Mushroom Float Fishing

They’ve sprouted up seemingly out of nowhere. Their fans reckon they’re magic, and often absolutely deadly! And if you fish up in the water at long range for carp, you’ll want to pick some straight away. We’re talking Mushrooms. Magic Mushrooms.

Mushrooms!

On deep irrigation reservoirs which comprise many of the larger match carp waters in the Fenland region, a quiet revolution has been taking place.

‘Mushies’ are on the march – and judging by impressive weights taken by anglers involved in their development and trials, these odd-looking floats will be coming soon to a water near you.

Falling somewhere between a standard large pellet waggler and a Splasher, their name comes from the distinctive domed top which resembles – in shape if not colour – a mushroom.

Their creator, veteran floatmaker Ray Sladden of Premier Floats, invited Fishing4fun to come and see why he is so excited about his ‘Magic Mushies’, which he reckons have already boosted winning match weights by more than double at some venues.

A Family Affair

First stop was Premier Floats’ HQ in Doddington, near March, where Ray’s eldest son, Mick, greeted me and ushered me inside the premises where, unsurprisingly, the corridors and rooms were lined with shelves and shelves of different floats.

Premier is a true family firm. Ray’s wife, Eileen, fixed up a cuppa while 44 year-old Mick introduced me to his brother Tony, 41, and explained a bit about the company’s background and ‘value-first’ philosophy. As well as Premier-branded floats, they undertake several contract orders for others and are always willing to try something specific to a regional requirement.

Such an arrangement with Hereford tackle dealer ‘Woody’ Woodward led to the Woody’s range of big running water floats which are hot favourites on the River Wye. “We also sponsor Woody’s team – Premier Team Woody’s. He’s a great guy and just about everyone who visits the Wye knows him and has benefited from his advice,” said Mick.

Cups drained, we hit the road for the short drive to Fields End Waters where Ray was already tackled up beside the larger of the two lakes and launching out a Mushroom rig some 40 metres towards the middle. At the next peg, rising star Alex Bates, 18, from March, was doing likewise.

The sun was shining, carp were crashing out, catapults were firing and hard pellets landing with a noisy patter around the distant float tips. A typical pellet waggler scenario, surely – so what’s the big difference with The Mushie?

The mushrooms feature a domed top, which often causes fish to hook themselves against the extra resistance that this causes

“You’ve hit the nail on the head with that question,” said Ray. “You could cast a big pellet waggler this sort of range – but you’d miss far too many bites by having to strike at them. With a Mushie, the fish hook themselves against the extra resistance created by the big domed top.

“We typically fish between a foot and three foot deep over more than 20 foot of water out there, and lots of bites come almost instantly after casting, while you’ve still got the catapult in your hands. The Mushie buys you extra time, as you simply set the rod to the side on a rest and wait until the tip goes round like fishing a Method feeder, then pick it up and play the fish,” he explained.

Although the same can be said for the long established Splashers and Baggin’ Wagglers, Ray’s invention has a crucial advantage over both types. Some venues limit or ban groundbait – even in the form of scalded pellets, ruling out both.

Furthermore, Mushies don’t dive anywhere near as deep upon splashdown, meaning that you are fishing effectively immediately.

Tackle For The Job

Over the next hour, both Ray and Alex commented that the Fields End carp weren’t in their usual ravenous feeding mode. That said, both landed several in the 4-8lb class as I set about bagging the usual clutch of photos whilst noting down the technique’s

Tackle-wise, both anglers used 13ft power-type match rods – Ray a Maver Reactorlite, Alex a Ron Thompson G Force, coupled with 4000-size reels (Ray’s an MAP, Alex’s a Shimano) and no-nonsense 6lb Maxima or Daiwa Sensor mono. Braid is banned on here, though both would use mono by choice due to its extra stretch factor which they feel prevents hook pulls when a hefty carp goes ballistic under the rod tip.

The Mushroom floats themselves come in four sizes, of which both were using the biggest. An integral brass base loading makes them self-cocking.

Although a loop can be used where rules permit, both prefer the flexibility of a Preston Innovations Waggler Adaptor for attachment to the line. It’s far quicker to change depth with this device, featuring a central hard plastic peg with a link swivel, plus twin softer plastic tapered sleeves to fix it securely.

