How to tie Dai Gribble's inline feeder rig

June 5, 2018 Sam Curtis

1) Mainline

Always use an abrasion-resistant mainline, as it will be exposed to weed in your swim at some point. I use Korum Xpert Reel Line or Gardner Pro in 12lb.

My rig doesn’t include tubing above the feeder. I’ve found that bare line cuts through weed much more effectively, useful when a hooked fish tries to bury itself in the vegetation!

2) Inline feeder

Streamlined, inline feeders such as the new Preston ICS and Korum Grub feeder are less prone than others to getting caught up in weed.

Inline rigs are best for weedy swims as when a hooked tench gets into weed the pressure from the rod moves the feeder first, leaving you in direct contact with the fish.

With a helicopter rig the feeder is always trailing the fish and is more prone to getting snagged.

3) What to feed

Live maggots that have crawled out of the feeder and into the weed will keep the tench grubbing around in my swim for ages.

I generally use reds, but have done well with whites too.

4) Go heavy

The ICS feeders I use are 45g, weight-forward designs which makes them easy to cast with accuracy, while the position of the weight aids the bolt effect of the rig so the fish will hook themselves.

5) Hooklink

I’ve found buoyant baits are best presented using a fine braided hooklink material, and I use 4ins of Drennan Gravel Braid tied to a size 10 or 12 Korum Specimen hook.

Tench can easily eject small baits, but a short hooklink converts most pick-ups into unmissable runs.

However, if I’m facing a lot of weed on the bottom I’ll switch to a longer, stiffer hooklink of around 6ins.

I’ll use Avid Captive Coated hooklink and will strip back the last inch of the coating near the hook end to give the hookbait more flexibility – vital for ensuring good hook-ups.

6) Pop-up hookbait

The aim is to lift the hooklink vertically from the feeder, and I use a combination of rig foam and imitation maggots to achieve this.

I vary the colour of the artificial maggots and will try two or three red ones on one rod and a combination of red and fluoro on the other.

A combo of red and either yellow or orange maggots often gets more bites early on in a session but the tench can soon wise up to these.

If one combo works well, switch both your rods over to the same mix.

Specimen method feeder rig for bream

April 10, 2018 Sam Curtis

Specimen-style Method feeder

Big bream require a very different approach compared to that of a match angler. Regular casting and changes to the rig and hookbaits, are replaced by a bait and wait approach.

This can see one cast made every six or seven hours, biding your time for the bream to find the carpet of feed put in before you start fishing. Much of the action can take place after dark, so that means fishing with bite alarms and a rig that will help a fish to hook itself. A large, heavy Method feeder with a short hooklink and a hair-rigged bait on a tight line direct to the rod means that a bream picking up the bait will run and trigger your bite alarm.

A) Fake baits are best

To stop your hookbait being whittled away by little fish use rubber corn, maggots or casters. Rubber casters, in particular, are very good when you’re putting plenty into the swim. Fish three on a hair rig. If there’s a bit of weed on the bottom, invest in buoyant fake baits to sit just off the lakebed.

B) Short braided hooklinks

The Method feeder involves short 4ins hooklinks whether you’re after carp on a commercial or big bream on a vast lake. A shorter link helps the self-hooking effect and many specimen hunters use braid instead of mono, as it is stiffer and more robust.

C) Feeder size

Go big with your Method feeder in terms of both weight and size. A big feeder will let you get more bait around it, and a heavy model will cast far enough – most big bream fishing takes place on a good long cast. Don’t be afraid of using a 50g feeder to hit the spot. Naturally, the feeder will run on the mainline.

D) What’s in the mix?

Bream love groundbait, so this should make up the bulk of your feed to go around the feeder – but adding plenty of bits and bobs to it will help keep the fish milling around. Hemp, micro pellets, casters and dead maggots will make a good base mix but ensure that your groundbait is very sticky so it can accommodate all these particles and stick around the feeder for a long cast.

How to tie | Specimen method feeder rig

September 29, 2017 Sam Curtis

Imagine if there was presentation that allowed you to present a hookbait over any type of lakebed - even thick weed - leave a tight pile of freebies around your hookbait and the chances are no one else on your lake is using it.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well if you delve into the back of your tackle cupboard you’ll probably unearth exactly what you need for this deadly set-up.

Around 15-years ago Method feeders were all the rage. Visit any day-ticket lake and compacted balls of groundbait could be seen being cast out from all pegs. But in recent years pellets and PVA in its various forms have seen the Method feeder all but resigned to the annals of carp fishing history.

One of the main disadvantages of PVA is that you are limited to which baits you can use. Anything that is too wet and not PVA friendly will cause your bag to melt before it hits the water. There are no such problems with a Method feeder. The only real limit to what you can add to your Method mix is your imagination. These allows you to create bespoke mixes that no one else on your water will be using.

