Steve Ringer takes us through his pinging tactics for stillwater action
How Dynamite’s newly-launched 13mm baits are giving Steve an edge when it comes to big nets of carp
LIKE most match anglers, I try to give myself an edge on the bank by doing something different.
After all, if I’m fishing the same way as everyone else in a match, where’s my advantage?
Edges can come in a variety of forms – it might be fishing a different method or tactic, fishing
further out or closer in than the others, or even having a bait that’s different from those around me.
Even if I’m not sat on the form peg, I always believe that I can turn an average peg into a winning one if I can gain an advantage over other anglers.
One bait development I’ve been quick to get on recently has been the launch of Dynamite Baits’ new ‘Pinging Pellets’.
For those that don’t know, these are a dense pellet designed to be loosefed by catapult for bomb fishing.
However, the difference is their size – they aren’t 8mm, 10mm or even 11mm, but 13mm. Now that’s what I call a big pellet!
The concept is that being this size they can be fired a lot further by catapult, and this can give you a huge advantage.
Let’s say I’m in a line of anglers all feeding hard pellets at 25m range. With the 13mms I can fish at 35m range – just that bit further out than those around me – which often means I’m first to the fish.
What’s more, because I can fish and feed my own water I’m not competing against anglers around me, as they can’t effectively feed the same line.
You have a choice of four flavours, but my favourite is the F1 Sweet, a flavour that has already caught me loads of fish. I’m really confident in using it.
NOT JUST FOR BIG FISH
As I’ve said, 13mm is a big bait, but if you actually look at the size of a carp’s mouth, even one of around 2lb, you’ll see that even that size of bait will fit in there easily.
Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t a pellet I would use to specifically target 2lb fish – what I’m saying is, don’t think they’re purely a big-fish bait, because I’ve caught all sizes when fishing over the top of them.
POSITIVE PINGING
Fishing over loosefeed is a very positive way to attack a swim, and my bait list reflects this.
For big venues such as Barston
where I’m fishing today, I’d be looking to feed around four bags of pellets in five hours.
Yes, this is a lot of pellets, but Barston is a venue where there are a lot of fish and they do respond well to a positive baiting approach.
Now most anglers will feed these pellets over the top of a bomb, but I like to give myself another edge by fishing a Hybrid feeder packed with micros instead.
Therefore, my bait list also includes a bag of Ringers Method Micros which I soak up and to which I add three capfuls of yellow Boilie Crush to give the pellets a colour and flavour boost.
Barston’s fish see a lot of boilies from the carp anglers, so adding a bit of crushed boilie is another edge which I am sure catches me more fish.
GET FEEDING!
The fish at Barston are tuned into noise so regular feeding is key. I like to kick the swim off by double pouching pellets – feeding two pouches in quick succession – and then casting just past the loosefeed.
Normally it takes over an hour and up to two for the carp to really get their heads down on the loosefeed. If I start to get loads of line bites I can easily drop back so that I’m fishing right in among the loose offerings.
I must stress here that once the carp get on the loosefed pellets you need to be dropping your feeder right in among the feed each and every cast.
A hookbait away from the feed at this point just won’t cut it, and you’ll find yourself waiting longer for bites – you’ll also find you’ll catch a smaller stamp of fish.
In my experience, once the carp get their heads down the biggest fish are right on the loosefeed.
The secret to feeding throughout the session is to keep the pellets going in even if you aren’t catching.
Making a noise is the only way to pull fish into the swim, so if you stop feeding your chances of catching fall even further.
That doesn’t, of course, mean you should just lash bait in until they rock up. If the fishing is hard you need to reduce the amount but maintain the frequency.
BE READY
Fishing at short range means using a line clip isn’t really an option, but there is a way to make sure you are fishing in among
your loosefeed. Start by filling your feeder and getting ready to cast, then stick the rod between your legs with the loaded feeder dangling in front of you.
Feed twice, drop the catapult, and then cast the feeder right on top of the rings the loosefed pellets have left.
Having fished this tactic on many occasions now I’ve found that doing this cam make a huge difference to my catch rate, particularly later on in the session.
A great tip here is to try and have four feeders on the go, ready and baited to be cast out.
You’ll find that bites come in spells, and when the carp are feeding properly you will catch fast, hence the need to be prepared.
In fact, at times bites will come so fast you won’t have time to load a new feeder up before the tip will be going round.
It’s for this reason that I like to have multiple feeders made up so that I can make the most of these feeding spells, rather than spending time out of the water reloading when the carp are on the feed.