GIVE YOUR FEEDER MIX SOME EXTRA PULLING POWER!
Using small amounts of high-attract feed is the key to keeping the bites coming
ALTHOUGH steadily falling water temperatures will slow fish down, they won’t shut up shop completely.
Far from it. Get your location right and you can find groups of fish densely packed into relatively small areas, meaning big catches are on the cards if you use the correct approach.
The most important factor is to not overfeed. Regular recasting with a big Method feeder will bring plenty of line bites, but will result in relatively few fish in the net. Feeding less, while still attracting the fish, is the real key to sustained success at this point in the season.
THE PERFECT MIX
The mix you use on the Method is crucial. I’ve found that a combination of micro pellets and groundbait moulded on to the frame works best.
The small pellets offer enough incentive to keep fish looking for food, without overfeeding them. The groundbait not only adds extra attraction, but helps to bind the pellets to the feeder, ensuring that they reach the lakebed intact. If the pellets come off ‘on the drop’ they will spread the loosefeed over too wide an area and not draw the carp to the hookbait effectively.
SWEET FISHMEALS
I like to use a groundbait with a sweet aroma at this time of the year, as savoury fishmeals seem to have less pull in the cold.
Browning’s Formula Fish and Sonubaits F1 are both ideal.
I use very little groundbait – around a pint is ample for the day – mixed with around twice that volume of pellets. The aim is to fill in the gaps between the pellets when they are compressed on the feeder.
SCALE DOWN
When Method feeder fishing there’s no need to scale down your line strength or hook size. This can be a mistake if a big carp puts in an appearance, but it definitely pays to scale down the size of your feeder.
Swapping to a small frame will halve the amount of feed going in. I’ll also cast less often – about every 15 minutes – to reduce disturbance and keep the amount of loosefeed down.
WAFTER HOOKBAITS
From now until early spring wafters are my first choice of hookbait because the carp only have to suck gently on them to cause the hook to shoot back into their mouths. If you’re losing fish on other baits you’ll be amazed at the difference a wafter can make.
This is also the time of the year when it pays to experiment with brighter hookbaits. Pink and white are great choices, so always carry a range of different shades of these colours.