FEATURES NEW FEEDER WITH ANDY FINDLAY
W ORDS : M ARK P ARKER P ICTURES :
Learn to ‘play’
THE B 4
IYCF Issue 230
ANDY FINDLAY
reckons his newly-invented Banjo feeder is more in tune with cold-water carp fishing on the commercials. And he can prove it...
ANJ ! On sale February 24 – March 24, 2010 IYCF
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FEATURES NEW FEEDER WITH ANDY FINDLAY Continued
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HAT happens if you combine the best aspects of the Method feeder, the pellet cone, the pellet feeder and the PVA bag into one winter carp tactic? You get Andy Findlay’s new Banjo feeder, that’s what. Being one of the UK’s finest commercial carp anglers, Andy is never an angler you could call orthodox, or one to follow the common herd. Constantly re-evaluating his approach to match fishing on commercial pools, particularly in the winter when bites come at a premium, Andy’s new Banjo feeder offers the perfect presentation for cold-water carping. Unlike some techniques which can overfeed the fish or end up spreading the feed across a wider area than is ideal, the Banjo feeder presents fish with a spoonful of micro pellets delivered with rifle-shot accuracy, even at extreme range.
Andy told IYCF: “The way the Banjo feeder casts, fishes and empties its payload in the swim means that you get the perfect presentation, every time.” With a such a grand claim we just had to check it out. Arranging to meet up with the Leicester-based Preston Innovations-backed match star at Makins Fishery, near Wolvey, Leicestershire (01455 220877), Andy spent the next few hours showing exactly why his latest invention is so brilliant and why he’s classed as one of the UK’s most innovative commercial carp anglers...
The pellet cone
Andy’s own invention, the pellet cone, is a superb tactic, but the Banjo beats it
How the Banjo came to be invented
“The Banjo feeder idea was prompted because Makins changed the rules regarding the use of pellets; you could only use the fisheries own!” recalled 43-year-old Andy. “Even though Makins pellets are good, they don’t stick together as well as the ones I normally use.
As it hits the lakebed
The tight ball of pellets presents the perfect mouthful for a winter carp
Meat treat Get shorty
Andy uses a short – 2in – hooklink of 8lb Braidcast braid or 7lb 6oz Powerline mono
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IYCF Issue 230
The 6mm punch of polony is hair rigged to a size 18 PR36 hook
Getting in line
The mainline is threaded through the feeder’s tube, terminating in a Korum Quick Change Bead to attach the hooklink
The Method
Undoubtedly a superb tactic, but carp have seen it all before and it spreads the bait much wider than is ideal when cold-water carping
As it breaks down
The shape of the feeder helps the pellets stay in a tight area with the hookbait on top
“I needed a feeder that would deliver a small amount of pellets into the swim, but they also needed to hold together in an aerodynamic package that was able to withstand a longdistance cast. “Enter the Banjo feeder!” Coming up with the idea of using a small disc with sides, similar to tiny ladle, Andy donned his white lab coat and then spent the night inventing in his garage. The following morning it was off to Lake Four at Makins to put the new kit through its paces, where he finished his cold-water session with more than 150lb of carp in the net. In the best Heath Robinson tradition, Andy combined a bit of plastic tubing, some lead sheet, the domed top from an old roll-on deodorant bottle and plenty of Araldite to create his new gadget (see sequence page 8). It’s a bizarre mixture of components that he is now using to great effect. Loaded in similar fashion to
a Method feeder, the hookbait is placed in the centre of a palmful of softened micro pellets, before being covered with more pellets. The consignment is then compressed into a dome shape using the top off the roll-on deodorant. Once in the water, the action of the pellets expanding as they take on water pushes them up and out of the feeder, just like molten lava erupting from a volcano. The advantage is that the pellets spill down the sides of the Banjo feeder, helping to mask it, while the hookbait remains dead centre among the small, tight pile of freebies. It’s the perfect mouthful for a winter carp.
