Commercial Fishing Tips | How to set up a Jigga rig - Paul Yates
It’s simple to set a Jigga rig up – the hard work comes in finding the depth the fish are feeding at and ensuring that the hookbait is lowered directly downwards through the water. It’s a great summer method for carp and F1s feeding shallow, and allows you to cover more depth of water.
The Jigga float
I use thick 0.18mm line so that it can slide through the body of the Jigga float easily, letting the hookbait fall directly down. Around 2ft from the pole-tip I fix a float stop to the line, thread the float on and pop another stop in place around 12ins below this. Around four No8 shot are then bulked under this stop.
The plan is to set the two float stops apart at the depth you think the fish will be at. When the float hits the top stop, the bait will be at full depth. Once you lift the pole-tip slowly, the float will stay in the water, but the line will pass through, pulling the hookbait up in the water until it hits that bottom stop.
The Jigga rig
Commercial Fishing Tips | How to shot the waggler for carp - Bob Nudd
There’s no point in using a bulk down the line for summer carp on the waggler, as I want the hookbait to fall slowly and give me a chance of picking up fish on the drop.
I fix three No8 shot evenly-spaced down the line in the bottom half of the rig. These give the bait that slow fall and help straighten the line out when the float lands to cut down on tangles.
The rig also uses a tiny swivel that reduces line twist when winding in but also lets me quickly change hooklinks from one with a hair-rigged band to one with a plain hook.
I want the hookbait to fall slowly when fishing the waggler for carp
Commercial Fishing Tips | The short line - Adam Wakelin
When fishing short, you’re looking for a line that you can catch enough fish from without the danger of them backing off, so that means finding the right depth.
In my book, between 3ft and 5ft is perfect. If it is deeper than this you may suffer from line bites, while if it’s shallower, fish won’t congregate in the numbers needed.
I use a heavy plummet, ship out to 6m and see what I’ve got.
I’m looking for that depth plus a hard bottom. This could be a metre or so past the base of the marginal shelf or even up the slope slightly.
I don’t want to be fishing at the very foot of the slope, as this is where rubbish naturally gathers, creating a bit of a mucky substrate.
Look for a depth of between 3-5ft on the short line
Match Fishing Tips | Get down the margins early! - Vince Cross
Unlike a lot of anglers, I always feed and fish the margins from the start as I’ve found that a few catchable carp can move into the edge early.
Action down the margins can start early on
My plan is to fish two margin lines, feeding one negatively and one positively and beginning on the positive one.
This is fed with a full pole cup of loose groundbait and some particles, be they dead maggots, meat or corn.
Feed two margin lines by cupping in.
If I catch two carp early on, then that’s good going.
After this I will leave the swim alone until there’s around two hours of the session. This gives the fish ample chance to move into the edge and start feeding properly.
You don’t have to leave the margins till the last hour. Bonus fish can be caught early on.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Puller kits, why, when and how you should use them - Steve Ringer
Almost every modern pole now comes with top kits fitted with side puller systems.
At first, these seemed like a gimmick, useful only if you couldn’t land a big fish on light elastic. Nowadays, though, they are indispensable and a big help in getting carp in quickly.
In layman’s terms, a puller kit is a top kit with a side hole drilled near the bottom end. A PTFE bush or dedicated puller bush is fitted and the elastic pokes out, tied off with a bead and knot. When you break the pole down to the top kit, you can grab the bead and knot, pull elastic out and keep it there.
This means there’s less elastic for the fish to pull against, and as a result it will tire faster, while you will be able to dictate the battle and keep it away from snags.
I’ve even seen them used for roach and bream on rivers, so the puller kit is not just something you’d use for carp.
But what is the right way to play a fish on a puller kit without ending up having yards of elastic trailing all over the floor?
It all begins with having the right elastic in the first place…
The right elastic
With a puller kit there’s no danger of being broken, even with soft elastic. Don’t go too light, though, or the puller won’t work properly. White Hydro is soft enough to let you strip back lots of elastic but still cushion any surges a fish might make.
