GO BIG ON THE FEEDER RIGHT NOW!
Learn how to supersize your fishing this season and catch bigger fish at longer ranges with these vital edges
THERE’S something very special about catching big fish at long range.
Of course, fishing at distance is a challenge in itself, but for me it’s been a challenge well worth mastering because being able to cast a long way can be massively beneficial, especially at this time of year.
I always think about it like this – if you have unlimited open water in front of you, then if you can outcast those around you, you will have your own patch of water to benefit from.
You’ll also find at this time of year that carp tend to back away from the bank in cold, clear water, and being able to follow them out is a huge advantage when this situation occurs.
As I’ve said before, at this time of year you have to go to the fish – they won’t come to you.
This week I wanted to run you through a few of the edges which help me go longer on my casts and trick some of those big fish you can find at distance.
SUPERSIZE YOUR TIPS
Quivertips are well worth a mention here – for two reasons. First, guide size. When using a shockleader, because of the knot it always helps to use quivers with large eyes so the knot has a smooth passage through the rings on the cast.
Second, if distance is key then using a heavier quivertip will help
and I now use a 3oz tip for all my extreme range work.
The problem with a light tip is that it bends too much, which creates drag and reduces distance.
For extreme range I’d even consider stepping up to a 5oz tip because bite detection isn’t an issue at Boddington and I know it would give me a few more metres on my cast.
GETTING THE DROP
One common mistake I see a lot of anglers make when trying to cast a long way is that they do so off too short a drop by winding the feeder far too close to the tip ring of the rod.
Casting in this manner means you aren’t able to use the whole action of the rod, resulting in lost yardage.
With this in mind, the optimum position for casting is with the feeder just over a third of the way down the rod. This way you are using the whole rod to cast as opposed to just the tip, and bigger distances will be achieved.