played around with this a couple of times and found a back shot 2ft shot away best.
used a couple of AA shot.line does not really have to be tight to shots either.

Shots on the line do not work if the rig is fished on a tight line to the pole. Those shots simply get lifted off the deck on a tight line to the pole!

Try having your pole top kit elasticated so about 4-6 inches of elastic is left out of the pole. You can then use that hanging elastic like a swing tip. It makes a big difference to how you use the method on the pole. You can be in contact with the back shots and fish the feeder on a tight line without lifting the back shots off the deck.

What it does is stop most of those bumps that you feel when the carp are grubbing around near your feeder. It also allows you to fish tight to the back shots without the issue of lifting those shot. So, the line is pined to the deck to reduce line bites. Also gives you a bite indicator to look at until the pole elastic shoots out of the pole with a fish on. Based on experience. Having a bite indicator to look at while using the method on the pole lets the angler be patient until you get a real bite. Without it. The angler lift the rig when he feels those bumps and bangs on the pole top. Thinking he has a bite!

@True Blue wrote:

Shots on the line do not work if the rig is fished on a tight line to the pole. Those shots simply get lifted off the deck on a tight line to the pole!

Try having your pole top kit elasticated so about 4-6 inches of elastic is left out of the pole. You can then use that hanging elastic like a swing tip. It makes a big difference to how you use the method on the pole. You can be in contact with the back shots and fish the feeder on a tight line without lifting the back shots off the deck.

What it does is stop most of those bumps that you feel when the carp are grubbing around near your feeder. It also allows you to fish tight to the back shots without the issue of lifting those shot. So, the line is pined to the deck to reduce line bites. Also gives you a bite indicator to look at until the pole elastic shoots out of the pole with a fish on. Based on experience. Having a bite indicator to look at while using the method on the pole lets the angler be patient until you get a real bite. Without it. The angler lift the rig when he feels those bumps and bangs on the pole top. Thinking he has a bite!

So basically its just a self hooking rig. Do folk think it would be a better option to use something like rig putty instead of shot to pin the line to the bottom, so that in the worst case scenario that the line snapped above the feeder, it would enable the main line to pull through the feeder. Thinking about it there’s a lot that that can go wrong with this method if used by less competent anglers and every thing needs to be spot on for it to work and be a safe and viable tactic.

Ant, i,ve fished the method on the pole with a float attached on a venue thats rules stated that all pole rigs must have a float. I used a polly ball. Worked ok to get around the float rule but as with using the method on the pole without a float. A bite is when the elastic runs out of the pole. You ignore the fact that the float sometimes goes under. Those are line bites unless the elastic starts running from the pole. It is useful in giving you something to look at until you get a real bite. However, i think the 4-6 inches of elastic hanging from the end of the pole like a swing tip is better than a float.

Badger, the method feeder is a self hooking rig.

Rig putty will work fine for pining the line from the feeder to the deck to reduce line bites and to help to reduce spooking the fish.

You can go as heavy as you like with the main line. So, it should not be an issue over breaking the main line between pole and feeder.

Any rig can go wrong if used by less competent anglers but the rig itself is easy to set up and use! Difficult part for most anglers is knowing when they have a bite and when they are just getting line bites or they feel the feeder move as a carp bumps in to the feeder as it feeds.

The method on the pole is at its best when fished tight to the fare bank of snake lakes or tight to islands. In particular, it is devistating in pegs that are very shallow and there are loads of carp competing for feed. The type of peg where most anglers foul hook carp after carp after carp. I can think of quite a lot of venues where foul hooking carp is a major problem. Lots of venues where the carp are like pin cusions for the anglers. So, the method on the pole is a very viable safe method and can make a very frustrating day in to a match winning day and be much more fish friendly then anglers foul hooking fish all day. The method on the pole is much safer way of fishing than the bog standard rigs that most anglers use in these types of situations IMHO!

It can also be used in deeper open water and was a winning method fished short at the bottom of the inside shelf on New Pools at Cudmore about 5 years ago.

So what your saying is that competent angler could react quick enough to bully a self hooked carp away from reeds, stick ups etc on a fixed method rig (maybe using a 30g method) with up to 3m of line and maybe 12/13metres of pole plus elastic (some of it hanging out of the pole). To say its a safe and responsible tactic IMO defies believe, have you never been snapped of on the pole connector or had a connector open up or even elastic snapped on puller bung/puller kit .Well mate if not I commend you and any one else that haven’t . We all know how devastating the “method” can be but lets please fish it in a responsible and skillful manner (rod and line fishing), and use the pole for what its intended for .I’d like to think that our methods and tactics have developed enough so that that we can shy away from catch at all cost methods and develop skills where we can fish in a safe and responsible way.

