GO DEEPER FOR WAGGLER SUCCESS
I know from experience that at this time of year on deep venues the fish like to be up off bottom, but not right under the surface.
The slow-sinking bomb has a shorter 2ft 6ins hooklength. Because of the way the float works I can cover the layers without the need for such a long hooklength.
My hooklengths are both made up of 0.17mm Guru N-Gauge line to a size 16 Super MWG hook. This is tied using the knotless knot with a bait band sitting 2mm off the back of the bend.
SEARCHING THE LAYERS
I always like to kick off on the standard pellet waggler, just to try to get an idea what’s happening.
Today I’m starting at 5ft but it’s worth bearing in mind I have around 10ft of water in front of me so it’s not as though I’m fishing close to the bottom.
In an ideal world I will catch a few fish early on the waggler and then, if bites slow down, I will make the switch to the slowsinking bomb.
The beauty of the bomb is that I can drop even further down in the water, just to see if the fish have lowered their position in the water column.
Just in case you are wondering, when fishing the slow-sinking bomb bites are signified by watching the line where it enters the water or, when the carp are really on the feed, watching the rod-tip itself.
FEED, THEN CAST
A little tip when fishing the slow-sinking bomb is to feed and then cast straight on top of the loosefeed.
This way your hookbait is falling right among the loosefeed and therefore looks that little bit more natural.
Something else worth thinking about with the slow-sinking bomb is how long the float is taking to get to the bottom.
If it’s calm, or the wind is off your back, it’s easy to tell, as you can see the line drop slack as the bomb hits the bottom. But on windier days you just need to work it out in your head. There’s not much point sitting there with the bomb resting on the bottom most of the day!
IT’S ALL ABOUT PELLETS
When it comes to pellet waggler fishing there is only one bait to use – 8mm pellets.
Today I’m at Meadowlands, which means I’m using the fishery’s own pellets, but on waters without restrictions I will normally use a good coarse pellet, something like a Ringers R8.
You need a pellet which offers a uniform size throughout the bag as this makes them ideal for loosefeeding, when you want to keep your feed tightly grouped in your swim.
You don’t need a lot of bait either – unlike in the summer months, when you can feed two or more 1kg bags of pellets, at this time of year I like to have a couple of pints with me, although more often than not I won’t feed half that amount.
FEEDING
Feeding is all about little and often so I will kick off feeding three or four pellets every 30 seconds just to see what sort of response I get.
If it’s a good one then I might up the rate slightly to see if I can quicken things up.
Equally, if I don’t get bites, I will drop down to just two pellets at a time.
Even if you aren’t getting any bites or indications it’s important to keep some bait falling through the water, as it’s that which pulls fish into the swim.
Quite often with waggler fishing at this time of year you will catch in little bursts, so it’s vital that you don’t lose heart and stop feeding.
The way I fish and feed the waggler is also a bit different at the moment. In the summer it’s all very frenetic and in out, in out. At the moment, though, I find it better to fish each cast to the max.
Yes, give the float a twitch every now and again but unlike in summer most bites tend to come when the float is stationary.
Don’t be afraid to leave the float out there for utwo minutes or more, providing it’s sitting right and your presentation is good.
HOOKBAITS
Hookbait choices are actually quite plentiful although as a rule I always like to kick off fishing a hard 8mm pellet – after all, that’s what I’m feeding, so it makes sense to fish the same offering on the hook.
That said, of late I have been catching a lot of fish on the wag and slow-sinking bomb by fishing an 8mm Pellet Wafter on the hair.
A wafter sinks that little bit slower than a normal hard pellet and stays in the fish’s line of sight that bit longer.