It’s been quite a year for the cost of living going through the roof. So wouldn’t it be nice if you could go fishing and enjoy a great day’s sport with loads of bites and still have change from a £10 note?
Believe it or not, you can do it on heavily-stocked commercial fisheries where there are loads of fish to catch that don’t need lots of bait.
Forget what you might read about anglers catching big weights in matches by feeding a gallon of casters or 10 pints of pellets – for most anglers, it’s enough to see the float keep going under, regardless of what’s on the end.
The best bait combo I’ve found for that has to be maggots and groundbait. Or more precisely, a pint of dead maggots and a bag of groundbait.
Even in the most affluent areas, that won’t cost you more than a tenner. It’ll catch everything that swims, is easy to use, and any leftovers can be kept for your next session.
Here's how I do it...
Half a bag is ample!
Half a bag of groundbait is enough, using a mix like Dynamite Baits’ Marine Halibut Method Mix. This is a heavy, oily groundbait that will sink quickly in shallow water.
Don’t feed heavily
I don’t want 20 carp in the peg – two or three feeding fish is the aim. Managing this is down to feeding, giving the carp a small pot of groundbait to keep them happy.
Use a ‘target’ bait
In shallow water, feeding fish will churn up the bottom, so you want a hi-viz hookbait. I’ll have dead maggots with me, so I’ll use these, fished as a double or triple bait.
Depth matters
I want shallow enough water to see individual carp moving about and judge how many are there. The optimum depth when fishing to an island or far bank is 12ins.
Use balanced tackle
You need a bouyant float – I use a Middy MW Margin, fished in a 4x10 or 4x12 size, ideally the larger of the two. Match this to 0.16mm mainline, a short 0.14mm hooklength and a size 16 hook.
Always use a bulk
The fish will have their heads stuck in the lakebed, grubbing in the groundbait, so I want to get the bait there quickly. That’s why shotting for my rig is just a bulk of No9 Slot Shots above the hooklength.
