Top commercial match carp anglers have been trying to solve the problem of using pellets with a feeder, they needed a new feeder that delivered pellet bait like a 'dinner plate' away from the feeder. The Shotgun does just that!
14g Mini Shotgun Feeders
Two sizes 14g (pictured) and 28g
You load the soaked pellet mix into the chamber, then when on the bottom the Shotgun gradually shoots out the pellets leaving a separate non-obstructed 'dinner plate' complete with the hook bait right in the middle of the offering.
Setting up
Thread your main line through the centre of the tube and attach a swivel. Then tie a very short hooklength (3 to 6) to the other end of the swivel.
Verdict
Not since the Method feeder hit the scene have I seen anything quite so different as these Shotgun feeders from Middy.
They're a hybrid of the blockend and groundbait feeder rolled into one. They look like a blockend feeder with one open end, or a groundbait feeder with one end blocked - take your pick!
They're inline feeders with a tube running through the centre. A plastic cap, mounted on a spring, runs through the feeder. The weight, as usual, is on the side. The internal plastic cap has a flat where the weight is.
What you do is moisten some pellets - and this bit is very important to get right. I use 2mm micro pellets with the mini 14g version, 3mm or even 4mm pellets can be used with the 28g version, although ideally 2mm micros are good for both sizes. Cover your dry 2mm pellets with water and leave for about 2 minutes, then drain off the excess water and leave the pellets to soak for 10 minutes or so. By then they should be just right for use; not too soft they eject from the feeder too quickly, even on the cast, and not too stiff they stay in too long. Bigger pellets need a longer soak, work on the principle of 1 minute soaking time for each mm in diameter, ie, soak 4mm pellets for 4 minutes. Obviously there could be some variation in the pellets you use, so you will need to experiment with the soak time to get it just right.
Centre tube
Spring-loaded inner plate (pictured) and 28g
The next important step is to press the pellets in the feeder with just the right amount of pressure. Depress the spring by pulling on the plastic centre tube and fill the feeder to about Ύ full, leaving enough room to drop the hook and hookbait in. Then top up with more pellets, tamping it down enough so that they'll stay intact during the cast and during the fall through the water, but not so much that it takes too long for the feed to eject. About 15 seconds minimum and about a minute maximum I'd say is about right. Again, you'll need to experiment to get it right. Don't worry though, it's not anywhere near as difficult as it may seem.
So how does it perform in reality? Brilliantly, that's the only word for it.
I first tried it on my local club water, which is run like a commercial fishery, pretty well stocked with carp, bream, chub and roach. I was casting about 20yds to an island, clipped up so that the feeder landed 2 - 3 from the margin. At times I leaned forward a little too far and the feeder hit the grass and bounced off; another advantage of having the hook buried in the feeder, leaving nothing to snag up.
Within 20 minutes I was catching steadily and ended up with about 70lb of chub and carp in four hours. Other anglers on the lake, about a dozen of them, were struggling, most of them catching just two or three fish, and more than one blanking. Except one other that is, he came over and asked me what I was using, so I gave him the other feeder out of the pack of two, some of my pellet mix, and in no time he was getting a bite a chuck and catching well. I don't know what he ended up with as I had to leave while he was still fishing.
If you think I'm enthusiastic about this Shotgun feeder then you're dead right, I am. Although it's made in only two sizes I shall be very surprised if this isn't extended sooner or later and the feeder makes its way into the specialist world.
Here's a video of the Mini Shotgun in action:
I'm using a 4 to 5 hooklength in the video to better demonstrate how it works but I prefer one of 3 in practice.
carl pepper
