Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
BIG CARP ON MAGGOTS
If you thought maggots were just a small-fish bait, you couldn’t be more wrong. Avid’s Roman Buczynski details how he uses them to catch carp to 44lb
BOILIES of every conceivable flavour, size and colour weigh down the shelves of the nation’s tackle shops. You’d be forgiven for thinking no-one uses any other bait! All are the result of thousands of hours of research, development and field-testing to ensure they are at their fish-catching maximum when hurled by the ton into the nation’s fisheries. All the more wonder then that many carpers are now relying on the matchman’s favourite offering – the maggot – to snare specimens. One such specimen hunter is Avid Carp’s Roman Buczynski. When attempting to put a few ‘lumps’ on the bank when the days turn wintry, it is maggots that Roman looks to. “There are no ‘bad’ man-made baits available these days, but maggots have such a phenomenal fish-catching track record that to ignore them is utter madness in my eyes,” said Roman as he despatched a Spomb filled with flavoured red and white grubs over his hookbaits far out. “Although some of my biggest carp have come on boilies, when the water turns crystal clear and icy, usually from November onwards, maggots are my ‘go to’ bait.” To find out why Roman has so much faith in the bluebottle’s offspring, we joined the 31-year-old ace on the banks of Ladywood’s 10-acre Carp Water (www.ladywoodlakes. co.uk), near Mirfield, West Yorkshire, to see how he puts this king of baits to work catching specimen carp…
Why use maggots for big carp
Undoubtedly one of angling finest baits, maggots account for thousands of fish every week. The only difference for specimen carp angling is in the volume maggots are used. Whereas a matchman may use a pint or two, Roman looks to use between one and two gallons in a session. This is dependent upon the size of water he is fishing, and the length of his stay. Once loosefed, he casts all three rods over the freshly laid bed of maggots, concentrating his attack in one area so he can line up a hit of fish, not just one or two runs. Although this sounds a lot, a gallon of grubs will only cost around £15, not much more than a single bag of quality freezer baits at around £12-£14. The big difference is that you will encourage so many more bites using maggots at this time of year than with a straight boilie approach, insists Roman.
“You can confidently allow a feeding carp to gorge itself without fear of filling it up as it would when feeding over a bed of 15mm boilies”
With around 2,000 or so grubs in a single pint and being mostly water, you can confidently allow a feeding carp to gorge itself on your free baits without the fear of it quickly filling up as it would when feeding over a large bed of 15mm boilies. Another advantage of maggots in cold water is that a large bed of naturals on the lake bottom will shake carp from their torpid nature more readily than other baits. “By piling in a lot at the start, then topping up every 3-4 hours, you can create a response. In the past, I have put out a gallon of grubs and, within 24 hours, had 10 carp on the bank, while the boilie-bashers looked on in envy.” Big carp tend to have small feeding windows in the winter so a large bed of maggots can help extend this window considerably as the feeding fish become preoccupied guzzling down the naturals. The main benefit that his brings is they are forced to suck in large quantities every time they feed, unlike boilies where they will be picking up one bait at a time. This causes them to lower their guard. If you have a maggot hookbait in among that feed, by the time they realise their mistake, it’s usually too late. Another plus point of maggot fishing is gravel pits tend to be very clear, particularly in the winter, so a large bed of red and/or white maggots is visible on the bottom and irresistible to cruising carp. Roman amplifies this visual stimulus by loosefeeding over areas of dark silt where aquatic life will occur naturally.
Roman’s maggot rig
Normally the 31-year-old Halifax rod will use a combination of fake and real maggots on the hair, but at Ladywood, fakes are banned. So, he uses what is known as a Medusa or Clown rig. It’s a little fiddly to tie but, once completed, is extremely effective. “I use a small hi-vis pop-up on the hair, usually white, but on pressured venues I’ll change this to a red one,” he explained. “Next, I carefully thread between a dozen to 24 grubs on to a length of dental floss or thin braid, using a sewing needle. The grubs are then pushed together and the thread tied on to the hair loop using a couple of simple overhand knots.” Once in the water, the pop-up creates a visual focal point, while the maggots twist and writhe on top, attracting the fish to engulf this attractive and easy meal. To enhance his maggots, Roman will often flavour them. This is very easy to do. Simply pour 5ml/pint of your chosen flavour over the grubs and shake to coat and soak. Although Roman uses Mainline’s Activ-Ade Strawberry flavour, he has also done well with powdered additives such as garam masala or fine chilli powders.
Accuracy is vital
As you are looking to fish over a large bed of maggots, it is important to accurately cast your rigs. Once the spot is chosen, Roman clips up his spod rod and measures his fishing rods using a pair of Avid Marker Sticks. The initial loosefeed is introduced and then all three rods placed on top. To add to the attraction around the hookbait, he casts them inside solid PVA bags of grubs. He e will re-cast every four hours, adding two more Spombs of loosefed grubs e every 2-3 hours. “In In winter, it is important to k keep something going into the water water. “Match anglers never stop feeding, even on the coldest days. It is this loosefeed that stirs the fish into eating. “Years ago, carp and match boys would cross the road in order to avoid each other. These days, the matchmen are employing boilies in their fishing and we carpers are getting on the maggots. “We can all learn from each other, and long may it continue. After all, maggot fishing enabled me to bank a 44-pounder from a dayticket waterater only a few years ago. So o they can’t just be for the match boys…can they?”