Picking the right pole elastic is important
How much to pull?
If you pull so much elastic out that there’s just a foot left coming out of the pole tip the elastic may bottom out and the pole may break. I’d strip enough out to have control of the fish while it can at the same time absorb the power of a bolting carp.
Don’t strip out too much
Don’t overstretch
The fish should be on the surface without the need to overstretch with the net. If you can’t see the float when you pull to net a fish, you must pull more elastic out until you can. Let the lot go back into the top kit if the fish gains its second wind.
If you can’t see the float when you pull to net a fish, you must pull more elastic out until you can.
How many sections?
I run my elastic through either a full Power top-2 or the No2 and No3 sections of the Match kit with the No1 section removed. This equates to 5ft-7ft of elastic, ample to let a fish run but short enough to strip back when it’s time for the net.
In layman’s terms, a puller kit is a top kit with a side hole drilled near the bottom end.
Commercial Fishing Tips | 4 tips for a big weight of silvers - Steve Ringer
One of the joys of fishing is never knowing what you’re going to hook next.
Even on commercial fisheries this is the case. Aside from the big mirrors and commons, you’ll find masses of F1s, barbel, skimmers, tench and roach which, when targeted correctly, can give you a brilliant day’s sport.
To catch them consistently, though, and to try and avoid the carp, you need a different approach. Light rigs fished through the water, small natural baits and regular feeding – plus trying to target areas away from the carp – are the key factors. Once you get these right, the bites will be quick in coming and you can really start bagging.
Amount to feed
Feed a dozen casters at a time, upping this if small fish are a problem. Casters make a noise hitting the water, bringing fish off the bottom.
Hookbaits
A single caster will get bites at the start, but switch to double if you want to catch something a bit better. Use the dark-coloured shells.
Elastics and floats
A Blue Hydrolastic is soft enough for silvers, but has enough power to tame F1s. Use a light float such as a 4x10 or 4x12 F1 Slim pattern.
Terminal tackle
A size 16 Guru F1 Pellet Barbless hook is the ideal hook, matched to a 6ins hooklength of 0.12mm or 0.14mm Guru N-Gauge line.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Six tips to exploit far-bank shallows - Tom Edwards
Have you ever plumbed up your peg and thought that in places it’s just too shallow to catch fish from?
Let’s face it, a mere foot of water doesn’t seem enough to hold fish consistently throughout the day, let alone give you the chance of catching them without suffering the trials and tribulations of them being hooked everywhere except in their mouths.
It makes sense to fish in deeper water where you’ll be a lot more comfortable and confident of catching. Do this, though, and you’ll be missing out on one of the very best parts of your peg on a narrow snake lake, the water tight against the far bank known as the mudline.
Yes, there’s only 12ins or so to work with, but fed correctly, this is enough to catch from all day long. Done right, foul hooked fish and line bites can be totally eliminated.
Float sizes
In mudline fishing, a heavy float will sit properly for longer. A rig based around a Carpa Ape pattern is as stable as you could wish for.
Short hooklengths
A 3ins hooklength lets you put all your shot close to the hook. Fish 0.18mm mainline to a 0.14mm hooklength and a size 16 Guru Super LWG hook.
Which pot?
I start with a medium-sized pot, tapping the pole butt to release the pellets. The biggest pot will put too many pellets in and whip the fish into a frenzy.
Find the depth
Find the mudline at around 12ins. Any deeper, you’ll have trouble with fish coming off the bottom, any shallower, it’s hard to get fish into the peg.
The bait
Dampened micro pellet feed and a 4mm expander hookbait is my combo. Light expanders work well in shallow water.
Pick a light elastic
White Hydrolastic is perfect, soft enough to allow the fish to bolt out of the swim without making too much noise.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Time to get down the margins! - Steve Ringer
As much as I love my feeder fishing, there’s something unique about doing battle at close range with massive fish.
