hi mate the way i ve been shown is to fish at up to half depth with a dibber and a small bulk ,use 6 or 8 mm punch ,fish tight into far bank or marginal sedges or reeds.dont introduce any feed and just keep lifting and dropping and keep on the move along the feature it seems to work well when the weather cools down ,hope this is helpfull ,cheers G

IMO a float is not used just bread or biscuit on the end of a length of line the pole must be stiff and held very steady in order not to spook the fish.

hi mate to start with i usually put the bulk in about half way between float and hook using about 3no 11,s it seems to help with accuracy and a bit of stability cheers G

its easy to see as well at distance in among the reeds and stems also it holds the bait up well also you dont need to really read the bites as the elastic usually just flies out and the fish hooks itself against the bulk ,cheers G

It’s something I’ve had quite a few good weights in the winter on, and it’s perhaps more work than it looks!

It’s surprising how tight the fish can shoal up, so make sure you work the bait across the swim well, covering all the little nooks and crannies. It’s surprising how a small bay in far bank can sometimes hold so many fish!

Keep the rigs nice and simple! I use a small dibber (like a PB2), and shotted with a small bulk at about two-thirds down the rig. If it’s hard I’ll spread the bulk a little, but beware of doing this if there are a lot of submerged reeds etc that can hang the rig up – it’s less obvious with the shot spread.

Depth wise, I find two-thirds is a good depth to start at, but don’t be afraid to change it. You’ll often find you need to change during the day to keep in contact with the fish. Read it as if you’re fishing shallow in the summer – missed bites means shallow up. No indications means try deeper.

Don’t be blinkered in to just using bread! It’s normally the best bait, but don’t be afraid to try other baits too. I’ve had some good days fishing just a single caster, while for smaller carp (or F1’s) try pinkies and maggots.

Hope that helps!

Very helpful advice from Gavin. My main query would be how long would you leave the bait in the water before making a change? Do bites normally happen quite quickly?

Tight lines.

I find that a few minutes in any one spot is ample – your bites will normally come pretty quick in one spot if you’re going to get them (on the venues I fish anyway!) Obviously, if you catch a fish from one spot drop back there – often you’ll catch a run of fish before they move, apart from really hard days / pegs when you may just be hunting for odd fish.

It’s an active method, so if I’m not getting bites I will change baits and depths about, but you do tend to find a depth that the fish are sitting where most of your bites will come from in spells. It’s all about exploring the water you have in front of you really – from left to right and top to bottom!