Bait According To... Lucky Lockey

When I think of the baits that changed everything for me, I recall the start of my so-called carp-fishing career, when I found myself on Brooklands Lake, Dartford. I had no appreciation at the time, of the significance of the company I was keeping. Fred Wilton, Jack Hilton and Rod Hutchinson, to name but a few, were all pioneers of our sport. They regarded Brooklands as a premier venue back in the ’70s, and as a consequence, some of the fundamentals that we now take for granted evolved there. It was where I started coarse fishing, and I was always keen to be out on the bank. 

Inevitably, I started to see the huge, almost mythical creatures being caught by these initially intimidating men in green boiler suits. However, my thirst for knowledge, and my desire to find out more about how to go about catching such awesome fish eventually got the better of me, and I approached them and asked them questions. I guess I was the original pest, shall we say, but in a nice way, of course. This was how I managed to glean a lot of important information, and quickly.

So, right place, right time, and that said, given everything that was going on at Brooklands, I was now part of a new group of regular anglers who were all as keen as mustard and willing to try anything and everything in an effort to increase catches.

Particles became a massive part of our approach. The search for a new particle to use each summer saw us scour the health food shops during the previous close season.

It’s for another day as to how it came about, but we found ourselves in the fortunate position of being among the first to use chickpeas, maples, peanuts and tiger nuts. So to answer the question, I would say it was particles that changed everything. Our multiple catches were off the scale, but it became apparent that we’d enjoy such sport for only a short period, hence the quest for a new particle each year. 

As far as any game-changing baiting method or approach that might change everything, I’d say that these days, there are so many great baits, and indeed ways of getting them out there, that it can be mind-blowing trying to decide where to start. When you’ve just spent ages going through an approach that will apparently do the job for you, only to hear that other anglers are enjoying success doing something completely different, it can quickly drain your confidence. For me, the key is to have a plan, but to be prepared to adapt it, if that makes sense. Initially, start with what has caught them in the past, as that method or approach will undoubtedly catch them in the future, and there’s no substitute for experience. 

It’s also important to have successful mates, anglers who you can share information with; that’s absolutely priceless. We’ll all try different tweaks in our efforts as we seek the supposed holy grail, so the more pooling of information there is, the better things will be for everyone in the long run. 

The last bait-related item I bought and loved was a small electric food processor from Argos that cost me the princely sum of £10! With it, I can blitz 4 or 5 kilos of boilies in just a few minutes. For a longer session, and without electricity, it would be RidgeMonkey’s ‘Mangulator’, as I call it.

A future bait-rated item on my wish list…? No, I really can’t think of anything at the moment, as all angles are just about covered. However, it would be great if someone could come up with a bait that carp can’t resist but swans hate and won’t go anywhere near. I would pay a lot of money for that!

I have an excessive collection of pop-ups! I’m sure that nearly all of us are guilty of carrying way too many of these. Nine times out of ten, though, we use only the tried-and-tested one which we have most confidence in. As with everything in carp fishing, confidence key—I’m now off to the van now to get shot of my other 12 pots! 

A bait I long to use again, and a classic from years ago would be peanuts. I’d love to use them on a water that allows them. Having witnessed how devastating they often were, it would be interesting to see how good they would, or would not be today. I fully understand why many particles have been banned on most waters, and agree with the reasoning. In the early days, however, there were nowhere near the number of anglers on the banks. There are potential pitfalls in their preparation, and we must consider the health and diet of the fish; their welfare must be paramount. If every angler on the water used the same, in-vogue particle, the condition of fish would soon deteriorate, and this absolutely must not happen. So in this case, it’s a thumbs up from me in respect of them being banned.

The best piece of bait-related advice I’ve been given was the suggestion to set small traps on low-stock waters, the type of venue I predominantly fish. This is something I learned from the early days.

In my bait bag you will always find Top Banana Pop-Ups. 

My preferred free food size is smashed to pieces! This is so that I have bait suspended in the weed, and some that will have made its way down to the bottom.

My best bait edge is keeping my eyes open so that I can decide where to put it!