Often these can be located just inches away from the bank, where you can see them swim into the area and upend to feed, sending clouds of mud from the lakebed billowing upwards before your float vanishes and the fight kicks off.
If you’re on the lookout to up your personal best, there really is no better way to do it than from in the margins.
Because this is a method that works later in the day, it’s ideal for after-work or evening sessions when a couple of hours is often ample to catch a string of fish.
So why not get up close and personal with the fish? It’s a really satisfying way to fish.
Get up close and personal with the fish
The right floats
A margin swim is typically 12ins-18ins deep, calling for a 0.3g or 0.4g float. In deeper water you’re better off trying to catch shallow with a 0.2g float. In any case you must always get the float as close to the bank as possible to eliminate line bites.
Get the float as close as possible to the bank
Big baits
For carp, double corn, double expander pellet, two worms or eight or nine dead maggots is perfect. For F1s, double maggot or caster rules on a size 16 hook. Red-dyed meat or pellets work really well in heavily coloured water.
Dyed meat works brilliantly in coloured water
Find the flat spot
If I can’t find a flat area, I will fish on the slope and set my rig to 14ins, plumb up and find where this is on the slope. I then lay the rig in with the float closest to the bank and drag it into position so that the bait is resting on the bottom.
It is essential to plumb the depth
Try the feeder
A big Hybrid or Method feeder fished on an underarm cast tight to the bank is an easier way to fish than the pole. If you are getting line bites on the pole, a change to a feeder will give unmissable bites and properly hooked fish.
The feeder will give unmissable bites down the margins
Commercial Fishing Tips - Break out the pellet wag! - Steve Ringer
There’s something unique about fishing the pellet waggler. Incorporating big floats, big hookbaits, regular casting and aggressive, frequent bites, it’s a method that really gets the adrenaline pumping.
It comes into its own at this time of the year, when the sun is high in the sky, the mercury is hovering at around 20 degrees celcius and the fish are cruising about in the upper layers. Although the main quarry is carp of all sizes, it will catch other species too, and it’s a lot easier to fish shallow than the long pole.
Now is the time to get active with the pellet waggler
It’s also a very busy method, one that gives you better results if you work hard at it. You might make 50 casts without a bite but on that 51st chuck, the float will bury. If it doesn’t, then you should wait no longer than about 30 seconds before you reel in and repeat the process.
Get things right and the bites will be almost instant, as the fish will be sat waiting for the splash of the float hitting the water and the pellet hookbait alongside it.
Pick your float
There are two main types – balsa and foam-bodied. The balsa is an all-rounder, while the foam is for going very shallow on hot days.
Make sure you pick the right float for the conditions
Get the right size
Loaded floats are my only choice. On big lakes, we’re talking floats with a 10g to 12g loading but elsewhere half that size will do.
Loaded floats are my only choice
Don’t sit and wait
Cast so the float lands just behind the feed and twitch the reel handle to draw it into the feed. Bait and twitch again, then it’s time to recast.
You have to stay active to win with the pellet waggler
Choose pellets
For F1s use a 6mm hard pellet fished in a bait band and for carp try an 8mm pellet. A good change bait is a pellet wafter.
Use hard pellets, 6mm for F1s and 8mm for carp
Commercial Fishing Tips | What to feed when paste fishing - Darren Cox
I try to feed as little as possible when I’m actually fishing, relying more on the paste itself to keep the fish fed.
Before I start, though, I’ll pot in a ball of micro pellets and perhaps the odd one every now and then when I’m fishing other lines, just to keep the swim primed.
Once I begin using paste, I’ll add just a sprinkling of micros to the pot I’m putting the paste into before shipping out.
These tiny pellets will stick to the paste and make it look a bit different, as well as giving it an unusual texture.
I know some people like to strike the paste off the hook every few minutes to keep some feed in the swim, but I’ve always found that the paste on its own is enough to keep lining the fish up – it’s filling stuff.
