ASK THE EXPERTS
Dear Iain
I have arranged a three-day trip with my two mates to the wonderful Linear Fisheries complex at the end of May. You have been to this complex numerous times, I’m sure, so could you tell me which setup and which baiting application would be best for the month of May. I am worried about travelling all the way up there only to find it hard to bank some of the beasts that lie within these superb waters.
Please help.
Ricardo Texeira (Age 16)
Hi Ricardo
You’re correct, I’ve fished all the Linear lakes an awful lot over the last five years, so I’m perfectly qualified to give you a bit of advice.
May is probably one of the best months to be out carp fishing. The carp are fully awake from their winter slumbers by this time, and, more importantly, they are extremely hungry and probably getting ready for their annual leg-over session!! All this means they are very actively seeking out as much grub as possible, which is obviously music to your ears, Ricardo.
I've found first light until around 11.00 a.m. to be the most prolific bite time at Linear
All the Linear lakes respond very well to the particle approach, by this I mean hemp, corn, and a bit of high-oil pellet thrown in for good measure. Hookbait-wise, I would go for either the good old piece of plastic corn, or a couple of trusty Mainline 10mm bottom baits. One thing for you to remember is NOT to fill it in from the off!! I’ve seen this done time and time again at Linear, and in truth, the anglers who do this really struggle to get a bite. Sure, there are times when you simply can’t fail whatever you do, but 99 times out of 100, less is more in my opinion. Start off by finding a suitable spot out in the pond, i.e. some nice smooth silt would be my first port of call, pop up your float and get your spod clipped up bang on the float itself, then make sure your rods are clipped up about a foot in front of the bait, to ensure the fish aren’t feeding over your lines. I would then introduce 12 spods of your chosen mix. I choose 12 as an easy number that you’ll always remember, then what I do if I get a fish, is simply top up with a further six spods, i.e. half of what you put out to start with.
You can either fish all three rods on the one spot, or fish two smack bang on the bait, then use the third rod for a rover. By rover, I mean fish it with a bag or a stick and simply keep recasting it every couple of hours, or if you see fish crashing or topping around the vicinity of your swim.
Head bailiff, and Martin Bowler’s stalker, Roy Parsons, is always on hand to give good, sound advice
May is also one of the best months to be fishing Zigs. Again, I’ve had loads of carp from Linear on Zigs over the years, but May rates as the most prolific month by a country mile. Depending on the weather, and what’s occurring over the bottom rods, the rover will always be started on a Zig, normally around 7ft. I don’t know what it is about Linear and 7ft, but it’s always a very good starting point for the Zigs. As for bait for the Zigs, try a very small piece of either black or yellow foam, or a similar piece of cork, and see how you get on from there. Alternatively, if you’re not a fan of artificial baits for Zigs, try a small 10mm yellow pop-up on, say, a Size 10 wide gape hook.
A lovely 28.04 ghostie from St. John’s on the Linear complex. I nailed him with the help of a 10mm Mainline bottom bait
There are literally thousands of words I could write about tactics and methods I’ve used down at Linear, but space is limited with these sorts of questions. However, the aforementioned will definitely give you a very good chance of getting amongst them at Linear in May.
The very best of luck.
Iain Macmillan 
