Dave's How To - Take The Red Route

This entry was posted on 31st July, 2018

Red is a very popular bait colour, after all, red maggots have been best sellers for many years. I can also remember catching well on canals using red pinkies and squatts, baits that are rarely used these days. Then there was bloodworm and jokers, bright red midge larvae, which in my early match fishing career were very important baits for getting bites on rock hard venues. So, all this got me thinking. A lot of fishing these days entails using pellets, so why not try the red approach here too? After much experimenting, I have found that Dynamite Robin Red feed pellets work wonders on both natural and commercial fisheries, particularly if you damp them down a bit the day before use. Apart from softening the pellets, pre-wetting also makes them break down quicker in the water, which fish like bream, carp and tench find very attractive. Lately I have been combining Robin Reds with the new Dynamite Red Krill Durable Hookers, resulting in some interesting bagging sessions.



While using red feed and hooker pellets, I thought it would be a good idea to try combining these with red groundbait and red maggots. The red groundbait I chose was Dynamite’s Krill, which I diluted with some brown crumb, also adding in a handful of an active groundbait to give off a bit of fizz. My modifications made the groundbait turn a tad orange, but it still tied in closely enough! The red maggots come into play to try and get some early action, because sometimes it can take a little time to get fish feeding well on pellets, particularly on wild venues.



My red approach has been very successful this summer, beginning sessions with some groundbait, then loose feeding a few red maggots and pellets over the top. Maggots tend to bring bites almost instantly, but as soon as any quality fish turn up I switch to a pellet on the hook and if this brings a response, I cease feeding maggots altogether. I find you don’t need a lot of feed pellets, just enough to put in small amounts regularly. Normally around half a pint is adequate, unless carp move in, but even then, I have never needed more than a pint.



One species that loves my all red approach is bream. Even on hard fished venues, the Krill and Robin Red combo seems to find fish that have never been caught before. Other species like roach and carp turn up too of course, along with some surprises like chub and perch. For the skimmers and bigger bream, I find that slightly over-depth pole or waggler rigs score well, while in deeper water a cage feeder rig is also worth a go. In the latter case using a 12inch hook length works best with a hooker pellet.



One thing that has really impressed me with the new Dynamite Durable Hooker Pellets is how robust they are. Although quite soft to the touch, it’s amazing how often they remain intact on my hook after catching a fish. This offering has just been extracted from a bream’s mouth and is perfectly ready to catch another fish. I have never known any other soft hooker pellets that can do this. Combined with my red approach, this is definitely a winning formula!