If all goes well, you won’t need to strike the bait off, because you’ll get a bite within 60 seconds.
Paste is a great bait in the warmer months and you only need to feed a pot of micros to kick start the swim!
Commercial Fishing Tips - How to keep bites coming in the middle of the day - Des Shipp
When bites dry up and things get slow in the middle of the day, don’t just sit there waiting for something to turn up. Look no further than fishing off your rod-tip or on a top kit on the pole in front of you.
Action doesn’t have to be slow in the middle of the day - stay active!
Rig up with a size 16 hook and a 4x14 pole float or a small 2BB waggler, feeding maggots or casters.
A typical Stillwater roach rig perfect for margin work
This will catch mainly silvers, but something bigger can turn up too.
Steady feeding with maggots close in can draw all sorts into the peg
I’ll feed a dozen maggots by hand here every five minutes and when my other lines slow up, switch to this one. You may catch all day here or it may only last 30 minutes.
Commercial Fishing Tips - How close should you fish to islands? - Tommy Pickering
How close you should fish to islands all depends on the fish.
Islands are a great holding feature for fish, but you don’t always have to fish tight to them
F1s like around 18ins of water and I normally catch them by casting just short of the island.
Carp prefer 12ins of depth and can be attacked by chucking tight. Late in the day the carp may well end up almost hugging the island, moving into the really shallow water.
To find this depth, cast out with a bomb and try to get a feel of things. You won’t have a count, as the water is too shallow, but if it’s a foot deep, the lead should hit bottom immediately. If it’s a bit deeper, it’ll take a fraction longer to settle.
Carp prefer 12ins of depth near islands
Commercial Fishing Tips | Catch anything on maggots - Rob Wootton
Waiting for a few carp to have a chew in the depths of winter often ends with very little in the net to show for your efforts.
This is why fishing a lake with a good mixed stock of fish gives you the best possible chance of a busy day’s sport.
Every commercial fishery offers much, much more than just carp. It’s almost certain to be home to roach, bream, probably perch and even ide too.
What’s more, all these species are more than willing to feed in the cold.
Catching a netful from fisheries like these couldn’t be easier, and as far as bait is concerned it’s a cheap outing into the bargain. A tenner should buy all you need.
Two pints of maggots and a little groundbait is all you require for an exciting and interesting session in which you can never be certain just what’s going to be on the end when the float next goes under.
Why maggots are king
Why take only maggots? Well, they catch everything and are nowhere near as selective as pellets or sweetcorn.
You seem to catch for longer and more consistently with them. Two pints of reds and whites will be enough, and you may even have some left over at the end for another session.
Rotate your lines
Plugging away on one single swim will only end in it slowly dying a death. You need to have other options and rotate between them to get the best out of the day. This isn’t as complicated as it may seem.
My main swim is on the long pole at 11m to 13m. That’s a comfortable distance, but I do try to find any changes in the depth, such as deep hole or bar. These are very attractive to fish, even though they might not sound like much to us!
There will be a second line at short range, perhaps 5m or 6m out, which I’ll save to fish in the last two hours of the day.
I’ll only feed here roughly half an hour before I want to fish this line in order to get the maximum impact of feeding maggots in this new area.
‘Canal’ rigs
Other than the odd carp, most of the fish you’ll catch on maggots will be small enough to land on quite light tackle.
I recommend a size 18 hook to a hooklink of 0.08mm diameter and a mainline of 0.14mm. Provided your pole elastic is soft enough, there’s little danger of it getting broken by a fish. Shotting is also very delicate, using No11 shot. Space these apart all the way across the rig, so the single dead maggot bait falls very slowly.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Running or inline bomb? - Phil Ringer
More and more anglers fish a bomb running freely on the line. This is much safer because if the line breaks, a hooked fish can pull free of the bomb.
