When the fishing is tough, and bites are at a premium during the colder months, using popped-up bread is one of the best ways to tempt a bite. While it may seem simple just casting a single piece of bread into the lake, there are lots of little tweaks you can make to help you catch more, getting you that all important bite. We asked match ace Dale Calvert for all his best tips to catch more fish this year!
Big baits rule
Lighter hooks and smaller baits are often the order of the day in winter, but this tactic is the exception to the rule. Bread is so successful because of its highly visible nature – the bigger your hookbait is, the easier it is for a carp to spot.
"For targeting carp averaging 6lb-plus, I use four or five 12mm discs on a hair that hangs 3cm below the bend of the hook. I’ll shorten that to 2cm with four 10mm discs when 2lb-4lb fish are on the agenda. It’s a lightweight bait that takes very little effort to inhale,” said Dale.
The length of your hooklength determines how far the bait will sit up off the bottom. Dale ties all his hooklengths at 3ft, but will often cut them down before he’s even started.
“You can always shorten a hooklength, but you can’t make it longer,” he said. “The carp are often somewhere in the bottom half of the water column and, if I think the fish are deep, in open water, I’ll start with a 2ft-3ft link."
“When fishing close to features or islands, where the water is quite shallow, I’ll typically shorten that to 12ins-18ins.”
THE BEST SHORT FEEDER RODS ARE CRUCIAL FOR THIS STYLE OF FISHING.
Land every fish
Hair rig length will help set the hook properly, but great care is still needed to get fish in the net.
“You might catch only half a dozen fish in a session, so you need to make each one count."
“A soft, forgiving rod reduces the chance of a hookpull, as does setting the reel clutch quite loose so that a fish can take line with relative ease if it suddenly charges off,” added Dale.
The rest of Dale’s terminal tackle consists of 6lb mainline, 0.18mm hooklength material and a size 12 or 14 hook.
As his catches for the cameras proved, it’s easy to dismiss tiny changes as inconsequential, but minor adjustments to your hair rig length could prove to be a real game-changer this winter!
USING THE BEST FEEDER REELS WILL ENSURE YOU KEEP EVERYTHING SMOOTH TO HELP LAND MORE FISH!
Keep your eyes peeled
Winter carp will often be balled up in shoals, and in calm conditions they can give their location away. Look for fish surfacing, or plumes of bubbles, and cast towards these areas if you spot activity. Any signs you see can be session-changing in the cold, so stay active and keep casting around. One tip I can give is to cast past the fish and slowly reel back into the area so the splash doesn't spook the fish.
THE BEST WINTER WATERPROOFS WILL HELP KEEP YOU WARM, DRY AND MOTIVATED!
Top tips
Rod-tip indications will tell you if there are any fish close to where you’ve cast. Twitches and knocks mean there are carp nearby, and patience is key to begin with. If the liners persist but bites don’t materialise, try a longer or shorter hooklength to present the hookbait at a different depth.
Bomb and bread is a tactic that is based around introducing a single hookbait for carp that aren’t really hungry. Feeding bait via a catapult is often a recipe for disaster, as the noise of it raining in spooks fish that are already on edge.
You can also add a little boost to your bread before casting out, things like Bait-Tech sprays are a superb choice. Don't spray too much on though as it can reduce the buoyancy of your bread!