A ten inch hook length with a strong eyed hook knotless knotted to create the hair loop completes the rig, figure of eight looped onto the main line.

Alex favours Kamasan B911 barbless in sizes 12-16, depending on the size of pellet used on the hair, tied to 0.20mm (7.9lb) WB Clarke Match Team line. He keeps several spare hook lengths on pole winder on his side tray to enable rapid changes.

Bait And Feed

Bait-wise, drilled hard pellets are favoured in either 8 or 12mm sizes. Ray has enjoyed success with the pre-drilled Mosella Strawberry Halibut pellets amongst others, though he still likes to give the hole an extra turn or two with a hand-held bait drill.

Mark One Sensas-grouped Alex favours his sponsor’s Marine Halibut pellets plus a similar but paler brown alternative. “Some days the fish show a definite preference for one or the other,” he noted.

Although their floats were sometimes less than five metres apart, Alex’s catch rate was certainly the faster. I watched hard for the next half-hour to determine whether feed pattern was the edge here, though Ray had a simpler theory. “I’ve put him on the best peg today,” he laughed.

Alex was pinging out around eight to ten 8mm Marine Halis several times each cast, whereas Ray was using 12mm versions with a similar feed frequency. Sometimes just three or four pellets at a time is a better feed pattern – but both men have stacked up plenty of big weights in match conditions so perhaps it really does just boil down to the right bait on the right peg on the right day?

Whatever the case, it was clear to see that there’s far more to this Mushie malarky than simply launching it out, setting the rod then feeding.

Speed is always of the essence in matches, particularly evening ‘sprints’, and both men retrieved their floats by sinking their rod tips to bring them back sub-surface rather than bouncing them across the surface. This is not so much to avoid noise as to avoid putting excess strain on the reel line and rig – the carp do enough of that already!

It should go without saying that several decent match catapults with well conditioned latex are essential riders for a session like this. Break your only ‘pult and you’d be knackered! Hard mesh pouches that keep a fixed shape ensure feed pellets remain tightly grouped.

Bridging The Age Gap

One of the great things about commercial fisheries is that the easy access and relatively low tackle requirements have encouraged older anglers to remain within competitive angling.

Ray prepares to launch his mushroom to the horizon

Ray, aged 70, only got back into match fishing this year after a lengthy lay-off which saw him take up golf . Indeed, his clobber today looked more suited to the 19th hole than a fishery – but he’s still a force to be reckoned with in every sense.

Originally from North London, he moved to the Fens shortly after getting married and commenced his long-running float making business, whilst competing in the massive matches of yesteryear.

“I reckon I was making floats before Peter Drennan – a real gentleman who never releases a bad product. I fished against the likes of Ivan Marks, Fred Foster and Percy Anderson – and occasionally won. But witnessing some sharp practise made me disillusioned with the match scene and I gave it up some 30 years ago,” recalled Ray.

“I’ve always been competitive though, and I stayed in touch through the business and through pleasure fishing, so when I made my comeback I was quickly in the swing of it. I’ve won plenty this year and beaten some good rods off the next peg along the way, and also been beaten by others. That Lee Thornton is a class act,” he added.,

At the other end of the age scale, Alex Bates is also on a steep learning curve and loving every minute…well, almost!

Alex bends in to a mushie caught carp

Alex hit the headlines in unfortunate circumstances when a mis-estimate of his total weight cost him a coveted place in the 2007 Fish‘O’Mania final. Too many fish in one his nets at Barford Lakes, where he’d caught more than 120 illustrious rivals, will be a hard tag to shake. But he’s already put it behind him and thinks only of the future.

“I’d love to get a job where I can combine work and fishing. My goal is to fish for England: I’ve fished the last two England Youth trials and will keep on trying,” vowed Alex, who currently works in his local Mill View Tackle shop.

This boy is certainly talented. Some eight years ago I predicted Lewis Murawski, another Fen prodigy, would cut the ice at top level. Were I a football agent, I’d have dined out for months on that call!

Shortly after Lew’s World Youth Championship Gold, I clocked Alex for the first time when he won my local Cambridge FPAS junior tournament at a ridiculously early age with skimmers on the pole from a sluggish, stale summer Cam.

Driven in part by the ceaseless encouragement of his uncle, Sid Starr, the boy is now a strong young man whose talent and attention to details still shine through. So I’ll stick my neck out and predict an England Youth cap for Alex in 2008 or 2009…

It’s Fun, Guys!

