Pellets are a brilliant bait for carp, but there are times when natural baits are better. That is very much the case right now, after commercials have been heavily pressured – and, as temperatures fall, maggots and casters come into their own.
There are several scenarios where they are key too, and if you feed them in the correct places and in suitable quantities then you’ll soon have big fish queuing up.
THE BEST FISHING POLES WILL HELP TAKE YOUR ANGLING TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
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Down the edge
A combination of dead red maggots and groundbait can be unbeatable when fishing in shallow margins. It creates a cloud, and keeps the carp grubbing around for a long while. I will use this approach in 12ins-18ins of water.
The groundbait needs to be a relatively heavy mix with a high food content. Mix it on the wet side, so that all the particles have plenty of time to absorb the water. This creates a heavy blend that will stick to the bottom and not waft all over your swim when big carp arrive. Feed four or five big potfuls around 20 minutes before you intend to fish it, and bait your rig with a big bunch of dead maggots when it’s time to have a go.
A MARGIN POLE IS THE PERFECT TOOL FOR EXTRACTING BIG CARP FROM THE EDGES.
Maggots shallow
Pellets are quite heavy, and will sink quickly. This is great when you want to concentrate the carp on the deck, but when fishing shallow you want to do everything in your power to keep them in the upper layers. Casters are brilliant for this. They sink slowly, enticing carp to come close to the surface if they want to beat their mates to a feed-up.
It’s all about keeping a regular trickle going in, and I wouldn’t think anything of blasting in 40 casters or so every 30 seconds when there are plenty of feeding fish present. Use a banded caster and keep it on the move. Alternate between laying the rig in and slapping it on the surface to see how the fish respond to the noise.
KEEP YOUR FEEDING ACCURATE BY USING ONE OF THE BEST FISHING CATAPULTS.
Beat the silt
A lot of commercials are very silty, and feeding groundbait or micro pellets on top of it creates chaos. The fish tear it up, make the water even murkier, and eventually can’t see where the food is, leading to line bites and foul hooking as they charge around.
Expander pellets are my number one loosefeed when I must fish on top of silt, simply because they don’t bury in and will encouraging the fish to feed more calmly. But dead maggots will do the same, and are well worth a try. Plumb up with the aim of finding a hard spot but, if that isn’t possible, lightweight baits are the way forward.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT FISHING ON THE SLOPE? READ THIS EXPERT ARTICLE BY JAMIE HUGHES.
Entice the carp in
There will be days when the carp aren’t interested from the off. One of the best ways to get them to switch on is to pull other species into your swim.
Carp are extremely curious and, if you feed maggots or casters and get roach, skimmers and other quality silvers feeding, the lumps are likely to play ball eventually. Pencil this line in quite close to the bank, so that you can feed it regularly. Look to fish at or near to the bottom of the near shelf, and feed 20 maggots or casters every minute or so by hand.
Use 0.15mm mainline to a 0.12mm hooklength and a size 16 Guru F1 Pellet hook. A slimline, carbon-stemmed float that is approximately 4x14, shotted with No11s strung an inch apart in the bottom half of the rig, will give the bait that ideal slow fall through the water.
A pink or orange Daiwa Hydrolastic will complement this set-up and will prove strong enough to bank the odd bonus carp. Once your target species bully the silvers out and are giving you most of your bites, you can step your gear up accordingly to make sure the carp are banked more quickly.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT TYING POLE RIGS, CHECK OUT THIS SUPERB GUIDE.
