Eureka Moments with Frank Warwick

The Method

Unlike the USA I hardly ever see carp anglers using the method in the UK. It’s really not very trendy or “Carpy” over here using what many consider primarily a match tactic. But to me I think it’s right up there with the best carp catching tactics of all time.

For many carp anglers their whole world revolves around boilies! They simply cannot imagine casting a rig out with an alternative bait on the end! Of course we all know carp eat boilies but I am sure as hell they stay on their guard much more when encountering boiled food.

I am fairly sure that if anything else is encountered it is viewed with less suspicion, with that in mind I made it my business in the mid to late 90s to really delve into how to get the best from method feeder fishing, in fact I went into the subject in so much detail it became something of a voyage of discovery where I achieved what I can only describe as mind bending fishing results, it left me thinking, how could anything get any better?

Over my extensive angling life there have been so many eureka moments that have made substantial differences to my results some obvious some not so obvious, but each having stuck in my mind for various reasons, I will share with you now some of the more memorable ones.

My go to method feed started with a base of pellets, mostly 4 mm but I added 2 mm pellets at about 3 parts 4mm to 1 part 2 mm. Sweetcorn and its juices was also vital, the juice from the corn has that magnificent smell that is so unique, you quite simply cannot use that in any kind of PVA bag.

Canned tuna fish in Sun flour oil was also essential and an ingredient that I have used for as long as I can remember. I used as much as I could afford in the mix, then I would add Pidgeon feed in the form of aniseed flavoured mixed particles, crushed tigers and fermented maize all in moderation.

I would keep kneading the method mix in the bucket working it until it would bind enough to withstand a decent cast without breaking up on impact with the water.

I used it in conjunction with a 10 inch long rig made with coated braid where the last inch near the hook was peeled back to allow movement, a blow back rig with a hook bait of two or three pieces of maize with yellow rig foam sandwiched between the maize and carefully balanced to create a wafter.

Later on I used Enterprise Pop Up Large Sweetcorn to balance the maize.To make sure I was on the right path I experimented with all manner of hook baits, drilled pellets, various particles including tiger nuts, chopped Brazil nuts, maple peas, peanuts, and boilies both food baits and fluoros, consistently boilies used as hook bait on the method were slow as hell. At the time balanced maize was streets ahead of anything else so that was my choice.

Maize balanced with an Enterprise Large Pop-Up Sweetcorn imitation bait. From trials I found Spombing over the top of the cast out method slowed the takes and the same went for catapulting balls of method mix to the vicinity of my method ball - that was a washout! These test results were not what I had expected as I thought both options would work very well.

A single tennis sized method ball cast to showing fish or fizzers of any kind or to discoloured water proved devastating. It blew the other bait and wait approaches into the weeds, and it became apparent that a single method ball ticked all of the boxes. There was not much disturbance, you could be mobile and proactive casting to any signs of carp like you would with a single hook bait, and it appeared that once the method had broken down on the bottom that it was just enough food to get a bite without overfeeding the carp and giving them the option to be choosy. Plus I wasn’t forced to sit it out over a bed of bait, which could have been in the wrong spot from the start again reducing effectiveness.

The water I chose to use this approach on was Acton Burnell in Shropshire, a well stocked, big fish venue with carp to over 40lbs present. When I joined the syndicate and turned up for my first visit I had many well meaning members tell me it was an out and out boilie water and to fill it in with the going boilie and sit it out.

That was my idea of hell in fishing terms and the last thing I wanted, so I was rather pleased I had gone right the other way and chose my single method ball approach. I chose a swim based on activity and access to a lot of water so I could fully utilise my roaming approach, not knowing quite what to expect. But I needn’t have worried, it was electrifying really. In the first half hour I caught a 37 mirror quickly followed by two mid 20s and then 2 hours later I had a 40lb 9 oz mirror. It was ridiculous, better than I could ever have imagined, and the action continued.

I will cut a long story short, by saying no matter which part of the lake I used it on as long as I had got myself on the fish the method dramatically smashed it! It was incredible, the people on boilies were both bemused and in shock about what was occurring, it became the talk of the place, on one crazy 24 hour spell I had 18 carp which included two 40s and the rest were mostly 30lbs to 39lbs, yet the lad next to me on boilies had just one carp in this period. I might add that I wound in the darkness as it was torrential rain and the lad and I were soaked from doing photos, and I’d had enough. As soon as daylight came I got up and cast the rods to signs of carp and had basically a double run with the remaining rod going during the photography.

Just as an experiment I tried solid bags and mesh bags with a dry mix of similar additives just to see if it made a difference. I needed to know, and neither were even remotely in the same league, which somewhat left me scratching my head.

I realised, after putting all 3 set ups in the water, what I thought was happening. On the method I was not tucking the hook link into the method ball with a short supple link like a match angler would do. I was using a long link with the hook covered by 2 PVA foam nuggets so the hook bait fell well away from the method ball. Over a 10 minute period the method would break down and spread out appetisingly with the hook bait looking like a safe bit of grub that had broken off. It had to be that that was fooling the carp.

Obviously solid bags and mesh bags or method balls with the hook bait buried in the ball were not doing. So that had to be the only reason. I carried on with the method until it got banned as I was deemed to be putting too much pressure on the carp in the lake…so not a bad advert for the method is it?