Feeder Fishing In More Depth

[sammy-boy]

In this thread I'm going to talk more about groundbaits and loose feeds to use for particular spieces and which type of feeder might be best to use

Barbel
Now there are two feeder approachs which are common for Barbel. The first and more classic approach is to use a large blockend feeder, like the Drennans, with casters, hemp and maggots as loose feed, typically used with meat or caster hookbaits. This approach is best in slightly coloured water but will work well in most river conditions.
The second and more modern approach is to use a "fishy" groundbait, such as brown crumb and crushed halibut pellets as your plug mix for an openend feeder. For the loose feed, lots of 4-6mm with a couple of 8mms in the feeder and a 10mm pellet or bollie on the hook.

Bream
The classic Bream methods are cage and openend feeders with a white crumb groundbait. Free offers to include chopped worm, mixed maggots, corn, meat, pellet, hemp, with all of the above as well as bread flake and bollies as hookbaits. The one rule is "lots and accurately". Bream feed in large numbers and a lot of bait is needed to keep them in your swim. You would be surprised how much these fish can get through.
Little tip, add some mollases meal to your groundbait, it will make the bream love you. Anything from a 1:10 ratio to using it neat will do

Chub
For Chub i would go for a smallish blockend filled with mixed maggots, or a white crum and bread flake approach. In the winter i wouldn't bother feeder fishing for Chub, I would simply use large hookbaits ledgered near over hanging trees.

Carp
For larger fish I'd go for the method feeder with pellets and bollies. On a commercial try a small block end with maggots. You may start off with small fish but the carp will soon bully them out of the swim. Also try a cage feeder with a plain white crumb mixed very dry to create a cloud to draw fish in. Use a short 6 inch hooklink with a cube of bread popped up a couple inchs and cast to the edge of an island or reed bed. Cast literaly every 2 minutes with the popped up bread method, you want that constant cloud and popped up bread.

Roach and Rudd
Use the lightest blockend you can, and a 2-3lb hooklink with a size 16-18 hook. Maggots and casters will get you loads of bites as well as hemp and tares in the summer. Liquidised bread in an openend feeder with a small bread punch on the hook is another brilliant combination.
Black crumb can be brilliant in clear winter water as it creates a halo on the lake bed that gives prey fish confidence to feed, undercover from Perch, Pike and Zander ect

Perch
Open end feeder with a brown or red crumb (red seems to be an attractive colour for Perch) with red maggots and chopped worm as freebies. Use a nice worm hooked a couple times on the hook and fish near a fallen or over hanging tree. Use a size 10-12 barbed for worms (barbless are no good, the worm will come off) and size 12-16 for maggots. Small Perch to start with, but as I've said time and time again, the big fish will begin to show given time.
If you can get a blood worm based groudbait I'd use that regardless of whats going on the hook. Amino acids are a huge attractor for Perch and many other species

Tench
For Tench nothing beats brown crumb with corn and meat freebies in an openend feeder. Fish near lily pads or if you can find a shelf underwater thats even better. Hemp is a brilliant attractor for using in a medium sized feeder. Pellets work too. You should be casting every five minutes, Tench cannot be over fed. A steady stream of bait going in is the only way you will keep any fish interested, they won't wait around for you when they can simply go to the bloke next to you. Tench are real hard fighters so I'd suggest 10lb mainline and a 6lb bottom for feeder fishing. Hooks 12-16s with a 30cm hooklink. 8-10s if your using meat.

I've only written up on the species I have the most experience with, Dace and Trout I have little experience with but at a guess, white maggots in a small feeder ? Im sure someone else on the site can help out any of the game anglers

Any questions just ask I don't bite