Do carp spook off big beds of bait?

The theory

The theory goes: if you put out a big bed of food, carp will avoid it for a long period of time before deciding it’s safe to eat. Really? Well, not according to Martin Locke.

The fact

“What a load of old rubbish!” he jokes. “Whenever has anyone witnessed a carp swimming along, seeing the baited area, thinking to himself ‘oh no, too much food, I’d better do the off as quickly as I can!’ I think not. Sure, there are times when too much is going to slow the takes down, maybe 20kg in January/February won’t do you much good, but as for spooking off because there’s too much?! Carp spend their lives swimming about and eating, conditions denote just how much he/she eats and for how long he/she feeds for. If Mr. Carp has been seen quickly vacating the area, I would guess that it’s something other than the bait that causes this reaction.”