How To Make Your Fishing Easier With Your Swim Layout
This may not seem important, but in my eyes it is! Swim layout seems just a fad to look "carpy" or whatever but it also reduces a lot of hazards and makes your angling easier. This is how you achieve a swim layout which will make your fishing easier
Rods and Landing Nets.
When setting up your banksticks, ensure they are in a position where you have enough room to land a fish comfortably. If you've got no space to net the fish then that is no good. You are likely to get yourself in a situation where you can't land the fish you've hooked. As well as this, this can be damaging to the fish as if you're rummaging around trying to net the fish, the fish can get injured if in shallow water right next to snags or a rocky bottom. Ensure you've got enough room to at least get the waders on and get in the water to land the fish.
Keep your landing net accessible to your rods, this means that you'll be ready to net the fish sooner. If you're playing a fish and realise your net is somewhere you can't reach then this is risky. As much as you can loosen the clutch quickly to get the net, this can cost you fish as it can easily snag you or swim towards you meaning the slack line can enable it to ditch the hook. Be prepped and always make sure you've got the essentials by you.
When fishing 3 rods, make sure you've got enough room to land the fish on each side of your set up. Again not doing this can result in carnage! Fish going over all your lines and resulting in a big tangle and having to sort that mess out. Not fun!
Bivvy/Brolly Layout
When thinking of a swim layout, ensure your bivvy is in a place where it is easy to get to your rods. If you've got tree roots all over your swim try and find an area with less roots. Running out in the dark to play a fish is dangerous when there are hazards, the last thing you want to do is trip as you have a bite and end up injuring yourself. Be sure to suss the terrain and figure out where the even ground is and where the potential trip hazards are.
Double check the wind direction. If you're using a brolly the last thing you want is the wind blowing straight in and blowing your brolly over. This can damage your brolly if it goes into a hedge and not to mention what happens if it goes halfway across the lake in strong winds!
Don't leave anything in the way between you and your rods. IE have your landing net on the other side of the rods to your brolly so you're not going to trip over. Unhooking mat, barrow and retention sling can go behind your brolly or the other side of your rods to give you a clear path. Keep your door way free as well by keeping all your gear to the side of your brolly or underneath/behind the bedchair. Last thing you want to be doing is tripping over a gas stove or slipping on a frying pan.
As you can see, here is a quick illustration of how I tend to set my swim up depending on the angling situation. Apologies it's not to scale but hopefully it's easy to read and understand!
