How To Fish The Baggin Waggler, By Malc Doyle Options

[NEO]

THE BAGGIN WAGGLER
MY WAY

Most "new" styles of fishing are born out of another style, due to someone somewhere being able to adjust what they already have a step further to produce more fish on the bank.


And one such item is the Baggin Waggler which was a combined further step from the Giant Waggler fished shallow by firing balls of groundbait at it, and The Method Feeder with a ball of groundbait wrapped around it.

The obvious progression was a method ball fished shallow.
Enter The Baggin Waggler.

The first time I saw The Baggin Waggler used it was as crude as it was inefficient made up by a pike float with a standard emstat frame feeder fixed to the bottom.
The early one's looked bad and fished very much the same way (and many people still buy them these days and wonder why they don't work very well).


They were & are not aerodynamic and suffer from major in flight wobble and people loaded to much groundbait on them in the false belief that the heavier & bigger the ball of groundbait the further they would travel.


There are many different types, sizes and shapes of Baggin Wagglers available these days with the best ones being slim cigar shaped with either a small cage feeder or small metal frame at the base.

SOME OF THE BETTER SHAPE AND STYLE OF BAGGIN WAGGS

Well that's enough waffle I'll get on and let you know what I use and how I fish the Baggin Waggler.

Over the past 5 or 6 years I've fished The Baggin Wagg with a variety of tackle and loads of different groundbait mixes and by reading the following you'll find out every thing I've now settled with and feel 100% confident in how it works.

RODS

I've used various rods ranging from a Heavy Feeder to 2½lb test Carp Rods and finally settled on a 12ft 2 piece Tony Fordham Barbel rod with a 1.75lb test as it is powerful enough to hit 80yds+ with accuracy, has the power to bring double figure fish to the net but is also soft enough to absorb any lunges the fish make when under the rod tip without hook pulls.

PHOTO OF 1.75lb TONY FORDHAM BARBEL ROD & 5010 REEL

REELS

Personally I use a Shimano 5010 Baitrunner which although is a fairly small reel by today's standards suits me perfectly as I have small hands and it balances with the rod I use.

LINE

Mainline

Line as with a lot of things in fishing is 100% personal choice as everyone has their own favourite.
The main things I look for in a main line for the job is will it stand up to the constant casting and will it float easy as well as being strong enough to absorb the initial take.
For The Baggin Wagg I have stuck with 2 Brands and 2 breaking strains depending on the average size of the fish and distance needed to cast.

On waters such as Drayton Res where the average on The Baggin Wagg is 10lb I use 17lb Red Wolf (which is a cheap brand) but is very strong and quite a low diameter which aids with the distance needed.
On waters with a smaller average size of fish I use 10lb maxima (which everyone knows) and needs no more explanation.


This year I will be experimenting with Berkley Big Game in 10lb breaking strain to see if I get on with it and if it suits me.


Hook lengths

All my hook lengths are made with maxima in breaking strains from 8lb to 15lb depending on the water, and will vary from 2ft to 6ft.

GROUNDBAIT

Now this is where most people fall down and make their biggest mistake as to fish the Baggin Wagg properly you need a fluffy but firm mix that can be squeezed on the feeder and cast the distance required but breakaway from the feeder within 10 to 20 seconds.

Over the years I've used just about every thing that you could think of (and some you wouldn't) but I finally settled on a mix as follows:
2 Parts Green Swimstim
2 Part Halibut Marine
1 Part Brown Crumb
Small amount of Dry Roasted Crushed Hemp.

Another very good mix is 50/50 Ringers Bag Up and Brown Crumb

The best way to mix the groundbait is to mix it the night before as it will soak up a lot of water I also tend to riddle it at least 3 times but don't add the crushed hemp till I'm on the bank.


For a 5 hour match I will make the above mix with 3 bags each of the first 2 groundbaits and 1½ bags of crumb, the hemp amounts to just a little over 1 handful.


I don't normally add any thing else to my mix as I want the only edible piece of food to be my hook bait.

PHOTO OF MY GROUNDBAIT

And that's it really for the gear I use, so now I'll cover how I actually set it up and fish with it.

There are several ways in which you can attach a Baggin Wagg to your main line and in my opinion a lot of the ways used should not as they are not safe in the event of a crack off.


The way I fix them to the mainline is via a Giant Waggler attachment as pictured below (I know Sensas and Stonfo make the ones I use).

WAGGLER ATTACHMENT I USE

You thread the main line through one piece of rubber then pass it through a hole in the brass base then thread the second rubber onto the line.
I twist the main line around the metal rod before slipping the rubber over the rod as this helps to keep the attachment in position as a lot of force is applied to the attachment whilst casting.



To the end of the mainline I tie a barrel swivel with a snap link on the other end to which I fix my hook length. I do it this way as during the course of a session I will keep changing hook lengths which are different lengths and also with different baits.


Hooks again are a very personal thing but need to be strong as they come under a lot of pressure.
I use Kamasan Animals, Drennen Starpoints, Raptors & Mustad Method Feeder Hooks tied with either a hair rig for Pellets, Meat and Corn or a bayonet for Boilies.

PHOTO OF THE FINAL SET UP

Now onto the actual fishing.


The whole idea of the Baggin Wagg is to keep a cloud in the water and to do this you need to cast constantly and be 100% accurate.
Fish are also drawn to the constant splash as the Baggin Wagg hits the water and rings the dinner bell.


On some waters it is an instant tactic which will produce fish from the word go but at most waters it can take an hour or more for the first bite.


Before I start I make a couple of casts to get the right distance then I clip up so I know I will be fishing the same spot all the time.


Once I have made my cast just as the Baggin Wagg is about to hit the water I pull my rod 45deg to my side which allows me to get a couple of turns on the reel (thanks to Steve Ringer for showing me that years ago).


As soon as it has hit the water I count to 25 then give 1 turn of the reel or pull the rod 45deg to my side just as a twitch then wind in and repeat the whole process.


At the beginning I sometimes watch the Wagg but you don't need to as 99% of fish hook themselves and the first you know about it is your rod is wrenched from your grip, so DON'T put your rod down.


That's pretty much it really so give it a go and see what fun it can be even though it can be very tiring to fish properly as you can be casting about 50 times an hour.

Hope the above helps someone.