STEVE RINGER: STILLWATER SECRETS
HOOKBAITS
My thinking around hookbaits has changed somewhat this year, with a few more options added to my armoury.
My starting point is to always ‘match the hatch’ and fish the same on the hair as what I’m feeding. Even so, one hookbait that rarely lets me down is a big 12mm Robin Red hard pellet, especially at Boddington.
I think there are two reasons why it works so well. First, size. At 12mm it really stands out among the loose offerings and gives the carp something they can really home in on. Second, colour. Many commercials are coloured, and I have always felt red is highly visible in coloured water.
The new kids on the block when it comes to bomb and pellet fishing are Ringers Wafters. I have enjoyed great success with two 8mm Pellet Wafters on a size 10QM1 hook, which balances them perfectly. Then there’s the brilliant 10mm Orange Wafter. I have no idea why this works so well on the bomb over pellets but believe me, it does! Another angler tipped me off about their effectiveness in this situation and he wasn’t wrong!
If you’re struggling for a bite on the bomb, or if carp are there and you aren’t catching them, try an Orange Wafter on the hair. You might be surprised at the results.
IMPACT BOMB
When using bomb and pellet tactics I have always caught a lot of carp by fishing just past my feed.
I believe that on pressured waters carp sit a little way off the main loosefed area, moving in and out and picking up free offerings as they do so.
To take advantage of this I cast the bomb around 5m past the loosefeed. However, to give my hookbait a bit of extra attraction I also to have a rod set up with an Impact Bomb on.
These bombs are designed to hold a few wetted-down micro pellets which then explode off the lead on impact with the water and give my hookbait that bit more pulling power.