12 golden rules for the feeder
The feeder is deadly in winter, but you need to adapt your approach...
ANGLERS can become a bit blinkered and be led into fishing negative tactics when the cold weather arrives – but I think they miss out on a lot of fish because of this.
One example is, they stop fishing the feeder. This is a big mistake – here’s how to keep the bites coming...
FEEDER FISHING WORKS ALL YEAR ROUND
THERE is no doubt that while feeder fishing is at its best in the summer it also works in the colder months, providing, of course, that you adapt your approach accordingly.
When I say ‘adapt’, I’m talking about the little things like stepping down the feeder size. In cold, clear water, crashing a big feeder in is a recipe for disaster!
EXPERIMENT WITH FEED DURING YOUR SESSION
I AM a massive believer in being sparing with my feed, especially now that water temperatures have dropped. After all, you can put bait in but you can’t take it out!
For this reason I always like to start off cautiously with a view to seeing what sort of response I get – only then will I decide how to feed the swim. This way I can always up my baiting if I feel it’s right on the day.
SHORTER HOOKLENGTHS ARE BEST FOR THE METHOD
THE exception to the long hooklength rule (Tip 8) is, of course, the Method or Hybrid feeder where, even in the cold, I like to fish a short 4ins hooklength and bury the bait in the feeder’s payload.
I personally see no mileage in fishing a long hooklength on the Method, as it goes totally against what you are trying to achieve – which is to have fish virtually hook themselves, bolt rig-style.
SOMETIMES YOU’VE GOT TO GO TO THE FISH
ONCE the weather goes cold location becomes key – you have to go to the carp.
Therefore, rather than casting to one spot to build a swim as you would in the summer, cold-water feeder fishing is all about keeping on the move and following the fish.
So if I cast to a spot and no indications or bites ensue, my next cast will be to a different spot to try and find the fish.
DARK GROUNDBAIT MIXES OUT-FISH LIGHTER ONES
WHEN I’m targeting silver fish on the feeder and the water is clear I will always use a dark groundbait mix.
This is purely because silver fish tend to be very wary about sitting over light coloured groundbait in clear water, where they will be very exposed to predators. However, they will quite happily feed with confidence over a dark mix, as their backs blend in with it.
PELLETS ARE A SAFE OPTION ON THE METHOD FEEDER
WHEN it comes to Method or Hybrid feeder work, then in the cold, as far as what to put on the feeder goes, it’s pellets, pellets and more pellets!
For me these are a very safe option when compared to groundbait, the use of which can be very hit-and-miss.
So, if you are in the slightest doubt as to what to put on the feeder, go with pellets every time!
ANTI-TANGLE RIGS ARE VITAL FOR LEAVING IT OUT LONGER
IN THE cold I quite often leave my feeder out a long longer than normal. But it’s vital that you know your rig is fishing effectively.
There is nothing worse than leaving your feeder out for 30 minutes, only to reel it in and find you are in a tangle.
So for this reason it’s important to ensure your rigs are as tangle-proof as it’s possible to make them.
LEAVE A SAFE ZONE IN YOUR SWIM FOR LATER
A LITTLE trick that catches me loads of coldwater carp every year is to leave a safe zone in my swim which the carp can back off into.
By a ‘safe zone’ I mean an area of the swim I don’t cast into all match until the last hour. Because this area is undisturbed, carp will move into it, thinking it’s safe. This allows me to target the area late on in a match and often pick up a couple of bonus fish.
GET A STOPWATCH AND ALWAYS TIME YOUR BITES
ONE of the most important items of tackle I carry in the cold is a stopwatch. There are two reasons for this – the first is to time my casts, so I know if I want to fish a 30-minute cast I am doing just that.
Second, and perhaps more important, is to time any bites I get. Quite often, if I do this, I will be discover to find a pattern and then use this to my advantage as the session progresses.
SLACK LINES ARE BEST IN THE COLDER CONDITIONS
CARP are easily spooked at this time of year – while it’s nice to get line bites and indications, every time a fish touches your line it is potentially spooking. This problem can be made far worse with a bowstring-taut line running through the swim.
For this reason I always like to fish nice and slack. This way, if a fish does bump the line, the chances of it being spooked are reduced.
LONGER HOOKLENGTHS WORK BEST WITH A CAGE FEEDER
WITH fish being easily spooked in cold, clear water, when I’m fishing an open-end or even a maggot feeder quite often a long tail will outfish a short one.
This is because the fish back away from the feeder but stay near it, as they know there is food there. As a guide in this situation I will quite often fish a metre-long hooklength to try and keep bites coming.
SWITCHING HOOKBAITS WILL CATCH YOU EXTRA FISH
A MISTAKE a lot of anglers make in the cold is to stick to one hookbait, whether they’re catching or not.
In winter I have found that I catch a few fish early on my chosen starting bait and then it goes quiet. It’s in this quiet period that I often find changing my hookbait will produce an extra bite or two. If I didn’t know better I’d think that the fish had wised up to my opening hookbait option.