Shallow season is with us once again, but with pellets not quite working yet, what to feed and fish on the hook is simple...casters. In recent years it could be said that casters have surpassed any other bait when it comes to targeting commercial venues full of F1s and carp, this article will give you some great advice to get the most out of this versatile bait.
Band your casters
You can hook casters directly on to the hook, but that can cause problems. A caster can easily come off a barbless hook when shipping out, and is more likely to be smashed when you miss a bite.
Fishing them in a tiny latex bait band will solve this, and also mean that you hit more bites into the bargain. It takes a bit of practice to slide a caster into a band without bursting it, though!
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Spread your feed about
Feeding needs to be little and often, as lashing in too many casters can either overfeed the fish or cause them to come too high in the water. Around 15 casters each time is perfect, either via a catapult or by hand, if fishing shorter.
There’s no need to try and keep the spread of the bait on the surface too tight. A wider feed area of around a couple of feet square allows you to drop the rig into different places in case the fish have backed off a little.
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Use a bristle float
Chances are, the fish won’t be right up in the water yet and you’ll need to search the depths to keep in contact. A float with a bristle will be much better than a dibber for this, allowing you to work out what’s a bite and what’s a fish swimming into the rig.
Small floats, as ever, are best, and one taking just a few No10 shot will give you delicacy of presentation. Either spread these shot apart if you’re catching at all depths or make a bulk if you have found the depth that the fish are happiest at.
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Keep the line short
Bites on casters can be fast and hard to hit, so try shortening the ‘lash’ between pole and float.
It all depends on wind strength and how clear the water is, but when the fish are feeding confidently, as little as four inches of line can be deadly, almost so the fish hook themselves at times.
The only time using a longer line will be necessary is if you are after carp, because they can be a little more wary of the pole over their heads.
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Try a worm head
Even with your rigs and feeding right, there will be occasions when you’re still missing bites and having the hookbait smashed.
This is where digging out a bag of worms comes in handy, fishing just the head of a dendra so that it mimics a caster as closely as possible. Being tougher, the worm will stay on even when you’re missing bites and can let you catch half-a-dozen fish before needing to change bait.
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