Quest Baits Blog

Sometimes fish show at extreme range which for me is anything over 140yards+. I’m lucky enough to have the tackle and with some tuition from Mark Hutchinson the technique to allow me to fish at these distances, but find it impossible to get any free offerings that far. I know Mark puts spods and markers over 200yards but not me.  

I have caught fish on single hook baits at long range but feel uncomfortable fishing in this way as it all seems a bit hit and miss.

When I bought my latest rods I selected them with the idea of fishing solid PVA bags with Quest Micro Feed or finely crumbed boilies packed tightly around the lead. After my performance in this weeks rain and storms I’m not so sure anymore.

So here’s plan B. I’ve sourced some 2 ½ oz long thin gripper leads. My plan is to mould boilie paste around them into an aerodynamic shape, making the casting weight up to 4oz + so that I can achieve the distance.

My question is has anyone tried anything like this and was it successful, and what are your alternative strategies for providing some extra attaction at extreme range?

Cheers  Ron Key

Aps wrote:

Hi, I just watched the long distance casting video (part 1) with the legend that is Mark Hutchinson, and I am slightly confused!  In the video under reels he is using a shimano ultegra 5500 xtb and he mentions;

“Add a washer for better line lay !”

Can you please explain, how and why he does that?

Hi Aps – good question! It is easy to see how Hutch’s advice could be a little confusing.

When you buy most new reels you will find a bag of extra metal washers inside the box. If you take off the spool from the reel you will see that the washers will go onto the metal spindle the spool sits on and you can slide the washer down so sits at the bottom. Then the spool goes back on in the same way it came off.  continue reading…

One of my favourite methods of carp fishing is using PVA bags. We all know it can be an absolutely deadly method of catching carp but even more so when used at long range where the carp have rarely come across this presentation.

The first time I tried to cast a PVA bag a long way, the bag didn’t stand up to the job and I wasn’t confident with the overall result.

So I decided to set about making a rig which would cast well and not tangle. The rig below is what I now use for all my long range bag work, it’s simple to construct, casts well, tangle free and prevents the bag coming away from the lead on impact with the water.

Below I’ll show you how I tie this rig…

continue reading…

by Shaun Harrison

After eight months of writing my ‘Bait Quest’ series in Carpworld, I want to talk about the various topics and thoughts which came to mind whilst reading the latest issue of Carpworld. What a brilliant mixed bag it has become.

With sales well on the increase, the recent facelift the magazine has undergone (complete with ‘Tim Paisley’s International Carper’ for free) has definitely been a move in the right direction, and I would like to raise a glass to all at Angling Publications involved in the production of the magazine. There’s an awful lot of competition out there, but the first of the carp fishing monthlies can still hold its head up, and it shines through as Britain’s biggest carp angling magazine. continue reading…

Hi there,

Here is the second part of the casting video I shot with Shaun Harrison and Mark Hutchinson in February of this year. This part goes through the casting technique recommended by Mark to get extra distance. (It’s in two clips because Youtube limits the clips to 10 minutes). So here is part 2 & 3:

“Want to cast 160 yards? Join British Record casting champion Mark Hutchinson on the bank as he teaches a normal 100 yard caster how to hit the 160 mark he thought he’d never reach. No secrets – Everything revealed from tackle to technique.”

Long Distance Casting – Part 2: The Casting

Long Distance Casting – Part 3: The Casting (continued)

Want to cast 160 yards? Join British Record casting champion Mark Hutchinson on the bank as he teaches a normal 100 yard caster how to hit the 160 mark he thought he’d never reach. No secrets – Everything revealed from tackle to technique.

Long Distance Casting – Part 1: The Tackle