When should you start baiting up in spring?

Question

When would you start to apply some bait, whether that’s pre-baiting or during the session (i.e. weather conditions and temperatures)?

Adam Penning

“If the conditions are good then I will have been applying bait throughout the winter. If anything I might cut it back slightly in spring because previous years have shown, on a lot of waters, that the old ‘pre-spawn’ feed up rarely happens. Sure the fish are catchable, but I have consistently seen really big beds of bait fail in the spring and it seems less is often better. Singles, Zigs and bags are all a better option in my opinion.”

Ian Chillcott

“Much of the spring wake up has to do with light levels, and as soon as we reach 12hr day and 12hr nights I will be looking to apply bait. If I have been on the water all winter then I would have been applying bait already. But even starting on a new spring water would include the introduction of bait. I need to see their response to it, and the carp’s greed is what gets them caught.”

Gaz Fareham

“All depends how up for it they look. I usually don’t really start putting much in until May though, I’ve tried baiting campaigns through the spring before and they’ve almost always failed, or not really worked. I think they’re often just too nomadic in the spring to get pinned down to one area with bait. Sun, warmth and comfort seem bigger priorities until it really starts to warm up properly, but again, that’s entirely dependent on the weather. So I try to stay flexible and just react to what I’m seeing.”

Nigel Sharp

“I pretty much introduce bait all year round and basically the lower the water temperatures, the less I use. As the water naturally warms during the spring I’ll tend to start introducing more baits and even start fishing over a few freebies during a session. The way I look at it is, most anglers tend to fish singles and Zigs during the early spring, so if I keep the freebies going in I’ll be the one that’s establishing my bait earlier than the rest. Sometimes these small margins add together and better results come later in the spring/year.”