Spiralling Water Columns
10 edges to pull the carp down to your baiting area or Zig hookbait when they're cruising in the mid-water
01 One of the easiest to use straight out of a bottle, and is very effective in all but the very deepest of water, is DT Bait's Fish Pro. The combinations of oil, feed triggers and dense liquids is perfect for pulling fish down through the water column and because of its make-up is really perfect for summer fishing. If you coat your freebies in this activity lasts for hours!
02 In the very hot weather getting fish to feed can be a nightmare and there is no doubt that synthetic flavoured baits can be hair pullers. We all tend to think of over-flavoured hookbaits as a winter principle but it can work extremely well in elevated water temperatures. A classic example of this is Monster Crab, the hotter it gets the more flavour you can use and soaking your hookers in the near flavour is devastating, if not a tad smelly!
03 Suspensions are excellent for getting fish to move down or up through the water column, just remember the principal using liquids such as evaporated milks, flavoured and coloured milky drinks. Dress your free baits in them and you can achieve wonderful spiralling plumes through the water column. Try adding a flavour oil combo or an oil-based food dip, vigorously shaken.
04 If you are bag fishing then try the superb Solar Tackle's Up&Down mixes. These dry mixes are volcano active, send all sorts of goodies up and down the water column and they can be wetted down with the flavoured liquids supplied or alternatively you can use products such as their Liquid Belachan, Nashy's Liver or Crustacean Liquids or any Betaine derivatives.
05 If you want to experiment with up and down liquids then use one of the following as a base: cod liver oil, hemp oil or salmon oil. To this add your chosen flavour and vigorously shake before adding some natural heavy material and again shake well. You need to shake the liquid well to gain best activation, you will get food/attraction signals going up and down the water column and this also works well for mid-water fishing with Zigs.
06 I am a great advocate of flavouring Zig hookbaits and I am more than happy to use really concentrated flavours if I think I can get away with it in high water temperatures. Most importantly though, they want to be highly water-soluble and opposite the pH of the water you are angling in. Blends can also be useful and again oil and soluble work well. Always check your additives against your foam, Nash Bugs etc. just in case they melt!
07 Try to understand how the ambient light will affect your Zig fishing and work the colours of the bait accordingly. Good backlight from the moon at night makes perfect for black foam or Nash Bugs etc. as they are seeing a silver dome. In daylight it is a case of experimenting with colours according to depth but add a flavour as a bonus attractor. We are experimenting with iridescent hookbaits and small beta lights.
08 If you want to work from the top down the water column then use either sloppy spod mix or liquids containing sweet fat liquids with heavy feed items and liquid feeds. You can fish this over Zigs as well as bottom freebies; it is experimenting again.
09 On aspect of fishing in the water column that is overlooked is the use of natural attractors that will rise and fall on their own accord and also amino acid preparations in combination with small amounts of CC Moore's Frozen Bloodworm. This can be deadly but you need to feed sensibly otherwise preoccupation can occur.
10 One other edge worth mentioning is Nashbait's Chain Reaction and Soluballs. Not only do they offer a wide variety of feeding and rig presentations but their activity in the water column is exceptional, rising and falling and attracting aquatic invertebrates. The salty one in particular seem irresistible to fish and various aquatic life-a-like - a double-whammy attraction!