This is my favorite method for summer bagging on commercials , I just enjoy it so much and the weights you can put together can be outstanding.

This method is suitable for fishing from as close in as your top 2 – 16 meters out on the pole, the only problem you can get at the longer lengths are tangles, these tangles happen due to how short the rigs are (as short as 10 inches) and  usually you  are fishing the rig with a short length of line between pole tip & float for increased hooking  chances.

Float choice

I like to use dibber style floats such as the  Preston PB1 or one of the garbolino/Drennan  patterns, I like to use this in  4x10/4x12 sizes for pellets up to 8mm but I will use a higher weight rated float if using big baits such as chunks of meat etc,  On days when the fish are really shallow my No1 choice is a korum blob float as this has no stem it is just a bright colored round poly ball so there is no chance of fish  knocking into the float and pulling under and this in-turn reduces tangles.

The rig

 I like to use main lines between  0.14-0.20 depending of the size of fish present in the lake, I like to use either  the Fox micron/Preston power line or the new Maver pole lines, to this I attach one of the above listed floats , then I either place 1 or 2 No8 shot directly under the float , I fish my main line direct to hook for this type of fishing, I then attach my hook which is either a Gamakatsu Pellet or General Carp hook or a Kamasan B911 all  in a sizes 14 or a bigger or smaller hook  depending on the bait being used and the size of fish present.

IMAGES OF MY SHALLOW RIGS

Elastic grades

I mainly use 2 types of elastic for this fishing, for smaller fish up to 4-5lb I use Preston’s new 11h hollow elastic, if the fish present are bigger I will change to Preston 15h or maver dual core 12-12, I have both elastics set on adjustable bungs so if I am spending to much time landing fish I can tighten the elastic up and speed up the process. 

ELASTIC IMAGES

Hook baits & Feeding

My choice of hook baits for this type of fishing are soft expander pellets in sizes 4-8mm but also I will use a hard pellet on a band either banded direct on to the hook or on a tight hair, the other bait I have used shallow at times is casters and worms  these are a great baits for carp and all species.

When fishing worm and caster I like to chop the worm and casters up and add some extra liquid worm flavouring, I feed this from a pole mounted cup every put in, the chopped worm and caster mix needs to be like a mush so it creates a fish attracting cloud full of attractants and then it is just a case of dropping your piece of worm/caster into the cloud of feed, I like to lift and drop if bites are not easy to come by.

 When fishing pellet on the hook I like to feed in two ways, the first is to catapult/throw by hand 8-12 4mm pellets every minute or so depending on how the fish are responding, you need to keep the bait going into draw the fish up and keep them there at the depth you are fishing at, this is how I will start the match if fishing at distance. The other way I feed is to introduce small sloppy walnut sized balls of fishmeal ground bait, this I mainly do when fishing at close range and up to 4 meters , the benefit of feeding these sloppy balls of ground bait is they explode into a fish attracting cloud in the surface layers of the water thus holding the fish but not over feeding them , causing them in-turn to hunt for you hook bait amongst the cloud , this is the way I like to fish once I have brought the fish in close due to the fact I think it is a match winning/framing technique due to the fact once the fish arrive if you keep the slop going in you will achieve very large weights on some of the heavily stocked venues ,all in all this is a brilliant way of fishing, I really enjoy it !.  

Plan of attack

Unless I can see fish in front of me I will usually set up to fish @ about 10 meters and work the fish back towards me, the ideal scenario is when the fish are high in confidence is  to bring them within range of my top2 kit because at this distance you can build a big wait quickly as there is no need to ship in and out , and if you have your elastic set right 8 out of 10 times you will land the fish quicker as they don’t know there hooked until it’s at the net!.

I usually have 4 top kits set up with 2 rigs set up at anywhere between 3ft and half depth and the other two anything from 2 ft – 6 inches depending on fishery rules, I will also have a kit set up with a korum blob for depths less than 12 inches, all in all this is a brilliant way of fishing, I really enjoy it!.