STRUGGLING? IT’S TIME FOR PLAN B(READ)

move, but in my experience it’s also worth coming back to that spot later on because the fish don’t tend to move far.

In fact what tends to happen a lot is you end up with one banker spot and one or two others you can nick the odd fish from.

Once you work out these spots it’s possible to keep your catch rate ticking over nicely by staying on the move throughout your session.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BREAD

Bread choice is very much personal preference, but I do believe the brand of bread you choose for dobbing can make a difference to the outcome.

I always prefer a fresh loaf because it will have that soft, sticky texture that helps to keep it on the hook.

I’ve always liked Warburton’s thick sliced – the one in the orange bag – and what’s more I’m happy to use it straight out of the bag.

Some anglers like to remove the crusts, but this isn’t really something I tend to do.

The only thing I do to the bread is lightly compress it with my knuckles prior to punching it out.

MIX YOUR PUNCHES

When it comes to punch sizes I like to give myself a few options, and so I carry punches ranging from 6mm to 10mm in diameter.

As a rule I will always kick off with an 8mm piece of punch and see what happens.

If I start to miss a lot of bites then I will drop down to 6mm.

Conversely, if I’m catching more carp than F1s I’ll make the change to a 10mm punch, just to see if it makes a difference. Often it will, and carp weigh heavier than F1s!