Fishing bait guide | Dobbing bread for carp
'Dobbing' for bread in the depths of winter is probably one of the best ways to keep the carp biting when everyone else around you may be struggling. We asked three times Fish O’Mania champion Jamie Hughes about some of his best dobbing tips that will give you a fighting chance of catching a carp at this time of year.
“On the face of it, lifting and dropping your rig all day sounds incredibly simple but there is much more to dobbing than that,” explained Jamie.
“You need to build up a strategy and make decisions on several factors. Make the wrong choices and you could be sat on a huge shoal of fish and still suffer a blank. “Get things right, though, and you could have over 100lb when the odds are well and truly stacked against you.”
Swim choice
Picking the correct location is imperative if you want to succeed in winter. A large proportion of pegs on your favourite commercial will be devoid of life, with the fish holding up in a select few spots.
These swims are likely to have a number of features that will make them an obvious choice when you first arrive on the bank.
“If a peg has plenty of cover then there is every chance it will be full of fish. Overhanging trees, big beds of rushes or other snags offer sanctuary from bad weather. The cover they provide could make the water very slightly warmer which the fish will be able to detect.
“On snake lakes where every peg looks the same, it is important to gain information from local experts and match results to learn where the fish have been showing,” he advised.
Jamie always starts to dob close to the cover, but won’t hesitate to enthusiastically investigate open water spots.
“I pay close attention to where nearby anglers are fishing. If they tip some bait in open water and catch a few fish, I will have a look at a similar area in my peg.
“I won’t feed a thing as adding bait might catch you a few quick fish but they soon get full and back away. I simply lift and drop the rig regularly over the area trying to nail the hookbait right in front of them, which is usually enough to convince them to suck it in.”
Depth decisions
One of the first duties when you first set up your pole is to plumb the depth.
Understanding the contours beneath the surface can be key but this is one style of pole fishing where Jamie prefers to leave the plummet in his box.
“No matter how subtle you are, dropping a plummet into the middle of a shoal of carp can instantly spook them.
“I prefer to have a rough guess at what the depth will be. If you speak to the fishery owner they will be able to help you build a picture up of what is going on underwater.”
The depth at which you set the rig depends entirely on how much water you think you have in front of you but enabling the bait to sit off the deck works wonders.
“Big carp don’t sit firmly on the bottom in winter because this is often where the coldest water sinks too.
“More often than not they are just off it in a slightly warmer layer. If I have 2ft of water I will try and get my hookbait 6in off the bottom, and a foot off if it’s 3ft-6ft.
“That said, it is all about trial and error and shallowing up or going a few inches deeper can make a massive difference and help you locate fish that won’t budge from where they are sat.”
Bread the best bait
You want to give the fish every opportunity to spot your hookbait and then suck it in so your offering must have two important qualities.
Firstly, it must be bright and visual so that is stands out like a sore thumb. Secondly, it needs to be light so that it sinks slowly. Bread is the ideal solution and is Jamie’s first choice every time.
“A punched disc of bread offers everything you want. I use a 7mm disc as it falls through the water at the ideal rate. Give it a gentle squeeze to remove air and stop it from floating,” he added.
A loaf that is fluffy yet has fairly thick slices works best and Jamie uses Warburtons Toastie.
On the move
If you start dobbing and fail to get any bites don’t be downhearted. The fish could be sat a metre away and their sluggish nature means they won’t budge.
In order to cover every inch of his swim, Jamie has come up with a routine that makes sure he keeps the bites coming.
“I will lay the rig in on its side so that the hookbait falls in a natural arc and then give it 30 seconds. If I don’t get any bites I will lift the rig out and drop it in the same spot again.
“If that still doesn’t work, I will drop the rig in somewhere else, either next to another snag or a gap in the reeds. No matter how small a feature is, it is worth investigating. On snake lakes I will simply move a metre away and try again, repeating the process.”
By exploring dozens of different areas and constantly adjusting depth, Jamie rarely fails when dobbing.
“You wouldn’t think it would be possible to catch 100lb of fish without feeding, but a few slices of bread is all you need to bag up in freezing conditions.”