Trending tactics: 'A pinch of this and that'
There have been many methods and tactics used over the decades, but here’s Nigel Sharp’s top ten which have seemingly dominated the big carp scene for the past 20 years - next up, 'a pinch of this and that'
Dominance started: 2000
Influential anglers: Stewart Lee and Darren Miles
PB using rig: 37lb 14oz
Now moving on from the pellet piddling around the edge come the ‘a pinch of this and that’ or what I call the ‘tiger nut approach’. This is something that I saw anglers like Darren Miles take The Car Park Lake apart on. I’ve also seen my very good friend Stewart Lee catch shedloads of big fish from the big pits around the Reading area on this approach. I kid you not, I’ve seen Stewart bait several spots on a 100-acre pit for over a week with less than a tin of tiger nuts and a small tub of hemp. The footwork and precision involved is incredible but his results from both the margin and distance work speaks volumes.
The first time I came across this kind of angling was in the early 2000s and yes, I’ve taken note and used it to great success when nothing else was working, for example during a week session on Rookey Meadow in 2006 with CARPology and a group of their readers.
Example of a session
Sharpy reveals a session where switching to the 'a pinch of this and that' worked wonders...
"I was four days into my seven-day session on Rookey Meadow and after not receiving a take off the bottom during that whole time, and trying several different set-ups involving Chod Rigs, bottom bait rigs with Amnesia hooklinks, braided and skinned hooklinks and different size and patterned hooks, I decided to have a wade about to see what the lake’s bed was like.
“Eventually sorting out some raised hard spots amongst the clay bottom, I scrubbed them off with my feet and left them to settle whilst I tied up some miniature Snowman rigs with a tiny tiger nut, topped with a bit of fake corn, Knotless Knotted on to a size 8 Wide Gape. The only tubing added was a small piece of silicon just below the knot on the shank. I didn’t add any curved shrink tube to the arrangement, as I’ve recently come to the conclusion that that type of set-up causes hook holds to be in the lips of the fish and sometimes cause hook pulls when the hook point hits bone before fully penetrating.
“With the rigs tied, I waded back to the hard spots and lowered them in, donking the little 1.5oz square pears along to the toe of my waders until I felt them touch the lakebed. Once the lead was in place, I’d push it into the clay with my toe, then sprinkle a small handful of hemp, 10mm pellets, a dozen small tigers and a few crumbed boilies over the top.
“This method of placing baits and using a refined rig and bait accounted for five fish up to 29lb 8oz, ending my week on Rookery with 10 fish: five off the top and five off the bottom.”