Bait improvements you must try this summer
Both minor and major tweaks to improve your carp produce (and ultimately your catch-card…)
Now summer is upon us we are expecting a few more fish to grace the banks, but when it gets hot, it can at times get tough though, so thinking out side of the bait box can often pay dividends and allow you to nick a bite when the chips are down. Here are six little favourites of ours to trip them up when they might otherwise have sunbathing rather than feeding on their minds.
Humble earthworm
In its various guises is so often overlooked, and yet in the 50’s and 60’s it was a favoured carp bait and yet we seldom use the night crawlers. Fished either on the Hair (can tangle at times) or straight on the hook (that seems to fool them!) these fellas will often provide a fish against all odds.
Sticking with worms, another method is to either free-line them or use a small self-weighted clear float such as one of the Drennan Loaded Pellet Wagglers. However, to give them a little more attraction, gently add some air via a fine hypodermic needle to make the wriggler slow sinking. This is perfect for fishing holes in the weeds, against reedbeds, over silkweed and the like.
Mega tiger nut edge
Now this has been mentioned before, but it’s probably the best tiger nut edge out there, and it seems carp just love it. Get some of Hinders Betalin and carefully select your chosen growler hookers; place in a glug pot and liberally cover then in the Betalin. Leave to soak, and the longer they soak the better they seem to become. They will never go off as this gear is a natural intense sweet preservative!
Marmite - made easy
We all know how good Marmite is, but it’s a bit of a pain to use. Well, not now thanks to Nashbait and their ‘Bite’ which features in the Ace Card range. This intense liquid, thick runny yeast extract is electrifying and makes a brilliant single hookbait dip, readily clinging to the majority of hookbaits. Alternatively make a paste with it, including a little bit of cod liver oil – a proper awesome, old school combination that has been the downfall of many a carp.
Cloud the column
When they are up in the water column you sometimes need to get them down a bit to find your baits, so why not try using the commercially available Bug Life Mix from Nashbait or the super active Up&Down Mix from Solar Tackle? Both have superb attractor properties in hot weather. They can also both be deadly when a worm or a bunch of maggots is presented in the cloud.
Shapes and sizes
Mix it all up and give them a bit of confusion. Just using the same size boilies for loose feed is giving the fish an edge, as straightaway they know which is safe and which is rigged up for the bite. Confuse them by mixing the sizes and shapes, even the textures if you can. Hard and soft, broken and squashed to give different levels of flavour release, all these things will upset them enough for a bite.
