Dan Varney sampled the fine sport on offer at Barford Lakes with two of the latest rods in the Red Range family. 

Barford Lakes in Norfolk is a premier fishery with an excellent reputation for quality carp to 10lb+ and proved to be an ideal testing ground. The Red Range 10ft Method Feeder and the Red Range 10ft Pellet Waggler were unveiled earlier this week and, as with the entire Red Range family, they offer fantastic value and performance.

Dan matched up the 10ft Method Feeder with a Red Range 6-40 reel loaded with 8lb Feeder & Method Mono. A 25g In-line Method Feeder was threaded onto the line and a pre-tied size 14 Carp Feeder Method Bandits completed a simple, strong and very effective setup.

Soaked micro pellets were moulded onto the feeder before casting. These were the fishery’s own 2mm feed pellets that interestingly include some green and red pellets for extra visual attraction. The main hook bait was a banded 8mm fishery pellet.

For the 10ft Pellet Waggler, a smaller Red Range Float 6-30 reel loaded with 5lb Feeder & Method Mono was chosen. This lighter and thinner reel line really helps with casting distance and good float control but was still strong enough for catching lots of hard-fighting carp. The float itself was a 4g Loaded Pellet Waggler locked into position with a pair of rubber Float Stops. Completing the setup was a hand-tied size 14 Power Bandits hook to nylon.

Regularly loose feeding 8mm fishery pellets was the key to drawing in the carp and getting them competing up in the water. Anything from three to 10 pellets were fired in very regularly to ring the dinner bell. As it was such a sunny day the float was set around 3ft to begin with, to target the uppermost layers of the 12ft deep swim.

Dan’s strategy was to start on the bottom with the 10ft Method Feeder while regularly firing a few 8mm feed pellets over the top. This meant he was priming both the waggler and the feeder swim at the same time. He could therefore, swap between the two methods to keep in touch with the fish and maximise the peg’s potential.

Alternating between the two rods worked a treat. The Method Feeder produced some good early fish then, as the session progressed, the Pellet Waggler brought even more action. Interestingly, the fishery’s 8mm red-coloured pellets were also noticeably better on the hook than the natural brown variety.

We were kindly allowed to retain a few carp for a quick catch shot before quickly releasing them. It certainly didn’t upset the swim afterwards as Dan returned to his box and was straight back into catching mode again!

Many thanks to Barford Lakes for their kind hospitality.

Venue: Barford Lakes
Location: Chapel Street, Barford, Norwich, Norfolk
Postcode: NR9 4BJ
Telephone: 01603 759624
Website: www.barfordlakes.com