Our five hour Mushroom demo session ended with Alex on 27 carp for around 120lb and Ray with 14 (plus a stray tench!) for well over 60lb. That included a break for a fish and chips lunch delivered by Mick, plus photos and the obligatory ‘let me have a go’!

Climbing onto Alex’s tackle box while he answered the call of nature, I had four carp in the first five casts and it all seemed so easy. But bites abruptly ceased, and after a further 25 minutes with only one foul-hooked escapee I stepped aside, suitably humbled.

Alex’s return to his throne produced two immediate fish, although he then suffered a mini-drought of 15 minutes. It might have been coincidence, but I don’t think so.

Earlier, Alex had shown me how he marks his reel line with a white chinagraph-style Sensas pencil at his chosen distance.

Alex marks his line with a chinagraph pencil meaning he can recast to the same place without having to use his line clip

Line clipping is obviously out due to the risk of bust-offs on the take from these chunky fish.

I’d paid no heed to this distance marker whilst fishing, there simply didn’t seem to be time! But I’m sure that after the early burst of fish my distance, direction and probably feeding went to pot. Attention to details like this are what sets the top guys apart.

As I headed home I thought about what other conclusions could be drawn from an enjoyable day – one of summer’s warmest, but with a welcome breeze which never seemed to blow from the same direction for more than 20 minutes.

First and foremost, the Mushroom is a fun method. It’s also an extremely effective one in terms of bites to hooked fish, though it’s sure to find out any weak spots in your tackle.

Any drawbacks? Well, rather than power match rods, it struck me that the likes of a 12ft barbel rod in the 1.25-1.75lb test curve range may be a better bet for landing fish faster.

And as befell both anglers today, those float adaptors are prone to occasional splitting, which isn’t ideal when using floats selling for £2.49 a piece.

Alex displays his net for the camera

That last observation is not a pop at Preston Innovations, whose adaptors are after all the market leaders and favoured by most anglers who use The Mushie and other big pellet wags. When you consider that something like 120 casts and retrieves – many with fish attached on a tight, straining line – are made in the course of a five hour session, you can understand the kind of stresses an adaptor is subjected to. But the challenge to all manufacturers is to come up with something equally quick and easy to use, yet even stronger.

On deep irrigation reservoirs which comprise many of the larger match carp waters in the Fenland region, a quiet revolution has been taking place.

‘Mushies’ are on the march – and judging by impressive weights taken by anglers involved in their development and trials, these odd-looking floats will be coming soon to a water near you. Report and pictures: Tom Legge

Falling somewhere between a standard large pellet waggler and a Splasher, their name comes from the distinctive domed top which resembles – in shape if not colour – a mushroom.

Their creator, veteran floatmaker Ray Sladden of Premier Floats, invited Fishing4fun to come and see why he is so excited about his ‘Magic Mushies’, which he reckons have already boosted winning match weights by more than double at some venues.

A Family Affair

First stop was Premier Floats’ HQ in Doddington, near March, where Ray’s eldest son, Mick, greeted me and ushered me inside the premises where, unsurprisingly, the corridors and rooms were lined with shelves and shelves of different floats.

Premier is a true family firm. Ray’s wife, Eileen, fixed up a cuppa while 44 year-old Mick introduced me to his brother Tony, 41, and explained a bit about the company’s background and ‘value-first’ philosophy. As well as Premier-branded floats, they undertake several contract orders for others and are always willing to try something specific to a regional requirement.

Such an arrangement with Hereford tackle dealer ‘Woody’ Woodward led to the Woody’s range of big running water floats which are hot favourites on the River Wye. “We also sponsor Woody’s team – Premier Team Woody’s. He’s a great guy and just about everyone who visits the Wye knows him and has benefited from his advice,” said Mick.

Cups drained, we hit the road for the short drive to Fields End Waters where Ray was already tackled up beside the larger of the two lakes and launching out a Mushroom rig some 40 metres towards the middle. At the next peg, rising star Alex Bates, 18, from March, was doing likewise.

The sun was shining, carp were crashing out, catapults were firing and hard pellets landing with a noisy patter around the distant float tips. A typical pellet waggler scenario, surely – so what’s the big difference with The Mushie?

