NOW’S THE TIME TO GO BIG!
continued
lakes and the fish, in general, are smaller.
The amount to feed is an interesting subject. In summer here I know it’s possible to feed 10-12 pints of pellets – no problem at all!
Now, though, there is no need for this heavy feeding regime and I’d expect three pints to be plenty until it gets properly cold, when a pint will be enough!
BE AWARE OF ACTIVITY
When feeding on the bomb I like to feel my way in, rather than attack it from the off.
This means starting off quite negatively – I can always up my feed but I can’t take bait out once I’ve fed it. As a guide I’ll kick off with five or six pellets every couple of minutes.
I’ll then adjust this once I drop on to this line or I see something that makes me think I need to change it.
For example, in a match I might see someone feeding a lot more than I am start to catch well. I’ll then up my feed, knowing that the carp are coming to the bait.
Equally, I might drop in and start to get indications and bites straight away. If this happens it’s a good indicator that the carp are switched on to the pellets, and I can up my feed and my catch rate.
If I drop in and the tip doesn’t move, particularly if I can’t see anyone else catching, I will cut back to just two or three pellets to take this into account.
I will say, though, that even if the fishing is rock-hard it’s important to keep the odd pellet going in, as this is the only way you can pull a fish or two into your peg.
DOUBLE POUCH PELLETS
One little trick I use a lot late on in a session is what I call the ‘double pouch’.
This involves feeding twice in quick succession, casting right on top of the loosefeed and then sitting and waiting.
The good part is, you normally don’t have to wait long! I must stress, though, that this is purely a last hour tip – it doesn’t seem to work early and there is, of course, the danger that if you do it too early you can overfeed your peg.
As to why it works, I think there are a number of possibilities, but perhaps the main reason is that it pushes the fish down to the bottom to feed – which is, of course, where you want them.
A word of warning, too, in that this works as an impact tactic – if
you do it every cast it quickly loses its effectiveness and there is also the knock-on risk of overfeeding.
CAST AND FEED
Perhaps the best bit of advice I can pass on to you regarding bomb and pellet fishing is to feed and then cast, rather than the other way round.
The real secret to bomb fishing is, of course, to fish your hookbait in among the loose offerings.
By feeding first and then casting into the rings the loosefed pellets have left on the surface you know your hookbait will be in the optimum position.