The bomb and pellet is a tactic you cannot be without on commercial fisheries when carp are the target. The bomb has a way of consistently picking out the larger fish in a venue too, which can make it not only a great way to spend a day on the bank, but make all the difference to your final weight in a match. We asked England international Will Raison how he gets the most from bomb and pellet fishing to help you put more fish on the bank!
Hit the same spot
Feeding with relative accuracy is key, and you can achieve this by holding the catapult pouch to your chest and then fully extending the other arm. This sets the elastic at the same tension each time, enabling you to fire half-a-dozen pellets the same distance. If you can feed more accurately than those anglers around you, you will have an edge and you will catch more carp because of it!
THE BEST FISHING CATAPULTS WILL MAKE FIRING PELLETS FAR MORE ACCURATE!
Analyse line bites
If you are fishing over your bait and getting liners, cast slightly short of it, as fish may be shying off the main carpet of feed. If you are not getting any signs, it may be that they are sat beyond the loosefeed. Rather than going through the motions and hoping you just get a bite, keep watching the rod-tip and react to what it is telling you. Being active often leads to more bites, regardless of what you are fishing for!
SEE MORE OF WHAT IS GOING ON BY USING THE BEST SHORT FEEDER RODS!
Try different hookbaits
An 8mm banded pellet is the best opening hookbait, as it matches your loosefeed. If that fails to produce bites, or a run of action comes to an end, try switching to a semi-buoyant red or orange boilie that will stand out from everything else on the deck. These can also trick the carp, as due to their buoyancy, will see the hookbait fly further back into the carp's mouth which should lead to better hook holds and less lost fish!
TRY ONE OF THESE GREAT VENUES IF YOU WANT TO CATCH YOURSELF BIG CARP!
Gear up appropriately
The bomb accounts for lots of big fish and you need to adopt a ‘no nonsense’ tackle mindset. When fishing 20m-30m out, use a large 6000-sized reel and spool it up with 10lb mono. An 18ins hooklength of 0.22mm to a strong size 12 hook finishes off the rig. Everything will be pined down out of the way and I would rather get one less bite with stronger gear than lose five fish because they have broken my line.
IF YOU ARE NEW TO FISHING, HERE IS THE EASIEST WAY TO SETUP A FEEDER ROD.
