#ASK CARPFEED

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Paul Frampton, email Q

Does anybody use Method feeders any more, for big carp I mean? If not, why not?

A

Carp fishing is fashion-orientated and this is why tactics like the Method have fallen from favour. Yet, to my eyes, compared to PVA bag fishing, the Method offers a host of advantages.

It often gets labelled a ‘small-fish tactic’, but nothing could be further from the truth – last year I had a 33lb carp from Brasenose 2 using it!

When the payload from a Method feeder breaks down it creates a dinner-plate of food with the hookbait smack in the centre, whereas with PVA mesh bags, the hookbait will be at the end of the loose-feed. Also, the payload completely covers the feeder, whereas with PVA bags the lead is always visible.

Another big advantge is that you can load a Method with just about anything you like, whereas with mesh bags you need to use PVA-friendly items.

I like to use the Method with wet baits like corn, plus loads of different liquids, to generate a huge flavour trail in the water. You can play around with the ingredients to create different breakdown times, and you can cast it almost anywhere, including into weed (provided the hookbait isn’t sticking out).

It’s also great for casting to showing fish when you don’t know what the lakebed is like.

Finally, it’s so much quicker to load and recast a Method feeder than to tie up a solid PVA bag. On waters such as Brasenose 2, where the fish travel in shoals, the faster you can recast, the more you tend to catch!