I’M always looking for an edge in my fishing, and one that’s a bit different to the norm is to loosefeed over the top of a feeder.
But why add more bait when there’s already enough in the swim from what’s around the feeder itself? A fair point, but the loosefeed is there mainly to allow me to keep catching if the fish show signs of backing away from the feeder.
I’ve caught a lot of carp just off the back of this feed, ones that aren’t necessarily homing in on the feeder as soon as it settles. But with a spread of loosefed pellets just beyond where the feeder lands, I’m creating a wider area to get bites from.
Put simply, once bites show signs of fading from the spot I begin fishing to, I’ll creep out a metre or so into the lake while keeping within the area where the pellets are landing, safe in the knowledge that some fish will be there!
Which feed pellets?
Given the distance I’ll be casting, it has to be 8mm Ringer’s R8 pellets, which are plenty big enough to be fired quite a long way. They also make a good bit of noise when hitting the water, which I think helps pull carp into the swim.
'Double pouching’
With the feeder I want the carp to stay on the bottom, so instead of feeding little and often, I ‘double pouch’ – feed two big pouchfuls of bait one after another. This is done every few minutes to try and draw more and more carp into the swim.
Accuracy is crucial!
To ensure my feeder is right in amid my loosefed pellets I feed first, then cast on top of them. I like to clip my loaded feeder on for speed, feed twice in quick succession, then cast right into the rings that the loosefed pellets have made on the surface.
Durable hookbaits
It has to be an 8mm or 10mm Wafter for the hook, the washed-out yellow being my favourite. Once in the water it actually looks very much like a loosefed pellet, due to its colour, and I’m certain that’s why it catches me so many carp.
