Long Term Test: Preston Innovations Method Mould and Feeders - 02/07/2009

One downside of a mould was that you had to have your mix spot on for them to work correctly, or else the moulded feeder didn’t always come out intact. Preston seems to have completely eliminated this problem with the help of a nifty push-button release mechanism and it’s something I’m extremely impressed with. I first used the smallest mould (together with Preston’s excellent 1oz inline Method feeders) on the Sunday before the Dynamite Baits Festival at White Acres, and to say it was effective was an understatement. From the very first cast the tip kept banging round and it gave me complete confidence in the gadget. The next day I used the same tactics and went on to catch around 30 carp for 118lb to get my festival off to a great start!

I only had the chance to use the tactics one more time during the week, but a hard-earned section win on the last day to give me sixth overall in the festival cemented my faith in this great little gizmo. It works equally well with softened pellets as it does with groundbait and I found myself taking a leaf out of Darren Cox’s book and using a mixture of the two for much of the time. The feeders also deserve a mention and I think the little inline versions are absolutely perfect, especially with the heavier, 1oz weight. They are nice and compact and fly extremely well. One problem with some other feeders I’ve used is that the plastic rivets that join the lead weight to the frame can come apart mid-session, so Preston has done away with them completely. Instead, the lead weight is actually moulded onto the frame resulting in a much more reliable product. So far neither the feeders nor the mould have let me down and I can’t wait to start using them even more over the coming months!

• Jon Arthur