On sale February 24 – March 24, 2010 IYCF
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FEATURES NEW FEEDER WITH ANDY FINDLAY Continued
How to make a Banjo feeder
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You need a pole top kit storage tube, Araldite, stiff 3mm tube, lead sheet, a pencil and hacksaw
Start by cutting a half-inch section off the top-three storage tube
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Now, using a 3mm bit, drill a pair of holes through the tube close to one edge
Run the drill through a few times to remove any sharp edges. Be careful not to split the tube
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Now, place the tube on a piece of flat lead and draw a circle around the inside
A piece of lead sheeting about 2mm to 3mm in thickness is ideal for this purpose
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Using a beefy pair of scissors, carefully cut the disc of lead from the lead sheet
Place the disc inside the plastic disc. It should be a snug fit
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Thread the length of stiff 3mm tube through the drilled holes, just above the lead disc
Using Araldite, fill the inside of the feeder halfway up the side of the tube and leave it to dry
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IYCF Issue 230
Why the Banjo is so much better
Although highly unorthodox, Andy’s Banjo feeder has a number of distinct advantages in cold water over other more traditional tactics like the Method, PVA and even the pellet cone – the tactic Andy invented a couple of years ago. The trouble with Andy’s own pellet device is that a cone of compressed pellets is threaded on to the hooklink, with the hookbait sitting at the base of the cone. Once the cone breaks down, the hookbait ends up sitting at the edge of the pool of pellets and not in the centre – where Andy needs it to be in winter. With flatbed Method feeders, the hookbait always ends up in the centre of the free offerings. But, as flatbed Method feeders
don’t have sides, the micro pellets spill off the feeder producing an area of feed which Andy considers too large for winter fishing. The way that the pellets break down also generally leaves the ribs of the feeder slightly exposed, and even though the hookbait is sitting pretty in the middle, the exposed ribs can spook browsing winter carp. Another tactic popular with match anglers is PVA. Commonly known as ‘tea-bagging’ because the small bags of pellet resemble tea bags, Andy still reckons his Banjo feeder will outfish even this tactic, too. “The problem is that teabagging uses a bomb combined with a short hooklink,” Andy explained. “This produces two splashes on the cast. It’s a small detail, but on tough days it can make
Not so common
Double-figure carp like this one are a rarity on Makins, but Andy’s new feeder tricked this wily old warrior
How Andy prepares his feed pellets
a difference. Plus, having two items, a bomb and a PVA bag attached to the hook, doesn’t give as good a presentation as the compact Banjo feeder. “A further disadvantage with PVA is that apart from the extra cost of buying it, it may take a very long time to melt in very cold water; sometimes it may not melt properly at all.” The final tactic that Andy thinks his Banjo feeder improves on is the pellet feeder. “With a pellet feeder you can bury the hookbait inside the feeder, but once on the deck it doesn’t empty as effectively as the Banjo feeder, giving an inferior presentation. “There’s also the awkward fact that there’s a big feeder sat right next to the hookbait! “The way the Banjo feeder is loaded with the hookbait in the middle, the way it deposits the
pellets by forcing them to erupt out of the hopper, covering the feeder and leaving the hookbait sitting pretty dead centre, offers the fish the perfect presentation every time,” confirmed Andy.
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Start by emptying half a bag of 2mm micro carp pellets into a bait tub
Cover the pellets with plenty of lake water
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Leave the pellets to soak using this formula: 1mm pellets for 1 minute, 2mm for 2 minutes, etc
After soaking for the correct length of time, pour off the water through a riddle or net
The beauty of pellets
Even though Andy always uses micro pellets, you can use groundbait in a Banjo feeder just as effectively. However, Andy’s preference is always for pellets, because he says they help hold the fish in the area for longer. The trouble with groundbait is that when you reel in, you’re only leaving a bit of crumb and some smell in the swim. With pellets, every time you wind in, you’re leaving a few pellets in the swim. As long as you cast accurately, the swim will get stronger as the session
5 Transfer the fully drained pellets into a bait tub and leave to soften for a further five minutes
On sale February 24 – March 24, 2010 IYCF
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FEATURES NEW FEEDER WITH ANDY FINDLAY Continued introducing a little more bait with every cast. “Pellets don’t have a great deal of smell, but they sit static on the lakebed until a fish comes along and eats them,” said the Leicester bagging machine. “Groundbait only attracts, there is nothing substantial for the fish to feed on. Pellets will hold the fish for hours as they rip up the bottom looking for them. These fish are raised on pellets so they regard them as a perfectly natural bait.” The other advantage of pellets is that they are easier to prepare than groundbait taking only a few minutes on the bank, rather than having to mix them up the night before like you would for a correctly prepared Method mix. The type of pellet Andy uses is also important. He will always use a carp pellet rather than a heavy-oil halibut pellet. “Carp pellets are much easier and quicker to prepare than halibut pellets,” he added. “With 2mm halibut pellets it
Note perfect
Andy skillfully guides yet another carp towards his waiting landing net courtesy of the Banjo
How to hook polony
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Using a 6mm meat punch, cut out a pellet of meat from a slice of polony
Using a Preston Quickstop insert the Quickstop’s baiting needle into the stop itself
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Carefully push the Quickstop through the side of the punched pellet of meat
Push the stop right through, being careful not to rip or tear the pellet of meat
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Gently withdraw the needle and then turn the stop through 90 degrees to fix the hookbait in place
IYCF Issue 230
could take around 30 minutes to make them damp enough to load around the feeder correctly and, even then, they may not stick together all that well. “With 2mm carp pellets, this is cut to around six minutes.” Andy has found that to make a dampened pellet, ideal for using with the Banjo feeder, you should fully immerse the pellets in water for the same number of minutes corresponding to their size. For example, he soaks 1mm pellets for one minute, 2mm for two minutes and 4mm pellets for four minutes. The water is then poured off and the pellets are allowed to sit in a bait tub for a further five minutes.
