Using particles in summer

Particles have long been an underused tactic - only half-heartedly tried when the boilie approach is failing, A lot of this is due to the fact they are a little more complex to prepare and apply to the lake, but now with companies like Nash and Hinders, amongst others, preparing it for you, there’s no excuse not to try it out. They really comes into their own late summer.

I prefer using particles at this time of year due to the small nature of the bait which really helps pre-occupy the fish. Most anglers stick with using boilies from spring onwards, due to the ease of application and ease of fishing. Particles stay in the swim for longer than the boilies and you can stretch particles further as you don’t need many to start the fish feeding. Fish are more readily accepting of particles over boilies, due to the amount they see throughout the year.

Slicker Spiced Hemp from Nash with the added oil helps create a lovely column of attraction which permeates around the area when disturbed. I like to add a few supermarket favourites to mine to further enhance it. Fresh chopped garlic, yeast, tuna flakes and pink rock salt all work well but there are many others that I've found enhance any particle mix. Adding a mirage of sizes and flavours further boosts the attractiveness and with minor disturbance this is constantly working in your swim. Combining the Spiced Hemp with Nash Tiger Nut Slush has been a devastating combination for many years, with the broken nature of the tigers working instantly on introduction, saturating the area with taste and smells that carp will find hard to ignore.

The very underrated particle, maize has somewhat fallen from grace, but believe me, with the introduction of a sweet enhancer, it can really provide added pulling power. Try products like Nash Maize Syrup or Candy Juice or Hinders Betalin to sweeten the maize. A little edge that’s increases particle its effectiveness is rock salt, making it incredibly salty has certainly proved beneficial with my observations. Using the Nash Salted Mega and Mini Mix combined with the introduction of the cloud inducing Bug Life Mix will further entice carp to investigate, bringing greater attractive properties to the area.

Tigers in the various sizes and colours available have long been a very readily accepted bait that combines well over many particle approaches, certainly with the golden colour fished over the dark hemp background, fish are drawn to the hookbait first, much like the flouro over food bait scenario. Try dipping them in a sweetener like betalin to aid the hookbait being singled out first, even over a small handful of mixed sized tigers. This has proven a deadly method and this localised attraction can be further enhanced with a small wrap of paste belachan.

There are many others particles such as buckwheat, chick peas and groats that have proved to enrich my particle angling so don’t be afraid to experiment you never know what edge you might discover…..