Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Cast 1,500 times a day – Pemb Wrighting
Casting several times every minute and working up a sweat is the only way to fish summer’s hottest tactic, insists Pemb Wrighting
HOW many times would you cast the pellet waggler in a five-hour session? 200? 500? Well, if you’re not achieving 1,500 you’re failing! That’s the verdict of Pemb Wrighting who is adamant that a fast and furious pace is the only way to fish summer’s hottest tactic. The Guru-backed angler certainly builds up a sweat when firing out the dumpy floats, getting into a rapid-fire routine that involves feeding and casting at a lightning pace. “Almost every bite you get on the pellet waggler is going to be within the first 10 seconds of the rig being in the water, so why leave it in any longer?” questioned Pemb. “Carp attack the bait as it falls through the water. The moment it stops and is suspended in mid-water your chances are gone and it is time to recast.”
Keep it as quiet as you can
When commercials first came to the fore everything was geared around making as much noise as possible with your float or feeder. The theory was that the fish would home in on any commotion because instinct told them it was caused by pellets crashing into the water. Most anglers still subscribe to that idea but Pemb believes times have changed. “These fish have become so accustomed to being caught after charging towards the noise that I am convinced they now try and avoid it. “I used to fish a big waggler that would create utter chaos but I do the complete opposite now because the old-school approach simply pushes the fish away. “I now use the lightest and smallest float I can use to reach where I am fishing. I only increase the size if the wind picks up and makes casting with my original choice impossible.” Pemb starts the session with a Guru Foam Pellet Waggler and switches to a balsa version which is heavier to cut through the breeze. Both of them are fully loaded and locked on the mainline with a Guru Line Stop either side
Search the swim
Regular feeding is vital on the pellet waggler because it is the rain of bait falling through the water column that tempts carp to rise off the deck and intercept them. Pinging six 8mm pellets before each cast is important but your float doesn’t have to land bang in the middle of them. “It is really important to cast around your swim. Sometimes the fish will back off the main group of feed and take ‘stray’ pellets that have fired off course. “The idea is to make your hookbait look like one of these ‘strays’ and I will cast around 5m either side, short or beyond where I am feeding the pellets. “I’ll have five casts over the same spot and then move again. If I haven’t had a bite within 10 seconds I will reel in and go again.
“The only time I will twitch the float and leave it five seconds longer is if the float is directly over where the loosefeed is landing.” Use a far bank marker to pick a point to feed each time and never deviate from this spot, no matter where you are casting.
Depth decisions
There is every chance you will see fish mulling around on the surface at the start of a session. Understandably, you may want to set your rig very shallow. But Pemb sticks to one depth and makes it work from the off. “I always set the depth to 3ft regardless of the conditions and stick with it. The fish might be feeding shallower but they back away from the float and that added depth keeps the hookbait a suitable distance away from the waggler. “You also cover more water and just because you see fish right on the top doesn’t mean there aren’t others slightly below. More often than not the really big carp are sat a little deeper. “You’ll still catch those fish that are very shallow as they nail it on the drop. Most bites come within seconds of the float hitting the water and at that point the hookbait isn’t going to have reached its maximum depth.”
Robust rigs
When you are casting with such frequency, your tackle is going to be put under considerable strain. Reeling in, chucking back out and playing big carp will all test your kit to the limit. Pemb has a clever set-up to deal with even the most rigorous bagging session. “A light mainline is important when using the pellet waggler because a heavier version will have a thicker diameter which makes casting much more difficult. With this in mind I use 5lb Guru Pulse but have a foot of 8lb line that is
tied loop to loop to the mainline and the float is run on to this. The hooklength – 0.17mm Guru N-Gauge – is attached to the end of this short length of strong line. “In the past I had a few incidents where the mainline snapped around where the float was because of such brutal wear and tear, but having the float on the short length of 8lb line stops this from happening.” His rod choice is an 11ft Guru Aventus Pellet Waggler which has plenty of power to beat big fish and a soft tip to prevent hook-pulls. At the business end his hook is a size 16 Super MWG. If there is one commercial in the land where the pellet waggler is a real hit then it is Gold Valley Lakes, in Aldershot, Hampshire. The vast majority of anglers that visit fire bait beyond pole range, pushing fish out into the open water, especially on Syndicate Lake where Pemb set up for our cameras. “This lake is full of fish but they are old carp that have been caught lots of times. They love to feed shallow but if you do it wrong you could have a real struggle on your hands.” Rather than go on the pellet waggler straight away, Pemb had a little go on the short pole. “I like to build up the waggler swim and get them used to that trickle of bait going in and get them feeding confidently before chucking a rig into the area. I’ll keep feeding a few pellets every 20 seconds for at least 45 minutes before picking the rod up.” At the end of the baiting period the occasional carp could be seen just about breaking the surface in the area but the first 30 casts brought no reward. That might sound like a lot of wasted time but they were accomplished in five minutes! Half an hour in – and probably 150 casts later – the float thundered under and the rod hooped over. The fish tore line off the reel but with such
“Half an hour in the f loat thundered under and the rod hooped over”
a cleverly concocted rig there was only going to be one winner and the 7lb common surrendered in no time at all. By casting around his peg, rotating wagglers to adjust to the wind and raining in four pints of pellets during the five-hour stint, he got in touch with seven other lumps, with the best of them a smidgen beneath double figures. “There’s no doubt that you have to put a bit of work in on the pellet waggler but when carp like this are your reward you realise it is more than worthwhile,” concluded a delighted Pemb.