UK Coarse
The Bait Room · Live / natural
Maggots that have pupated. A better stamp of silver fish, and a change bait when maggots are getting mobbed.
Casters are the chrysalis stage. Dark, crunchy, and often selective: they tend to pick out better roach, rudd and F1s than a cloud of white maggot. They also sink at a useful speed for fishing on the drop.
They need looking after. Too warm and they hatch. Too wet and they sour. A pint of good casters is worth more than a gallon of poor ones.
From the graph
Species
Rudd
On the drop
Species
Crucian carp
The shy gold of estate lakes and a few careful commercials. Tiny bites, light tackle, and a fish that rewards sitting still.
Species
Roach
Better stamp
Species
Dace
The small, quick silver of clean rivers. Stick float, maggot, and a strike that has to be faster than the fish.
Venue type
Canal
A towpath, a far shelf, boats, and some of the most thoughtful fishing in the country. Bread punch, pole, and waggler still rule.
Venue type
Natural stillwater
Pits, meres, estate lakes and waters that were not built as day-ticket carp mills. Lilies, silt, snags, and fish that do not have to eat your bait.
Venue type
River
Running water. Creases, gravel, streamer weed, and a statutory coarse close season in England and Wales: 15 March to 15 June inclusive.
Technique
Slider float
A float that slides to a stop-knot so you can fish deeper water than the rod is long. Reservoirs, pits, and a stillwater that has dropped away.
Technique
Insert waggler
A peacock or plastic waggler with a fine insert in the tip, so a shy lift or dip actually shows. The stillwater and canal float for roach, F1s and tench.
Technique
Fishing on the drop
A bait falling through the water, shot strung out so it looks natural. Roach, rudd, F1s and anyone intercepting feed as it sinks.
Technique
Crucian fishing
Tiny bites, light floats, and a still bait on the silt. True crucians are shy, often small-water fish. Do not crash a method on them. Do not advertise the lake.
Technique
Maggot on the pole
Stamp
Technique
Maggot feeder
A blockend feeder packed with maggots that trickle out on the bottom. Winter F1s, river roach, perch and barbel all understand it.
Technique
Traditional waggler
On the drop
Technique
Fishing the far shelf
The canal far-bank line: a plumbed bait against the vegetation, often punch or maggot, where stamp roach and bonus fish sit. Boats move them; then they settle again.
Technique
Canal fishing
Stamp
Technique
Trotting a river
Running a bait down a river at the pace you choose. Stick, Avon or bolo — the skill is the same. After 16 June on rivers in England and Wales.
Technique
Stick float
A river float designed to run a bait down a crease at the pace you choose. Maggot, hemp and a mended line — after 16 June.
Technique
Cage / open-end feeder
A mesh or plastic cage of groundbait that empties on the bottom. The natural-water way to hold bream, tench, roach and river fish over a bed.
When maggots are catching tiny fish. Summer and autumn silvers. F1s that want something falling slower than a pellet.
Late spring through autumn is the sweet spot. They still catch in winter if you have them, but maggots are easier.
Single on a small hook, or double. Catapulted as feed. On a waggler or pole on the drop.
Change the water, keep them cool, riddle off floaters if you want sinkers — or use the floaters on the hook.
Feeding
A pint is a serious session on a canal or silver lake.
Every minute or two on a catching line.
Hemp. A few maggots if you need more activity. Not a bucket of groundbait unless you're on bream.
Caster and hemp. Caster hookbait over maggot feed. Dark caster on the hook, pale ones in the feed.
Little and often. They are expensive to throw by the handful.
Letting them hatch in the van. Feeding them like maggots. A huge hook that splits them.
If nothing wants them, go back to maggot or try corn. If small fish still smear you, try punch or hemp.
Beginner tip
One caster on a size 18, fed a few at a time, is a better-stamp canal bait than a double maggot.
Advanced tip
Hook a sinking caster and feed floaters — or the other way round — until you see which they want.