How to tie solid bags efficiently and catch a load more carp!

For something that sounds very complex, it isn’t half simple with a little practice. I guess it is like anything in life, the more you fish PVA bags, the easier it becomes to tie them up. I feel like many anglers miss out because they think that PVA bags are hard work and too fiddly, but in my opinion that extra bit of care and attention can be more than worth its weight in gold when it comes to getting results. For those than haven’t fished solids, you are missing out for sure, and it is a tactic well worth keeping in any carp angler’s armoury. Through years of using solid bags, I have tweaked and changed a few things, although the basic principle has remained the same. I leave nothing to chance and believe this is a tactic that is far from out of reach to everyday anglers and my approach can be easily replicated by anglers of all abilities. Have a read, give them a go and I am confident they will come good and put extra carp in your album.

A bag is all you need

Instant results can easily be achieved on any venue if you get the basic fundamentals right. There is no better way of giving yourself a chance of a quick bite than to turn up to a lake and cast a solid bag to showing fish. It is a tactic that has accounted for loads of quick bites on a variety of venues for me. And to be honest, once you get that first bite, you probably wouldn’t go too far wrong if you were to continue to cast solids to showing fish all session. Sometimes this is exactly what I do, especially in winter when the carp’s metabolism has slowed down and they are rarely likely to feed over a big bed of bait. A solid in the right place can be just enough bait to get that blank saving bite.

However, solid bag fishing is not just a winter tactic, it can be used all throughout the year and will score in all sorts of scenarios. The fact that a PVA bag presentation is 100% tangle-proof allows you to fish with confidence and the small pile of bait completely conceal the lead and hooklink giving you the ultimate presentation.

For the most part I fish the Mini ESP Solid Bags as I believe by filling with a mixture of small pellets, this offers just one or two mouth fulls of bait and when you have a small balanced hookbait in the middle, one or two mouth fulls is all you need to get a bite. I mainly use a single grain of Big Buoyant ESP Plastic Corn which is critically-balanced by using the weight of a size 7 Cryogen Gripper hook to slowly sink the corn. Having a balanced hookbait is critical; when a carp sucks up the pellet, a balanced hookbait will shoot up into its mouth whether the carp means to suck it up or not.

I do use the larger PVA bags when the conditions dictate the need to change. If there is a bit of weed around and there is a chance I may be casting into a weedy area then I opt for the bigger bags such as the Multi or the Bulk bags. I feel more confident that they will create a hole in the weed and the carp will have a much better chance of finding the bait.

It’ll catch the big ‘uns

There is perhaps a myth that PVA bags are a small fish runs water tactic but from experience I can put that myth straight to bed. I have been fortunate to land a number of 40lb+ fish on solid bags. On one occasion on Bluebell Swan Lake during a cold mid-November’s day, I was struggling a little and had spotted a carp stick its head out at around 110yds range. I quickly wound a rod in off the bait and blasted a mini PVA bag into the vicinity of where the carp had shown. The following morning that rod was away with a very welcome 37lb mirror. I recast the bag to the same area later that evening and the following morning, the same rod was away again, this time I was blown away as a huge framed mirror wallowed over the net cord. It was the biggest fish in the lake; a fish called Dave at 55lb 12oz and set new personal best for me, a PB which I may never get the chance to beat for as long as I live.

The set-up

The end tackle set-up really couldn’t be any more basic: a 3.5oz inline lead with a three- to four-inch supple braided hooklink with a simple Knotless Knot Hair rig. Where rules permit I like to use a short leadcore leader and where leaders are banned I simply slide a tail rubber over the lead and insert a length of Anchor Rig Tubing.

Nailed!

I don’t believe in fishing inline leads ‘drop-off style’ even if the venue is weedy. With an inline lead, even if a carp dives into the weed and you put a little pressure on to get the fish out, all of the weed gathers around the lead so you are not actually putting any extra pressure on the hook hold. There is a valid argument that if you dump the lead the fish will come to the top and is less likely to weed you in the first place but in all honestly I very rarely lose fish on solids in weed so don’t feel the need the change. Besides, it can prove quite costly dumping leads on every fish; you are not just burning a hole in the wallet but there is the environmental impact to consider too.

How Kev Ties His Bags

1. The rig is as simple as it gets: short braided link, small hook, Knotless Knotted.

2. Here’s Kev’s mix: lots of different pellets, but none are over 4mm in size.

3. Whilst he uses a couple of different sized bags, Kev’s favourites are these.

4. Right, onto making a bag. Kev starts off by adding an inch of pellets to the bag.

5. Next he lays his hook and hookbait onto the bed of pellets as shown here.

6. Keep adding the pellet mix until you’re an inch from the top of the bag.

7. Now push the lead into the mix and then twist the top of the bag around.

8. This helps compress the bag and mix. Now secure it with PVA tap as shown.

9. To neaten the bag up, take a pair of scissors and trim the tag ends off.

10. So the bag flies truer, you need to make it more aerodynamic like so.

11. How neat is that?! A solid bag really does offer the ultimate in presentation.

12. And here’s a bucketful of ready-to-cast solid PVA bags. It beats singles!

5 Tips For PVA Bagging

1. You must ensure that all end tackle is bone dry before inserting into a PVA bag, I use a towel to initially dry the lead and rig and I then place the rig in a tray of groundbait to absorb any excess moisture.

2. Always turn up to a venue prepared with some PVA bags already tied up. If you seen a fish show, quickly get a PVA bag on it whilst you set-up. This will, without doubt, gain you extra bites

3. Be sure to reseal your pack of PVA bags every time you take one out of the packet. This will always ensure they are fresh and do not stick together.

4. Always carry a bucket loaded up with a dedicated PVA kit. From rigs to leads, leaders, PVA bags, tape and pellet mix and anything else you may need. I keep mine in a bucket with a removable insert which is perfect for organising my PVA bag kit.

5. Do not use too much dry powdered ingredients as they will simply float to the surface soon as the PVA bag breaks down.