How to keep catching on the Method
Make feed and hookbaits irresistible
OLLOW the match results every week in Angling Times and you will notice that winning weights are falling away as temperatures drop.
Carp thrive in the warm, so as the water chills their metabolism slows and they feed with less enthusiasm. Using less bait, often with very bright hookbaits, is now the tactic of choice.
Right now, though, we are in a transitional period when the fish still want to eat, but their appetite has been dulled.
Summer tactics, such as the Method feeder, are still effective as long as you are willing to adapt to the prevailing conditions.
PACK MORE PUNCH
Adding liquid flavours to your pellets is especially important at this time of year. One way to do this is to use Method pellets that are already treated with flavours boasting a strong track record, such as Monster Crab, Scopex and The Source.
If you fish places that insist you use their own pellets, flavouring them can prove to be a massive edge, because most anglers simply won’t bother.
Not only can boosted pellets get the fish feeding harder, but they can also keep carp looking for food longer, making them far more catchable.
I normally sprinkle powdered additives over the prepared damp pellets, then leave them for anything up to an hour to allow the attraction to be drawn in.
Concentrated powders, such as Squid Powder, should only be added sparingly – half a teaspoon to a pint of pellets is about right. Shake them really well to disperse the powder evenly over the bait.
HOOKBAITS
Dumbells and hard pellets might be easy to band or lasso, but can softer baits prove more effective?
The carp in my pond certainly prefer softer baits, especially in the cold, when they will eat just the bare minimum of hard pellets to satisfy them.
I reckon they feed for almost twice as long on soft foods.
Punched meat is a very effective alternative to hard pellets, with much more smell and a softer texture. Don’t be put off by the high fat content as long as you reserve it just for hookbaits.
Meat is also quite a light colour which stands out on the bottom. Softened pellets are another alternative hookbait, but they are quite dark in colour – fine if the carp are homing in on the feeder, but less effective if they are feeding more selectively.
It is interesting how hookbait colour can make a massive difference to catches on the Method – after all, you’d expect any self-respecting carp to simply hoover up the saucer-sized offering of food in front of it.
Bright colours can often bring quick bites, but it’s worth ringing the changes as a quick bite or two can frequently follow a change of hookbait colour. Try white, pink and yellow as a change from the normal darker colours.
Slow-sinking and wafter
hookbaits can also bring positive bites and lead to fewer lost fish, as they are sucked in more easily.
DOWNSIZE
Reducing the amount you feed makes a lot of sense. Silver fish, common in most commercials, will be less hungry, so feeding to excess is much easier now the temperature is falling.
A fail-safe way of cutting down the feed is to reduce the size of your Method feeder. For every size you step down you roughly halve the amount of bait introduced, without having to alter how often you cast.
I much prefer to keep recasting regularly and feed smaller amounts than to leave the feeder out for longer.
Think carefully about the size of pellets that you feed. Micros make the carp work harder, and will reach the bottom intact, nor are they jolted off the feeder as it hits the water. A mixture of pellets and a little fishmeal groundbait is a useful tactic when you don’t want to back off the amount of bait introduced.
The rich crumb provides more attraction, with little food value.