How to Tackle Deep Margins
Most carp dominated commercials are very similar in topography with an average depth of around 4ft and very shallow margins. Fishing tight to the far bank, maybe to an island or down the edge is generally one of the best areas with eighteen inches and a relatively flat bottom being what we all are looking for, however there are exceptions where the margins are deep, maybe upwards of six feet just inches from the marginal vegetation and if you treat these in the same way as a shallow margin, well it’s a recipe for disaster!
Exception to the rule
One such venue is Willow Pool near Basingstoke in Hampshire; it’s a small deep water run by Adventure Angling Society and is one of very few fisheries that still contain true wild carp. Being an irrigation resource the water level can fluctuate dramatically, especially in the summer when the farmer needs to water the crops and even in these conditions it’s rare to find less than four-feet of water tight to the nearby rushes!
Irrigation reservoirs often have deep margins.
Cenex Hybrid Power is such a versatile line.
Heavy particles
Feeding is so, so important when fishing deep margins and if you feed baits such as live/dead maggot, casters and groundbait all that will happen is as it descends through the water it will spread, depositing items all over the place along with the fish. On these venues it’s much better to feed heavier particle baits such as 4mm and 6mm pellets, corn as well as paste as these will fall far quicker, create a tighter feeding zone that can be accurately targeted throughout the session.
Plumbing up, so important
Before feeding it’s really important to take your time plumbing up and its best to use a heavy plummet as this will transmit so much more through the pole, telling me what the bottom is made up off as well as if there are any obstacles such as reed roots lying around. Once I’ve found dead depth, as well as an even area really tight to the marginal rushes, I always add an inch as I want to know that my pellet is always lying in the feeding zone. I will always plumb up on both sides of the swim as this allows me to take a fish or two from one side before feeding and switching position.
Stand out bait
Having found a couple of marginal spots it’s time to get some feed in and I always start with half a big pot of 4mm pellets which are dampened down to add weight plus a nice scattering of bright visual corn. If the margin was deeper, say six feet plus then I would be feeding bigger 6mm pellets. Hopefully after leaving this to draw a few fish in for ten minutes bites should come almost straight away but if not then I will add more bait, not as much, say quarter of a pot and continue to do this until one or both lines start to produce. Having laid the table it’s time to drop in over the top and I like to use a big stand out bait, usually an 8mm pellet or double corn. If everything goes to plan it should be a case of taking a couple of carp from one spot, feeding more 4mm pellets and corn before switching sides and repeating the process. One small but very important tip is when positioning the rig within the swim instead of swinging the hookbait alongside the marginal cover its best to drop the bait and float in open water then drag the float into the rushes as this will allow your hookbait to fall unhindered through the swim coming to rest on the deck.
Pellets and corn are my main baits, but I always have some paste as a change bait too.
"take your time plumbing up and use a heavy plummet"
Getting it down
Rig wise I like to keep things nice and simple and use a .4g pellet shaped handmade float which has a nice visual 2mm bristle and leave plenty showing so that I can watch and hit those positive bites. The float is attached to 0.20mm Cenex Hybrid Power Mono and positioned around six inches from the pole tip so I can hit those bites fast and hard. Below the float and positioned just above the four-inch hook length, which is made from 0.19mm Cenex Fluoro Carbon Hook Line, is a spread bulk of seven No8 shot which gets the hookbait down to the bottom quickly. As for hook it’s a size 14 barbless eyed Sphere Beast which has a short hair extending from it which contains a small micro band which is really versatile as it retains different pellet sizes and corn firmly.
As expected the short evening session has once again been action packed with plenty of wild carp to around 6lb plus a few of the recent stockies gracing my net, proof that even in such hot temperatures and with a vast amount of the carp sunning themselves that by thinking about what and how you feed, keeping the rig nice and simple will still produce the goods.
Mick Fordham
Mick’s Tackle
Zero-G F1+ Pole
Hybrid 2.2mm Elastic
.4g pellet shaped float
Sphere size 14 Beast barbless Hook
0.20mm Cenex Hybrid Power Mono
0.19mm Cenex Fluoro Carbon Hook Line
Micro Bait Band
Spread bulk of seven No 8 shot
Mick’s Bait
4mm/6mm/8mm Pellets
Corn
