Method Feeder

[Chub Frenzy]

I mainly want to know if anyone has built or knows how to buid a method feeder?

I also want to now any method feeder recipes - groundbait.

I also want to know if the method is good in winter and what bait?

Finally How long does it take to get a bite and how often do u cast?

Thanks

CHUBFRENZY

[ubat]

Firstly, I don't fish the method, much.....

 

Choice of feeder is personal, the flat type with the lead on one side is more popular as you know which side it sits on the bottom, many fisheries have banned the fixed and/or elasticated, so go for the line-through type.

If you are thinking of making your own, try a few different types to see what you prefer first.

There are a lot of good mixes on the market now, they come in larger packs as you tend to get through a lot during the day.

It is not so effective this time of year, if you do intend to try it, a small size is what you should go for.

 

Baits? you play the lottery?

Sweetcorn or maggot are the main catchers during the winter, but do not ignore a selection of boilies, worm and various pellets, each one will have their day.

 

Time for casting? hard one this, normally you mix the gb quite dryist so it breaks down quickly and recast, getting the dampness correct can be trial and error, in the winter you are not going to get many bites so continuous recasting will overfeed the swim.

 

May I suggest looking at teabags or pellet cone for this time of year.

[weirwulf]

Best method mix I can think of is plain old Vitalin dog mix

[WickerDave]

There's a good old article here, but the pictures don't display for me anymore...

 

http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/beginners/11288.html

 

The method usually works reasonably well for me in the winter at commercials, although I switch bait from sweetcorn to a small bunch of three or four maggots at this time of year. As ever in the winter you need to locate the fish, the winter banker swim on one pool is behind the biggest of several small islands.

[ubat]

Vitalin is good and cheap, but it can be a nightmare to mix right, it really does clog up and bind like cement, it comes with large flakes with a high feed value so I would not use it this time of year. I found it more effective on venues where a lot of anglers fish dog biscuits, also effective in the floating feeder.

[Tigger]

Plain brown crumb is as good a binder as anything I've used. I mix it with a couple of handfulls of fish meal and just add sweetcorn and whatever else I want to. Maggots are good if you want your method ball to break up sooner.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Liquidised brown bread, liquidised sweetcorn and the juices (from the tin...not a frozen bag), liquidised prawn, some Dynamite Swim Stim and some syrupy additive (my recipe below). Work a treat. best to make it up first before you tackle up though so it has a chance to meld together.

 

 

1:Get a pan of water on the stove and add sugar until you have a thin syrup. Bear in mind it will thicken slightly when it cools so you just want a noticeable viscosity OK.

 

2: When you have your syrup, add as much strawberry essence or even cordial as you want. Taste as you go. Bear in mind it's not for you to drink so you want it quite strong.

 

3: Once you have the consistency and the flavour right, then add red food colouring until it's a deep red.

 

Allow to cool and then bottle.

 

BTW, I added the last of of Dynamite Strawberry and half a bottle of Dynamite Scopex to my mixture to get the Betaine and Scopex into the mixture (an afterthought) but I don't think it was required. I'll try some with an some without and if the Betaine/Scopex makes a difference that I can see, I'll probably buy some.

 

There you go.....fruit flavoured additive.

 

PS: The carp thought it was great. Just a pity the tench didn't appear. By the way, it's so colourful, it even turns plain brown/white groundbait a nice red colour.

 

I refilled my 2 empty Dynamite bottles and I still have a huge coffee jar full of the stuff.

 

It's lovely stuff. Half of one of the Dynamite bottles (with My version) was enough to make all my day's ground-mix lovely and red and sticky. Perfect for method feeders.

 

I tell you what. At £2.75 for a bottle of Dynamite, I won't be going back when I can make pints of the stuff for next to nothing.

 

 

PPS: The tench have since approved.

[Anderoo]

There are two basic ways to fish the method. The first is when you're fishing for plenty of hungry fish - it's best to have some really sticky groundbait (like scalded pellet) on the feeder first, then some more fluffy groundbait on top of that, with your hookbait buried in the outer layer. Competitive feeding makes the fish roll the feeder about, picking off the bait.

 

The second is when you're fishing for fewer, bigger fish - probably best to just use a ball of the really sticky groundbait/scalded pellet and leave the bait unburied. This gives a long breakdown and plenty of attraction, as you're likely to have to wait a long time for a bite.

 

Always use a very short hooklength (about 4") and a very sharp hook. Hook size is dependant on bait, and you can use anything.

 

When casting, go for an overhead lob rather than a fast, sharp cast, and make sure your rod is strong enough.

 

Ignore any little indications and wait for a proper tearing bite - the little 'bites' are usually fish nosing at the feeder, picking off the bits and pieces.

 

For groundbait, you have to make sure the consistency is right; it matters less what flavour etc. it is. It has to be sticky enough to stay on, and you should find some still stuck on after reeling in sometimes. As has been said, accurate casting is important too.

 

I used methods for tench fishing a few seasons ago and they did very well, but I could never get over the huge splaooosh they make when they land, so I stopped using them. I would say though that with a method feeder you're putting quite a lot of bait into the swim, so it wouldn't be my first choice in this cold weather.