Accurate casting is, I think, essential for all forms of legering. It is something that many anglers struggle with. But it really is about practice, technique, practice, confidence and practice.
Distance is probably the easiest to master. With a line clip you can hit the same distance time after time. The most important thing is to cast with confidence and hit the clip firmly with every cast.
Some will worry about using a clip when targeting carp. If casting to a far bank the clip can be used with confidence. If a fish is hooked it can only swim left or right and side strain with a low rod tip should see it under control. In open water, if you are not confident of using the clip there are a couple of things you can do to maintain accurate distance without clipping up.
First is to find your desired distance then put a rubber band around the reel spool. This will stop the cast in flight like a line clip but can be pulled off by a big fish if it runs away from you.
Second is to again find your distance and then tie some line onto the main line with a sliding knot just in front of the reel. When casting listen for the sliding knot to rattle through the rod rings, trap the line on the spool and the feeder should land at about the same distance each time. Once tightened up to the feeder the knot should be visible either between the rod rings or just off the tip.
It is a good idea to count how many turns of the reel handle it takes to retrieve the feeder. If you have to take the line off the clip, or the rubber band gets pulled off you can, within a few casts, get the distance perfect again.
One thing to teach yourself is to have the rod in the same position as the feeder hits the line clip. I prefer to drop the rod to the side. Others hold the rod above their head.
Perfection is stopping the feeder in flight a foot or two above the water so that it falls just that distance before hitting the surface. Whether you then keep a tight or slack line to the feeder as it sinks is personal choice. Sometimes dictated by the depth of water.
Direction is a matter of lining up with a marker and a repeatable casting action, muscle memory as it is known in some sports.
My method to achieve accuracy at distance is as follows.
With the feeder hanging from the rod tip position the rod so it is pointing back over your head. One hand should be on the reel seat with finger trapping the line, bail arm open. The other hand should be on the butt end. I then line up the rod handle between my hands (reel above eye line, butt below) with the far bank marker I have chosen. The rod should be vertical as you see it and from the side it is angled back over the head. Sweep the rod forward so that the tip ends up aiming at the marker (and remember to release the line). This way the tip has described a straight line from behind the head to pointing in front so the feeder must be projected along that same line.
If you have a dominant eye it can help to close the weaker one.
Put the two together. Distance and direction and you have your accuracy. If you want to master these then have a day when you leave all other rods and poles at home, just take the leger gear and fish that for five or six hours. By the end of the day you should have the accuracy nailed.
Short Casts
There is though a different technique I employ when only casting around sixteen metres, maximum twenty. That is an underhand lob. The benefits of this style of cast is that the feeder travels slower than overhead casting and you can see the feeder all the way to the target. The feeder can land softer and thus the underhand is ideal for snake type lakes.
The technique is simple. Hold the rod in one hand, elbow on the butt, in front of you at around 45 degrees. Allow the feeder to hang quite a way from the tip and at the same time pull some line from the reel with your free hand. Start to pendulum the feeder in line with the spot you are aiming for. As the feeder swings towards you flick the rod upwards and also pull line with the free hand to compress the rod tip. Release the line and let the feeder arc towards your target. You can watch the feeder and feather the line to achieve a very good accuracy. Once mastered you can make the feeder “plop” into the water with little disturbance.
You can use a line clip with this method though I don't bother most of the time.
I demonstrate the cast in this video, click the link
Rod Placement, Bites and Time
Many newcomers to commercial feeder fishing can be confused by how others set up their rod to detect a bite. The simple guideline is that is doesn't matter.
As long as there is some kind of angle between the line direction from the tip and the rod then a bite will register. You could, in extreme circumstances point the rod straight down the line and rely on either the baitrunner facility or a butt mounted indicator to register that a fish has hooked itself.
So anywhere between the rod pointing along the bank to pointing nearly at the feeder will do.
Is there a correct way to position the rod? That is should it be across the body or off to the side the butt is resting. For myself, most often the butt is resting on a pole rest on my rear box leg and that then means the rod will point away from my body to the right (I'm right handed). But if it is more convenient to mount it pointing to the left and the butt resting on something else I don't mind.
That then brings me on to feeder arms. Are they essential? Not in my opinion. I do carry one but rarely use it. I place the rod anywhere that is convenient. That could be on the keepnet, on my bucket, the lip of the platform, on a bankstick mounted rest or on a feeder arm if none of the others can be used.
The reason I'm not fussed about rod position is that bites using this kind of feeder are generally unmissable. That said line bites can be mistaken for real bites and cause frustration. More about that below.
Fishing the Method feeder or similar is a self hooking, bolt rig type of fishing. Once a fish feels the hook it will, on most occasions, swim off at a rate of knots. This will produce the unmistakeable wrap round bite.
I have been asked about distinguishing a real bite from the effects of wind on a windy day. Basically the wind will not pull the rod off the rest. So if you wait until that nearly happens you can be certain its a fish and not mother nature. That also helps with line bites.
To me line bites take two forms. You can get trembling and small indications on the tip as fish mill around the feeder. The other kind are when a fish brushes the line between feeder and tip. Often this will be when the fish passes under the line which rubs along its back, over the dorsal fin and then over the tail. This produces two distinct movements of the tip, after both it will resume its previous position.
I think I have said before, when the bend in the rod reaches the middle section its time to pick the rod up as the fish is probably hooked by then.
As for how long before re-casting this varies for me with the time of year. In Winter I will wait 15 minutes. Summer 8-10. Within this time though I expect to get bites a similar time after each cast. So if I am getting bites in Summer after 5-6 minutes then I will retrieve the feeder on eight minutes, In Winter I may get bites at ten minutes and so may retrieve at twelve minutes.
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