The Allan Parbery Column

Is it possible to target a specific fish with bait? There are a few originals left in my water that are bigger than the new stock fish and I'd dearly love to catch them this spring/summer. Josh, via e-mail

I think that a simple NO is possibly the right answer here but lets us look a bit deeper first. One obvious thing springs to mind and that is the difference in the sizes of the carp we are talking about. For instance, if the stockies are singles and doubles whilst the ones you are after are twenties and thirties why not try to use 25mm baits? You may feel a little less confident using these but as you don't want the smaller fish it maybe the best way around the problem. Many years ago we used to use baits of 35mm and bigger so don't worry about a mere 25mmer – the carp will eat them.

Secondly, you may want to look at another option. Again, many years ago the baiting pyramid theory came into being. Quite simply you have to go down to your lake every day, preferably at the same time, and bait up with all sorts of baits such as assorted particles and some different sizes of boilies (including the 25mm baits). The theory is that small fish move onto the area and they start to mop up the particles. This attracts the tench and bream who push out the smaller fish. Then in come the small carp that upset the tench and bream. Finally the big carp move in. This may take several weeks of preparation but it works often enough to be worth a try.

Thirdly, if it isn't practical to use the baiting pyramid theory, a favourite is to bait quite heavily an area in front of you. Use baits that attract the smaller carp, 15mm or so boilies and particles. Now what I would do in such a situation is to cast deliberately one rod to the left of the area, one to the right and drop one short. If you are accurate with your baiting the distances away from the trap may only be around three-metres or so. Quite often, the bigger carp don't want to eat at the same table as the boisterous youngsters but are inquisitive enough to want to nick a morsel or two.

This article was taken from The 2012 Summer Special edition of CARPology magazine. Be the first to read CARPology's articles in print before they're posted on-line, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing on-line.