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Spring fishing with hard pellets – Alex Dockerty

Spring fishing with hard pellets - Alex Dockerty

by Richard Grange |

Published on27th April 2023 at 5.27pm

Winter fishing on commercials is all about using expander pellets for carp and F1s. Their soft nature is a real winner in harder times when bites are at a premium and every single fish counts.

Times are slowly changing, though, and now spring is here, each week the weather and water are warming up. There are more bites to be had and so expanders begin to take a bit of a back seat, replaced by their hard pellet equivalent.

Here's how I fish with these devastating carp baits...

Alex Dockerty in action

Big fish, big pellet

For carp in the 4lb-6lb range I’d fish a 6mm rather than a 4mm pellet. It’s all about matching bait size to fish size.

A banded 4mm pellet

Pot... don’t ping!

I favour a small pot to tap in a dozen 4mm pellets each time. Use a catty only in open water if fish are drifting away.

Use a pot not a catty

Make them sink

Dunking the pot just before shipping out ensures that all the pellets sink and end up where I want them to.

Dunk the pot

Find the depth

For carp and F1s in early spring, set your rig at around 32ins and plumb around until you locate this depth.

Find the right depth

Go for a slim float

I’m no fan of fishing a heavy float with pellets. My rig uses a slimline 0.3g Drennan Carp 5 for great presentation.

Go for a slim float

Step up in size

If you are plagued by small fish, the solution is a 6mm hooker pellet. Every fish you hook will now be a good ’un!

Pellets have transformed the bait choices of many anglers.

Step up in size

Read the full feature that appeared in Angling Times magazine here.

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