When it’s time to turn your attention to the margins, most anglers will pick up a pole to lure some beasts from the edge – but it doesn’t necessarily always go to plan!
The problems with fishing the pole down the side are many, ranging from the water being too deep or too shallow, missed bites, line bites, foul-hooked fish and, worse of all, a broken pole when a massive carp hooked in a fin charges off and never stops!
What if there was a method that solved all these troubles, something that meant a big carp was hooked properly in the mouth every time? There is – and it has nothing to do with pole fishing. I’m talking about the feeder.
Here's how I do it...
GET THE BEST RODS FOR COMMERCIAL FEEDER FISHING BY CHECKING OUT THIS BUYER'S GUIDE.
Pick the right feeder
I’d pick a 30g flatbed Method feeder over a Hybrid because I can put more bait around a Method and get it to give off a cloud in shallow water.
GET THE BEST FEEDERS FOR COMMERCIALS BY CHECKING OUT THIS BUYER'S GUIDE.
Use quite a dry mix
You need a 50/50 mix of groundbait and dampened micros on the feeder. I prepare my mix so it’s dry and more compact around the feeder.
FIND THE BEST GROUNDBAITS FOR MARGIN FISHING IN THIS BUYER'S GUIDE.
Bosh some bait in!
To kickstart the swim, just before fishing the edge I’ll use a large baiting feeder to introduce four hits of sweetcorn and micros.
LEARN MORE ON HOW TO USE A BOSHER FEEDER IN THIS EXPERT TIPS & TACTICS ARTICLE.
Match the hatch
To match my corn loosefeed, I use a yellow 5mm Dynamite Baits Speedy’s Washter on the hook. A bunch of dead maggots or corn work well too.
FIND THE BEST HOOKBAITS FOR METHOD FEEDER FISHING IN THIS EXPERT TIPS & TACTICS ARTICLE.
Swing it in gently
There’s no need to overhead cast the feeder – a simple underarm swing will plop the Method in with the minimum of noise. Start at around 6m.
FOR TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR CASTING, CHECK OUT THIS FANTASTIC EXPERT ARTICLE.
Don’t go undergunned
The margins can be snaggy, so there’s no room for light tackle. A mainline of 8lb to a 0.17mm hooklength and a size 16 Super LWG hook is ample.
FIND THE BEST MAINLINE FOR YOUR FISHING IN THIS DETAILED BUYER'S GUIDE.
And it's as simple as that! If you can't afford a pole, can't get on with using them, or just don't want to use one, you can still catch loads of commercial carp down the margins. Give these tips a go on your next session and I'm sure you will catch a stack of them and other species too. It may even win you the match!
FIND THE BEST VENUE NEAR YOU FOR MARGIN FISHING IN THIS WHERE TO FISH GUIDE.
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