Catch Beyond the Pole Line - ADTV Match Masterclass

In most instances, anglers reach for the feeder when fishing at this range. However, I find float fishing to be more effective at this time of year, as the fish are quite active and can be found at a variety of depths, so a slow falling bait on the float is much more attractive.

The fishing tackle you need for float fishing is incredibly simple, and as I will be fishing lighter floats rather than larger pellet wagglers, I have decided to use an Advanta Pro 12ft Float Rod rather than the usual 10ft and 11ft rods normally associated with commercials. I prefer a 12ft rod as the extra length allows me to pick up the line much quicker and hit shy bites from F1s and Carp. This is matched to a small Matrix Aquos Ultra 3000 Reel with Matrix Horizon X Pro 6lb line which I find allows me to still easily cast small wagglers but is powerful enough to even land double figure carp with ease.

I’ve started the session today on a Dave Harrel No.1 Loaded Brown Waggler in a 2g size, which is my go to float for fishing beyond the pole line, as it has an insert and will show up even the smallest of bites. However, I am finding I am missing several bites, and have just caught one of the culprits, a small f1 around 2-3oz!

Therefore, to select the bigger fish, I need to make sure I am not hitting bites from these small f1s, so I have changed to a thicker bristled Dave Harrel No.2 Loaded Brown Waggler. I can now clearly see the false bites from the small f1s and can wait knowing that when the float goes under properly it is either a big f1 or a carp, allowing me to hit more bites!

The session is going well at the moment and I've started to get into a rhythm now and I am sticking to a 5 step process that is bringing me a bite every cast now. This process is...

1. Cast to the clip past your baited area 

2. Count to 5 

3. Quick flick of the rod to sink the line 

4. Feed 10-15 pellets

5. Reel in and repeat 

I am finding that I either get bites at two points, straight after the cast or when I have flicked the float back into my feed area. By repeating this process, I am able to get two bites at the cherry every cast and am now steadily putting good f1s into the net. 

For catching beyond the pole line on commercial fisheries, I find pellets to be the no.1 bait! Today, as the water is still quite clear I have two different sizes of the Dynamite Swim Stim F1 Sweet Pellets on my side tray. These are 4mm and 6mm, and I love these pellets as they have a lovely yellow colour and almost marzipan flavour. If the venue was more coloured then I would go with the deep red Dynamite Baits Swim Stim Red Krill Carp Pellets.

I find the 4mms great for feeding and I am able to keep them nice and accurate at the range I am fishing today. The 6mms are a great hookbait as they stand out more than the 4mms I am feeding, however if I was fishing a venue with more bigger carp I would not be afraid to feed the 6mms and either fish a 6mm or 8mm on the band.

I am catching a good F1 most casts now, but am yet to catch a carp, so one of my favourite tricks to catch bigger fish on this method is to use a bigger hookbait! I always keep a small tub of larger hookbaits in my cool bag and this has a mixture of different sizes, shapes and colours of pellets from 8-12mm and I have lost count of the amount of times that this little tub has completely changed my fishing session. 

I have changed my hookbait from a 6mm pellet to an 8mm pellet, and I am straight into a run of bigger fish and have just landed my first carp of the session. I also find changing to a different shape can be really effective, so always keep a few dumbells as another hookbait option. 

This is probably my favourite trick to catching bigger fish on the float. You may have heard carp anglers multiple times saying they have caught fishing away from their feed, and I try and replicate this on the float. You do not have to fish far away from your feed and I will cast either 5-6ft either past, short or left and right of my feed. To be honest, from a far it would probably look like a bad cast, but believe me there is method to the madness! 

I think the reason this trick works so well is that the larger wise fish will sit off your feed picking up an odd pellet, so when you cast off your feed it will mimic this and they will treat your hookbait with no suspicion. I have decided to cast to the right of my feed today and I am straight into my biggest fish of the session, a carp of around 2-3lb. I love it when a plan comes together! 

It's been a great session at East Bilney Lakes today, and after sorting out the better stamp f1s, I have had a bite every cast. By getting into a rhythm and sticking to the same 5 step process, I have kept fish going into the net, and even if I missed a bite past my feed, I would always hit the second one when flicked back onto my feed area. 

By changing hookbaits to a larger pellet and by combining it with an odd cast in and around my feed, I have been able to catch a steady run of carp towards the end of the session, and I have ended up with in excess of 100lb in just under 4 hours fishing!

I hope you have picked up a few tips and tricks for catching beyond the pole line in this often forgotten area of your swim, that you can use on your next fishing session.