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Introducing a New Bait
Carp will often feed very cautiously on any new bait, so it will pay off
more to give carp plenty of time to get used to it when you’re not fishing.
If it’s possible, try to establish a new bait by pre-baiting the swims
you’re likely to fish in at some point during the season. There is often a
reaction cycle for carp to any newly introduced bait. The time this cycle
takes will vary depending on the lake in question. For example, if the lake
is a popular day ticket where all types of carp anglers constantly fish for
carp, then it will take longer to establish your bait as a food source. The
reason is because there will be numerous types, flavours and sources of bait
going into the lake, and the carp will have a huge choice of which food to
eat. With such a huge choice available to the carp you will naturally need
more time to establish it as a safe food source. On the other hand, if food
availability is slim then a new bait can be established much faster. Also,
it’s important to think about how pressured carp will feel about any new
baits, they will naturally see them as a possible source of danger, so why
should they choose your bait?
This is the main reason why it’s important to take your time and establish a
new bait, pre-bating and
baiting
campaigns are great tactics in getting the carp onto your new bait.
There are other things to consider when choosing a new bait to fish for
carp. We will discuss some of these points in more detail below.
Quality of Bait
Whatever bait you try out always ensure its good quality. The food value of
any bait must be high. A poor food value will never last long, even if carp
don’t come to associate it with danger. Carp are like humans in that they
need an adequate supply of sound nutrition, they require a whole host of
nutrients. If your bait is nothing more than a doughy base devoid of
nutrition, then don’t expect to catch many carp on it, even if it does have
a nice smell. There is a theory that carp can test a food source and know
almost immediately if it contains essential nutrients, if this is true, then
it’s even more important to use only the highest nutritional food sources.
Another way to look at it is, if carp are obtaining good nutrition from your
bait then they will be keen to scoff all the free offerings, this in turn
will help create a competitive feeding situation when the only highly
nutritious food left will be your hook bait!
Smelly Baits
Make sure your new bait does not contain too much attractants or additives;
more is not necessarily best when it comes to bait. With very strong smells
you may attract carp within a few hours of fishing but, if they take the
bait only to find it repulsive then it wont last five minutes. There is a
fine line between a smell that attracts carp and too much of it that the
bait tastes horrible to them! Think of when we drink a fruit based drink, it
may smell nice but if it was made with too much sugar added then it can
taste awful to us. The same principles apply to a carp’s taste.
The Best Size
When introducing any new bait it can be a good tactic to pre-bait with much
larger size boilies than the ones you intend to use. If you make your own
bait, try making your pre-bait quantity as big as 30mm, or even as big as
50mm! This helps stop nuisance fish from eating it before the carp get to
it. It may also help in other, tactical areas as well. For instance, most
anglers know that carp can spook off large size bait so, they often fish
with smaller sizes. Eventually, like in most of the lakes I fish, the
majority of anglers won’t use big baits. You may gain an advantage here by
re-introducing safety to larger bait and, over time, you could go back to
catching many carp using big 18 or 20mm boilies.
Bait Quantity
A new bait should be introduced on a gradual basis, I like to call it the
“little and often” policy. Never chuck in tons of new bait in the hope that
they’ll eventually get through it all. Carp will feed cautiously until they
accept it as a reliable food source. With a ton of bait on the bottom carp
can take their time and snack whenever but, it wont cause a competitive
feeding situation amongst the carp, this competitive situation is important
because that’s the time when you’ll catch most carp off guard.
It’s much better to put out a little, say a pound or two, on a regular basis
rather than introducing large amounts over shorter periods. This means carp
can feed on the bait safely for a longer time and will give the bait a
longer life cycle in the lake. Remember, the more times a carp eats your
bait without the presence of end tackle the more they will eat it with their
guard down!
Location of Bait
If you’re trying to introduce a new bait when you’re not fishing, then it
may be a good idea to bait up in an area where the fish are likely to be, or
in an area where there is less pressure applied. If you know the lake well
then you’ll have an idea of where many anglers prefer to fish. If this is
the case, then introduce the majority of your pre-bait quantity to areas
that are fished less. In these pegs there will be less noise, less pressure
and less competing bait allowing your new bait to be accepted as soon as
possible.
What is the
Best Type of Bait to Use for Carp Fishing?
Applying general Baiting Tactics to Catch Large Carp
Introducing a New Carp Bait into a Lake
Doing a Baiting Campaign
on a Carp Lake
Carp
Baits - The Basics of a Good Bait
Long Fishing Session Bait Tactics
Carp Digestion
Failing to Catch Large Carp
More
Carp Fishing Advice & Articles
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