However, an elasticated set-up has advantages, these being that the elastic acts as a shock absorber when playing a fish under the rod tip.
It also makes the rig self-hooking as a carp taking the bait pulls against the elastic. However, many fisheries don’t allow elasticated bombs or feeders so make sure to check the rules first!
Commercial Fishing Tips | How to bag up close to an aerator - Tommy Pickering
An aerator is a great thing to have in your swim but first check if it has been on overnight.
In my experience, fish don’t like water that’s been churned about. Try to find out if the aerator is attached via a rope or to the bottom of the lake on a chain, as this will dictate how close you can fish to it.
If it is fixed via a chain, any hooked fish are likely to swim into it and they’ll come off the hook – a rope across the lake poses no such dramas.
I tend to nick only a few fish from one spot, casting a metre or so off the aerator then moving to another line well away from it. This gives the fish time to settle back down before I revisit the aerator to catch a few more. If you keep flogging all around the aerator, the carp will soon spook away and you’ll be left with nowhere else to go.
For more of your fishing questions answered, pick up the magazine each Tuesday and turn to pages 48-49.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Bread punch for winter carp with Lee Thornton
CARP and F1s are known to stop feeding for much of the winter. Yet a single piece of punched bread can produce the goods consistently, especially in matches, where the fish tend to move around less owing to angling pressure on the bank.
The reason a hookbait sat on its own works is simple to understand. During the colder months carp do not need to eat much at all. Being cold-blooded creatures, they do not use anywhere near the amount of energy that they do in the warmer months to get through the day.
As a result, these carp become conditioned to move away from any feed being introduced or a bait that is stationary on the bottom. I’m not quite sure whether a reluctance to feed is a response to avoid being caught or not, but I have a hunch this is most likely the reason.
Therefore, a single attractive hookbait can outscore all other methods, and bread is a timeless classic to stick on the hook to get your fair share of fish.
It’s not easy, though. Bread fishing does seem to have got more difficult over the years. Fish which get caught on it regularly will do everything they can to avoid making the same mistake again.
As a result, every aspect of your approach and set-up becomes crucial to success.
Fish a long line
A long line between the float and pole-tip lets me keep the tip well away from any fish, reducing the chance of spooking. A low-profile Ghost top kit along with that length of line gives me flexibility in the rig to change depths quickly or to swing the rig past the pole-tip. I do, though, prefer two sizeable back shot on this to stabilise everything.
Location
Now we move on to the single most important aspect of bread fishing. A feature where the fish can back off to – be this a bridge, a floating island, the far bank, reed beds, aerators or trees – is the perfect starting point, so long as there’s around 3ft of water. This is the depth carp and F1s commonly like to have over their backs in winter to feel comfortable.
That said, I do set up two rigs, one for fishing 2ft 6ins to 3ft deep and another that can be fished with a good length of line above the float, set 6ins to a foot off bottom in the deepest area of the peg.
Catching a few extra fish in these deep areas has won me several matches over the years, basically by fishing in a part of the peg with no obvious cover or any good reason for fish to congregate there.
Explore the swim
It’s important not to spend too long in areas that do not quickly deliver indications of fish. When you catch on bread, I don’t believe it’s common to catch just one carp. You are targeting a shoal of fish, which means there are a few in the area. Even if a proper bite is not forthcoming, areas where you get small indications and movements on the float are most likely to produce a positive bite.
Depth is important too. I’ve already said that 3ft is a good starting point, but you need to be at precisely the same depth as the fish to give yourself the best chance of a bite. Carp will not follow a piece of bread deeper or shallower from where they are comfortable. It’s the angler who adjusts the rig if no indications are forthcoming that catches the most fish.
When starting a session, I give each area two or three minutes to see if I can get indications. If not, I move around the peg a metre at a time and when I think I’ve located a shoal of fish, that’s the time to start altering the depth.
Rest each area
I have found in the last couple of seasons that once I’ve found a spot with some carp, it pays to not keep going into the same area every time.
