1. Pick the right float for the job:
Wagglers come in all shapes and sizes but all have a specific job. Try to ensure you’re using the correct waggler for the style of fishing you’re doing. Straight, clear wagglers are great for shallow fishing; insert wagers are suited to a refined shallow approach or fishing a smaller bait on the bottom. Bagging Wagglers are brilliant for introducing large amounts of bait into the swim when fish are feeding up in the water.
2. Always use a float adaptor:
Whenever I’m fishing a pellet waggler I use a float adaptor, this not only locks the loaded float in place eliminating the need for shot and enables me to alter my depth without damaging my line, but it also allows me to quickly and easily swap floats if the conditions change.
3. Choosing the right size pellets:
A big part of pellet waggler fishing is feeding and therefore feeding the correct size pellet is really important. When targeting smaller carp then I like to use 6mm pellets but when large carp are the target 8mm pellets are my first choice. One thing you must consider however is that smaller pellets are harder to feed at range so if you want to fish at a greater distance or if the conditions are poor don’t be afraid to feed bigger pellets.
4. Little and often:
As the main aim of the pellet waggler is to catch shallow then getting the fish competing for food is paramount to a good session. To do this you should look to feed small amounts of bait very regular. The pellets falling through the water should draw the fish towards the surface as they compete for the few pellets on offer.
5. Watch your hair length:
One thing I’ve learn over the years is that when presenting a hard pellet on a band the length of your hair can really alter your catch rate. I like to have my pellet nearly touching the bend of my hook and I’ve found that I hit far more bites than I did when fishing a longer hair.
6. Try the bagging waggler: There can be times when the fish are feeding beyond the range that you can accurately feed with a catapult. In these circumstances I will clip on a bagging waggler and use this to feed groundbait or pellets into my swim. You can then either continue fishing with this with a short hook length or switch back to a conventional pellet waggler to let your hook bait fall through the groundbait cloud.
7. Keep casting:
The anglers who have the most success on the waggler are those who work hard. It’s certainly not a method for the lazy angler. You need to be constantly feeding and casting so your hook bait if falling through the water with your feed. I look to cast ever 30-60 seconds.
8. Feed while holding the rod:
My final tip would be to practice feeding while holding your rod. If you have to put your rod down every time you feed you’ll not only waste a lot of time but more importantly you’ll find yourself missing a lot of bites. If you keep hold of the rod you can react instantly to any bites and in turn put more fish in your net.