How to fish with a feeder

A feeder is a piece of tackle that allows you to slowly feed out particle baits that break up over time. The idea is to draw in fish to your rig where they can then be caught on your hook.

Feeders are most commonly used in Europe and Asia. Recently more anglers have started using them in North America too. Feeders are normally used when still fishing for species like carp and catfish.

Many kinds of feeders have been created for fishing over the years. We carry two kinds of feeders at Angler's Emporium: the in-line feeder and the Asian carp feeder rig. In our experience these are two of the most effective and versatile feeders available.

Feeders allow you to cover a lot more water than most other still fishing rigs. In this guide we will tell you how to use feeders and improve your fishing.

Feeder fishing basics

You can think of feeders like a holder for extra bait. If you are fishing with a single corn there is only one piece of food out there for fish to find. You have to get your bait into the right place at the right time for it to work.

If you use a feeder with your corn, you can create a cloud of small bait particles that can draw in fish from all around to investigate. This exposes your hook bait to more fish.

Various baits can be used with a feeder. Normally anglers use a dough, pack, or particle bait that will break up in the water. These baits can be purchased or you can make your own. Typical ingredients include things like bread crumbs, bird seed and pieces of corn. Anything that breaks up in the water and attracts fish can work.

How to fish with a feeder

There are a lot of different feeders. We sell in-line feeders and feeder rigs. In-line feeders work like slide sinkers. You insert your line through the tube in the middle of the feeder and out the other side. The feeder then slides freely on your line.

In-line feeders can be used as a replacement for a sinker or in unison with other weight. Some will also forgo the feeder completely and simply ball up some sort of dough bait around their sinker in a tight ball. The ball of bait will break up in the water and attract fish. While this can definitely be done, we prefer using a feeder that is made for this sort of fishing. It holds the bait better than a bare sinker.

You still need some sort of hook bait when using an in-line feeder. We like putting things like boilies and flavored corn on our hook when we've got an in-line feeder on our line. This is excellent for both carp and catfish.

Feeder rigs are more like end tackle. You attach the feeder rig to the end of your line. Bait inside the feeder breaks up and brings in fish. Bait or pieces of artificial corn on the hooks are sucked up by the fish while they feed.

This is how our Asian carp feeder rigs work. Asian carp, silver carp and bighead carp are all filter feeders. They sift small particles of food out of the water. Because of this some thing they cannot be caught on hook and line. The truth is that these fish can be caught if you use a feeder rig.

To catch Asian carp with a feeder rig, first mix up some of our Asian carp bait with water (1 part bait to 1 part water). Next, fill our Asian carp feeder rig with that bait. Then put something like maggots or corn on the hooks. The bait will disperse into the water and draw in Asian carp. The fish go into feeding mode and start snapping up all the food particles they can find. That should include the bait on your feeder rig's hooks!