Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Play the waggler waiting game – Kieron Rich
When you’re set for a day on the waggler don’t be in too much of a hurry says Kieron Rich, who reaps the rewards by fishing a feeder first
HAVING excitedly unloaded all the tackle on to a peg, your eyes zoom in on an area of the swim that looks like a real banker for red-hot action. The line is threaded through the rod rings and bait is spilled all over the sidetray as you pour it into tubs in a hurried fashion before pulling the rod over your head to make that first cast. Stop right there! The adrenaline may well be pumping as you envisage the waggler dipping on the very first cast of the day, but Kieron Rich is adamant you’ll be better served by not dropping a baited rig on this line for hours on end. The Middy-backed angler loves chucking a waggler into open water to catch carp, but knows too well that attacking it straight away can lead to a disaster. “If you started fishing the waggler from the off then you’d probably catch a couple of fish instantly but they’d disappear after that and you’d struggle to get them back,” explained Kieron. “If you are willing to be patient and build up the swim while fishing with another tactic in the opening stages the fish will gain confidence and you can then catch big carp every cast when you finally try it.”
Start on the feeder
At the start of any session it is best to target an area of the swim where the fish naturally live. An obvious spot on most commercials is tight to an island. Kieron believes this is your best bet for a steady start to the day. “Islands usually have plenty of vegetation that the fish feel confident feeding close to and even if they spook after you’ve hooked one, they’ll never be far away. “They might not be the biggest stamp carp at the start but they’ll keep you busy while you wait for the waggler line to spring into life.” A small cage feeder packed with Burt Baits micro pellets and baited with a 4mm pellet is ideal although it isn’t just a case of launching it tight to the feature and waiting for a bite. It is then time to start priming your waggler line - a task that involves giving the catapult a thorough workout. “You need to keep a constant trickle of bait going in and eventually the fish will drop their guard thinking they are getting a free meal and move away from the cover.” Pinging six 8mm pellets every minute is the key and Kieron will do this for at least an hour – sometimes two – before actually fishing the waggler.
Explore the layers
Even after two hours of catapulting pellets into the swim, you might not see any signs of fish in the peg. That doesn’t mean there are no feeding carp in the swim, though. More often than not they are simply sat too deep to break the surface and give their presence away. “I plumb the depth at the start of the session and, when it comes to fishing the spot, I always start on the bottom. “If I don’t get any bites within a few minutes then it is back to the feeder and I will continue feeding. If I miss bites, however, it means the fish are sat above my hookbait and I need to shallow up.” When it comes to float choice many anglers pick a pattern that makes a giant splash on the surface, believing that the additional noise works as an attractant. In years gone by that theory would have been spot on at most commercials. But there is now a new trend gathering pace. “These carp have been caught so many times and a big float crashing into the water now seems unnatural and a lot of fish will back away from it. They get used to the ‘plop’ of pellets but then a completely different noise that is much louder comes in and spooks them.” In order to avoid that potential banana skin, Kieron uses a slimline Middy Crystal Insert float. This creates minimal disturbance and any fish feeding in the zone will continue to do so, undeterred by the subtle rig entering the water.
Patience pays off
At the start of the session Kieron chucked his small feeder tight to the island, placed it on the rest and reached for the catapult. His waggler line was planned for three quarters of the way across to the feature and the rain of 8mm pellets began. In the first hour alone, he pinged the catapult more than 100 times and during that time he was kept busy on the tip, with carp to 3lb giving him a good start. Action was far from hectic but he was confident that the pace would accelerate once he finally took the plunge with the waggler. “I know I could go on it now and get a run of fish but I feel that feeding it for a little longer will make it even better when I finally have a go.” Another hour passed and he eventually wound in the feeder and replaced it with the waggler. The float discreetly entered the swim and a small pouch of pellets went over the top. Within a minute the float dipped and we all hoped the rod tip would smash round. But it didn’t – missed bite. The same happened on the next chuck so he shallowed up by one foot. The change worked and a carp was hooked on the next cast. “This is exactly what you expect on the waggler if you are prepared to wait – big carp that really do pull back,” said Kieron as he banked an 8lb mirror. “That’s my biggest fish of the day and I’m not remotely surprised. Carp like this have wised up to almost everything but by tricking it into believing all the bait fed over that line was ‘free’ I have made it slip up.” Altering the depth at regular intervals kept the bites coming and in the final two hours Kieron added another 70lb of carp, feeding no more than three pints of pellets during the session. “I could have caught on the feeder steadily all day but I’d have never matched the size of carp or the pace I have caught them at once I picked up the waggler. “It can be tempting to fish it from the first minute but hold your nerve and you’ll be glad you took the patient route by the time the session is over.”