Steve Ringer
Discover how feeding just two pellets every two minutes can make a big difference on the commercials right now
2 x 2 = carp. The formula for success on cold-water commercials...
IF I had to pick one method that has caught me more fish than any other in the cold, then without doubt it’s my long pole and hard pellet approach.
It’s a tactic that tends to be forgotten, but I think it’s a great way of trying to make something happen without feeding too much, something that could have a negative effect on the swim.
As most anglers will know, I’m not one to sit there and just wait for the fish. I always feel that if I can’t get a bite I need to do something positive to try and make things happen.
When the water goes clear and the temperature drops, carp in particular tend to be easily spooked and will push well out from the bank.
It’s for this reason that I like to fish long for them, at 14.5m or even 16m. I feel the further out I fish, the better chance I have of catching them.
BAITS FOR TIGHT FEEDING
In terms of bait it really doesn’t get any simpler – all you need is a pint (at the very most!) of 6mm coarse pellets.
Today I’m at Bishops Bowl Fishery, in Warwickshire, and I’ve gone with my favourite Ringers R6s, which are a nice, uniform size of coarse pellet.
It’s really important to make sure the pellets you’re using are all the same size as it makes feeding a tight area by catapult that little bit easier, especially when fishing at longer range on the pole. The R6s are also a nice light colour, which I prefer in the cold – with the water being clear they offer that little bit of extra, visual attraction. Alongside the pellets I also like to have around a quarter-of-a-pint of wetted down micro pellets. These give me another fish pulling option, should the need arise.
KICKING OFF THE SWIM
When it comes to feeding it’s very much a case of ‘less is more’. I will aim to kick off feeding just two pellets every 45-60 seconds and see what happens.
I’m looking for both bites and indications – if I start to get bites
and signs then I will continue with the same feeding regime.
But if nothing happens after 20 minutes I will cut back on the frequency of my feeding to two pellets every two minutes, and see if this makes a difference.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that because I am feeding so little I can afford to lower my feeding rate even further, just to see if I can get a response.
If it’s really hard going I will even drop down to feeding just one pellet at a time if bites are few and far between.
The whole point of this tactic, though, is to keep feeding something – I believe it’s vitally important to keep some bait falling through the water, no matter how small an amount, as this will give me the best chance of pulling a fish into the swim.
HOOKBAIT
Hookbait choice doesn’t get any simpler. After all, I’m feeding 6mm hard pellets so it makes perfect sense to me to fish the same on the hook.
I’ll sometimes have a few different shades of 6mm pellet with me, just to mix things up a bit, but as a rule I’ll use the same pellet on the hook as I do for feed.
WORKING THE RIG IS VITAL
Fishing hard pellets on the long pole is all about trying to make a fish suck up the hookbait, rather than waiting for one to do so.
Now, the best way to do this is without doubt by lifting and lowering the float so that the hookbait rises and falls in the water.
This little bit of movement more often than not is all that’s required to get a response.
The best way to work the rig is to simply lift the float 8ins-10ins clear of the water and lower it back down again.
I like to repeat this process every 30 seconds or so.
You’ll find that bites will tend to come as the float settles again after lowering it in.
What I like to do is feed and try to judge where the loose pellets are in the water column, I then lift my float and lower it so that my hookbait falls with the loose offerings, thereby looking as natural as possible in the process.
DOT YOUR FLOAT DOWN
Bites on hard pellets in the cold can be just tiny indications on the float, even from the biggest fish.
I like to dot my float right down and lift at every indication. It’s amazing how responding to even the tiniest movement on the float can see the elastic streaming out of the pole-tip as a carp takes off.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS…
A great little trick in the cold if pinging in pellets isn’t working is to put a small sprinkle pot on the pole and simply tap micro pellets over the float.
Even in deep water this is a great trick that rarely lets me down in terms of getting a quick reaction.
It’s not something I want to do all day, but if the swim is quiet or I can’t get a sign it’s well worth putting the pot on and giving it two feeds, just to see.