TINY EDGES FOR BIG RESULTS

The first key thing that I do differently to everyone else lies with how I prepare my pellets. I add some strong amino acids in the shape of my ‘Price is right! Amino Attack’ to the water that I use to soak my micro pellets. Only a couple of squirts of this potent liquid - but this really boosts the whole flavour of my feed.

One the pellet has taken on enough water to allow it to bind to the feeder properly, I bring my second trick into play - that is the Fjuka 2in1 Micros!

Think about how bland a pile of brown pellets must look on the bottom. Add in four different colours, plus a dose of Sensate attractant, and you definitely have the edge over the competition.

Because Fjuka doesn’t behave the same as normal pellets, I add these to my micros once they have soaked, so my feeder takes on a multicolour appeal when settled on the bottom.

Next up, hook baits. I must admit I carry lots of different types of hookbaits with me, that do different jobs. For todays session, we are on Oak Lake, which is the Specimen Pool down at Alders. In here, we are targeting some really big carp, plus bream- and for me, three hook baits stand out above everything else.

First and foremost, Fjuka Hookable wafters. I’ve caught loads of fish on these, and they are a superb bait on their day. I tend to just spike these on a bayonet, though if you prefer they can be direct hooked, or used on a quick stop.

Next up, Mainline Match Wafters. Because these are supplied in single colour tubs, I tend to just bring my favourite colour, pink, to the bait table. These are slightly smaller than the Fjuka 6mm wafters, and prove a brilliant bait on their day.

Finally, I have the Fjuka Hookable Popups. Being more buoyant, these offer a different presentation all together, rising slightly above the feeder.

What a cracking rudd.

As you can see, the peg that I have opted to fish today is strewn with marginal trees and cover. Although this might look like a complete nightmare to a lot of people, I absolutely love it - as on bright hot, sunny day like this it provides cover for the fish - which is why I choose to fish here.

However, pegs like this require some serious tackle if you want to get the best from them. These are old, wise carp who know exactly where they want to go when hooked - and you need to have the tackle to stop them.

I’ve bought my pride and joy out today - that is an 11ft Guru Aventus feeder rod. This has some real backbone, so I’m able to heave the fish away from the trees once hooked. Reel line wise this is matched to 10lb Daiwa Sensor. Then it’s a simple hybrid feeder setup, with a pre-tied Guru size ten or 12 QM1 to 8lb line.

Pay attention when fishing near snags.

  Trev likes a Hybrid feeder.

Soaking a pop-up in amino attractant.

There is no point making life hard for yourself when it comes to this sort of fishing, so I always like to start a few metres off the bushes to give me a fighting chance of landing any early fish that want to feed. Then I have the option of creeping tighter if the fish prove cagey, or back off through the course of the session.

Today, this approach yields rich rewards. Two carp are hooked and landed in my first two casts. Because I have some room for manoeuvre, I am able to quickly apply pressure when the fish are hooked and get them coming towards me. Once you have them coming your way its just a case of keeping on the pressure and keeping them coming towards you. Both these fish fall to a pink 6mm Fjuka Hookable wafter.

After these two early carp, my peg fills up with skimmers and bream. These are all between 1lb and 3lb, so I can’t really complain as I am still building a nice weight. I try a couple of different combinations, but soon conclude that the better fish have backed off.

I know there are some good carp still to catch, if I venture closer to the cover. I don’t want to get too close though, as this would almost certainly see me lose every fish I hook. What I am fishing up to is basically a mangrove, which trees and fallen branches protruding right out into the water. The Catch 22 is, the fish know they are safe in here - and so back off into the area.

My next move is to go closer to the edge of the danger zone, but hopefully far enough away to give me a chance of landing a fish. I go a metre further out, and - to be honest - get caught out with a savage bite almost straight away. It catches me unawares, and before I have time to respond it has me in the snag. Schoolboy error! You need to pay close attention when doing this type of fishing.

I retackle up, and cast back out, but this time Im ready! A couplel more good skimmers soon grace the net. Interestingly, the peg goes quiet after this.

This suggests to me that one of two things have happened, either the fish have wised up to my choice of hook baits, or a bigger carp has moved into to the area and pushed the skimmers out. I decide to try a cast with a Fjuka pop-up on. Obviously, because this is buoyant it sits above the feeder and offers different presentation to either of the wafter hookbaits I have with me. I’v found this to be a great trick at times, and on other days the fish simply don’t want to know - but its always worth a try.

The tip flies around, and I’m into another good fish. Keeping the pressure on, I have him coming my way and soon he is nestled in the bottom of the net. Not the biggest of the day, but at around 9lb he put up a great account of himself - and proved that my ‘pop up trick’ was well worth a try.

Its back to the skimmers after this, and although I catch a couple on a pop-up, it seems that these prefer the more standard presentation that a wafter affords.

For the last hour or so of the session, its a skimmer every cast, and I probably add around 30lb to my total weight. Interestingly, I have found my biggest fish have almost always come straight after changing the colour of my hookbait. Yellow and pink wafters have been best, but alternating has definitely helped me to fool the odd better fish.

Hopefully this piece has given you some food for thought as to how you can ‘pimp up’ your feeder fishing. It’s nothing revolutionary - but by building the tricks that I have described into your attack you will find you can nick the odd extra fish through the course of a session - and as we all know - the margins in match fishing are tighter than ever, so these little tweaks prove valuable.