Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Bait tricks of big waters – Chris Rust
There’s no need to be daunted by large venues, says Hinders’ Chris Rust. You just have to attract fish using flavoured loosefeed and coloured hookbaits
THERE is no doubt that fishing large reservoirs can be daunting. With work and family commitments often limiting the amount of time we can spend on the bank, there’s no wonder many of us choose to head to a venue where you’ll never be too far from the fish regardless of where you sit. But what if we told you that you can have the same level of success enjoyed on a small commercial pool at somewhere much bigger? According to Hinders-backed angler, Chris Rust, this is easy to achieve – the secret lies in the bait flavours and colours you use. “I regularly fish reservoirs such as Boddington, Clattercote and Drayton which look enormous. Even though everyone knows they are full of fish many anglers don’t feel confident of catching when faced with such a vast expanse of water,” explained Chris. “It is understandable to feel a little intimidated but by using a really powerful flavour on your loosefeed and a bright hookbait you can draw fish in, even if the peg is empty to start with.”
Flavour will pull them in
Although fish will venture into the margins late on, they will generally be well out of pole range on big reservoirs and Chris reckons that the Method feeder is by far the most effective tool at this time of year. “Fish want food right now and a Method feeder loaded with micro pellets is ideal.
“You could just chuck it out and hope to get lucky and land on a few fish. The chances are, though, that you will be staring at a motionless rod tip. But boosting the flavour of your bait will swing the odds in your favour,” says Chris, as he coats the pellets moulded on his Method feeder in a pungent liquid. This will leak off slowly and leave a trail of flavour that attracts fish sat well away from where the feeder lands. “I’ve played around with a lot of different flavours and discovered that the fruity ones lead to the fish turning up quicker. “Hinders Hookbait Booster Sprays are my favourites, with Cherry Bon Bon and Fruit Salad the two I tend to rotate between.” How much liquid is sprayed on the feeder depends on how long Chris intends to leave it in the water. At the start of a session when action may be slow, Chris puts on five squirts and leaves it in for 20 minutes. During that time he is confident the scent will continue to seep off at a slow pace. Once the fish turn up and he’s catching well, this is reduced to a couple of squirts. “The flavour is applied to pull the fish into the swim. Once I have a few carp in front of me I don’t want them to become preoccupied with it to the extent that they ignore the hookbait.”
Bright baits for faster bites
Attracting the carp into your peg is arguably the biggest task. But it isn’t necessarily going to be plain sailing from then on because you still need them to pick up your hookbait. With a small bed of flavoured micros laying around the feeder, the fish could be tempted to attack these first. If you pick the right hookbait, though, you can encourage them to home in on this instead. “Fish act on instinct and if they have their heads down feeding and something catches their eye they will engulf it without caution. “That is why I always use a big hookbait in a vibrant colour such as orange, yellow or white. “A 10mm wafter is ideal and more often than not I am sat watching a motionless rod tip without any indications that fish are present and then the tip suddenly hammers round. “I am convinced this happens because the fish have just arrived in the swim and the first thing they see is the hookbait and go for it before they start rooting around and brushing up against the rig.”
Gear up to land every bite
All of the reservoirs that Chris targets have a big head of double-figure carp which have seen every trick in the book. But with fish like this on offer you want to ensure you land every single fish you hook. “Because of the average size of these fish you only need 10 of them for an overall weight of more than 100lb,” stated Chris. “They will charge off the moment they are hooked and if your tackle is underpowered you will get snapped up in an instant.” In order to make sure he is on the winning side each time the tip goes round Chris uses 8lb mainline to a 4in hooklength of 0.21mm (9lb) Preston Innovations Powerline and a size 10 or 12 Guru QM1 hook. A large hook is essential when using a big bait as anything smaller will get masked by the 10mm wafter and you could miss bites. Rotating between feeder sizes to see how much bait the fish are keen to eat is also important and Chris will experiment between a small 36g and large 45g Guru X-Safe feeder. “There’s no doubt that there was a time when I was sceptical as to whether I would catch when I visited these big reservoirs, but unmissable flavours and bright hookbaits now leave me in no doubt that the carp will turn up.”