The plop of the feeder breaking the surface used to help attract big carp into your swim.
They’d associate the noise with food raining in, telling them that their next meal would be waiting if they headed towards it. Regular casting was therefore the name of the game. The more casts you made, the more chance you’d have of catching the attention of a nearby lump.
This has all gone out of the window in recent years, though. As the carp have grown, they’ve started to cotton on to what constitutes danger, and that regular burst of noise now sets the alarm bells off.
All that means changes are needed to draw fish in and then hold them in the swim, but top feeder angler Graham West reckons he has the answer.
“These fish still demand a lot of food, but you need to lay it down in a way that doesn’t lead to them being overly cautious,” explained Graham.
“Using a giant Bait Up feeder allows you to put down a carpet of bait, before you leave it alone for a while so that the carp can come in and settle over it.”
Go with braid
Mono has a lot of stretch and can send your feeder beyond where you’re clipped. Use braid and it’ll land in the exact spot that you intended.
Use bottom baits
Fish are used to seeing wafters popped up just off the deck and can be suspicious of them.
A washed-out bait on the bottom is more effective.
Glug the feeder
With so much bait on the deck, it’s important to draw carp to your feeder. Glugging the micros in SonuBaits Haze liquid creates an unmissable cloud.
Win every battle
Double-figure fish are likely, so you’ll need tough tackle. Use 6lb mainline and a size 12 Preston Innovations MCM-B hook to 4ins of 0.19mm line.
Measure it out
Use distance sticks before you start fishing to make sure both the rod you fish with and the one you feed with are casting over the same spot.
Cap it off
Hard pellets won’t stay in the feeder during the cast unless they’re wedged in the middle of the feeder. Plug both ends with a nugget of groundbait.
