Match Fishing Tips | Put the pole away and catch more on your rod!
It’s all too easy to tie yourself down to the pole on commercials.
It can be a supremely effective tactic on these fish-packed waters, but how about a day on waggler and feeder instead? You might be surprised at the results!
Kieron Rich loves catching carp on these two methods, and over the years he has perfected a way that allows him to get the most from his swim while leaving the pole in the bag.
Feeder first
At the start of any session it’s best to target an area of the swim where the fish naturally live.
An obvious spot is tight to an island, and Kieron believes this is your best bet for a steady start.
“Islands usually have plenty of vegetation that the fish feel confident feeding close to. Even if they spook after you’ve hooked one, they’ll never be far away. They might not be the biggest stamp carp at the start but they’ll keep you busy while you wait for the waggler line to spring into life.
“A small cage feeder packed with micro pellets and baited with a 4mm pellet is ideal. All the time I’ll be priming the waggler line by catapulting in half-a-dozen 8mm pellets every minute for at least an hour.”
Explore the layers
“Even after two hours of feeding pellets into the swim, you might not see any signs of fish in the peg. But more often than not they are simply sat too deep to break the surface with alluring swirls.
“That’s why I always plumb the depth at the start of the session and, when it comes to fishing the spot, I always start on the bottom.
“If I don’t get any bites within a few minutes then it is back to the feeder, and I will continue feeding.If I miss bites, however, that means the fish are sat above my hookbait and I need to shallow up.
“I also steer away from using a big waggler. My Middy Crystal Insert creates minimal disturbance, and any fish feeding in the zone will continue to do so. On many fisheries, the days of using big ‘splasher’ wagglers are long gone.
“Oh, and these days bites on the waggler can be extremely subtle, so make sure you strike at even the tiniest of dips.”
