Provoke a response

Hit every bite

Bites on the bomb are often savage but there are times when they can be easily missed.

You could mistake a slight pluck on the rod tip as a line bite when in fact it could have been a fish briefly mouthing your banded hookbait without noticing the hook before feeling a little resistance and letting go.

Such occurrences are rare with John’s set- up because of the way the rig performs.

“Most bites are unmissable and the rod will almost get ripped off the rests, but my rig makes sure that the proportion you usually wouldn’t convert end up in a positive wrap round as well.

“The fish pick the hookbait up and because the mainline is running through the olivette, they initially feel no resistance.

“This gives them confidence to inhale the bait. Shortly afterwards the rubber stop hits the olivette and when the fish feels the resistance it is too late as the hook is already well within the mouth,” he explained.

“Always check the fishery rules before adding a rubber stop as it does make the rig semi- fixed and some places insist on fully running set ups.”

On the terminal tackle front John uses 8lb mainline to a 15in hooklength of 0.17mm mono and a size 14 hook.

If you’re not getting any bites then you could be forgiven for thinking that there are no fish nearby.

Although this may be true on occasions, it is often the case that carp and F1s are lingering but showing little interest in bait.

Fish can be instinctive, snapping at food that is on the move and John capitalises on this characteristic to get bites.

“If I’ve gone a few minutes without a bite I turn the reel handle once or twice to twitch the bait along the bottom.

“It’s amazing how this can lead to a bite seconds later! I am convinced that this happens because a fish is pretty much staring at the hookbait and then feels the need to go for it when it thinks it is being taken away.”

Hookbait rotation is another proven way of getting bites and it is a matter of trial and error to see what works on the day.

Pellets that match your loosefeed can fair well at one point while a brighter offering that stands out from the crowd can be a better option at other times.

John’s favourite when he believes a dash of colour is on the money are Bait- Tech Criticals

– a slow sinking offering that oozes scent and comes in a range of shades.

“The odd morsel of bait falling through the water is still a really good trigger in autumn”

Larford lumps

It can be tempting to chuck out a single hookbait and not introduce a single morsel of loosefeed at this time of year, but John tries to steer away from this way of working.

“The odd morsel of bait falling through the water is still a really good trigger in autumn. “You need to moderate how much goes in so that you don’t overfeed them and half a dozen 8mm pellets every five minutes is about right.”

These tactics have served John well at numerous venues and none more so than at Worcestershire’s Larford Lakes.

The Match Lake is teeming with carp and F1s that are willing feeders when it’s warm, but they can go missing once the temperatures tail off. Setting up on the shallow grass bank side, John set his sights on an area 25m out and started with an 8mm pellet hookbait. A gentle lob and the 8g olivette effortlessly whizzed to the spot and, as promised, it produced minimal noise upon impact.

The irregular trickle of pellets began and casts were made every 10 to 15 minutes.

“I want to explore around my feed zone to see if fish are sat just off it and I can feel confident that I won’t spook anything while using an olivette.”

Around 40 minutes in and the action commenced with a chunky 2lb F1 the culprit. It was a typical bomb bite, with the softly set clutch instantly screaming into action.

Another couple of fish, which included a 6lb mirror, came before the bites dried up.

Switching to a 5mm Criticals worked but it proved to only be a one- off before another lull in the sport. It was typical autumn fishing, with the shoal proving moody. But John ticked over, waiting no longer than 20 minutes between bites.

“There’s definitely been fish in front of me most of the day and that would not have been the case if I’d have used a rig that crashed in.”

“Switching to an olivette may not seem like a game changing rig adjustment but I’m convinced it’s the difference between spooking a shoal and leaving them unaware of the trap I have set,” concluded John.

Rotate between a range of hookbait options to keep the bites coming

LOOSEFEED 6mm and 8mm pellets should be fed via a catapult HOOKBAIT John has had good results using Bait- Tech Criticals

As nearby anglers struggled, John worked his way to this net of carp and F1s

An 8lb mirror – John’s biggest fish of the day – slides over the waiting landing net