BAIT
Bait can fall into many categories such as natural, convenience, paste, particle and high nutritional value baits, each with varying degrees of success on any given day. Knowing which type of bait works best on an individual water can come from reading weekly or monthly magazine reports, talking to local tackle shop owners, other anglers or from personal experience. Some carp anglers however can be reluctant to pass on what they are using especially if it is doing the business and will go to great lengths to disguise exactly what type of bait it is.
During this article I will be explaining what falls into each bait category and how it is used. The pros and cons of prebaiting a swim, plus the different methods of bait delivery into a specified area.
Natural Baits: The two most common natural baits used to catch carp are the maggot and worm, both being responsible for the capture of some very big fish and large catches of carp. A natural bait should be as lively as possible so careful and correct hooking of the bait is essential. These are useful baits when trying to tempt carp that are feeding warily in clear water and seen at close range. Naturals are also very good when carp are feeding in silty areas because even if hidden from view the vibrations given off can be felt by their sensitive barbules when rooting around amongst the debris. Presented on lightly weighted float tackle can lead to explosive and exciting sport. Other natural baits that have caught carp are snails, shrimps, mussels, cockles and slugs.
Convenience Baits: As the name suggests these baits require little or no preparation before being used. In this category the most common baits used are bread, salami, cheese, luncheon meat, sausage, potato and sweetcorn. Salami, cheese and luncheon meat can be sliced and cubed to any size large or small and presented directly onto the hook or mounted on a hair. One problem with convenience bait is litter, I have seen numerous meat and sweetcorn tins discarded on the bankside. This is not only dangerous to local wildlife but is very unsightly, considering the tin when empty is a lot lighter please take it home or dispose of it in a responsible manner.
Paste Baits: This type of bait has been around for many years and still catches carp, the only problem is it attracts nuisance fish, which will undoubtedly nibble away at it constantly. Some early paste mixes used by myself consisted of luncheon meat, sausage meat, cat and dog food and tinned pilchards. Flavourings such as gravy powder, oxo cubes curry powder, marmite and honey were used, and this resulted at times with the whole kitchen smelling of whatever concoction I was making which pleased mother no end. To achieve the required consistency breadcrumb, flour, Farley's rusk and semolina were used as a binding agent. The paste was kneaded until supple enough to be moulded onto the hook, which was completely buried.
Particle Baits: Due to there size particle baits resemble much of the carp's natural food source which it finds by rooting around. A large carp would have to consume a vast amount of this type of bait before being satisfied which points in the direction of the angler's favour. Carp become preoccupied when feeding on particles, which results in a reduction of the carp's normal cautious behaviour, especially when in competition with other carp. Another benefit of this preoccupation is that it tends to hold feeding fish in the area at lot longer than would normally be expected. As the food items are so small and littered amongst the bottom debris, the bait will be sucked up with items of sediment sifted and non-food items will be expelled. This will eventually cause clouding in the area of the feeding carp which tends to attract even more fish into the baited area. A classic water fished by me with the use of particles called "Layer Pits" would produce on a good day around 30 to 40 runs with the average weight of each fish being 12lbs. Some of the most commonly used particles are hemp seed, chickpeas, maples, peanuts, tiger nuts, buckwheat, tares, sweetcorn and maize. Even though each can be successful in its own right I have found that a combination of particles mixed together produces better results. The most important element in regards to particle baits is preparation, as these baits generally come in a dried form they will absorb water and swell to twice the size. I prepare particles in the following way firstly add twice the amount of water into a bucket as bait, allow to soak for a period of 24hrs. Once soaking period is complete place particles into a saucepan or similar vessel, I use a Berco Boiler as it allows a large amount of bait to be prepared in one go. Cook until the bait is soft enough to be hooked and empty into a suitable container including the water used for cooking. Particles produce better results if allowed to ferment after cooking as all the natural oils are released this normally takes a few days. A word of caution in regards to particles some types maybe banned from the water you intend to fish, these are normally Peanuts, Red Kidney Beans and Almonds as they are potentially killers if not prepared correctly or used in large quantities.
High Nutritional Value Baits: Can be produced in either the form of paste or more commonly as a boiled bait. The main aim of high nutritional value bait is to provide as much of the carp's dietary needs as possible and with constant use get the carp to identify it as a satisfying food source. If this can be achieved the carp will actively seek out and eat the bait with very little fear and in some cases to the exclusion of other food sources. Good HNV baits were normally all home made with a great amount of secrecy surrounding them. Today there are a vast amount of ready made boilies available from numerous bait companies which have been field tested by anglers to varying degrees, these are available as either frozen or shelf life and account for a large number of carp catches each year. Boilies range from about 10mm right up to 24mm in diameter which size is used will depend on the amount of nuisance fish present, size of carp within a given water and the stocking level. Tench, bream and roach will all take boilies quite happily which can be frustrating at times especially in the early hours. Shelf life ready made boilies tend to be quite hard, frozen boilies tend to be softer and release their flavour more easily. Making your own boilies is time consuming however it provides the angler with a unique bait and if all levels are correct it can be the only bait that is producing. How to make your own boilies is a subject in its self and will be dealt with in a later issue.
Having briefly covered the types of bait now available to the carp angler which hopefully will result in a few captures the next step is how to apply the bait to increase your chances of a run. Obviously different baits will require different methods and approaches.
Prebaiting: I must admit with particles prebaiting is not entirely necessary especially if mixed as quite a few are pretty instant like sweetcorn, hemp seed etc. Prebaiting however achieves several results, it allows carp to recognise unfamiliar bait, encourages carp to feed in certain areas and to feed with a sense of security. It will not guarantee however that you catch more fish but normally it does quicken up the process and I have found that multiple catches are common. If I wish to introduce a new type of boilie a campaign is started a few weeks prior to a fishing session. The amount of bait going in will depend once again on the size and stocking density but 100 to 150 boilies every other night is not uncommon. If you are going to prebait then it is wise to ensure that no other angler can observe the area that is being baited as it is not unknown for others to move into a swim and reap the benefits of your hard work. If using a marker it should either be disguised or have the capability of being wound down out of sight. An important element when prebaiting is ensuring that you know the exact distance to the baited area and that the line is marked in some way for fishing at night. It is important that your hookbait is either amongst the groundbaited area or on the edge, a couple of yards away can result in the hookbait being missed entirely.
Delivery: Distance from the bank to the chosen area for
baiting will determine how the bait is introduced. Close in fishing by the
margins will allow the bait to be thrown in by hand, short range should be
reached easily by the use of a catapult. Medium range the bait can be
introduced via the use of a spod. For long range fishing bait is normally
introduced either by the use of a remote control bait boat, inflatable boat or
in the case of boilies a throwing stick. Normally medium to long range fishing
will require the need for some kind of marker to ensure that the bait is being
concentrated into a small area. The added advantage of using a boat is that
the terminal tackle can be towed out to the exact spot it is required, to some
this seems like cheating because the skill of casting has been removed and is
viewed as an unfair advantage. I do use a boat when necessary and I am sure it
has provided me with quite a few bonus fish in its time.