I hope that part
one of this short series managed to get you thinking on how to
approach you’re next session. Let’s face it, most anglers may
only get out once a week so even if I’ve made you slow down and
stop rushing to a swim without looking at the water first, that’s
enough, as just this small step will help you catch loads more fish,
why, because now you will be fishing a swim that contains fish.
You may well off
even thrown the PVA, boilies and method feeders in the bin and tried
using one of the methods mentioned. If so, I hope you have managed to
not only save a few quid but managed to catch a few extra fish.
Change isn’t always easy, and getting pellets or groundbait to grip
a lead, yet still breaking down effectively to be attractive to fish
takes some practice and the only way to learn the art is to make some
mistakes. In this article I’m going to look at one tactics in more
depth, explain how I go about preparing my bait in advance (more
shown by means of photo sequences) as well as how I approach a venue
with this.
Targeting Carp using the Pellet-Lead’.
The first method
is ‘The standard pellet-lead’ which is great for targeting carp
on well stocked club lakes as well as day ticket waters which are
classify as runs waters. Once again I have to reinforce the issue of
locating fish, without a doubt the most important part of each
session if catching is high on you’re agenda. Setting the alarm
clock half an hour early and arriving at the venue just before
daybreak will give you the extra time needed to scan the water.
Usually at dawn fish will be spotted, however if you struggle to find
the fish then my advise at this time of the year is to head to the
end of the lake where the wind is blowing. Fishing with the wind
directly in you’re face, especially if its an easterly will be cold
during the winter and this is the same for the fish, so move away
from this bank and try and fish into the ripple from the side, yet if
there is an exceptionally mild period with a warm south west wind,
something that’s more and more common these days, then I would risk
positioning myself in a swim with this straight into my face. Once
the fish have been located and you are in a swim with them in front
of you, take time to see at what distance most of the activity is, as
this is where you want to be placing your bait. Make a quick cast
then place the line in the reels line clip and tie a reference mark
onto the line next to this. The best line reference marker is that
made from E.S.P Marker Gum. A simple stop-knot is good enough and
will not move, just make sure you leave the ends longer than you
would think, as cutting these too short will create friction on the
line and cause you problems when casting. Once clipped and marked up
I simply tie on a Spomb and get some bait out, which is going to be
the same as that moulded around the lead and the same size as that
placed on the hair. Once I have deposited maybe three loads I simply
tie on my rig, place a bait on the hair, mould some free offerings
around the lead and cast out to the desired spot. Laying the rod on
the ground I repeat this with the second rod then go about organising
the swim for the day ahead. Dawn is one of the best periods for a
bite so expect one of the rods placed on the ground to burst into
life, just remember if doing this to ensure you have removed the line
from the clip and that the baitrunner is loosened right off! Being
able to get rods out to showing fish quickly is all about being
organised, hence why my rods are always made up on arrival with rigs
attached.
The reason I call
this ‘The standard Pellet-Lead’ is on runs-waters I want the carp
to feed on a certain size bait, so if I’m going to mould 8mm
pellets around the lead then I’m going to be using an 8mm pellet on
the hair, my preference being a Nash 8mm Squidgee Pellet. This is
where carp on such waters often get away with things, as if you place
8mm pellets in a PVA bag they will home in on these, feed with
confidence on these, yet leave you’re 18mm boilie alone. This is
where matching you’re hookbait with you’re feed is so important.
Let’s look at it this way. If I was feeding maggots, would I be
using luncheon meat on the hook, no, I’d be using maggot!
Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, most anglers think they can
just turn up on a lake, cast out and catch, sorry you are wrong.
Using a PVA bag of pellets and fishing a boilie on the hook will
catch you fish, but far less than if you were to work the swim and
match the hookbait with the feed. A boilie will last for hours, yet
an 8mm pellets, maybe minutes, so if you decide to try my tactic then
it means no slacking, just constant casting.
