October 2021

Des' Five Banjo XR Tips

By : Des Shipp

1 – Get Your Pellets Right!

The best bait to use for feed with the Banjo XR (or Method feeder) is undoubtedly 2mm pellets. They work well year-round and the carp love them. I have a simple approach to prepare t hem and use the Pellet Wetter to get the best results:

 

Step One – Pour some lake water into the EVA bowl followed by a small glug of Bait Booster. This sticky liquid gives the pellets a nice tacky feel.

Pour bait booster into a lake filled EVA bowl

Step Two – Add half a bag of 2mm pellets into the Pellet Wetter pouch.

Pouring 2mm pellets into pouch

Step Three – Submerge the pellets into the water/Bait Booster combination. Leave them in the water for 20seconds in high summer and 60seconds in the winter.

Timing the submerged pellets

Step Four – Remove the Pellet Wetter pouch, shake off the excess water and allow to stand for one hour.

Removing the pellet wetter pouch from water

Step Five – The finished product.

The final product

2 – Use The Mould!

It is fair to say the Method mould transformed Method feeder fishing well over 15 years ago and allowed anglers to produce a consistently perfect feeder every single time.

Banjo XR mould next to pellets

The mould for the Banjo XR is just as good and creates a beautiful, streamlined feeder that casts perfectly and ensures an even breakdown of your pellets. If you like the consistency afforded to you by a mould, then give it a go!

Banjo XR mould full with pellets

3 – Try A Lighter Feeder

The most popular feeder weight is 30g and with good reason, it is a superb all-round weight that can be used for a variety of situations. But there are times when dropping to a 20g size can be fantastic.

If you are fishing in open water where there is likely to be some silt, then the 20g feeder can be better as it doesn’t dive quite so deep as a 30g or even 45g feeder does. The light feeder can also be beneficial when casting into shallower swims on calm days where fish are spooky. The 20g feeder can provide a quieter entry and provide a bit of stealth to your game.

Smashing bait mix into the Banjo XR

4 – Maggots Are Great

Wafters and Band Ums are the first-choice hook baits for most match anglers and with good reason. They are fantastic.

But on some days, fish can be wary of such a blatant hook bait and something more discreet can score well. One or two dead red maggots hooked onto a size 16 hook can be deadly, even for big carp!

Never ever go Banjo fishing without a handful of dead maggots!

Dead maggots in a bait bin

5 – Cast Short

When faced with an island, it can be tempting (and effective) to cast as tight as possible to the island. This works brilliantly in the height of summer when the fish are feeding well. But in the Autumn, Winter and Spring, the fish will often prefer to feed in slightly deeper water.

A short cast

Dropping back from the island by a few metres will get you into three or four feet of water which can be a more effective catching zone when the temperatures drop.

Des netting a big fish

Des holding up a fish he just caught

Des with a nice carp!

 

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