Adam Wakelin’s
‘hit and run’ tactics
“I’m fishing a peg that lets me cast to stumps sticking out of the water at 70 yards range”
WE’RE at that funny time of year when the fish don’t always want an area of bait built up to feed over, as they do in summer.
That’s why mugging fish on the pole works so well, and I think a similar process can be applied to catching carp on the feeder on commercial fisheries – a kind of hit-and-run approach where you’re only trying to lure and catch one fish at a time to back up a mix of fish on the pole.
Unlike in summer, when you’d be casting regularly and accurately into one spot to get bites within seconds of tightening up the rod-tip, a spring attack involves casting around a designated area to seek out the fish. Beginning short and having the capability to go longer is also important, as carp move about, so there’s plenty to consider. it’s not just chucking to the same spot every time!
DISTANCE
I’m on Big Geary’s Lake at Packington Somers today, fishing a peg that lets me cast to the famed stumps sticking out of the water at around 70 yards range. However, as tempting as it is to throw there immediately, I’ll resist it and instead, begin by fishing much shorter. As the day goes on I can then add an extra 10 yards to the cast to follow the fish about when the bites dry up and I think that those carp have backed away a bit.
You’re still looking for fishholding spots, so the stumps will be where I finish the day, but the same would apply to having an island to cast to, or a far bank on smaller lakes. The golden rule is not to blow the peg too early by crashing the feeder as far as you can from the word go.
TACKLE
Because you may need to cast up to 70 yards, you need a little bit of specialised kit compared to a normal day on a commercial. The rod I use is the 12ft 8ins Preston Innovations Dutchmaster that’ll easily handle a long chuck when teamed up with a PCR 6000 reel designed for long casting.
Mainline is 5lb Power Max but I use a shockleader with this. Why, you may ask? Well, not only is it a bit of security when launching a big cast, but when I get a big carp close the bank I’ll end up playing it on the shocker and not the mainline, so I’ve got extra strength and security. The leader is 10lb Power Max, and I use up to 10m of this compared to a 4m length of leader I’d use when fishing braid for bream.
This puts me in control of carp far earlier when winding it back. I could use stronger mainline straight through but accuracy and distance would suffer.
Today I’m fishing a Dura Banjo feeder with a short hooklink so that means 4ins of 0.17mm Power Line to a size 14 PR27 hook in conjunction with a band. The feeder is a 28g model, more than enough to reach those distant stumps. This is fished inline, but if I were allowed I would go for an elasticated version for that extra bit of security when playing a fish under the rod-tip.
BAITS AND FEED
I have a rule for what to put in or around a feeder, based on what I’m fishing for.
If that’s skimmers and F1s I go for a mix of groundbait and micro pellets, but if just carp are the target it’s 2mm Fin Perfect Stiki Method Pellets. I don’t want to be catching a 12oz skimmers at that range when I could go straight for goal and nail a carp!
For the hook, I’ve got on really well with 6mm Sonubaits Band’Ums although a banded hard pellet is another standby option. Maggots are best left for catching skimmers.
Open a tub of Band’Ums and you’ll have plenty of colour options. I’ve narrowed it down to using light colours for bream and red or orange for carp, so today’s choice is an easy one.
TIMING THE BITES
In a match you don’t want to waste time with the feeder out there and a motionless tip.
I’ll begin by casting into open water some way from the maximum point that I can cast to and work out how long to leave the bait in, based on the number of bites I am getting. I get a rough idea of the time between bites and use this as my guide, so it could be five minutes or it could be 15.
If I get no bites, however, this tells me no carp are about and that I need to creep a few yards further out on the next few chucks.
ONE FISH AT A TIME
As I said at the beginning, you aren’t trying to build up the swim over a long period. Instead, the name of the game is to catch one fish at a time, ideally one every cast. Therefore, I use a line clip so I can reach the right range but I don’t always land the feeder on the same spot.
It can pay off to land the feeder a yard or two away from where it was previously in case the fish have moved slightly or even a few yards closer to you.
Basically, if you don’t get a bite on one cast, don’t land the feeder in the same place on the next throw in.
SKIMMER TROUBLE
On venues such as Packington, there are lots of skimmers but the feeder is not the best tactic for catching them. If you are being troubled by bream then the best advice I can give is to look around you and see if many carp are being caught.
If they are, then you need to cast about to find those fish in your area, as there will be some.
If only skimmers are being caught by the blokes around you then keep something going in the net, as a carp can turn up out of the blue at any point.