Also the berley must appeal to the target fish. These are common questions fishing readers ask me, so lets look at the answers logically. The secret to berleying is little and often. I relate good berleying akin to a good Chinese meal. It has small portions, it lasts over a long time and there are lots of courses which come at a frequent rate, and after each course you still feel hungry.
Experimentation is the answer.
In the following I will outline ways and means of berleying which you can adapt and improve on to suit your mode of fishing. I recommend, it you haven't already, that you attach a berley bucket to the transom of your boat where you can. Then with the aid of a berley chomper, deploy a steady stream of surface berley. Having a dedicated berley pot is like having a fish rubbish bin. All scrap pieces of bait, fish frames, unwanted by catch etc, can be put in the pot and munched up with the berley chomper to give out a continuous odour trail.