Gurus Underwater 3 – Andy Bennett and Steve Ringer Pole Fishing Secrets Revealed

This project gets our whole team excited every time it comes up, and this time around, we branched out to showcase a different kind of fishing in front of the magical underwater lenses – pole fishing for F1s and carp on a renowned commercial fishery.

The Underwater team ventured to Weston Pools near Oswestry on the infamous Claypit Pool for this latest showdown. Commercial connoisseur and double Fish'O'Mania Champion Andy Bennett was on the seatbox. England Feeder International and former world champion Steve Ringer joined him, watching the action on the underwater screens and sharing his thoughts, feelings and opinions on Andy's underwater tactics.

The two worked as a team in the show to learn as much as possible. Of course, there was continuous collaboration, making it very entertaining and thought-provoking throughout. After the first two feeder-based underwater shows, many viewers asked us to expose this popular method and style of fishing within our sport, especially involving F1s in a typical commercial fishery that can be notoriously tricky to catch.

It was tough finding a venue with the clarity and fish stocks needed. Still, the Clay Pit at Weston was simply perfect for it, and being a popular match fishery gave us a very realistic fishing situation targeting fish that regularly see angling pressure. The water here was clear, but the fish were present and feeding well, giving the guys a fantastic insight into what was happening down-under. The team explored a range of cool-water tactics, feeding tricks, baits and rigs in this show to glean as much information as possible while they had this unique opportunity.

The starting ploy was a short pole in open water, one of the most popular methods for approaching commercials. Plumbing up here really opened Andy and Steve's eyes, and even at the start of the session, they were surprised about how accurate different sizes of plummets were and about the substrate they were fishing on.

Regarding bait and tactics, soft pellets, expanders, hard pellets and maggots were tested in front of the screens, alongside different ways of feeding and presenting baits based on how the fish reacted and fed on camera. Endless experiments were carried out, such as: What are the fall rates of different baits? Do different rigs or shotting patterns impact presentation or bite detection? How do things like lids on Pole Pots affect how bait enters the swim? And most importantly, does Andy Bennett get his bait rejected without him seeing a bite on what he thinks is his perfect pole rig?

To make things even more interesting this time, we also had two cameras in the water simultaneously, with the second positioned in a margin swim. So, the boys could also experiment on a secondary swim, fishing a long, deep margin at 13m to their left in just over four feet of water. Again, lots of tests occurred on this margin line. The pair were shocked by how many fish were willing to enter the margins in the cold and clear water, mainly as this shoot occurred throughout winter.

Endless experiments were underway on the margin line, as the guys were fully engaged in getting their bite time down and fish-hooking ratio up. More questions were answered: Do flavours or colours make a difference? Does your shotting pattern matter in shallower water? Can fish see or sense your line, and does fishing lighter or heavier make a difference? It was a rollercoaster of variables, calculations, and workings-outs from two of the very best in the business, who were mesmerised by what they saw on the screens.

You can now watch the Underwater 3 film below to see for yourself.