1


To create Ian’s Caster Cluster rig, blob an Enterprise Tackle caster with Superglue (I find the brush bottles


easiest to use). Then stick a second artificial caster to the first, trapping your hair between the two.


2


The double bait will work just perfectly but a lot of people still need the reassurance of a real bait too so add another dab of Superglue along the length of the two artificial casters and…


3


... then position a real caster in the ‘groove’ between the two artificial casters to create a group of three baits.


4


The final step is to add a second real caster to create a cluster of four; it really is the perfect presentation.


Catch quality fish with maggots and casters


Feeding really is the key to success when particle fishing on the river and over the years I’ve found it pays to bait and wait; introducing bait steadily over a long period of time before actually starting to fish. This pulls fish into your swim, gets them competing and will, eventually, build up a pre-occupation which makes it possible to not just catch one or maybe two fish, but every fish in the shoal. The addition of one or two Enterprise Tackle imitation maggots (floating) not only neutralise the


weight of the hook, but also ensure you have a hook bait which resists the attention of the bait-robbing minnows, bleak, dace and gudgeon which are so prevalent for much of the year. They are pretty bullet proof when it comes to crayfish too and my local rivers are full of the critters. Casters are notoriously fragile and to feeder fish them effectively they need to be hair-rigged and


carefully balanced. Balance is perhaps the real key as it allows the bait to behave naturally. I achieve the set up I am looking for with a relatively small hook, usually a size 12, with a combination


bait of two real casters in tandem with two Enterprise casters superglued to the hair in a rig I christened the ‘Caster Cluster’. This rig has caught me a lot of big barbel.


14


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16