Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
A new way to feed margins – Mark Poppleton
There’s no need to pile in the loosefeed to tempt margin-hugging monsters says Mark Poppleton, who catches big while slashing his bait bill to pennies
FISHING the margins has always been associated with aggressive, ‘positive’ loosefeeding. This isn’t seen as a zone where you simply sprinkle in a few morsels and hope for the best, with most preferring to pile in the groundbait until those fishtail vortices disturb the surface. This gung-ho mentality has caught countless fish over the years, but Mark Poppleton is convinced that times are changing. The Bait-Tech and Colmic-backed angler has experienced more than his fair share of success while targeting the edge, but he’s overhauled his tactics in order to keep on top of his game. “Cupping in lots of bait and waiting for the fish to find it has always been the way to catch big carp on commercials. However, I’m certain these fish are wising up to it,” explained Mark. “They’ve been caught so many times that they become cagey when they see a big bed of groundbait in the margins. You’ll get a few bites but many of the fish come close briefly and then disappear when they sense something is wrong. “However, these fish can still be caught and I have had some amazing results by drastically reducing the amount of bait I feed.”
Small pot secrets
At the start of any session most of the fish will be cruising around in open water or close to islands, well away from any bankside commotion. The time-honoured ploy of feeding lots of groundbait was initially created to give the carp a reason to come close before tempting them to take your hookbait. But Mark believes that one big potful is all that is needed before switching to a much smaller device to top up. “I start by feeding three tangerine-sized balls of groundbait in the edge over the space of an hour while fishing somewhere else in the swim. I prefer to do this rather than cup it in loose so that it gets to the bottom quickly without creating a cloud,” said Mark. “If you leave a cloud, that’s when the fish begin to get suspicious because they’ve seen it all before. Once I start fishing the margins I only use a small cup attached to the end to top up each time I catch with a tiny nugget. By feeding so ‘negatively’, Mark uses less than a bag of groundbait in a session – a fraction of what many anglers pile in. His favourite blend is Bait-Tech Big Carp Method Mix ADF Fishmeal. This is quite a heavy mix which is important when fishing the margins because it makes it harder for big fish to dislodge while they’re rooting around.
Hookbait samples
The groundbait is packed with attractants that the fish will feast on, however, it is important they don’t become preoccupied with it. “If the fish become obsessed with the taste of the groundbait they are more likely to ignore your hookbait completely, or only take it once they have eaten everything else,” he explained. “To prevent this, I include plenty of hookbait samples so that the fish get into the habit of sucking up a variety of items.” Another advantage of pepping up your feed in this manner is that on heavily-fished venues where the carp have been caught countless times, they struggle to pick out the hookbait. If a single grain of corn is sat over a pile of groundbait it can easily be identified as dangerous. Make it one of 30, though, and it becomes tougher for them to spot the trap. Mark feeds a mixture of corn, casters and sometimes chopped worm with his groundbait nuggets to give him the option of changing his hookbait if bites dry up.
Summer hauling
It only takes a big carp a split-second to work out what has happened once the hook has been set and then all hell will break loose, so your gear needs to be up to the job. “If you feed the swim correctly these fish will drop their guard and you can use heavy tackle that ensures you land everything you hook.
“I use 0.20mm Colmic F1 Spider line to a 0.18mm hooklength of the same material. The float is a 0.3g pattern with a thick tip and the hook is a strong size 12 or 14. I’m confident I could land fish well into double figures on this set-up.” Despite living in Wiltshire, Mark travels the country visiting different commercials and has acquired an affection for The Glebe, near Mallory Park race circuit in Leicestershire. Each lake is packed with carp but, as on many fisheries, they don’t give themselves up easily. “The fish have seen big beds of groundbait down the edge thousands of times and no longer feed confidently when they see it. They still love the taste, and introducing just a fraction of what I once used has really paid dividends.” Setting up on Lake Seven, three tangerinesized balls were cupped in while he fished the feeder for an hour. Within 30 minutes it was clear the fish had arrived, but he waited until the initial commotion had dried up. “If I go straight in over the top I will get line bites so I’ll give it a short while for them to calm down and then cup in a little nugget.” That move worked a treat, and within minutes a 5lb common was in the bag. Over the next couple of hours Mark used about half-a-tin of corn, less than half-a-pint of casters and a quarter-of-a-bag of groundbait to put 50lb of big carp in the net. To prove the importance of his negativity he cupped in a big pot of groundbait and the swim erupted. But could he get a bite over the top of it? No! “This always happens. A lot of fish come in but you can’t hook them in the mouth because they stop feeding properly and start swimming around frantically because they sense danger. “Reduce the amount you feed and you’ll be amazed at your improved results,” promised Mark.