MATCH FISHING TIPS | SWITCH TO BRAID AND CATCH MORE SILVERS ON THE FEEDER

Stillwater feeder fishing has never been more popular! It’s not just for big bream and carp either. Large bags of silver fish cal also be taken on a feeder, which really comes into its own when you need to fish beyond the range of pole or float.

However, missing bites from roach and skimmer bream can be a nightmare on the feeder, especially if you’re using stretchy monofilament as your mainline.

Preston Innovations man Mick Vials, a member of the England Feeder squad, has a simple solution… use braid on the reel instead of mono. Over to Mick…

WHY USE BRAID?

“The best thing about using braid is its lack of stretch, so that even the tiniest movement at the hook will register and give you something to strike at.

“If a roach or bream picks up the hookbait and gives a tentative bite when using mono your tip might not move because of the stretch in the mainline. A bite on braid should see a gentle lift of the rod, and with any luck the fish will be on. Don’t strike hard, and use a fine quivertip.

“Braid also has a much lower diameter than mono. That means you can cast much more easily – it cuts through the air and any wind with no problems at all.

“I use 0.1mm Preston Innovations Absolute Feeder Braid for my feeder work for silvers, coupled with a few feet of shockleader of 8-10lb mono.

“This shockleader aids casting and landing fish as it has a little stretch, but it’s not long enough to adversely affect the rig’s sensitivity.”

MY FEEDER RIG

“The rig is simplicity itself. I slide a link swivel on to the shockleader and twist the last 6ins to form a 3ins loop which I then secure with a figure-of-eight knot. A small loop is then tied at the end of the large twisted loop and the hooklength attached to that.

“Finally, I fix a No8 Stotz against the twisted loop and attach my feeder to the link swivel to form a ‘boom’ – a length of line that sits away from the feeder to reduce the chance of tangles and line damage. It’s important that the long twisted loop hangs slightly below the feeder, as in the photo.”