Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Jamie Read
Pellet waggler for autumn
AS SOON as the temperature starts to drop a number of tactics are banished to the back of your mind until next year. The switch in feeding patterns means that pole shallow and margin rigs are among the kit set to collect dust for the foreseeable future.
For most, the pellet waggler rods will also have been tucked away but Jamie Read says you shouldn’t be too hasty to remove them from your rod holdall just yet. In fact, he’ll be taking his everywhere with him this month.
“Pellet waggler fishing is regarded as a warm weather tactic, but that isn’t the case at all,” said the Bait- Tech and Milo- backed angler.
“I have caught stacks of fish on it during autumn and more often than not it produces the bigger stamp of fish.”
Discreet landings
Pellet waggler fishing used to revolve around causing chaos – casting a chunky float to your desired spot and watching it land with the subtlety of an elephant falling in. The resident carp associated this commotion with the arrival of food and they would come flocking in to your peg to make the most of it.
How times have changed. The fish have wised up to the approach and a float that noisely crashes into the water now spells danger.
To address that issue, Jamie has switched floats, using a completely different pattern to the usual stocky types.
“The best wagglers on pressured commercials are those that ‘ plop’ in discreetly. I use the lightest float I can and more often than not a see- through 2g- 4g does the job. They are made by Keith Easton and the noise they create is similar to that of a pellet going in. The fish aren’t disturbed by the ‘ plop’ and start to feed confidently,” he said.
It is important to keep the line tight, as this will ensure the majority of bites end up with the hook being set on the strike. Placing the rod tip just below the surface will help you achieve this.
The golden depth
Although the float lands discreetly, the fish can still be reluctant to feed close to it at times.
Although carp are happy to come close to the surface in autumn Jamie always sets his rig to the ‘ golden depth’ of 3ft.
“This isn’t always down to a belief that the fish are feeding at this depth,” he explained.
“It is more about enabling my hookbait to hit the water well away from the float. More often than not the bites come as it is on the drop, with the pellet sat in the top couple of feet.
“Experience has shown me that the bigger carp are more willing to feed if the hookbait is sat away from the rest of the rig,” he added.
Switching rhythms
Pellet waggler sport isn’t as simple as chucking the float out and pinging a few pellets over the top with a catapult.
It is important to ‘ read’ how the fish are feeding and then adjust your rhythm to it.
“I feed four pellets just before I cast and it is then just a matter of working out when you get the bite.
“If your bites are coming a split second after the float plops in then there is no point leaving it in for long periods. On days like that I would reel in and repeat the process within five seconds.
“But if most bites are coming on the drop, just
before the hookbait settles at its full depth or as it is suspended, I will leave the rig in for up to 30 seconds, feeding once more just short of the float.”
The time it takes the fish to take the hookbait is likely to alter several times throughout the session and it is important to adapt to keep up your strike rate.
Other tricks that can be added to your rhythm include twitching the rig to make the hookbait wobble a little.
Jamie also feeds a shorter line that regularly produces bonus fish.
“If I am fishing 30m out, I ping a small amount of pellets at 20m just before I am about to reel in. I then let my float settle in that zone for a short period to see if any carp are present.
“It’s amazing how many times you get a bite just by reeling the float towards that pocket of bait. It’s a great way of getting a few extra fish in the net.”
Take no prisoners
Big fish are likely to fall for your approach so tough tackle is essential.
“They hit the bait at pace and charge off instantly so you need to be using tackle that is strong enough to deal with such powerful surges,” said Jamie.
“I use 6lb mainline to a 0.20mm hooklength and a size 12 hook.
“That might sound heavy but there is no point hooking these lumps if you’ve got no chance of getting them in.”
Don’t let your pellet waggler kit start collect dust just yet – put it to good use this month and keep those lumps coming!
“It’s amazing how many times you get a bite just by reeling the float towards that pocket of bait”