Rob Hughes investigates spring fishing: Part five

Feeding attitudes

Think carefully about methods and baiting patterns

The final thing to consider is the feeding attitude of the carp and for me spring is a time when they are prepared to eat a bit of bait but you need to be very careful about how to apply it. Now more than any other time of year the little-and-often approach is the key to ‘big hit success’ and the clever anglers out there take lots of different options with them to make sure they have something that the fish want on a particular day.

As we have said earlier, they could be up in the water in which case they want a Zig, on the bottom and snacking in which case a bag and pellets is a perfect trap, mooching around in the margins for singles and a handful of bait or even on the top prepared to take the first floater of the year. There isn’t a fixed answer, but keeping a bucket and some spares in the car is by far the best way to be prepared for every eventuality. In the winter it’s easy to say bags or singles and in the summer it’s easy to say fill it in but in spring we have to be adaptable and there is nothing worse than getting caught out on a trip with the wrong type or amount of bait.

Be very aware of how much they want to eat in spring and take plenty of options with you just in case.

Spring for me is the time when I have had some of my biggest hits, mainly off the bottom and mainly on the boilie it has to be said, and there is something incredibly satisfying about hitting the weather conditions right and keeping a steady trickle of grub in front of them when they are hungry and they throw caution to the wind. However, be careful. Read the situation in front of you and hopefully with a little help from the tips above, this spring can be a memorable one.