I want to lift the lid on a simple little hair-rigging secret that will help you catch more skimmers and roach - and it involves an open-end feeder with Sonubaits' S Pellets Feed Pellets and S Pellets Groundbait.

With my recent switch on the domestic team fishing front to Starlets, I spent some time at Barston Lakes in Birmingham in the build-up to the Super League Final.

One of the main methods was a 25-yard cast with an open ended feeder, to target skimmers, roach and carp. I noticed that one or two lads were getting nods and taps on the tip, but failing to connect with anything when they struck. The way round this, when roach and skimmers come into the peg, is to hair-rig your worm hook bait, and fish with a semi-bolt rig.

This is how I do it. You take the end of the main line from the rod tip, thread on a Korum Feedabead clip swivel to accommodate your bomb or feeder, then thread on a Korum quick change bead, twizzle the line and tie either a figure of eight or double overhand knot about one-and-a-half inches up from the quick change bead.

When you snip the tag end, leave about half-a-centimetre. This tag will stop the feeder from sliding all the way along the line, creating a semi-bolt effect.
What then happens is that when a roach or a skimmer picks up the hook bait, it pulls the line through the eye of the swivel to the feeder and when the tag end of the knot hits the feeder swivel, the fish bolts in panic and is hooked. You just don’t miss bites this way.

Looking at the business end, I use either a PR36 or a PR27 eyed hook, and the hair incorporates a Korum Quickstop. I insert this into the broken end of a worm, by fitting the Quickstop onto a Korum baiting needle, and I like the worm to sit just underneath the bend of the hook.

Rodwise, you need a  soft rod for this, and I favour the 12 foot Sentient Super Feeder. I use a 4lb reel line, either Korum reel line or Preston Direct Mono, and because you are hair-rigging, you can use either 0.15mm or 0.17mm Powerline, which gives you added insurance, should you hook a carp.

I’ve been using the S Pellet groundbait for a while now and because it is made from crushed carp pellets, it is spot-on for this kind of fishing. I think all fish in commercials nowadays regard fishmeal and pellets as part of their natural diet, as much as, say, bloodworm.

Why not give my little hair-rig and semi-bolt rig set-up a go. The bites are amazing and I'm sure you’ll enjoy it!