Top Tips No.2 - Plug That Spod!
By Elie Godsi
I hate spod spill! - all those bits of spod mix flying out of the top of the spod when you cast it out, leaving a trail of bait short of the marker float and right where your lines will be when you cast your rigs out. Watch the Korda Underwater videos and one thing comes across loud and clear - if carp feed over line (or leadcore / tubing) and pick this up with their lips when they feed they spook straight away, putting other fish on guard and drastically reducing your chance of a take.
I always try to avoid spod spill altogether. I’ve seen it recommended to mix the spod mix quite thick, say with pellets or groundbait, that way binding the various particles together. This can mean it takes a long time for the spod to empty and this will also leave a cloudy trail of bait in the water ‘column’, from the bottom of the lake to the surface. Now that might be OK if you are fishing a zig off the bottom but I really want my spod mix ‘on the deck’, where my hookbaits are for most of my fishing.
To avoid spod spill I make a small amount of ‘groundbait’ - in the photos you can see this as the red mix in the bucket next to my spod mix. To make this I take some Quest Maximum Action pellets and mix them with some of the ‘juice’ from my wet particle mix and leave it to soak, usually overnight, but half an hour will do. I mix this quite damp. I fill my spod with particles three quarters to the top and then put a little ‘plug’ of groundbait on top, no more than say, half an inch thick. There’s no need to force this in, as long as the plug is touching the inner sides of the spod it will prevent the particles coming out on the cast. Once it hits the water the whole mix won’t take long to drop out and release all those carp attracting particles.
I always prefer to cast the spod a little beyond where my marker float is and hence a few feet further out than where I am actually going to cast my baited rig. That way the hookbait is a little short of the spodded bed of bait and the chances of carp feeding directly over my line greatly reduced. It often pays to have one hook bait close to the spodded area, on the nearside edge, and a different hookbait a few feet away: often the bigger fish hang back and pick this bait up.
One last thing. I often see other anglers getting obsessed with really tight baiting, clipping up the line on the spod rod and getting as close as possible to the marker float every cast. I do clip up but aim to spread the spod mix in an arc, beyond and to the left of my marker and then in a line across to the right. I really don’t want a pile of particles all in one heap, I want the fish grubbing around searching for food. Ideally I’m aiming for an area that’s a few metres square. I’m convinced this leads to better pick ups, better hookholds and hence more carp in my net.
So how do you spod? I’m sure you have suggestions that I could use too…
Best fishes
Elie G
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Tags: angling, bait, boilies, bucket, carp, cast, fish, fishing, groundbait, hookbait, particles, Plug, Rigs, spod, tackle, technique, techniques, tips
Hi Elie,
Good post, I get rather paranoid myself about my lines running through bait. This is why I use a spod right in the nearside margin rather than trow bait in and rist the trail of bait from the bank to the fishing spot.
Personally I NEVER clip up when spodding. Same as you Elie I don’t want a pile of bait. Bait too tight and you discourage the fish to move off after picking a bait up which in effect makes them less likely to prick themselves against the lead.
Personally I use pole elastic markers - usually around a size 6 elastic and cast untill the marker rattles through the rod guides then brake it. You soon get used to when to brake the cast and can indeed land them all on the proverbial sixpence if required.
Another thing with the pole elastic is that it allows me to use different colours for different distances/different baited spots without keep re-clipping I can go from a 15 yard spot to a 100 yard spot.
Happy spodding.
best fishes
Shaun
Hi Elie and Shaun
Interesting thoughts regarding not clipping up. I personally do clip up but try to create a baited area by deliberately holding the rod vertical when it hits the clip on several casts and then at 45 degrees and then allowing it to fall flat after hitting the clip. I find this creates a nice small spread.
Another thing worth a mention is not to over fill the spod as this makes controlling of the cast more difficult. By filling it up around 2/3 of the way, it is m uch more accurate.
I also find that when fishing with lighter spods, it is much easier to use either a 3 1/2 lb rod or marker rod for spodding, than an out and out spod rod, as I find them too stiff to control with lighter spods.
Cheers
Jamie
Interesting comments guys.
I have only started to clip up recently. Like you Jamie, I like to hold the rod vertically as the line hits the clip and then cushion the spod down onto the water. This makes far less of a splash than just letting it crash down and I find this method easier or more reliable than feathering the spod down. If I want to spread the bait even further then I simply unclip the line, release a few more coils - or reel in a few - then clip up again.
Elie