiver tip and suitable fixed-spool reel (around a 2500 to 3000 size) are needed for method feeder fishing. Going too heavy (i.e. stiff and powerful) with your feeder rod isn’t the best option for using the small method feeders that are ideal for winter fishing.

Pole - fished either long or short

Shaun favours fitting his top two sections with Matrix Slik 4-6 elastic, rigged to a “side pulla” to allow you to use those light elastics/small hooks and still handle bigger fish when they come along (watch Shaun in the Hampton Springs match Video to see the technique).

If you're used to pole elastics having a single rating for stretch, then you won't have come across the development of hollow elastics filled with a liquid that becomes more viscous when squeezed by the walls of a stretching elastic...This allows them to act almost like two separate elastics with different ratings - depending on the size of the fish you hooked (and how hard they are pulling).

The Matrix Slik has properties part way between both standard latex and the hollow/liquid core elastics. We don't make any financial gains from the video below, and it is helpful to explain why Shaun Gaskell chooses that particular option. Here it is explained by another Shaun (Little):

 Wire stem floats have an advantage when fishing baits on the bottom as they will help everything settle deep quickly (and be ready to provide indication for bites on the lake-bed more quickly). Lighter stems are good for fishing on the drop in warmer weather – as they’ll stay pointing like an index finger right at your bait as it falls through the water. By following it down like this, you’ll have good bite indication throughout the extended drop phase. Again, lots of cross-training opportunities with bite indication in French Nymphing and Czech Nymphing...

Waggler

Go for an 11ft or 12ft waggler rod (normally not the stiffer carp models), 2600 size reel with 4lb main line (possibly up to 6lb if you need to pull free of snags). Add a crystal waggler float – rated to carry just enough shot to cast comfortably to your chosen fishing range. With split shot and the hook-links described above, this is pretty much all you need to get you up and running for silver fishing. For pleasure fishing it is also a great all-rounder setup for general coarse fishing on a wide variety of waters.

Avoiding Non-Target Species When Silver Fishing

If you’re fishing in a silvers match, the last thing you want to do is catch carp. Not only do they take up lots of valuable time while you are playing them, they also tend to wreck your swim for a while afterwards. Be careful though, until you have laid eyes on the fish that is pulling back hard, don’t deliberately straighten your hook so you can replace it with a pre-tied hooklink to save time. Often enough it will be a 3lb F1! This is something that both Ian and Shaun were keen to stress as we filmed their competition in the video above.

Your three best weapons for avoiding carp are...

As follows:

None of the above tactics create an absolute guarantee of success (you should be suspicious of anyone who promises that in fishing btw). However, when used together, this approach does allow you to start preparing in a way that gives you the best CHANCE of success.

That is the secret to fishing and (probably) lots of things in life...Take care of what you CAN control, try not to get bent out of shape by what you CAN'T control (like your draw number - or the weather!).

Expert Angler Profiles

Inspired by Silver Fishing?

If you're a beginner in this area (perhaps an expert in others of course) - OR if you're already hauling ass on these methods...look out for our Coarse Fishing Academy content. It will take care of the fundamentals and remove barriers to anyone who wants to get into bait and coarse fishing. It will also offer special, in-depth and top-level tactics to take you way ahead of the curve.

We're still hard at work creating it at this moment, but watch this space.

Paul Gaskell

PS - Please feel free to comment below on what I got right and wrong in this article; you can either leave comments as a guest, or you can use your Facebook or Google accounts to show your picture and identity to other readers. So have at it...