The Coach How I broke a record
THIS WEEK: Bomb and pellet tricks from the man who broke the r ecord at Viaduct Fisher y
THE bomb and pellet is a devastating summer tactic that really comes into its own in August and September, when the carp have wised up to a feeder approach.
Bournemouth roofer Jack Stamp recently used the tactic to its maximum potential at Somerset’s Viaduct Fishery, where he hauled a staggering 480lb 6oz of carp from peg 126 on Campbell Lake.
Landing fish to double figures, Jack described his day as ‘ hectic’, and with 171lb 15oz coming second it’s clear that Jack, who has fished for Carp Team England in the past, is doing something right.
There are several things that Jack does differently to other anglers, and here are a few of his top edges that will help you to stand out from the crowd on this deadly method...
FEED SMALLER BAITS
“When most people fish the bomb and pellet they simply feed 8mm hard pellets and fish the same on the hook. While this will work at times, I prefer to do things slightly differently.
“My choice of feed is 4mm and 6mm pellets, which are much smaller than what most anglers will think of trying, and it’s the 4mm pellets that are really important in my approach.
“These really get the fish rooting around on the lakebed, and will hold them in the peg for longer.
“Of course, you can’t feed these as far as larger offerings, but on the day of the match I was only around 20m out, so this wasn’t a problem.
“It’s important to keep the bait going in, and I fed two or three pouches every five minutes and got through around eight pints throughout the day.”
HOOKBAIT
“There are a lot of hookbait options that score on the bomb and pellet, and on the day I did the record I used a pellet wrapped in a paste made up of dampened micro pellets.
“This helped my hookbait to stand out among the free offerings, and it worked well on the day with around 60 carp averaging around 8lb.”
TACKLE AND RIGS
“I keep my rigs really simple, and don’t bring much of my big carp fishing knowledge to this aspect of my match fishing.
“There are some really good fish in Campbell, so I use robust gear, with 8lb Daiwa Sensor mainline, an 0.19mm hooklength and a size 12 KKMB hook.
“A free- running half- ounce bomb completes the set- up. Couldn’t be easier than that!”