The best baits for fishing shallow – Dr Paul Garner’s top tips
Paul Garner’s guide to baits for bagging on waggler and rocket feeder
IHOPE that, like me, you’ve been making the most of the long summer evenings – these conditions scream carp to me, with the topwater sport being more consistent than I can ever remember.
That said, on some venues, the best tactic has revolved around baits fished just under the surface, rather than on it.
Several tactics can be employed to put you in the zone and make catching carp easy.
MAKE A HAZE
Beyond the distance that I can comfortably catapult pellets, a baggin’ waggler or rocket feeder takes over. I particularly like the rocket feeder, as it can be used with a wider range of feeds compares to the baggin’ wag. For instance, I will often pack the feeder with dampened 6mm pellets and a pinch of groundbait to create a hazy cloud in the water column.
By twitching the feeder back I can release more bait and lift the hookbait, allowing it to flutter down two or three times each cast.
The haze effect is something I find myself using more and more whenever I am fishing up in the water or on the surface. The release of fine particles that hang in the water helps to disguise the hook and line.
SPODDING OVER ZIGS
Not every day is ideal for fishing the float, especially on a big, open reservoir. Even a relatively light wind can see rigs quickly dragged out of position, and the carp definitely avoid hookbaits being dragged sideways by the tow.
Fortunately, there’s an answer and the catches can be amazing if you are prepared to work at the fishing.
Spodding over zigs is often talked about but rarely done on most of the waters I visit. It’s a busy tactic, as you need to keep a haze around the hookbait to maximise the number of bites, but get it right and it can be a bite a chuck.
Once again, a slow-sinking mix is essential, but because it is packed into a spod the bait can be more like a soup, clouding up in impact and forming a dense cloud of attraction. This is very easy to achieve using any groundbait mix that you like – I tend to use a fishmeal-based mix, adding roughly three times the normal amount of water to the groundbait. Aim for the consistency of soup.
Adding pellets or other baits can be counter-productive, as they will quickly sink out of the upper layers, perhaps taking the carp with them.