Pellet Waggler Fishing Tips – Rob Wootton

16 June, 2014 | Match & Coarse | Tips | Articles

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Pellet waggler fishing can be one of the most fun and explosive styles of angling and one of the best ways to help you put together a net of carp. This deadly and popular tactic is easy to master. Match ace, Rob Wootton is here to help you make the most of it…

Question’s answered in this article:

• How often should I cast the pellet waggler?
• What should I feed when pellet waggler fishing?
• How often should you feed when pellet waggler fishing?
• What float is best for pellet waggler fishing?
• What tackle do I need?

 

With the water in commercials warmed up there’s no more enjoyable method than the pellet waggler for putting a net full of carp together. With this in mind I thought it be a good idea to share some of my top tips on how I find it best to get the most from this tactic…

Cast regularly – Working hard when fishing a pellet waggler is a must. Quite often the fish will home in on the splash of the float and the bites could happen as soon as the float lands therefore it makes sense to make more casts. Constant casting also ensures that the pellet hook bait is always falling through the water column naturally, like the free offering being fed.

 

Use the right gear – Pellet waggler tackle needs to be balanced, heavy tackle and light floats can’t be use effectively but too light and the big fish can’t be landed.

 

Larger diameter hooklengths – By using a hooklength of 0.20mm or above it helps to slow the fall of the hook bait. Because it’s only a short length (1 foot) it will still break before the mainline.

Use the right pellets – Carp pellets rule for the pellet waggler and my favourite are the Swim Stim Natural pellets usually in 8mm but for short range I’ll often use 6mms. These pellets sink at just the right rate to encourage fish to feed shallow, they look very similar to traditional carp pellets however have a few extra stimulants something I feel gives me a edge. For waters where you have to use the fishery carp pellets but can use any hookbait I often find one of these pellets in the band seem to pick up more fish.

 

Hookbait options – A change is often as good as a rest, for me on the waggler this involved two things, changing the depth or putting on a stand out hookbait. For this I used to stick to two pellets in Swim Stim Red Krill or Betaine Green, though a couple of years ago an angler put me on to Robin Red pellets and these make a perfect change bait particularly in the 8mm as they are pre-drilled. I always have a handful of change baits in my bag, whether it be for the waggler, bomb or feeder. Robin Red pellets are high protein pellet which are slow to breakdown meaning on tough days you get more cast out of the but more often than not they are picked out quicker as they stand out from the feed. Where allowed it always pays to put a handful of coloured baits in your feed to keep the fish guessing.

Feed feed feed – Constant feeding is they key to this tactic. Little and often is the way to go and I’ll usually only feed two or three pellets at a time but I’ll do this every 30 secs. Feeding like this it’s easy to get through a bag or two of pellets.

 

Clip on a bomb – Not all the pellets you’re feeding will get eaten on the drop and some will settle on the bottom. To make the most of any fish feeding on the deck it’s worth clipping a bomb on and fishing over the same line. On tough days using a light bomb and long hooklength (upto 6 feet) can make a big difference, the amount of bites you get while your hookbait is still falling will surprise you.

 

 

Use the lightest float possible – This ties in with the light mainline theme. By using a light float the plop of the float when it lands on the waters surface will represent the sound of the loose fed pellets much more closely.

As the weather warms up and the fish naturally sit in the warmer areas of the water, the pellet waggler can be a devastating tactic, not only that but an enjoyable and busy way to fill your net!

Rob Wootton