When matching
hookbait with feed, an area that needs to be looked at is hook size,
as there is no point using a size 6 hook with an 8mm pellet. The way
I gauge this is simple. I try to match the diameter of the bait with
the diameter of the hook. The best way for me to explain this is,
would you use a size 18 hook with a 18mm boilie, no, and all angler
no why! A good size hook for an 8mm pellet would be a size 10 or 12
and knowing that I will be scaling down to consistently catch, then I
need to also look at the rods I will be using. It seems that 2.75lb
rods are sold as standard for carp fishing, but I rarely use such
powerful rods, as I’m rarely casting further than fifty yards and
rarely targeting fish in excess of 30lb. More often than not I’m
aiming to catch plenty of doubles in venues with very few snags, on
thought through scaled down tactics where balance rods are called for
in the 1.25lb to 2.2lb t/c range. Before you go thinking you have to
start buying new rods then don’t, just remember if you take my
advise and start bringing my tactics into you’re fishing, all you
need to remember is when using smaller hooks you will need to play
fish far more gently than if using beefier rods. If you start
experiencing hook pulls then its time to rethink rods.
At last, we come
to bait. Most day ticket, club waters see the constant introduction
of pellets, so to me this is what I have to use to get the best
results. Fish love pellets, yet in the winter, although still
effective, they do start to loose their appeal, so all you need to do
is drop down on the amount you introduce. The pellets I use are Nash
Sticky Method Pellets which are fantastic as they can be wetted down
once at the lake and are usable within minutes, but be warned, add
water on a little and often basis.
An edge that might
just catch you more fish is by adding a sight/buoyancy aid next to
the pellet on the hair. It doesn’t always work, however if you know
fish are in the swim and are experiencing loads of liners then it
might be worth trying. I recall one day, when after experiencing
numerous liners I added a small piece of buoyant plastic corn to the
pellet only to see the bobbin hit the rod blank, time after time.
One other very
important point, that many anglers miss, is the sharpness of the hook
point. This comes hot on the heels of fish location, as a blunt hook
will cost you fish. Place an appetising meal in front of a hungry
fish, next to a sharp hook and you have the recipe for success,
however a blunt hook is destined for failure. I will check my hook
point every time I remove one from the packet, and believe me they
aren’t always sharp, as well as after every capture, or each time I
find myself caught on a snag. Attention to detail makes all the
difference.
My thought process before each session
–
Rods rigged up and ready to go.
Alarm set ready to arrive half an hour
before daybreak.
Arrive at venue, leave tackle in car
(as long as it’s safe) and go find the fish.
Fish located, get tackle from car and
into swim.
Remove rig from rod, replace with Spomb
and introduce bait.
Remove Spomb, replace with rig and cast
to baited area, repeat with second rod.
Arrange swim for day ahead (land,
weigh, photograph fish often associated with early start).
Create a casting plan depending on time
of year, amount of fish showing.
Cast every 15/30/45 minutes depending
on situation.
Enjoy the rewards the extra effort
provides!
Go home, fully content knowing you have
gone the extra mile and been rewarded in doing so.
Top tip –
Try and match the hook size with
the hookbait.
Always check the sharpness of
you’re hook. If it digs in my nail, it’s good, if it slides
across its blunt.
Wednesday dawned damp and knowing the
upstream swim was improving dropped in another barbel virgin, Ross
Booker. Once again the first cast didn’t let us down and soon Ross
was admiring the first of many personal bests, a fish of 6lb 4oz.
Lewis wanted to try the float but the weather put paid to this so
decided to give the bottom swim a rest and bravely headed upstream,
close to the railway supports that make this beat such a famous one.
Sitting comfortably on one of the salmon croys it took Lewis just two
casts to latch into an angry Wye barbel, which was followed later by
one weighing just over 8lb. Strangely the swim died so with Ross
content and still catching in his first swim headed once more to the
boundary swim where once Lewis mastered the cast took a further six
barbel including a regular to the bank which weighed just over 8lb. 
Ross was well content and although the rains came, making the banks
treacherous soldiered on and come 6pm had taken a remarkable ten
barbel to 7lb 12oz. Stan the river keeper tells us that a pair of
Otters have been seen and that some of the birds circling above are
Swallows, some of which are nesting and are still rearing young!
