Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
BIG FISH GALORE ON MAGGOTS
Pellets, corn and meat are seen as summer bankers on commercials but Mark Wynne proves that turning to grubs will boost the amount of carp you catch
WITH the fish feeding aggressively in summer, maggots rarely come into the equation on commercials. Many anglers see them as a gateway to being plagued by silver fish, scuppering their chances of getting through to the big carp they wish to fool. But take a look in Mark Wynne’s bait bag and you’ll immediately notice that maggots are at the forefront of his thinking.
The Sensas- backed angler believes we’ve reached the time of year where commercials can hit a dip in
form and sees the natural bait as the perfect way to dodge a frustrating day on the bank. “Many of the carp in your favourite fishery will have been caught numerous times this summer and they’re starting to wise up to the trap.
“So many anglers use pellets, corn and meat that they become less effective for a period.
“But maggots are rarely considered by many anglers fishing in open water and that leads to the carp feeding on them more confidently.”
One bait wonder
When Mark uses maggots, you’ll see nothing else on his sidetray.
As with any style of fishing though, there are little subtleties that make a huge difference to the eventual outcome.
“How you feed them will have a big impact on your results and it is a matter of knowing what to do and when.
“I will usually start the session with a big cup of maggots to put down a bed of bait and it is then a question of reading the swim to decide your next move.”
Mark will usually fish around 7m out and initially feed by hand every minute to keep a trickle of bait going through the swim. Although he starts fishing on the bottom, he will switch to a shallow rig if he starts to miss bites or foulhook fish.
“Although the fish may come shallow, they are sometimes just curious and prove impossible to catch off the bottom.
“When this happens I switch my style. Whenever I hook a fish I will throw in a few maggots by hand to keep the shoal occupied but when I ship back out I use a small cup to add a few more.
“Using a cup keeps the noise to a minimum and the shoal only realises that extra bait has entered the peg when it reaches the bottom.”
Other tricks that Mark uses include rotating between live and dead maggots – the latter sink slower – and the colour of grub he feeds.
Avoiding silvers
One of the main reasons that anglers don’t give maggots a bash is a fear of being pestered by tiny nuisance silver fish.
If your local complex has a big head of them, the vast majority of the roach and rudd will be sat close to the upper layers and Mark’s rig is designed to bomb the hookbait past them in double- quick time.
“I use a fairly heavy float that takes a decent amount of shot, enabling me to bomb the hookbait to the bottom quickly.
“A slim bodied 0.4g float with a carbon stem does the job and I use a bulk of shot around 12in up from the hook with a small dropper shot fixed just below.”
The rest of his rig comprises a grade 13 hollow elastic, 0.18mm mainline to a 0.16mm hooklength and a size 18 hook.
“I’m expecting to catch big weights of carp that will really put some strain on the rig so it needs to be made of quite strong kit in order to avoid sudden breakages.”
Todber tonic
Mark travels the country to sample different commercial venues and Dorset’s Todber Manor is up there with his favourites.
Catching a few carp at the complex isn’t difficult thanks to impressive stocking levels but putting together a bigger than average haul is trickier than it sounds.
“If you want to catch more than 100lb you have to avoid foul- hooking fish and work out what depth they are most comfortable at.”
Heading for Whitepost Lakes, fish could be seen cruising all over at the start. Plumbing up at 7m, he found an area with an even bottom and put down his first cup of maggots.
A few small silvers showed up first but keeping a regular trickle of maggots going in by hand soon drew in his target species, with a 3lb common soon in the bag.
Four more came before he hit into something that displayed its anger by charging off at pace and moments later – ping!
“That was definitely foul- hooked so that is my cue to change how I feed the peg.”
A small cup was then used to tip in a small quantity of maggots, only feeding by hand as he played a fish.
Throughout the day he was forced to regularly tweak his feeding and the depth he was fishing and that proactive approach did him proud, with around 120lb of carp landed in four hours.
“Maggots are so much more than a small- fish bait and, despite feeding regularly, I’ve only used three pints today. Leave your pellets and corn at home this month and grab some grubs – you’ll be amazed at how many big carp they’ll help you catch.”