Can Tom Maker catch from a popular day-ticket water with only £50 to spend on tackle, bait and his ticket…? You bet he can!

When I was first told that I’d have fifty quid to spend on a day’s fishing I thought it should be a doddle, in fact I might even get to pocket the change! However, when told that it had to cover my day ticket, bait and terminal tackle I had to give it a little thought. Bait and a ticket wouldn’t be a problem and, usually, I’d have all the tackle I needed already, but this put a slightly different slant on things.

The destination was to be popular day-ticket water Drayton Reservoir – not the most difficult venue around but the conditions were baking hot and carp in any lake can be moody when the weather is so extreme.

It was time to sit and work out what I’d need for the day – well, with my travelling involved it would be more like a few hours. Zigs had to be the tactic I’d employ and, as such, I bought myself some suitable kit, all from the Fox Edges range, as you’d expect:

Zig & Floater Hook Link (15lb) £7.49

Zig Foam (red and yellow) £7.98

Zig Alignas (red and yellow) £7.50

Aligna Tool £2.99

Zig & Floater Hooks £4.49

Total: £30.45

While that might sound like a lot for a day’s fishing, every single one of these items can be used again and again, so in fact it would see me through very many sessions.I then rang the venue and enquired about day-ticket prices, which turned out to be £12. This left me with about £7.50 to spend on bait and I knew exactly where I was heading – Tesco.