Middy Consumer CATALOGUE WEB - Flipbook - Page 131
FEEDING
FUNDIMENTALS
TIPS & ADVICE
The number one way to not maximise your catch potential? Feeding incorrectly. The biggest mistake that anglers make is feeding
too much on commercials, or too little on rivers. The time of year also plays a crucial part in the decision making. So in the height
of summer, fish are usually taking more feed as compared to winter months when they tend to sit low in the water and use less
energy. This understanding of what happens in nature since time began is something we anglers need to have if we want the most
success. So here are five tips to keep in mind and apply, courtesy of top matchman Lee Thornton:
1
A big Whopper pot full at a time,
not too much!
2
Fire about 6-8 pellets regularly.
3
Get the mix right.
4
Punched bread is a great winter bait.
5
There are few things better than
catching silvers on rivers.
COMMERCIAL MARGINS
There is a tendency to introduce lots of bait and assume that is the way you will draw fish in. Whilst this
can be true on some occasions, it’s best to start off slow, put in a big pot at a time then fish over it and
gauge the response. It could be a big pot of pellets or groundbait. If bites are coming quite quickly then
cutting back could speed up the response time by giving the fish fewer free offerings and more chance to
pick up the hookbait. Putting lots of bait in is a last resort if a more measured approach is not working.
Be warned though, lots of bait could equal lots of difficult to catch fish! It is also a good tip to use worm as
the hookbait, they stand out and are a big mouthful that tend to be taken by bigger specimen carp.
UP IN THE WATER FISHING
A great summer tactic, that is busy and action filled! The first thing to get right for this tactic is accuracy.
You want 6-8 pellets pinging in on every cast (and you will be casting a lot) and then another lot once the
float is out, but they should not just land anywhere, you want them in a tight bunch of say a max 50cm
circle, this is where a decent caty like the X-Flex comes in, the pouch is designed to group the pellets not
spread them. Your float needs to land dead centre of this 50cm circle every single time. Furthermore,
notice that I said 6 or 8 pellets, not twenty! Too much bait will lead to fish missing your hookbait getting
full quickly and switching off the feed. Keep your float in for around two minutes max and then back in for
another cast, ping pellets every minute. Once the fish start feeding, bites can come as soon as the rod is
cast out so hold on to that rod!
METHOD FEEDER
Many anglers tend to think, chuck out a loaded method and you will catch, it's true up to a point, it is a sure
fire way of catching fish. But are you catching the amount of fish you should be? We all tend to know that
casting close to a far bank or reeds is the favoured approach and at some point the fish will come across
the bait and, wham, you are in. The real skills on the method are accuracy, keeping the bait tight (close to
your hook bait), and the frequency of cast. Okay so you would think with a four inch hook length your free
offerings would always be close to the hook link. Well that depends on if your free offerings have stayed
intact on the feeder during the cast. My tip is choose your method mix wisely, you want something that
binds well, and that breaks down quickly but does not start coming up in the water or spreading over an area
that is too big. I refer to these types of groundbait as ‘dead’ and it was one of the things I developed in the
new Megabyte range. You need a mix that is super attractant, breaks down quickly, and does not fizz high up
in the water. So do check out in water what is happening when your feeder lands, do not assume all will be
okay. Checking it out in a water filled bowl or under your feet will allow you to get it right and, for example, be
sure you have not got your mix too stodgy with too much water. Be careful on how often you are casting, on
the tricky days a more patient approach will outscore the regular 2-3 minute casting.
WINTER APPROACH
Well the strange thing here is that quite often you do not need anything else other than your hookbait!
Bread, sweetcorn skins and maggots are favoured baits, why? The name of the game is location and 5
minutes in the correct place is worth hours in the wrong, once you find the fish action can be pretty hectic.
If you are going to feed, keep your feed accurate, and do it at the correct time of the day, the last few hours of
daylight are the most likely times to coincide with the fish feeding. Cup in a small ball of groundbait in a likely
fish holding area and fish either single corn or maggots over the top with minimal free offerings - this is a
great tactic to catch more winter fish.
FLOWING WATER VENUES
The approach on rivers could not be more different to the tips above, on a medium flow river you will need
lots of bait. The thing to remember on flowing waters is that your bait keeps travelling downstream and
disappears! Usual approach would be hemp and casters or hemp and maggot. The idea of the hemp seed is
1. Fish love it and 2. It’s heavy and gets down relatively quickly and gets the fish down feeding on bottom.
3 or 4 pints of hemp seed in a five hour session will be essential. When river fishing there will always be
a distance of travel that should be established for your float, so, for example, cast in at 10 o’clock and run
down to 2 o’clock, if you are letting your float travel longer than say 3 o’clock you are not keeping things tight.
The tip is where to throw or caty your bait on every single cast! Many anglers also put in their maggots at 10
o’clock, but actually you need to usually be another 6 feet before that. Maggots will drift down in the water
slowly and you want them to hit bottom at your 2 o’clock point of fishing. Hemp seed falls more quickly so
feeding at around 10’ oclock should be fine. The key is to imagine the spot/line you're fishing when your float
hits 2 oclock and you want all the bait to end up there before eventually being taken further downstream.
Want more tips from Lee Thornton?
He’s the star of the popular ‘Master Your Fishing’ series
on YouTube – scan this QR code to start watching:
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