Fishing the Punch
Preparing the punch;- Take about 3 slices of bread & Microwave them on full power for 10 seconds. Roll them flat on a hard surface and put them in a plastic bag & into the fridge.
Preparing the liquidised bread;- Remove the crust from about 15 slices and put them through a liquidiser, then run the bread through a pinkie riddle. Put the remainder back through the liquidiser and riddle again, discard any remaining lumps. Put the contents into a plastic bag and into the fridge. If you want a finer product freeze for about 8 hours and put the frozen crumb through the liquidiser. After a session you can re-freeze for the next time.
Rigs;- 3x10 or 3x12 floats are fine, a too heavy rig will not register the bites correctly. Balance the line against the size of fish present. 0.8mm is usually correct for most situations. A wide gape hook is preferred in 20 or 22 pattern.
Where to feed;- Some say you should fish the deepest part of the swim, this can cause difficulty with spreading the feed especially if there is a good depth and flow. Others say look for 3ft of depth coming up the far slope. In this case you are fishing on the slope and feed can roll down the slope.
Plumbing the depth;- Wherever you decide to start plumbing is critical. For accuracy, plumb the depth with the pole pointing at something on the far bank checking where your hand is holding the pole. In this way you will accurately feed. It pays to plumb several swims in case your chosen swim dies. Another accuracy tip is to mark the depth setting on your pole, this way you can always return to the original depth. Keep an eye on changing depths, canals do rise and fall so be aware. Most fish the punch just off the bottom.
Feeding;- Using a pole pot feed a ball of punch the size of a ping pong ball, squeeze it gently just enough to hold together. If you are fishing up the slope squeeze the punch into a disc to stop it rolling down the slope. Start with a 3mm pellet of bread, you should have a bite within 5 minutes. If you get a Roach feed again however, if a skimmer shows only re-feed after a quiet 5 minutes. Summarising with Roach feed after every sixth fish, with skimmers feed after a quiet 5 minutes. Throughout the session it pays to experiment with different sizes of punch. If the line goes quiet switch to another swim but do not feed a different bait because the original swim may come alive again after a rest.
