‘FrankenFloats and FrankenFeeders......
Back at the lake ‘Where you can’t blank’ (I am determined to disprove that statement!) with what are probably solutions to problems that didn’t exist.
Firstly, I have been using a small cage feeder previously with some success, but I have had the occasional tangle where the hook has caught in the cage mesh. This probably comes as result of having to use a very short hook length. I had used an inline ‘ Shotgun’ feeder before without issues, and this would be fine if I hadn’t trod on my last one when packing up after the last session.
So, a rummage through my ‘bits’ and I came across an inline method feeder. I had tried method feeders on this water but the open mix is mullered by the resident pasties as soon as it hit the water. I did get round this by wrapping the loaded feeder with a PVA mesh girdle, bit it is a bit of a faff. You have to use very dry mix, and do it very quickly..!
Time for some cobbling together and a mesh feeder was sacrificed and mounted to the also butchered inline and voilà, a ‘FrankenFeeder’ inline cage feeder was born!
Did it work, I hear you say, and the answer is yes, as demonstrated below, 1st cast out!
Having seen quite a few carp larger carp cruising around something else would be needed to overcome the ‘No floating baits’ rule on this pond.
I had toyed with using a Method feeder float, but this is one venue where carpet bombing with massive loaded floats is likely to be frowned upon by those anglers float fishing the margins and having to deal with the tsunamis caused when these monsters hit the water.
Again, more cobbling was done, and a butchered small pike float was mated to a similarly ‘adapted’ Drennan feeder. This provided me with a more delicate way of fishing very near the surface, with the bait sitting just below a float which was allowing a steady stream of method mix as an attractant, the ‘FrankenFloat’ was spawned. And, did it work, well, see below:
Once again, this was a success
But, did these tackle ‘developments’ make any difference? They did reduce the attention of the smaller carp, although the odd little scamp did sneak in:
And I don’t doubt that there are commercially made variations of my abominations are available which are better made and more effective, but there is a certain satisfaction to be gained by making something with your own hands and to find it actually works.
However, on a different note I did notice a turning of the seasons. The trip from the car park to the swims on this lake take you under some power lines and the pylons were crackling like cheap sausages in a frying pan, and there was that feeling in the crisp morning air that autumn had arrived. October looms and it’s time to dust off the pike tackle....
, but what went on beforehand was quite surreal, every step forward seemed to be followed by two back, I was barking as I left Bedford, good job nobody cut me up , I'd have stopped them and chewed on their stumps, I'd have ripped their head off instantly....
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