After reviewing the Spectre Floats a few weeks ago I knew the stubby Alchemy float would be ideal for stalking carp, but it was not until I had an intriguing phone call from Lance Rathbone (inventor of the Spectre float) a couple of weeks back, that a plan started to form in my head on how I could put the longer waggler version to good use.
During the phone call Lance informed me of how he and a friend Baz West, had used the long bodied self-weighted see through waggler for surface fishing during a day session on a crystal clear gravel pit in Gilmorton, Leicestershire. The total catch off the top was ten carp for over 100lb, with the heaviest fish weighing 14lb 8oz, all taken in three hours fishing using the Spectre float. The cogs in my head were already beginning to turn, especially after Lance added that the best other anglers managed on the day was three off the top using normal controllers, and most of these guys had been at it before they had arrived and were still at it when they left!
Lance with a selection of surface caught Gilmorton carp
I’ve always used a controller for my surface fishing and have done pretty well with it, but never one to shy away from new ideas I immediately went about matching their exact method to see what results I would get on my local water. The successful method employed by Baz had been to use Size 16 Fox Match hooks, hair-rigged to a shaped piece of bottle cork, then straight through the waggler to the main line – it could not have been any simpler really.
I wanted to copy their successful method exactly, so I gave Paul Bunyan a shout at Eccleston Angling Centre to see if he could sort me out with some Fox Match Hooks; they come in various sizes but as the carp I would be targeting might be a bit bigger than the Gilmorton carp I asked Paul to send me the hooks in sizes; 12, 14, and 16 – all barbed. To be honest, marketed as ‘match’ hooks I’ve never given these hooks a second thought for carp use, but when they landed on my doormat the next morning (Quick, those Eccleston Boys!) I was very impressed, they are extremely small and light but my god, are they strong! They are based on the Fox series 2 carp hooks, and they looked just the job for a surface assault.
The Fox Series 2 Match Hooks
A few days later I got a call of Rich to say he was doing the Friday night on a local water, and it seemed like the perfect excuse to join him for a few hours fishing in order to put my new found method into effect, especially as the sun was shining and the fish would doubtless be up on top. Friday arrived and after bright sunshine for most of the day, true to form, five minutes before I was due to switch of the computer to go fishing, I noticed the first drops of rain hitting my office window – great!
Not that this would deter me, sessions are few and far between at the moment so I would be having a go irrespective of conditions. I was soon pulling onto the car park at Blackwood Pool five miles from home. Rich was due on any time but I was pleased to find we would have the water to ourselves. A heavy downpour subsided as I made my way down to the water and on sneaking down behind an island swim; I slipped on my polarised glasses and immediately saw the shadow of a nice double figure carp moving just below the surface twenty yards out from the bank – game on!
After a few minutes watching I spotted a few more fish in front of peg three and so decided to make my way around and attack them from the other side. I arrived at the swim and dropped down with my shoulder bag, rod, net pole, and dog biscuits. At which point, horrified, I realised my error. My unhooking mat, along with weigh sling and landing net, had been left at home outside the back door – Grrrr!
Twenty five minutes later, having done a return journey back home to obtain the missing items of tackle, I was pulling onto the empty car park for a second time in order to try and tempt a carp off the top. The only good thing was that another torrential downpour had occurred on the drive back to the lake, so at least I avoided that. Once back in the swim I could see two carp still in the area but the rain had clearly knocked them down a bit. I quickly fired out a few pouchfull’s of dog biscuits and went about tackling up.
I threaded my 12lb Daiwa Sensor mainline through the bottom of the Spectre float, passed it through again and then pulled down the locking collar – what could be easier than that? I then made my hooklink; a five foot section of 7.9lb Silstar (WB Clarke) Match Team mono, attached to a Size-12 Fox match hook. I mounted the hookbait (10mm cork ball) off the back of the shank by means of a bait band in order to keep it nice and tight and then tied the two lines together using a double surgeon’s knot, which I find is a really simple and slim line knot for joining lines of different diameters.
My 10mm cork ball with Size 12 Fox Match hook and 7.9lb line
Many people put a little bit of flavour onto their dog biscuits in order to make them a little more attractive to the carp, and I’m a big believer in doing this. However, I prefer to use Nash Supasense Oil Palatants as the oil stays on them for longer. Once I had dipped my cork-ball hookbait in some Strawberry Supasense Oil Palatant I was ready to fish. I fired in a few more freebies to try and get the carp taking the mixers competitively before introducing the hookbait. Ten minutes later, after introducing a new freebie for every one taken, I had a group of about five fish feeding confidently. Time to cast out. I fired out the 9gram waggler with ease, and then feathered the landing so it plopped into the water beyond the feeding fish without any disturbance. Then I ever slow slowly drew the line back into the feeding area.
Nice and simple – My Spectre surface fishing set-up
I watched intently as shadows moved just below the surface mopping up the mixers, and then saw the target fish. It came up and slurped in a mixer about three feet from the hook bait, then turned towards my bait and closed in. I readied myself for action and sure enough up came its head, sucking in the dipped cork-ball at the first time of asking. The line tightened, the rod arced over and the surface erupted – fish on!
Rich does battle with another Blackwood carp in the rain
Job Done!
Once Rich was set up, we went about trying to target the feeding fish from two sides, which worked quite well, with Rich also hooking two in quick succession, the second of which allowed me to rattle of a few ‘action’ shots on the camera. However, conditions quickly got the better of us. Heavy rain moved in, bringing wind with it, which in turn put the fish lower in the water. We were able to get the odd fish taking the odd biscuit but were not able to get them feeding confidently again. As such, wet to the bone, I decided to call it a night. The new method certainly did the trick and I will definitely be using it again next time I’m fishing off the top, hopefully when conditions are better and we can target feeding fish for longer – I’ll keep you posted with results.
End result: Rich with a nice surface caught Blackwood common
You can purchase the Spectre invisible floats direct from: http://www.spectrefloats.co.uk and you can buy the Fox Match hooks online at: Eccleston Angling Centre for just 99p per pack, a great hook which I’m sure will prove useful for more than just surface fishing in the future.
In the meantime,
Tight Lines…
Julian Grattidge
May 2006