The mushrooms feature a domed top, which often causes fish to hook themselves against the extra resistance that this causes

“You’ve hit the nail on the head with that question,” said Ray. “You could cast a big pellet waggler this sort of range – but you’d miss far too many bites by having to strike at them. With a Mushie, the fish hook themselves against the extra resistance created by the big domed top.

“We typically fish between a foot and three foot deep over more than 20 foot of water out there, and lots of bites come almost instantly after casting, while you’ve still got the catapult in your hands. The Mushie buys you extra time, as you simply set the rod to the side on a rest and wait until the tip goes round like fishing a Method feeder, then pick it up and play the fish,” he explained.

Although the same can be said for the long established Splashers and Baggin’ Wagglers, Ray’s invention has a crucial advantage over both types. Some venues limit or ban groundbait – even in the form of scalded pellets, ruling out both.

Furthermore, Mushies don’t dive anywhere near as deep upon splashdown, meaning that you are fishing effectively immediately.

Tackle For The Job

Over the next hour, both Ray and Alex commented that the Fields End carp weren’t in their usual ravenous feeding mode. That said, both landed several in the 4-8lb class as I set about bagging the usual clutch of photos whilst noting down the technique’s finer points.

Tackle-wise, both anglers used 13ft power-type match rods – Ray a Maver Reactorlite, Alex a Ron Thompson G Force, coupled with 4000-size reels (Ray’s an MAP, Alex’s a Shimano) and no-nonsense 6lb Maxima or Daiwa Sensor mono. Braid is banned on here, though both would use mono by choice due to its extra stretch factor which they feel prevents hook pulls when a hefty carp goes ballistic under the rod tip.

The Mushroom floats themselves come in four sizes, of which both were using the biggest. An integral brass base loading makes them self-cocking.

Although a loop can be used where rules permit, both prefer the flexibility of a Preston Innovations Waggler Adaptor for attachment to the line. It’s far quicker to change depth with this device, featuring a central hard plastic peg with a link swivel, plus twin softer plastic tapered sleeves to fix it securely.

A ten inch hook length with a strong eyed hook knotless knotted to create the hair loop completes the rig, figure of eight looped onto the main line.

Alex favours Kamasan B911 barbless in sizes 12-16, depending on the size of pellet used on the hair, tied to 0.20mm (7.9lb) WB Clarke Match Team line. He keeps several spare hook lengths on pole winder on his side tray to enable rapid changes.

Bait And Feed

Bait-wise, drilled hard pellets are favoured in either 8 or 12mm sizes. Ray has enjoyed success with the pre-drilled Mosella Strawberry Halibut pellets amongst others, though he still likes to give the hole an extra turn or two with a hand-held bait drill.

Mark One Sensas-grouped Alex favours his sponsor’s Marine Halibut pellets plus a similar but paler brown alternative. “Some days the fish show a definite preference for one or the other,” he noted.

Although their floats were sometimes less than five metres apart, Alex’s catch rate was certainly the faster. I watched hard for the next half-hour to determine whether feed pattern was the edge here, though Ray had a simpler theory. “I’ve put him on the best peg today,” he laughed.

Alex was pinging out around eight to ten 8mm Marine Halis several times each cast, whereas Ray was using 12mm versions with a similar feed frequency. Sometimes just three or four pellets at a time is a better feed pattern – but both men have stacked up plenty of big weights in match conditions so perhaps it really does just boil down to the right bait on the right peg on the right day?

Whatever the case, it was clear to see that there’s far more to this Mushie malarky than simply launching it out, setting the rod then feeding.

Speed is always of the essence in matches, particularly evening ‘sprints’, and both men retrieved their floats by sinking their rod tips to bring them back sub-surface rather than bouncing them across the surface. This is not so much to avoid noise as to avoid putting excess strain on the reel line and rig – the carp do enough of that already!

It should go without saying that several decent match catapults with well conditioned latex are essential riders for a session like this. Break your only ‘pult and you’d be knackered! Hard mesh pouches that keep a fixed shape ensure feed pellets remain tightly grouped.

Bridging The Age Gap

One of the great things about commercial fisheries is that the easy access and relatively low tackle requirements have encouraged older anglers to remain within competitive angling.

