freeline-107 - Flipbook - Page 180
ADAM
BARRYKITCHEN
OCONNOR
was happening, and I was soon playing my first carp of the
session. It came to the net with no dramas and was a nice
common of about fourteen pounds. Ben in the meantime
was priming some spots in his swim. The likely spots were
b a i t e d w i t h 1 2 m m A 2 C r e a m y To f f e e b o i l i e s a n d H o o k e d O n
Baits R9 particles using a catapult. Not too much was put
out. About fifty boilies and a few pouches of particle went
on to his chosen spots. This included putting some bait
around the peripheral areas of the spots to create a sort
of trail leading to the hook bait area. This can sometimes
work very well on small lakes or in areas where there
are snags or reeds. It’s a tactic that has caught several
carp for Ben and me whether in carp matches or pleasure
f i s h i n g . A 1 2 m m C r e a m y To f f e e b o i l i e w a s a l s o u s e d a s a
hook bait.
A few hours into the session, and Ben’s tactic paid
dividends. His rod cast close to an island tight up against
a s m a l l b u s h w a s a w a y. T h e f i s h m a d e s e v e r a l a t t e m p t s t o
free itself of the hook, none more so than going underneath
a bramble bush on the island. Ben dipped his rod tip under
the water and held fast in an attempt to prize the carp
away from the bramble bush. By dipping the rod under
t h e w a t e r, B e n w a s n o w p u l l i n g t h e c a r p a t t h e s a m e l e v e l
the carp was at, as opposed to pulling upwards, which is
what most anglers do. Playing the carp with the rod tip
underwater seems to fool the carp, and you have more
c o n t r o l o v e r i t . T h e y a l s o c o m e i n a b i t e a s i e r. K e e p i n g t h e
rod tip underwater also keeps the line out of the way of
overhanging branches etc – in this case, the overhanging
FREELINE 62
