Dale Calvert shows why plugging your feeder with particles can often put more big bream in your net when tackling reservoirs
SET your sights on a big net of bream and groundbait is almost certainly going to be central to your plans of attracting a shoal.
A mix that is rich in fishmeal often gets the nod, with the odour that it releases creating a scent trail that the fish soon home in on. Once they arrive, the carpet of pungent powder can keep the fish grubbing around for ages, and it is only a matter of time before they slurp up the hookbait. Keen feeder angler Dale Calvert used to be firmly in the fishmeal camp, but a campaign on a water that banned groundbait forced him to think again. Such restrictions are in place on some reservoirs that provide drinking water, with anglers forced to find a way around the conundrum. “Bream are greedy fish and I felt that as long as I tried to replicate what the groundbait did, I could get the same results with baits that are permitted,” explained Dale.
“There was plenty of trial and error at the start, but I’ve now got my approach in a place where I am so confident in it that I even leave groundbait out of the equation on venues where its use is allowed!”
Winning concoction
Dale uses four different baits, with each of them adding a different quality.
Dampened 2mm micro pellets make up a good proportion of the bream banquet, with their tiny size creating a bed that encourages bream to continually explore the bottom for food. They are regularly sucking up tiny particles, giving them reason to stay put and believe that there is more to be found.
Corn adds a visual element, with the bright yellow kernels hard to miss in even coloured water, while dead maggots are a natural bait that the fish seem to like on certain days.
Hemp is the final ingredient, acting in a similar manner to micro pellets, with the slightly heavier nature of the seeds stopping them from being wafted away from the main target zone if underwater tow is prevalent.
“Three pints of micro pellets, a tin each of hemp and corn and a tub of dead maggots will often last me a full session, costing no more than the two bags of groundbait that are usually required,” said Dale.
“A squirt of liquid goes over all the baits to create a further scent trail that will draw fish in from outsid
