Explosive feeder bang on for rudd

A feeder filled with an exploding groundbait led to the capture of a dream catch of big rudd for James Champkin.

The haul was topped by a 3lb 2oz specimen, backed up by fish of 2lb 11oz, 2lb 7oz and 2lb 4oz when the fishing fanatic from Northants set his sights on a small stillwater in Lincolnshire.

Cage feeders packed with an explosive homemade groundbait, teamed with trimmed-down pop-up boilie hookbaits, were the winning combo for the campaigns officer at the Angling Trust.

“A lot of carp anglers fish this venue and consequently the rudd are accustomed to feeding over beds of particles,” James told Angling Times.

“So I put down a bed of hemp, corn and other particle baits and used a cloudy zig groundbait in the feeders to generate an explosion of particles through the water column.”

His carefully laid trap worked perfectly, and all his fish fell to rigs made from 5lb fluorocarbon hooklinks and size 16 hooks.

“I’ve managed to bank a number of big rudd over 2lb in the past, but to finally net the one fish that I’ve been after is such a big achievement for me,” James continued.

“The feeding spells of the bigger fish are incredibly compressed and the action can be very explosive – but only for maybe 10 minutes at a time.

“During these hectic periods I can catch maybe three or four big rudd, then the bites dry up completely. 

“To catch a group of fish like this is something that doesn’t happen very often,” he added.

Match info leads to huge rudd

Jamie Martin had the Angling Times match results to thank for helping him locate this dream 4lb 1oz rudd.
This is the biggest reported this season and fell to the specialist after he scoured our match pages for venues that have recently been producing big fish.
The Ely angler had spent years trying to smash his 2lb 10oz pb and finally achieved his ambition after he pinpointed a fishery in the Fens holding rudd over 3lb.
He fished a pink mini dumbbell boilie alongside a small feeder packed with liquidised bread.
No bites came during daylight, darkness sparked a reaction, with an aggressive bite kick-starting the action. Jamie said: “It gave me an epic fight and I was convinced I was attached to a tench.”
“Just as I was about to net it I saw a huge bar of gold close to the surface and instantly my knees went to jelly.”
“Once it was in the net it was clear I had broken my personal best but I was amazed when the needle went round to 4lb 1oz.”
“I’ve landed three fish weighing 2lb 10oz previously and it felt like I was never going to get past that milestone.
“I’ve spoken to lots of matchmen and their information has helped me locate big pike, perch, zander and carp,” added Jamie.