PAUL GARNER
Transform your float fishing sessions with my boosted hookbaits & feed
Bait tricks for the waggler
ON WELL-stocked fisheries, hungry carp will come up in the water at this time of the year as they compete for food... and one of the most effective and fun ways of catching them is to break out the pellet waggler.
This is a really busy tactic, which is ideal for an evening’s fishing. Steadily feeding half-a-dozen 6mm hard pellets every few seconds will encourage the carp to gather in the swim, with tell-tale swirls as they lie in wait just below the surface giving the game away!
On the drop
While you will pick up carp when the bait is suspended at its maximum depth, most bites will come on the drop, as the carp have less time to inspect the bait. Being able to extend the time it takes for the bait to sink can catch you more fish.
In actual fact, the hookbait will sink slower than the free offerings because line drag will slow it down, but we can use baits that sink even more slowly.
Wafters are definitely the way to go when fishing up in the water, as their near-neutral sink rate gives maximum hang-time, meaning more bites on the drop. Wafters are also much tougher than pellets, so you’ll spend less time changing hookbaits. I tend to fish a hard pellet on a band tight to the back of the hook, whereas I hair-rig a wafter in the conventional way.
Normally, it pays to use a wafter that has a similar shape and size to the pellets you are feeding, but it is worth experimenting with different colours as the fish can sometimes show a distinct preference for a particular one.
Cloudy feed
Another trick I incorporate is to use feed pellets that give off a cloud of attraction. Not only does this encourage the carp to feed harder, but it also makes it more difficult for them to see the line and hook, so you get more bites.
Dampening the feed pellets before fishing helps to create this cloud, but you can use cloudy liquids to create even more of an impact, and even add some pellet powder that will adhere to the surface of the baits.
Keep the constant drip of feed going in and soon the carp will be queuing up to be caught. I can think of few better ways to spend a summer’s evening!