Q What are the best ways to feed when pole fishing on a commercial?

AThis a great question because although you might not realise it, the method you use to bait up can dictate how successful you are on the day. Do it right and you’ll get loads of bites, but do it wrong and you’ll most likely be plagued with line bites and foul-hooked fish. Here are the top three ways to feed when pole fishing, and when to use them:

SMALL CUP

Many anglers make the mistake of dumping in large quantities of bait at the start. Fish may already be in front of you and the free meal means it will take a lot longer for them to take your hookbait. Also ‘filling it in’ could kill your swim in an instant. It is much better to add a few pellets, or whatever else you are feeding at the beginning, and top up after every fish.

BIG CUP

If feeding small quantities from the start provides no response, you need to do something to bring in the fish. Introducing a big pot of bait can do that. Once the fish have turned up, the big cup will have done its job and it’s time to go back to feeding with a small cup. A big cup can also be used to feed the margins to start with, as it is extremely rare that fish are there from the off.

CATAPULT

Fish in commercials associate noise with bait going in, so a catapult comes into play if a little commotion is needed to get bites. Regularly firing in a few pellets keeps bait going through the water column and makes a noise as they enter the water. Make sure you are accurate when feeding or you will spread fish all over your peg. That will lead to line bites as they brush your rig.