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General Bait Applications
& Tactics
Before we start on applying your chosen bait, it might be best to think
about how you choose the bait before applying it. Choosing the best bait to
use on your local lake can be a difficult task itself. But, rather than
treating it like a lottery by trying to get lucky with your selection, why
not take your time and narrow your options? There are a few ways to make
sure you’re generally on the right track for bait selection from the start.
Try A Little Light Research
Ask other anglers on your lake what bait they are catching fish on, and then
use that bait, or if too many anglers are using it, try a similar
alternative. But don’t stop at that, it’s also a good idea to note what type
of bait other anglers AREN’T catching on, then stay away from that bait or
any similar alternatives. The reason for this is that carp will eventually
start to associate danger with a bait that frequently catches them out. For
instance, if the majority of a lake’s carp has been caught on yellow,
pineapple boilies over the last few years, then there’s a good chance that
they have developed an association of danger with the colour yellow and/or
the smell of pineapple. In this case, it may be best to avoid using yellow
and / or pineapple baits altogether.
This is one reason why knowledge of the lake you wish to fish is so
important. It’s always a good idea to talk to the bailiff and/or other
anglers when targeting new waters. It’s also possible to find out
information about a lake using the internet, try browsing the forums and ask
about the bait used on a specific lake. Do your homework and it may pay off
in heaps!
Once you believe you have a great bait you need to apply it well. Baiting
and presentation tactics are an important part of successful carp angling.
You should realise that many carp will only be caught in a situation that
includes an element of surprise, and the more unique the surprise is, the
better your results are likely to be. Having a unique method of applying
your bait will give you an edge over most anglers who choose to use ideas
printed in the magazines. These anglers will rarely do as well as the author
simply because the carp have seen it all before and had chance to learn and
adapt to it!
Now let’s look at some ideas on ways to apply your bait.
1. If you know there are definitely carp in your swim, try using unscented
boilies (you can make these and always carry a small bag). Not many anglers
would dream of doing this but, if you think about it, carp use their smell
to check out food items, if they can see it but can’t smell it, they may be
inclined to taste it in order to check if its food. Sometimes you only need
a fish to pick up the hook bait and your rig can work its magic and hook it.
This idea came to me in my early, rookie years when I used a cheap bait that
seemed to have no smell, yet I caught two of the biggest fish in the lake. A
similar incident happened to my cousin many years ago. He always left his
rods set up in the holdall. On one rod he had two, dried up, small boilies
which had discoloured and cracked, plus they seemed to have lost all smell.
Within an hour of casting the rig out he caught
the
biggest carp in Larford lakes!
you can
see the fish here!
2. Use balanced baits to counter the weight of the hook. These allow the
hook bait to move in a more natural way, similar to the other free
offerings. I have used balanced hook baits over the last few years, and I
have found them to be the best way to get more bites. When I first read
about them I thought it was all rubbish, but to be honest, I probably wanted
them to be rubbish simply because of the effort involved in getting them
right. They are not quick or easy to do. BUT, I recommend you try them, I
honestly believe you will see a difference in runs!
I have shown many of
my Critically Balanced Baited Rigs on this site! Also,
more Rig Ideas
Here!
3. If everyone else seems to be spodding out beds of particle baits, then
try using just boilies with a stringer of two or three free baits. On the
other hand, if there are a lot of anglers that seem to be fishing with
boilies alone, whether in PVA bags or sticking out boilies at range, then
try going back to old methods of fishing baits over particles, such as corn
over hemp or maggots over groundbait. Remember don’t be afraid to try
different ideas in bait application and presentations.
4. If you have been using trout pellets to bait up, then why not try using
small pellets on the hook. I have caught many big carp on a smaller hook
with 6mm pellets, along with a PVA bag of bigger pellets surrounding the
hook bait. This is the opposite of what many anglers will do, and often
catches a carp off guard!
5. Try stacking 4 whole boilies on a hair but, make sure that one or two are
pop ups in order to make it more buoyant. This may seem extreme but, with no
other free baits out there it will just look like a different presentation
that many carp haven’t seen before.
6. A single baiting tactic may be a great way to catch carp if the majority
of “weekend” anglers on the lake have a habit of piling in large beds of
bait and sitting behind the rods. Many carp in a popular lake may have
learned that diminishing beds of bait usually means safety, this is logical
because the angler has gone home so he cannot continue topping up the bait
bed. Remember you should be adapting to the way other anglers target the
fish as well as the feeding habits of carp.
7. If you use single bait tactics then try overloading the hook bait with
attractants. Yes, this may make the bait horrible to taste but, you only
want a single fish to pick the bait up and you’ll hopefully hook into it.
This tactic is more about attracting single fish to the hook bait rather
than to try getting a shoal feeding in the area.
8. Use two dissolving attractor capsules (available in tackle shops) and
fill them with two types of liquid; an oil and a flavour attractant. Or you
could try filling them with liquids of varying densities, for example, a
dense liquid attractant so that it leaks out but remains around the bottom
of the lake bed, and a less dense liquid so it rises up to attract passing
carp higher up in the water.
9. Cut a boilie in half then thread both pieces onto the hair the opposite
way round. This will create a shape similar to a dumbbell, and can be enough
to fool bigger carp.
Selecting the correct peg to fish in can be the best way to apply any bait.
Why not be different? If you know where all the weekend anglers are going to
be, then choose a peg close to an area where the carp will retreat to. In
other words, fish away from where the majority of anglers go. If possible,
apply your bait to an area where carp are unlikely to associate with danger.
This is especially effective when trying to
introduce a new bait to a lake.
The Best
Type of Carp Baits
General
Bait Tactics for Carp Fishing
New
Carp Bait Applications
Baiting
Campaigns Help Catch Bigger Carp
Carp
Bait Basics
Long Carp Fishing Sessions
Digestive System in Carp
Failing to Catch Wary Carp
More
Carp Fishing Advice & Articles
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