- Joined
- Jul 19, 2020
- Messages
- 1,403
I’ve only fished the method feeder once and it was a half-hearted attempt that did catch but was frustrating so I trawled all the method threads on here for nuggets of fishing gold.
In work at 5am to hit a robot repeatedly with a big hammer but at the lake for 8:00 to find the swim I’d hoped for occupied by 2 lads & 5 or six rods hogging the top third of the lake. Never mind I set up in a huge bay, put up my feeder rod (Ron Thomson 12’ Panther feeder, 8lb mainline, Drennan 15g in-line method feeder, size 14 QM1 4” 6lb hooklength) and a float rod just in case.
Bait choice was Sonubaits Super Crush robin red method mix & 2mm Stiki Method pellets (half flavoured with banoffee Haze) with 8mm washed out Waft Ums for banding on the hook. I added a glug of Haze on the hook bait too as I filled the mould.
As it’s a natural and not a commie I adopted the “cast/wait 5 mins/recast” approach.
Found my feature to cast to - do an empty floating beer can and bottle count as a feature? - about half way across the lake and in went the rig. Hit my target first try, forgot to clip up, and as instructed by the maggotdrowners Jedi’s I checked my watch and sat on my hands. After what I thought was 10 mins I wound in to find feed still on the feeder, watch check showed 4 mins
Reload - cast to the same spot (who needs a clip) and after a few minutes the tip began to twitch - and stop - and twitch - and stop - and ...... fluffin chuff the tip whanged round and the drag went whizz.
Forgot about the drag as it had not previously had a workout but a trusty finger slowed the spool until I could wind it down a few notches. A spirited battle ensued up and down the lake, thought I had it beaten but stupidly let it get a glimpse of the reed bed to my right - turned it a fraction before it buried itself - and slipped my net under a stonking common. When I stopped shaking the scale said 8lb 10oz.
Ok - breathe, redo feeder, cast, wait, DO NOT REACT TO TAPS, whomp & rod jumps round. Hasty grab and big thumps on the end. No mad panic this time so a steady retrieve over the lip of the net for a double - 10lb 2oz !
Well it was 5 more casts for 5 more 9lb-10lb commons - the bites all coming around three to 4 mins in and mostly when I had a Chelsea bun in my hand.
Next came the first in a succession of much smaller carp tipping the scales between 1lb & 2lb including a coupe of tidy ghosties - guess the feed had begun to build up and bring in the little lads but bites were no less positive.
By now it was 11:00 ‘ish, all the other pegs had youngsters on them hurling chunks of bread on size 4 hooks with 8 foot rods & I needed to get home but had an audience of guys desperate to get on my peg.
Last cast and I over egged it - typical - landing about 5yds past my feed area. Styled it out (That’s where I wanted it lads) and left it there feeling I’d done well anyway but a last knock would be nice.
What I got was the sort of knock the police do at 2am raiding a drug den - the tip ripped around and off shot a lump. Felt the like the girl on the cereal advert hooking the sub as it charged about like a looney and me standing at the waters edge praying I didn’t lose it and look like a first class twerp. I let it do it’s thing and ease up the fight, right until it reached the shallows and heard the starters gun again.
Deep breaths, don’t rush the net, slide, scoop, cripes my handle is bending and onto the mat - hoorah - lots of guesses about weight until the scale read 13lb on the nose - utterly delighted to finish on that.
Sadly this cracking little puddle is set to be netted out in January (there's a thread about it) and turned into an “eco pond” with nowhere else available for me to fish locally - gutting.
In work at 5am to hit a robot repeatedly with a big hammer but at the lake for 8:00 to find the swim I’d hoped for occupied by 2 lads & 5 or six rods hogging the top third of the lake. Never mind I set up in a huge bay, put up my feeder rod (Ron Thomson 12’ Panther feeder, 8lb mainline, Drennan 15g in-line method feeder, size 14 QM1 4” 6lb hooklength) and a float rod just in case.
Bait choice was Sonubaits Super Crush robin red method mix & 2mm Stiki Method pellets (half flavoured with banoffee Haze) with 8mm washed out Waft Ums for banding on the hook. I added a glug of Haze on the hook bait too as I filled the mould.
As it’s a natural and not a commie I adopted the “cast/wait 5 mins/recast” approach.
Found my feature to cast to - do an empty floating beer can and bottle count as a feature? - about half way across the lake and in went the rig. Hit my target first try, forgot to clip up, and as instructed by the maggotdrowners Jedi’s I checked my watch and sat on my hands. After what I thought was 10 mins I wound in to find feed still on the feeder, watch check showed 4 mins
Reload - cast to the same spot (who needs a clip) and after a few minutes the tip began to twitch - and stop - and twitch - and stop - and ...... fluffin chuff the tip whanged round and the drag went whizz.
Forgot about the drag as it had not previously had a workout but a trusty finger slowed the spool until I could wind it down a few notches. A spirited battle ensued up and down the lake, thought I had it beaten but stupidly let it get a glimpse of the reed bed to my right - turned it a fraction before it buried itself - and slipped my net under a stonking common. When I stopped shaking the scale said 8lb 10oz.
Ok - breathe, redo feeder, cast, wait, DO NOT REACT TO TAPS, whomp & rod jumps round. Hasty grab and big thumps on the end. No mad panic this time so a steady retrieve over the lip of the net for a double - 10lb 2oz !
Well it was 5 more casts for 5 more 9lb-10lb commons - the bites all coming around three to 4 mins in and mostly when I had a Chelsea bun in my hand.
Next came the first in a succession of much smaller carp tipping the scales between 1lb & 2lb including a coupe of tidy ghosties - guess the feed had begun to build up and bring in the little lads but bites were no less positive.
By now it was 11:00 ‘ish, all the other pegs had youngsters on them hurling chunks of bread on size 4 hooks with 8 foot rods & I needed to get home but had an audience of guys desperate to get on my peg.
Last cast and I over egged it - typical - landing about 5yds past my feed area. Styled it out (That’s where I wanted it lads) and left it there feeling I’d done well anyway but a last knock would be nice.
What I got was the sort of knock the police do at 2am raiding a drug den - the tip ripped around and off shot a lump. Felt the like the girl on the cereal advert hooking the sub as it charged about like a looney and me standing at the waters edge praying I didn’t lose it and look like a first class twerp. I let it do it’s thing and ease up the fight, right until it reached the shallows and heard the starters gun again.
Deep breaths, don’t rush the net, slide, scoop, cripes my handle is bending and onto the mat - hoorah - lots of guesses about weight until the scale read 13lb on the nose - utterly delighted to finish on that.
Sadly this cracking little puddle is set to be netted out in January (there's a thread about it) and turned into an “eco pond” with nowhere else available for me to fish locally - gutting.
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