I don’t think that this is because the fish have ‘wised up’. It’s more that the milder winters we are having means that even though the fish are still in a non-feeding mood, water that is a degree or two warmer makes them more inclined to move around or swim out of the peg than if it were colder and they were more lethargic.
It’s quite difficult to do this if you only have one area in a swim where it is possible to get bites, but definitely try resting the catching area regularly, even if it does mean fishing where it seems there is little to no chance of a bite.
This ploy can actually produce more fish in the longer run.
Floats and shotting
I like to use a traditional 4x12 commercial-style float with a long teardrop shape and a 1.5mm thick plastic bristle and carbon stem for my bread fishing.
The carbon stem keeps in touch perfectly with a single bulk of shot, which is more often than not fixed just beneath the float. This stem also produces less resistance than a wire stem as it naturally supports less weight.
The 1.5mm bristle allows the rig to hold the bread hookbait without being overly buoyant or, conversely, too sensitive – which would result in it being pulled under the surface.
Shotting beneath the float is made up of a bulk of two or three tiny No12 shot (the number used depends on how shallow the fish are). The name of the game is to achieve a really slow fall of the hookbait that will grab the carp’s attention.
Terminal Tackle
Mainline is Middy Lo-Viz 0.18mm, a line I use for every rig in summer or winter as it is one less thing to worry about. Hooklengths are made up of 0.10mm or 0.12mm Lo-Viz with a size 16 6313 hook.
Elastic choice is important, and although the carp can be big, it is best to fish with as soft an elastic as the size of fish will allow. This helps to keep disturbance in the peg to a minimum. For F1s this means the 6-9 Orange Middy Reactacore and for carp the 9-12 Cerise-coloured version.
Staying on the subject of elastics, it is worth noting that in low temperatures, solids will out-perform hollows due to the elastic not reacting the same.
If you are doing a lot of winter fishing it is definitely worth having some top kits with solid elastic rigged up as a back-up!
Plumbing up
Plumbing up is crucial, mainly to make sure that the water you are fishing is not too shallow. Very rarely will fish sit in shallow water when it is cold and clear, so making sure at least 2ft and preferably 3ft is available is paramount.
Plumbing up also helps you to locate fish. Many times in winter, because of how tightly the shoal sits, fish can be hit with the rig, and this can happen in really unexpected places in the swim. So use this information to help you locate some carp
Commercial Fishing Tips | Winter roach with Tom Edwards
Going for commercial fishery carp in the depths of January is the ultimate angling gamble. A combination of clear, cold water, changing air pressure and low temperatures often means that even if there are a few fish in front of you, the likelihood is that they might not feed.
That means several hours spent bored witless waiting for a bite out of the blue. It does little to fire the enthusiasm for a return trip, but there is another way to get the best out of fishing in the cold – and that’s setting your sights a little lower for small fish.
Roach, rudd and skimmers might not put up much of a fight compared to a big mirror or common, but they can be relied on to save a blank and can give you a surprisingly good day’s sport.
Scaling down tackle and changing from pellets and corn to maggots on the bait menu will not only catch these silver fish though – F1s and even the occasional carp will move in to investigate what those roach are getting so excited about.
That all adds up to the potential for a lovely mixed bag. Don’t think that the roach you catch will be tiny, either. Often, on commercials, they are chunky things that will soon see you put a weight together.
In matches on my local Lake Ross fishery, 15lb of roach added to a handful of carp and F1s can see you picking up a few quid. Get it all right and the fishing will be a bite-a-chuck, interrupted by that exciting moment when the elastic pulls out of the pole that little bit more from a big fish.
Bites are the name of the game here and there’s nothing better for keeping the cold and boredom at bay than seeing the float go under on every single drop-in!
Pole or waggler
There’s nothing to stop you from catching on the float, but I find that it’s a little too inaccurate to give you a bite a chuck, so the pole has to be the winner.