if the method is free running on a tight line (no backshot)- sorry -fail to see why this would be less safe than a normal ‘safe’ free running method fished on a rod – indeed as you’d be likely using a pole with grunt and heavy laccy you might have more control than with a rod and reel – since the bend of a thru action feeder rod plus line stretch might actually be less if fish bolts toward reeds. If the line breaks then surely its exactly the same -hence free-running- and i’d presume hook pulls(or hook straightening if a 911 or drennan wide gape pellet) by nature far more likely for same reason .
you can angle direction and if necessary lift up( if using a grunt pole), imo, in a more controlled and responsive manner- rather more than a rod n reel in similar circumstances i’d have thought. You could use heavy laccy half lengths or less as you would when normal margin pole into snag/reeds- and getting a fish up works(unlike normal pole) because the reeds will separate whereas on deck a fish will swim round the rooted stems.

You could also pull and ship back at same time if fishing against- but not into reeds- as presumably would be more likely the case on snakes that TB describes.

As for the ‘catch at all costs ‘comment – whats the difference between this and skull dragging a fish on a 10′-12’ 3.5 tc rod with clutch buttoned up from reeds on a far bank or closer on a feature?

Don’t always agree with TB – but in this particular instance- fail to see why he’s deserving of that remark?
– since that could equally be applied (and i won’t) to conventional speci anglers tactics and rigs in a similar scenario? – surely the whole point is to catch fish in that type of swim/peg if the mainline breaks the feeder is free to pull off avoiding tethered fish- and if your using a lighter hooklength then that will be initial weak point.
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Im not sure what you class as a competent angler but i dont seem to have any problems with using the method on the pole or any other methods for that matter. I,ve been around match angling at a reasonable level for a very long time (30+ years)!

As i,ve already said. The method on the pole is devistating in pegs that are both very shallow but also stuffed full of fish typically against the fare bank of islands and the fare bank of snake lakes. Its a way of getting around the issue of foul hooking carp in this particular situation. However, the method does work well in other situations. I personally would never fish the method on the pole close to thick reeds in deep water or in known snag pit swims. Part of being a competent match angler is knowing when to use a particular method.

Badger, as a competent angling, yourself. Your aware that when fishing tight to islands in very shallow water ( 8 inches-15 inches. Thats typical of many island and snake lake swims ). Carp when hooked generally run down the shelf and in to deeper water. They generally dont run in to reeds or snags unless there is quite a bit of water to swim in to. If there was deep water tight to the island or fare bank of a snake lake and its full of snags or reeds. Im sure we can both think of better ways of attacking a swim to get the best from it. Well i can. lol.

No, i,ve never been snapped off on the pole connector or had a connector open up or even elastic snapped on puller bung/puller kit. Badger, im competent at what i do where fishing is concerned! Are you???

Wightangler, im shocked that you dont always agree with me. I agree with most of what your suggesting 😎

T B by your standards I must not be a competant angler then, because I’ll admit I have had elastic snap at a connector/Crowsfoot/dacron connector and even once at puller bung, and I don’t think I’ll be on my own with this.Mishaps happen, on todays match there was a somebody’s top kit been dragged about the lake by a carp!
White angler folk on here are suggesting putting shot on the line above the method making it a fixed rig IMO I thought these type of rigs went out with the arc.I’ve fished the method for years going back to the days massive elasticated method’s using heavy feeder rods and baitrunner reels.I love fishing the method even more so now with how its evolved, all the venues I fish now allow the free free running method. Maybe its just me but personally I don’t enjoy hooking and hauling type venues, thinking about it black Hydro and yellow Preston Hollow are the strongest elastic I use, but they suit the styles and venues I fish.

Cheers.

Badger, the biggest difference between most match anglers is that the regular match winners generally make less mistakes. That includes that the regular winners use balanced, dependable tackle and so hook more fish and land most of them. I dont have issues with elastics because i check then before every match. I never make that particular mistake of letting my tackle let me down.

I,ve seen top kits in lakes many times and i still think, what a plonker! One less angler to worry about. Its a costly mistake if you dont get your top kit back.

A method feeder rig with the use of a back shot is a semi fixed rig. Its not a fixed rig. Shots will move quite easily if a little pressure is put on the shot. If the feeder gets stuck. The shot will move down the line until if falls off the line freeing the feeder from the rig. Rig putty works in a similar way. Although, rig putty might move a bit easier than a AA.

As for hauling. Im from the N/W. Not many venues in my area that anglers would class as hauling type venues. I use balanced tackle that suits the venues that i fish. That includes using the method on the pole because on the right peg and in the right conditions. Its the best method to get the best from that peg. If use correctly, its a safe method and much more fish friendly than foul hooking fish after fish. Something that i see all the time!

TB as for shot above a method feeder we’ll have to agree to disagree on the matter. all can say about the rest of your post is “wow” there must be loads of anglers that wish they could be half as good as you. That’s a compliment by the way.