Mainline Baits - Carpfishing
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A carps' need to feed is purely instinctive; they feed to fulfil a nutritional requirement. As the temperatures drop the carps' metabolism slows down and their need to feed becomes less frequent.
Working in a tackle 21121q167v shop I regularly find myself answering questions from customers who are a little unsure about certain areas of carp fishing, and more often than not the area of most uncertainty seems to be bait or more specifically bait application. This can be confusing for any angler no matter how experienced, but at this time of year baiting levels become much more critical, and the dividing line between success and failure gets finer.
"How much bait should I put in?" This is not an easy question to answer, not only because each venue is different, but also there are many factors to consider before we can come up will a fitting solution to the problem. All to often I see anglers giving no thought whatsoever to their bait application and on crowded, highly pressured venues their careless approach could prove detrimental not only to themselves but also other anglers.
After location I personally feel bait application (especially at this time of year) is the hardest aspect of carp fishing to come to terms with. In this feature, I hope to highlight some important factors for you to bear in mind before bringing the catapult "out to play" during these colder months.
1. STOCK / POPULATION
. Establishing a good idea of just how many fish are in your chosen venue is a wise first move.
. Apart from carp, what other species are present. Tench, bream, crayfish etc can all consume bait intended for carp.
. How big are the fish you are fishing for? Doubles? Twenties? Thirties?
2. TARGET
. What are your goals? Are you targeting one big carp or numbers of carp?
If you are after numbers of fish on a well stocked venue more bait may be required in order to hold the fish in front of you. If a single big fish is your target it will pay to have done your homework prior to your visit. Looking back on that particular carps previous captures it may be possible to determine a favoured or preferred feeding area from which you are able to concentrate your attentions. In this instance small amounts of bait in a recognised area may be the best approach.
3. SIZE OF VENUE
. From my experiences carp residing in large waters tend to be more nomadic
than their smaller water counterparts.
In these instances more bait may be required to initially attract the carp in to your area and also to keep them there. Small water carp may require small pockets of bait placed in likely or recognised fish holding areas.
4. ANGLING PRESSURE
. Are there many other anglers fishing your chosen venue and are they using
much bait?
. When was the area you are fishing last fished and has the area received much bait prior to your visit?
Not many anglers seem to give this a great deal of thought, but at this time of year jumping into a swim that has just had "the granite baited out of it" might not be the best move on your behalf. It is not always possible to know how much bait is already in your swim, but it's worth having a look around the peg to see if there is any evidence of anyone having only recently vacating it. If you have chosen a popular swim or you are casting to a known mark or feature, then chances are there are other anglers' baits out there.
In this instance, especially
if I only had a short session ahead of me (24-hours or less), I'd probably
favour a single hookbait or PVA bag / stringer trap. Any longer than 24-hours
then I'd probably introduced some background feed into the swim This is when it
pays to have a rough idea of what the stock / population of your venue, to try
and ascertain how quickly bait is being eaten.
5. WEATHER CONDITIONS
. Check out the long range weather forecast before leaving the house.
It may be mild at the start of your session, but it may only be short lived. By having a good idea of what the weather has in store means it may be easier to formulate your baiting strategy.
Above are just a few factors to consider before you can plan your "line of attack". However there are two other areas that I think are crucial in order to be successful at this time of year.
6. TIMING
. What time do the carp feed on your chosen venue?
Feeding times will vary from water to water, but being able to ascertain a possible feeding time makes it possible to plan your baiting situation around these times. Ideally I would like my swim to remain undisturbed for up to one hour either side of a potential feeding spell, and I avoid casting or baiting up during these times. A carps' inactivity during the winter months means that if it is spooked away from your baited area it may take longer to return than during the warmer months.
7. BAIT CHOICE
. As far as my choice of bait goes for the winter months, well that doesn't
change from my summer bait. I do however favour smaller baits during these
difficult times with my preference being baits of 10mm; reason being that the
smaller baits make the carp "work" harder to fulfil their nutritional
requirements. Also, I feel fifty 10mm baits look more appealing to the carp
than 10 baits of 16mm in size.
. Once a boilie has been broken open the attractors inside bait flood out, just like the tea bags! Crumbed and chopped baits create an attractive feeding situation with out risk of over feeding.
. I also like to incorporate hemp in to my baiting strategy. I find that half a dozen Gardner Pocket rockets of hempseed creates an attractive feeding situation, providing the carp with enough bait to keep them interested without the danger of over feeding. I like to boost the attraction of my hemp further by adding a small quantity of crushed Mainline Hempseed Pellets and a couple of mils of Hempseed Oil.
. Quick breakdown pellets are a very good choice of bait for cold-water carp
fishing. I like the idea of there being an aroma of food in the swim in an
attempt to get the fish working harder to find the actual food source. I have
recently started using Mainlines Crumball pellets and I find these excellent.
They slowly release scent and attractors into the swim as they breakdown, while
at the same time offering very little regards actual food value.
. Baits such as maggots and casters are well worth using both on the hook and
as feed, especially if there are species such as roach and bream present. I
know that might sound like a rather odd statement, but a regular trickle of
maggots or casters could soon get the smaller species competing for food. The
activity from these feeding fish could bring the inquisitive carp into the
feeding area.
No doubt in
recent weeks you will have read a great deal about winter carp fishing in the
various carp angling magazines. Each writer will have their preferred approach
or baiting plan for this time of year and it is inevitable that there will be
disagreement or conflicting opinions from each writer. As I mentioned earlier,
each water is different and as well as the factors listed above, length of
session and the degree of difficulty will also come in to the equation.
My best advice I can offer at this time of year is to err on the side of
caution. Once the bait is in your swim you can't take it back out again. By
putting out a small amount of bait at the start of your session this then gives
you the option to increase accordingly.
Mark Pitchers
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