Inside Neil Spooner's Bait Bag
Neil Spooner lets us have a peek inside his bait bag, along with telling us who’s impressed him the most as an angler and why
What would we find inside your bait bag when you’re on a Monster Carp shoot?
“You’ll tend to find at least two different flavours of boilie from the Mainline range, usually a sweet and savoury option. There will often be tiger nuts (where rules allow) and definitely additional particle options. And on top of that there will ALWAYS be plenty of different hookbait options. I’ve seen a number of sessions turned on their heads by a certain flavour change so I like to be well prepared.”
Does that change much when you’re fishing for yourself, on a venue you regularly fish?
“Certainly early on I’ll have similar options but once I feel I’m in-tune with a lake and have tried different options, I tend to take what I’ve found to be the most effective.”
Do you often use a lot of bait?
“I do use a lot of bait on occasions but I would say as a general rule, I still fish for a bite at a time. This obviously varies from venue to venue as so many places are different. I have to say, though, that some of my favourite angling is fishing three rods on a spot over a good hit of bait and continually baiting up throughout the session. This is the best way to build a real hit of fish and when the situation allows it can be incredibly effective.”
What’s your go-to hookbait when things are super tough?
“This would have to be a little yellow IB pop-up, especially in the spring. A well-positioned pop-up can be all you need sometimes to nick that all important bite.”
What is your go-to baiting approach and why?
“I don’t really have a ‘go-to’ as such. Bait application and approach can be the difference between getting a bite or not and no single approach can cover everything. It might be a well positioned single, a spodded area of particle or a spread of boilies but it’s trying to figure out what is best for the given scenario. Having said all of that, I’m always most confident when I’ve had the chance to prime an area with a chosen bait. I really believe that applying a good food source over an amount of time in certain areas, makes it loads easier to catch them when you actually wet a line.”
Do you have a preference when it comes to free food size?
“Having had the chance to watch carp feeding underwater many times, I really like to give them something to think about. Rather than just relying on one size/shape, I much prefer to mix 10, 15 and 18mm baits together along with chops and crumb too.”
Everyone seems obsessed with using just one flavour of boilie, with all the matching glugs and hookbaits. Do you ever use two or three different baits—i.e. Cell and Hybrid, or Cell, Hybrid and Link?
“This is something that I do more and more often nowadays—I like to have at least two different flavours out there at all times. Cell and Link have probably been on my list of regularly used baits, but as I’m typing this I’ve just ordered a mix of old school Activ-8 and Cell for an upcoming trip!”
Out of all the anglers you’ve fished with, who’s impressed you the most when it comes to bait application—both in terms of building a swim and their accuracy when it comes to applying it?
“Without a doubt it’s Dovey. I genuinely don’t like saying too much nice stuff about him as he’s a bit of an idiot, but when it comes to maximising opportunities, he’s the best I’ve seen. Whether it’s trying to nick a bite or building for a hit, he’s got it covered. Add to that he can fish tidy at 150yds+, it’s very impressive to watch.”
From fishing with some of the biggest names in the game, in your eyes, what do they all have in common?
“That’s a tough one but I would probably pick their attention to detail. Whether that’s the sharpness of the hook, length of rig, correct lead arrangement, whatever it may be, it has to be 100% right. They don’t take chances, nothing is left in position, even if it’s inches off the spot, and you soon come to realise that all of these little bits definitely get them more bites than those around them.”
How would you finish this statement: Neil Spooner’s best bait edge is… “keeping his options open! Probably not what you want to hear and were instead hoping for a little bait hack that will put more fish on the bank, but the honest answer is that I use many different baits at different times of year. As an example, I once had a ticket on a lake that was totally controlled by boilie. The carp loved them, we all used them, and we all caught loads. I had some particle in my van from a previous trip elsewhere so thought I’d put half a bucket in the margins to see how quickly the rudd population destroyed it. I checked the spot an hour later to find the water looking like chocolate milkshake with 10 carp going absolutely potty for the stuff! A real eye-opener and a lifelong angling lesson learned. Just because you’re catching on one thing, doesn’t mean you couldn’t be catching even more on something else. Greed is good!”