Ray prepares to launch his mushroom to the horizon

Ray, aged 70, only got back into match fishing this year after a lengthy lay-off which saw him take up golf . Indeed, his clobber today looked more suited to the 19th hole than a fishery – but he’s still a force to be reckoned with in every sense.

Originally from North London, he moved to the Fens shortly after getting married and commenced his long-running float making business, whilst competing in the massive matches of yesteryear.

“I reckon I was making floats before Peter Drennan – a real gentleman who never releases a bad product. I fished against the likes of Ivan Marks, Fred Foster and Percy Anderson – and occasionally won. But witnessing some sharp practise made me disillusioned with the match scene and I gave it up some 30 years ago,” recalled Ray.

“I’ve always been competitive though, and I stayed in touch through the business and through pleasure fishing, so when I made my comeback I was quickly in the swing of it. I’ve won plenty this year and beaten some good rods off the next peg along the way, and also been beaten by others. That Lee Thornton is a class act,” he added.,

At the other end of the age scale, Alex Bates is also on a steep learning curve and loving every minute…well, almost!

Alex hit the headlines in unfortunate circumstances when a mis-estimate of his total weight cost him a coveted place in the 2007 Fish‘O’Mania final. Too many fish in one his nets at Barford Lakes, where he’d caught more than 120 illustrious rivals, will be a hard tag to shake. But he’s already put it behind him and thinks only of the future.

“I’d love to get a job where I can combine work and fishing. My goal is to fish for England: I’ve fished the last two England Youth trials and will keep on trying,” vowed Alex, who currently works in his local Mill View Tackle shop.

This boy is certainly talented. Some eight years ago I predicted Lewis Murawski, another Fen prodigy, would cut the ice at top level. Were I a football agent, I’d have dined out for months on that call!

Shortly after Lew’s World Youth Championship Gold, I clocked Alex for the first time when he won my local Cambridge FPAS junior tournament at a ridiculously early age with skimmers on the pole from a sluggish, stale summer Cam.

Driven in part by the ceaseless encouragement of his uncle, Sid Starr, the boy is now a strong young man whose talent and attention to details still shine through. So I’ll stick my neck out and predict an England Youth cap for Alex in 2008 or 2009…

It’s Fun, Guys!

Our five hour Mushroom demo session ended with Alex on 27 carp for around 120lb and Ray with 14 (plus a stray tench!) for well over 60lb. That included a break for a fish and chips lunch delivered by Mick, plus photos and the obligatory ‘let me have a go’!

Climbing onto Alex’s tackle box while he answered the call of nature, I had four carp in the first five casts and it all seemed so easy. But bites abruptly ceased, and after a further 25 minutes with only one foul-hooked escapee I stepped aside, suitably humbled.

Alex’s return to his throne produced two immediate fish, although he then suffered a mini-drought of 15 minutes. It might have been coincidence, but I don’t think so.

Earlier, Alex had shown me how he marks his reel line with a white chinagraph-style Sensas pencil at his chosen distance.

Alex marks his line with a chinagraph pencil meaning he can recast to the same place without having to use his line clip

Line clipping is obviously out due to the risk of bust-offs on the take from these chunky fish.

I’d paid no heed to this distance marker whilst fishing, there simply didn’t seem to be time! But I’m sure that after the early burst of fish my distance, direction and probably feeding went to pot. Attention to details like this are what sets the top guys apart.

As I headed home I thought about what other conclusions could be drawn from an enjoyable day – one of summer’s warmest, but with a welcome breeze which never seemed to blow from the same direction for more than 20 minutes.

First and foremost, the Mushroom is a fun method. It’s also an extremely effective one in terms of bites to hooked fish, though it’s sure to find out any weak spots in your tackle.

Any drawbacks? Well, rather than power match rods, it struck me that the likes of a 12ft barbel rod in the 1.25-1.75lb test curve range may be a better bet for landing fish faster.

And as befell both anglers today, those float adaptors are prone to occasional splitting, which isn’t ideal when using floats selling for £2.49 a piece.

That last observation is not a pop at Preston Innovations, whose adaptors are after all the market leaders and favoured by most anglers who use The Mushie and other big pellet wags. When you consider that something like 120 casts and retrieves – many with fish attached on a tight, straining line – are made in the course of a five hour session, you can understand the kind of stresses an adaptor is subjected to. But the challenge to all manufacturers is to come up with something equally quick and easy to use, yet even stronger.