You’ll not catch really short though, even in mild weather. Coloured water and a comfortable 13m distance is perfect to keep the roach happy and hunting about for your hookbait.
Don’t wait too long
The key to this type of feeding is to have your hookbait among the maggots dropping through the water so, in theory, you get a bite just as the rig settles. So I don’t leave the float sat there once it has cocked. The chances of a bite are far less than if the single maggot on the hook is falling.
When the rig has settled, I’ll wait 30 seconds before lifting it out and laying it back in again over the loosefeed, and this is the pattern the day will follow. It’s a busy way to fish but it keeps the cold out and it’s much better than willing a quivertip to go round!
Strung shotting
In clearer water, I’m convinced that fish watch a hookbait fall and then drop down to take it, so you need to make the bait behave in such a way that they’re given enough time to make up their mind. A bulked shotting pattern on the rig is out of the question – a spread of shot in the bottom third of the rig allows the bait to fall slowly past the roach.
The fewer shot you can use the better, so the float needs to be light. In perfect conditions, a 4x12 Preston Innovations F1 Maggot is ideal and takes six or seven No10 shot spaced a few centimetres apart from the hooklink upwards. By laying the rig in sideways and keeping the line tight to the float, the bait will fall slowly and you can read every indication from a fish.
Light rigs are a must
Although there’s the chance of hooking a carp, I’ll ride my luck and fish light because I know this will get me more bites in the long run. Even then, you’d be amazed what you can land with light gear provided it is balanced and you take your time.
Mainline thickness is not so important and 0.16mm Frenzee FXT Loaded is fine, but what’s closer to the fish is key, so a 6ins hooklink of 0.10mm Silstar Match Team and a size 20 Drennan Silverfish Pellet hook are just the job.
Matched to a light hollow elastic (I use Frenzee’s Stretch in the green 6–8 grade) I’ll not bump many roach and still have enough in reserve to land a carp or an F1.
Bait choice
I find casters too selective when I’m fishing for bites, even though they are a brilliant roach bait – so it has to be maggots.
A single red grub on the hook will get the fastest bites, but there’s no harm in trying a double from time to time for a better fish. Maggots are also the only thing I feed, but I introduce them into the swim in two very different ways…
Start with a pot
Ideally, I want to loosefeed maggots, but that’s a little too gung-ho to begin with.
Until I can work out how many roach are in front of me and how well they are feeding, I’ll feed with a small pot on the pole, trickling in 20 or so maggots on each drop-in.
If there are lots of bites, then the catapult comes out and the same 20 maggots are fired in each time. These spread over a wider area and give me more chance of attracting a carp or F1 as opposed to using the pot.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Use the right pole elastic and land every fish!
Shock-absorbing elastic is a must for polefishing because the right elastic will mean you end up with far more fish in the net.
But there are so many elastics on the market that making the right choice can be difficult. This week Preston Innovations and England man Des Shipp helps you choose the right elastic on commercial fisheries… every time.
No8:
This is the softest elastic I would use on a commercial and would be my first choice when I know there is a variety of fish sizes in the lake, ranging from roach, small perch and skimmers, to F1s and carp of a few pounds.
The beauty of this elastic is that I know I won’t bump small silvers on the strike, while I still have a good chance of landing bigger fish with a little time and patience.
No10:
F1s are a popular target on commercials and my first-choice elastic for these fish, which can weigh 4lb-plus, is No10 hollow. This species fights all the way to the net and they also love heading for any underwater snags when first hooked, so you need an elastic with a bit of power, but that’s still soft enough to avoid bumping them on the strike.
No12:
When there’s a good chance of landing a carp or two along with F1s, then I’ll go one step further and use a No 12 hollow elastic.
This elastic is great for open-water carp in winter when they don’t fight as hard as they do in summer and you need to fish relatively fine tackle for them. A strong elastic might result in bumped fish at this time of year.
