Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Just one rod is all you need – Dave Watson
A Method feeder is so versatile that it enables you to search your whole swim. In fact, as Maver’s Dave Watson proves, you really don’t need anything else!
IF THE angling movement has one priority right now it is to drastically increase the number of participating juniors. In the digital age we live in, the battle to get kids off their tablets and consoles is tougher than ever before. Our sport needs to make itself as cheap and simple as possible for potential newcomers to make that first step, and Dave Watson believes he has the ideal solution. Anglers have become almost robotic in the way they act upon plonking their seatbox on a peg, instantly bringing out a plethora of top kits and rods to help them cover every inch of water out front. Any amateur witnessing that would instantly be put off at how much kit they think they’d need, but Dave is adamant one rod is all that is required to bag up in style – regardless of your angling experience. “I’ve spoken to so many people who have considered taking up fishing but when they’ve gone for a walk near their local lake or canal they’ve been put off when they see all the kit anglers seemingly need,” explained Dave. “I used to be guilty of doing the same but in recent years I have started setting up just one Method feeder rod to attack my whole swim and I have had some brilliant results plopping it down the margins.”
Simplified attack
Dave has been an avid angler all his life but his commitment to the sport was tested to the limit in 2010. While serving with the army in Afghanistan he stood on a concealed bomb. The blast cost him an arm and both legs – injuries that could quite easily have meant fishing was no longer feasible. But Dave isn’t one to be beaten. He fought back and defied the odds by getting back on the bank and showing he still had the same skills. “I have had to adapt and although I do fish the pole, it made me realise that you can explore the whole peg with a Method feeder rod. “You can chuck to an island and clip up and then also feed lines on the short pole and in the margins and easily drop the feeder over the top. “Regardless of whether you have a disability or not, the one-rod approach is very simple and hugely effective.”
Beef up your tackle
As Dave is fishing at short range a lot of the time, the amount of line off the spool is minimal and when you are keeping a tight line, the bites can be savage. To make sure he suffers no breakages and lands everything he hooks he beefs up his tackle, using 9lb 2oz Maver MV-R Power Mono on the reel to a 7lb 7oz hooklength that is 4in long for bigger carp. He scales down to 7lb 7oz reel line to a 6lb 6oz hooklength for fish under 4lb. A strong size 14 hook finishes the set-up. “I always keep a little tension in the tip because it enables me to read what is going on under the surface. When the tip knocks slightly it is not a bite, it just shows there are fish milling around the feeder and that gives you time to prepare for a wrap round,” he said. Always have your clutch set fairly slack as the bites can be really aggressive and doing this will help absorb the ferocity.”
Versatile baits
Most top Method feeder anglers mould dampened micro pellets around their feeder, but Dave prefers groundbait. “I want to catch any species that are in the area and I find that pellets can be a little selective and only of interest to carp and F1s. “My favourite mix of groundbait is an equal blend of Bait-Tech Special G Gold and Dark. It appeals to all species and I have caught carp, F1s, bream, tench and roach on the Method when using it.” When it comes to hookbaits, Dave uses pellets if he is trying to pick out fish of a bigger stamp but his first port of call is dead maggots because of their widespread appeal.
Line rotation
Shropshire’s Woodside Fishery is one of Dave’s favourite haunts. Tackling up on Island Pool, he earmarked three lines of attack – one close to the island, another 5m out and the final area down the margins. A few quick chucks to the island brought no response but all along he had been trickling a steady stream of maggots on the other spots. The Method was dropped short, the line was tightened up and minutes later the tip hammered round. You’d be forgiven for thinking a giant was attached to the other end such was the force of the bite but a 2lb carp was the culprit. “That’s exactly the sort of bite you get every time so you need to be geared up.” Rotating the lines worked a treat, with fish coming against the island, short and in the margins throughout the day. Carp, F1s and a couple of clonking roach were displayed at the end, proving that one rod is all you need. “There is no need to over-complicate things. This style of fishing is extremely deadly and a great way to demonstrate how simple and exciting our sport can be,” concluded Dave.
“The one-rod approach is very simple and hugely effective”