Get on the float!
How the pellet waggler is taking big stillwater catches right now
ANGLERS are being urged to ‘get on the pellet waggler’ this week after commercial fisheries produced their biggest weights of 2017 taken on the tactic.
Among countless triple-figure nets on the pellet wag was that of the winner of one of the latest Fish O’Mania qualifiers.
Fishing lake 1 on the popular Makins Fishery, in Leicestershire, Jason Redgrave cast his pellet waggler and 8mm pellet hookbait out from peg 15 and after 90 minutes of persistent feeding and
casting he struck into his first carp of the day
The Maver Gold Dynamite angler landed 12 fish to 12lb for a winning 104lb 8oz. All were taken on 5lb mainline, a Guru 0.19mm or 0.17mm hooklink, and a size 16 hook with an 8mm pellet that was hair-rigged with a micro band.
“My biggest tip for catching on the pellet waggler at this time of year is to be patient and keep altering your depth to find out where the fish are feeding,” Jason told Angling Times.
“I was casting every 20 seconds and feeding two pouchfuls of 8mm pellets constantly until I found the fish.
“I really had to work at it, though, as the fish didn’t just keep coming when I started getting bites.
“In the summer you rarely have to strike – the fish just rip the rod out of your hand – but on this occasion I had to strike at every movement of the float.
“Another tip when fishing the pellet waggler is not to use a float that’s too light. If you’re casting and having to get a ‘swoosh’ noise out of your rod to reach the required distanc, a heavier float is required.”
Second-placed angler in the same match was pellet waggler Pellet waggler – it’s the in-form tactic.
expert Perry Stone, who used his favourite tactic to land 96lb.
He added: “People think that as soon as the air temperature goes up, that of the water does exactly the same. They just set their float a few feet deep and think that’s where the carp are going to be, but that’s not usually the case.
“I also had to be really patient because it took me a long time to
“Be patient and keep altering your depth to find out where the fish are feeding”
get my first bite, but as soon as I got the depth right I had 10 fish in as many casts.
“The pellet waggler will really start to come into its own now so give it a try… you won’t be disappointed,” added Perry.
Other fisheries that have been regularly producing threefigure weights on the popular method are Hayfield Lakes in Doncaster and Suffolk Water Park.
Adam’s Lake has been producing the biggest nets at Hayfield, and at Suffolk Water Park it’s Match Lake 1 that’s been the venue in form.