Tuning the Banjo
Kit wise, Andy’s quivertip set-up is fairly standard apart from a couple of details. Firstly, he uses 6lb Korum mainline, with the last two foot
doubled up near the feeder to act as a shock leader. The quivertip is also very light, being only three-quarters of an ounce. “This is so that if I get any line bites the tip will twitch first, instead of the feeder moving,” Andy explained. “With a stiffer tip, a line bite would move the feeder rather than the tip, completely ruining the perfect presentation that I’m trying to achieve.” Another important detail is that Andy uses a short – two to three-inch – braid hooklink, as it is much more supple than nylon and folds into the feeder much better. The stiffness of nylon can make the hooklink stand out in a loop. The problem is that many fisheries ban braid hooklinks, but where allowed he will always use braid. The hooklinks he uses are either 8lb (0.08mm) Preston Innovations Braidcast braid or
“The pace quickened as the session progressed. After only four hours Andy had netted 50lb of fighting-fit winter carp”
How to load the Banjo feeder
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Start by baiting the hooklink with either a barrel of meat or a 6mm Sonubaits S Pellet
Next, slightly overfill the Banjo feeder’s hopper with softened 2mm micro pellets
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0.19mm (7lb 6oz) Powerline mono, with a size 18 PR36 hook.
Strike up the band
With sporadic bouts of sleety rain and a brisk north-easterly wind, the day wasn’t pleasant, but Andy had great confidence in his new gadget. The first fish came within 15 minutes of the first cast, as a great-looking fully plated mirror of around 5lb opened Andy’s account. The pellet of polony proved too much to resist. “This is a typical winter feeding pattern for you,” Andy said. “I usually cast after every fish or every 20 minutes, depending which comes first. Ideally, if things are really hard, you’ll be looking to make around three or four casts an hour, but hopefully the tip will have gone round by that time.” Plugging away with the Banjo feeder, Andy cast 30 yards into open water with pinpoint
accuracy. He achieved this by aiming at a permanent far-bank marker, in this instance a tree, and having his mainline clipped up on the spool. Even though things started slowly, the pace quickened as the session progressed. After only four hours on the bank, Andy had netted well over 50lb of fit-fighting winter carp, including one fish well over 10lb. All the fish had taken polony hookbait and Andy didn’t need his S Pellets change bait. From the deep recesses of Andy’s sharp angling brain, to the work bench and then the fishery, the Banjo feeder had more than proved its worth and effectiveness. Not only is Andy a thoroughly nice chap, but he is also a fabulous angler with a head full of superb fishing ideas. It’s difficult to hate people, especially those as nice as Andy, but you can see why some are so envious of his skills. IYCF
Using your thumb, tightly squeeze the pellets into the hopper of the feeder
Andy then carefully places the baited hook in the centre of the loaded feeder’s hopper
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Fill the roll-on deodorant cap with more of the softened 2mm micro pellets
Place the cap on top of the feeder and firmly squeeze the two parts together
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Don’t pull the cap straight off the feeder as this will dislodge the loaded pellets
Instead, roll the cap off the formed dome of pellets so the loaded feeder keeps its shape
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The finished product is a tightly loaded, aerodynamic ball of pellets which will cast straight and true giving the perfect presentation
On sale February 24 – March 24, 2010 IYCF
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