FEBRUARY 2010 COVER STORY

The Micro Method

Dorking’s Steve Sanders scales down as he targets late winter commercial carp on the Method.

Late winter can be a frustrating time for the commercial- venue angler. Although the water does start to warm up, which encourages the fish to feed, it’s a very slow process. The problem is temperatures have a habit of fluctuating so much during this time that it can change the feeding pattern of the resident carp overnight. So how do you ensure some rod-bending action on your local lake? We joined Daiwa Dorking skipper Steve Sanders on Sycamore Lake at Cornwall’s White Acres complex near Newquay, as he honed his Method-feeder skills before one of the popular spring festivals. The Method feeder is a top bagging tactic during the summer when the fish feed all day long. It concentrates the feed keeping them actively grubbing around. However, the water is cold, so there is only a short window when the fish will feed. During this period of activity they won’t eat much, so it’s no good piling in masses of food to fill the fish up.

Mini Feeder Rig
Still wanting to put some feed around his hook bait, Steve had set up his rig using a small Preston Innovations inline flat Method feeder. This was free-running on the 8lb Direct Mono main line and stopped with a Korum Quick Change Bead, which acted as a buffer on the cast, but also enabled hook links to be switched quickly. Steve’s 5in hook links were tied with 0.21mm PowerLine and at the business end he had a hair-rigged bait band on a size 12 PR36 hook. With the main fishing area being a corner of an island about 30 yards away, Steve used a 10ft Preston Mini Series Carp rod for the short cast. To this he attached a soft tip rather than a stiffer one, as this allowed him to read what was going on around his bait. The softer tip would show the slightest interest from fish. Unlike the vicious bites you get in the summer, a bite from a carp when it’s cold can be a slow pull, as there tend to be less fish competing for the food.

YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE IN THE FEBRUARY 2010 ISSUE OF TOTAL COARSE FISHING

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