Winter edges

Boost your hookbaits: James Armstrong

“A little edge I have been employing is to spruce up my hookbaits, particularly pop-ups. My chosen winter bait is the very digestible and highly soluble Live System. It’s creamy, sweet and a great colour in the clear water. To boost my Live System hookbaits I like to squirt some Dairy Supreme over the baits. Again, this is a rich, creamy flavour that compliments them well. I then sprinkle some Lactose B into the pot which again is a sweet, creamy taste and aroma. I shake the pot and after a few hours each hookbait will be lightly dusted and full of attraction!”

Jimmy's high-attract, single-hookbait tricks

Maggots with crumbed up Pacific Tuna doing the damage for Hadley

Maggots: Hadley Ever

If there’s one thing that has stood me out this winter it’s the maggots. I have been using them in conjunction with particles and crumbed up Pacific Tuna. The tactic has accounted for an awful lot of fish for me this winter including some colossal residents to over 40lb over on the New Forest Water Park.

“When the fish are just picking at foods, and not interested in boilies, maggots and crumb will often catch their attention. In fact, they often can’t resist, even the bigger fish! Get on them and give them a try.”

Winter pre-baiting success for Dan

Maximising attraction and pre-baiting: Dan Stacey

“I absolutely love this time of year; the winter is a very special time indeed: the banks hardly get walked on, and most importantly, in my opinion, the carp have the most awesome colours you could wish for, making every capture more rewarding.

“When all the major tasks have been sorted, such as the venue, there really is no point setting up on a low stock water killing all your sanity and confidence. Fishing should be fun and not an endurance test. Bait is definitely something that’s very important – you need to keep the fish eating a foodbait that they will want to keep eating. The last thing you want is for the metabolism of the carp to slow down as it will make them less active.

“My chosen bait is Equinox as it’s highly digestible, making it ideal for all year round bait and is very low in oil which is also vital in the colder months. A little trick I use to give it optimum attraction and leakage is to add CC Moore Response and Spice Bait Booster, and I do this as soon as the bait is removed from the freezer. I allow it to soak completely into the bait and the Spice Booster adds a powerful kick due to its pure spices, ester spices, amino acid and natural sugars, and it compliments the Equinox perfectly. It means that you can introduce less bait because it has incredible pulling power.

“Also, if possible, pre-baiting will always help, especially if you can do it on the quiet. It keeps the carp occupied and searching whilst you’re not fishing. This style of angling has helped me catch constantly during the colder months and I’m sure it will help you as well, so get out and enjoy.”

The Spice Booster adds a powerful kick which compliments the Equinox perfectly

Bright and boosted resulted in success for David

Hi-viz singles for winter: David Wilkerson

“When the colder months hit and the fish start to slow down and go off the feed, I like to fish for one bite at a time, and this is where high-visual hookbaits that are boosted in some way come into my armoury. It is well-documented that when the water cools down, the carp’s vision deteriorates, and this is where the NS1+ pop-ups tick all the boxes for me and my style of angling.

“I use different colours – white, pink and yellow as one will work better than another on any given day. I use high-visuals to hopefully catch the eye and attention of any passing carp and I always soak my pop-ups in a booster liquid flavour to provide even higher leakage and generally mount them on Stiff Hinged Rigs over silty areas so that the bait stands out even more over the darker substrate.”

David carries a selection of colours

CC Moore boss, Ian Moore, with a paste-wrapped captured common

Give 'em a pasting: Ian Moore

“Paste is one of the most attractive forms of bait. It’s the boilie, before it’s boiled. Therefore, all the goodness is there to leak from the bait. One little trick that I have been employing this winter is to actually bait up with two types of paste, particularly on silty waters because its oozes in the detritus and is constantly sending out signals – Live System and Krill Micromass, two very different, high leakage, ultra soluble products.

“I squeeze the paste flat and insert one or two of my chosen baits. I then do the same with the Micromass, rolling them and squeezing them around the boilies. I mould it into a shape that allows me to easily catapult into the lake, and then choose my areas.

“The bait will slowly breakdown but will repeatedly ooze food signals into the water attracting any lethargic carp that aren’t really up for a big feed but can’t resist the attraction.”