As some of you might know, I tend to do a lot of quick overnighters each week. My time is very restricted due to working a normal 9am-5pm Monday to Friday job and being restricted to twenty days holiday per year. Leaving little time to do mid-week sessions, which only leaves weekends, which are commonly the busiest time on the bank.

One reason I go to the extra effort of fishing overnight sessions is that it gives me more of a chance to get on the fish, get in the going swims or even to keep the bait going in and know I have more of a chance to fish the baited spots without other anglers being there.

A lot of the time I arrive at the venue before or after work to watch the water for signs and work out what the fish are doing at certain times of the day and the areas they like to visit. Once I have located the fish, the rest is down to relying on good quality bait and rig components that I’m one hundred percent confident in.

I will often turn up at the lake at first light on the day I’m planning to do an overnighter and find the fish, which will give me a good idea of the area I should be coming back to after I have finished work. I may, if possible, introduce some bait where I have seen them, giving them a free feed enabling me to come back and get the rigs straight in position for the evening ahead.

Taking the time to bait a few spots regularly is a tactic that has really paid off for me. I’m not talking about filling it in, but as long as you keep it going in regularly the fish will soon see this as a safe feeding ground allowing you to then introduce the rigs on the overnighters and catch a few before other people get wind of the spots.

I’ve been baiting a lot just recently with the new Bait-Tech Poloni boilie. Baiting with boilies can be very easy, using a catapult or a throwing stick, bait can be applied in any amounts very fast and very quick. It also enables me to bait up in the dark with very little disturbance. No spods or Spombs crashing into the water allowing you to stay stealth in the dark from the other anglers.

It then comes down to the rig and the components used. On quick sessions I will always use heli setup hinge stiff rigs or naked chods. With these setups I can get rigs in position quickly, quietly and I know I’m always fishing.

Tangles are few and far between with these presentations and they can be fished over more of less any lake bed. You’re always up against time on overnighters, so getting rigs in the water with less noise and disturbance is always going to be a winner in my eyes.

This may all sound and seem like hard work, and believe me it is. Getting the rods out at 7pm and reeling it at 6am is horrible, but it really can make all the difference and help you put more fish on the bank. Getting to the lake at first light, finding fish and then going to work really sucks, but knowing you’re going back in the evening and you may possibly catch is what gives me the buzz to keep going.

I know I haven’t made it sound all glamorous and nice but when you get the results there is no better feeling knowing all that hard work has paid off!