Use a short supple hooklink like you would when fishing a solid PVA bag creates a bolt effect as any fish that picks up the hookbait will quickly come into contact with the full weight of the feeder and set the hook.

1) Baits such as a single grain of fake corn or a 12mm boilie work well on the Method

2) A 4in hooklink ensures that fish quickly come into contact with the full weight of the feeder

3) An anti-tangle sleeve helps to push the hooklink away from the feeder

4) Compacting bait around the frame enables you to present a bait over virtually any type of lakebed - even thick weed

5) The Method can be fished on either tubing or leadcore

How to tie | The slow sinking feeder

August 31, 2017 Sam Curtis

During summer fish will often be stationed well up in the water, especially on deeper lakes where they will find a depth where the light-levels and temperature suit them.

At short range this situation is ideal for fishing a waggler rig with the shot well spread so that the hookbait falls at a slow rate, matching that of the free offerings.

But what if you are fishing beyond float range? On big rivers, reservoirs and large gravel pits, roach, rudd and bream will often not come within 30 metres of the bank. This is where the on-the-drop feeder comes into its own.

By using a long hooklength and a lightweight feeder the time it takes the rig to settle is extended, giving fish plenty of time to intercept the hookbait on the drop.

Bites can be expected at any time. It is not uncommon for the quivertip to never signal the feeder touching down, as a fish intercepts the bait in mid-water. Also, bites can be expected within seconds if the feeder does hit the bottom. There is no point in leaving the feeder once the rig has settled on the bottom.

Within a minute or so of casting, wind in, rebait and recast to keep a constant cloud of attractive bait falling through the water column.

Thread a Medium Grip Mesh feeder on to your mainline. Choose a feeder weight of around 14g-28g

Follow the feeder with two small rubber beads. These act as a shock-absorber cushioning the feeder on the cast

Fold over the last 30cm ofmainline and tie a large loop. Next, tie four further loops inside the large loop at regular intervals

Ensure that the beads and feeders come to rest on the uppermost knot. If they slide over, tie a second knot over the first

Cut off a 120cm length of hooklength. Use hooklengths of 90cm-180cm to vary the sinking speed of the hookbait

Tie on the hook using a spade-end knot where the hooklength line has been first passed through the eye of the hook

Once you’ve attached the hook, tie a figure-of-eight loop knot in the other end of the hooklength

To complete the rig, simply attach the hooklength to the mainline using a loop-to-loop knot

How to tie the method feeder rig

May 5, 2017 Sam Curtis

Method feeders are a staple among match anglers and, with a few tweaks, can also be used to target big carp, tench and bream.

The only changes you need to make to turn it into a rig capable of landing any carp that swims are to strengthen the component parts and increase the size of the hookbait and loosefeed.

The Method is perfect for ‘runs waters’ or for targeting carp in pressured venues that have seen it all when it comes to rigs.

How to tie the hooklink

Tie on a curved shank hook. We’ve used a palomar knot here, but a grinner is also fine to use.

Thread a micro rig swivelover the point and down the shank, followed by a small hook bead.

Position the hook bead and then attach the bait to the swivel using bait floss or a small bait band.

Tie a swivel to the other end. Make sure it is a snug fit in the base of the frame of the Method feeder.

How to load the method feeder

Put your chosen ingredients into a bait tub. Dampen the comtents and make sure they bind together well.

Place your hookbait in the fat end of the supplied mould and bury it with your Method mix.

Firmly press the feeder into the mould, with the hooklink positioned as shown above.

Remove the frame from the mould. Some frames have push-button releases. You’re ready to cast out!

How to Hair rig worms!

March 30, 2017 Sam Curtis

This subtle but clever variation on the typical hair rig enables you to fish more effectively with soft baits such as worms

Legering with worms, especially the more delicate lobworms, can be tricky if you need to fish at range with a heavy weight. Sometimes the worm can be smashed off the hook as it hits the water, or the worm may wriggle free or even mask the point.

All of these problems can severely reduce your catches, so a solution that holds the bait better and lessens the risk of bites being missed is important, especially for specialist anglers.

Normal hair rigs are great at hooking fish, but with soft baits, such as worms, they are less effective as often the bait is lost. This led to this variation on the normal hair rig which incorporates two small discs of foam to cushion the bait on the cast. A Quick Stop is used instead of a normal boilie stop, so there is no chance of the stop being lost when a worm tries to wriggle free.

Another advantage is that this rig works just as well with barbless hooks, as you are not reliant upon the barb to hold the bait in place. This makes it ideal for many commercial fisheries. So, if you are intending to leger worms for carp, tench, bream or perch then give this rig a try to see how effective it can be.