No14:
This is my favourite elastic for catching carp that weigh more than 5lb and also for fishing against bankside vegetation.
I won’t use it so much at this time of year when most carp tend to be out in open water, but like all hollow elastics, it will stretch a long way while still boasting lots of power.
Commercial Fishing Tips | Hybrid feeder tips with Steve Ringer
There are actually five sizes of Hybrid feeder, and the ones I use the most are Mini, Medium and Large.
Mini Hybrid
This is my winter feeder for venues like Barston, where I’m casting about trying to find a group of fish – ‘dobbing with a feeder’ I call it. I can cast a 30g Hybrid a long way with very little splash on impact, and I’m convinced this makes a big difference when the water is cold and clear. I also carry the Mini Hybrid in 18g and 24g versions for shorter-range work.
Medium Hybrid
This is for ‘standard’ work in both 32g and 42g. The 42g version is used for long-range work, as when launched it really will go the distance because it’s relatively small and compact.
Large Hybrid
These get the most use, and I carry them in 28g, 45g and 60g. The 28g Large is my favourite summer feeder when I want to feed a bit of bait on venues like Barston and Larford. It’s heavy enough to get the distance, but not so heavy that it will sink into any soft silt that might be present. The 45g Large is my feeder for Boddington, where even in winter a big feeder produces more bites. I can only assume the carp find it easier to home in on a larger amount of bait, even in the cold.
The 45g of weight is needed to get the distance, as 100m casts aren’t unusual on there in the cold.
I also carry the 60g Large Hybrid for punching into a big wind with a 14ft rod.
How to load a hybrid feeder
Load the body of the Hybrid feeder with your mix – pellets, groundbait or a combination of the two.
Compress the feed with your finger. The tighter it’s packed, the slower it will break down.
Place your hookbait – here a pink wafter – in the centre of the feed already in the Hybrid.
Add more feed to make an aerodynamic load and you’re all ready to cast.
Baits for the Hybrid
Over the years the Hybrid feeder has become synonymous with pellets – anglers don’t realise it can be used with both pellets and groundbait, or even a mix of the two. I regularly use a Hybrid with groundbait when fishing for bream or skimmers.
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Commercial Fishing Tips | Hard pellets for winter carp with Jamie Hughes
When you think of winter pellet fishing an image of fishing small expanders over micros immediately springs to mind.
But while this may be spot-on for catching F1s, for ‘proper’ carp hard pellets are my choice.
These baits are associated with the bagging days of summer, but they can still be effective in winter if you use them correctly.
I think these baits are better suited to commons and mirrors, and a small quantity of 4mm or 6mm baits is all you need for a day’s fishing.
Setting Traps
The way I fish hard pellets is to rotate a few lines on the pole, tapping in just a small amount of 6mm or 4mm baits and holding my rig right over the top.
I’m setting little traps all around my peg and am waiting for the carp to slip up.
And ‘waiting’ is a key word – you’ve got to be patient at this time of year. You may only get 10 bites, but when they’re from proper fish it’s worth doing.
It’s always worth having a good plumb around to find the different depths of your peg, and you can then try these various areas to find where the fish are sat.
Accuracy is Key
When fishing this way, being accurate is essential, and I will feed almost exclusively with a small pole pot.
Catapults are brilliant in summer, but in winter they spread your bait around a bit too much, and when you’re only feeding tiny amounts this isn’t right.
My rigs reflect this pinpoint approach, and I see no place for strung-out rigs that work through the water.
I opt for heavy floats shotted positively. These are very stable and help to keep my bait firmly in place while I await a bite.
On tackle, I never go too light when fishing for proper carp and wouldn’t go below 0.12mm hooklengths and No8-12 elastics.
Last Resort Micros
If the fishing is absolutely rock-hard then I’ll reach for micro pellets, as these can scrape out a fish when nothing else can. But this really is a last resort.
Micros bring small silvers into the peg, and when you’re after proper carp this is the last thing you want to happen.
