Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Add boilies to your groundbait
Carp in some commercials are now so big that Andy May uses specimen-style baits to catch them
WHEN commercials first muscled their way on to the scene lakes new and old were clearly defined. Some waters were exclusively fished by match and general pleasure anglers who loved to wield a float or feeder set-up, while others were the territory of those who waited behind three rods and bite alarms for much bigger carp. In the early days it was rare that both would mix. The dedicated specimen anglers saw nothing worth their consideration in matchstyle waters, and vice versa. But times have changed. The fish that were stocked at just a couple of pounds over a decade ago have gorged on the tons of bait that have been fed and packed on some serious weight in the process. As a result, the bivvy brigade have been tempted into a new challenge, leaving the hallowed waters on which they learned their trade to try different venues where stocked fish have reached a size that whets their appetite. This transformation has led to those fishing with a finely dotted pole float fishing next to anglers who elsewhere would launch a spod to the horizon. The feeding habits of fish have changed too. Match and pleasure anglers have had to adapt their approach to keep catching these fish and Andy May reckons he has come up with the perfect way of taming these bigger carp. “When I first started fishing commercials all the lakes that interested me contained lots of small carp but they have become so much bigger in recent years,” explained Andy. “It’s not uncommon for big-carp anglers to fish for them now as a result of the amount of boilies they eat. “In order to keep catching these big carp I now use boilies with my match fishing tackle and since I made the change my results have gone through the roof.”
Blended boilies
The tactics that you have relied on over the years still have the ability to have a devastating effect for these giant carp but a few tweaks will be required. An obvious one is that your tackle is going to need beefing up to deal with the raw power they now have. But before they can test your kit you need to get them to feed! “I love catching fish on a Method feeder and I wanted to come up with a way of using boilies with it,” said Andy. “A boilie hookbait was a logical choice but I felt I could go further than that.” In a random trial, a bag of boilies were dropped into a blender, thoroughly whizzed and the resulting powder was added to his groundbait or micro pellets. “My theory was that I would get all the goodness and flavour from boilies that fish seem addicted to without overfeeding them. “The liquidised boilies acted as a great binder and on my first session the fish I caught were of a much bigger average size than I was used to. It turned out it wasn’t a fluke either because that trend continued on subsequent sessions.” Which boilies you use depends on the lake you are fishing. Speak to local carp anglers or fishery staff to find out if certain flavours are used heavily. Andy explained that if catch reports suggest the fish are feeding more confidently he will run his boilies through a riddle instead of the blender. “This makes the pieces of boilie slightly bigger and therefore provides more food content. The riddled boilies still bind nicely with groundbait to go on the Method feeder,” he assured.
Build the swim
Regular casting is usually necessary when fishing the Method but when big carp that have seen every trick in the book are your target this rule goes out of the window. “If you are casting, say, every 10 minutes, you are going to create an awful lot of commotion
which these wiser fish will associate with danger and will spook out of your peg as a result. “I will happily wait between 20 and 30 minutes for a bite, watching the tip for signs of line bites to show whether fish are in the area. “Once that time has passed I will recast to the same spot, slowly building up the bed of bait that is there.” If Andy gets a constant run of lines bites to suggest fish are mulling over the area he will switch to a straight lead approach. “It could be that the fish are sitting away from the feeder because they are cautious of it. “Chucking a straight lead directly over the top of where you have been fishing gives them the food they are probably seeking while removing the one item that prevented them from feeding with confidence.” A bright hookbait is used on both the Method feeder or straight lead and this gives fish a visual item to attack once the loosefeed has done its job of releasing flavours to draw in the shoals. It’s all well and good getting the bites but if you aren’t using tackle that is appropriate for the size of fish targeted you are going to get smashed up time and time again. Andy sees no point in taking chances and uses 6lb MAP Optimum mainline to an 0.20mm MAP Power Optex hooklength and a size 14 Guru QM1 hook. “If I hook a big carp I want to have the best chance of getting it in the net. A soft rod contributes to that because it will reduce the number of hook-pulls. “A 10ft MAP Parabolix Black Edition rod has the necessary power to stay in control of these large fish while also being able to absorb any sudden lunges without the hook pulling out.”
The demo
Cheshire’s Partridge Lakes is one of Andy’s favourite haunts and Holbar Lake is a fine example of a water when general pleasure anglers and carp enthusiasts sit side by side. Boilies are used by the vast majority of visitors so Andy mixed up a bag of Dynamite Baits Swim Stim Match Method and then poured in a kilo of White Shellfish boilies that had been thoroughly blended at home. The resulting mix was light in colour and would certainly stand out in the water. The aroma was distinctive as well and those flavours would play a big part in attracting the resident big carp. Casting just off the point of an island, action was difficult to come by in the beginning. “If there are no carp in the area I will slowly build up the swim, casting three times in an hour to get some more scent and attraction down.” Slowly but surely signs of life materialised as the tip started to gently nudge. They weren’t bites but the liners showed fish were in the area. All of a sudden the liners stopped and moments later the tipped violently wrapped round. Fish on! “It’s not exactly charged off – more of a plod which is a typical sign of a large carp!” Andy’s prediction was bang on with a doublefigure specimen soon in the net. Sport was never going to be fast and furious but by using his deadly groundbait and boilie mix he kept a the bites coming, with a stunning 14lb mirror the pick of the bunch. “I honestly think we would have struggled to catch these beauties today without having boilies mixed in with my groundbait. “They are so used to the smell and scent of them that they go looking for boilies when they are on the feed. “Times have changed on the commercial scene and it is time your tactics did too to keep you one step ahead of these big carp,” concluded Andy.