Squatt fishing is one of those methods that anglers either love or hate, but if you want to be an all-round match angler nowadays its well worth knowing the basics of it! The Squatt is not just a bait for catching bits on canals; it makes a great feed bait in groundbait, and doesn’t wriggle into the silt on the bottom, unlike maggots and pinkies.
Large bream weights have been caught by putting squats in the feed, and even the specimen boys have been known to put a bed of them down for targeting large wary carp.
The Squatt is a tiny maggot, smaller than a pinkie, which forms the larvae of the house fly. They can be purchased from most tackle shops and will come in sand. Some anglers riddle the sand off the squatts and keep them in peat, as this keeps the bait in better condition.
Also, try not to let squatts ‘dry out’, as they will very quickly float, so keep giving them a spray with an atomizer, especially on warm days.
Squatt fishing has been a method widely used on canals and natural still waters throughout the country for many years and has been the key to many big canal team match wins too. It’s bait that works well in conjunction with a sweet groundbait, such as VDE Special, Supermatch and Super cup, or Sensas Canal, Lake or Gardons. The traditional way to fish a squatt match is to cup/ball 4 or 5 balls in to start with, and then loosefeed squatts over the top. This is a method that can really get the roach queuing up on some days, and anglers can get through up to 2 pints in some sessions.
Hemp also works well when fed in conjunction with squatts, and the better stamp fish can be caught on hemp later in the day over the squatt lines. Alternative hook baits can still be used, maggots, pinkies, casters etc to pick out better fish too. The squatt is fantastic ‘get out of jail’ bait when fishing is really rock hard. They can be drip fed through a small pot tight across the far bank of canals and catch you that all important fish when you really need it. They have saved many top canal anglers in big team matches.
As mentioned earlier, squatts can also play a part when targeting big fish, both in the match and specimen world. Some of the regular Irish anglers take squatts over to put in their groundbait as a feed bait for the bream and skimmers to home in on, and on hard fished carp waters, the Bivvy boys have been know to spod in a bed of squatts to catch the difficult fish!
Rigs
The traditional rig that still works nowadays is a light, strung out rig with small shots. A slim float works really well for this sort of rig, and favourite patterns include the Colmic Jolly, Preston Classic 4, and Tubertini Stix. Small number 12 or 13 dropper shot will allow a really slow natural fall through the loosefeed. Some people try to achieve this perfect presentation by using styles. Its important to lay the rig in properly too, flat, and hold on to it tight to create a slow fall.
However, on some venues, lakes and deeper canals, a more positive bulked rig can be used. This style rig works well being lowered in, to get the bait down quickly to the fish. An ollivette can be used, with two or three umber 10 dropper shots. Float choice can vary, but popular patterns are the Jean Francois, Preston Classic 6, and PB15’s.
Mainlines for squatt fishing can vary. When using a strung out rig, a light 0.08 to 0.10 line is best, as it will be soft and supple and give good presentation, whereas on the bulked rig it isn’t as important, as the rig is being lowered in, so an 0.10 or 0.12 lines can be used. Hooklengths are very important, as with all roach fishing. 0.06 to 0.08 are the most common used for squatt fishing, as you are normally targeting small roach and skimmers. Hook wise, the B511 is a lengendary squatt hook, along with the mustad wide gape canal seed in sizes 18-24. A soft number elastic, 2-4, will complete this canal style set up. A catapult is an important item when squatt fishing, so make sure yours is up to scratch, to keep a steady stream of loosefeed going in.
All in all, there’s more to squatts than just ‘them little white things that daft faffy anglers use’. On their day they can be a bag up roach bait on canals, a get out of jail bait to catch you that all important Tommy rough, or that key feed ingredient in your bream mix to catch a big weight. So get out there and give the little white men a try!
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