Best Fishes,

John

Best Fishes,

John

Best Fishes,

John

Boilies

If you are fishing a well stocked lake then I would suggest around 2-3 kgs of boilies three times a week, larger boilies are generally better to prebait with as it avoids the attention of other species such as Bream and Tench. A single fish is capable of eating a very large amount of bait in one sitting, although this will vary throughout the year depending on water temperatures. Carp are cold blooded animals so their dietary requirements are much lower in cold water conditions. In the winter it is possible to reduce your prebait to around 1kg because of this, it will only take a few mouthfuls for a carp to fill itself up and move away from the area. On lakes that hold a smaller stock of carp I would maybe reduce the quantity of bait by a kilo or so unless you know that the fish will accept large quantities of bait without shying off them from past angling pressure. Try to use a good quality freezer boilie such as Mainline Cell , Nash Scopex Squid  or Richworth XLR8 .

Particles and Pellets

If you choose to bait with particles and pellets on a well stocked lake I would up the amount as particles are cheaper and they will recieve a lot more attention from nuisance species. Maybe 10-15 kg per week baited every other night. If you are using tiger nuts to bait up with then please be aware that they are not very digestable to carp and are best used in small quantities. The same goes with what I said above about water temperatures and food consumption so alter your quantities accordingly. It is also worth baring in mind that smaller fish are more able to eat the particles and pellets you are baiting with, so increasing the quantities where large numbers of nuisance species are present maybe required for the carp to get a look in. Otherwise the carp maybe seeing none of your bait and are unaware of the area you are trying to create.

The quantities mentioned above are all just guidelines, each lake, stock and situation is different so go with what you think is best but bare in mind the factors I have mentioned. See also Part One - Part Two

Tight Lines

Dave

Best fishes,

John

Bait can sometimes determine the success you have when pre baiting. You want to provide the fish with a food source that can be recognised by them as one that fulfils their nutritional requirements providing them with what they need, when they need it. Now some anglers will choose to use solely boilies for prebaiting where as others will take the pellet/particle route. There is no right or wrong choice but the type of water your fishing needs to be taken into consideration. If you are fishing a water which mostly contain carp then particles and pellets can be a very effective method along with boilies. But if you are fishing a water which holds a large head of other species such as Bream, Tench and Roach etc. then you may find that using particles and pellets will not work very well unless used in larger quantities.

Boilies are an ideal food source for Carp as they are generally highly nutritional and in most cases contain a large quantity of proteins, fats, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. These are all highly sort after by carp in their diet. Choosing the right boilie can be a tricky task with the sheer number of bait companies and choices of flavours available to us as carp anglers. I would suggest choosing a bait that ticks all the boxes in terms of nutrition and digestion. It is no good having a bait that holds all the nutritional factors but isn’t completely digestable to the fish. If they can’t unlock the nutritional factors in the bait then it is no good for them. I would suggest using a freezer bait for a long term baiting campaign but that isn’t to say that good results can’t be had on shelf life baits. Confidence in your chosen bait is paramount. Using a bait you’re are confident in can sometimes be the difference between catching and not. If you not confident you won’t fish as effectively. Mixing up the size of boilies can also help contribute to the success of a baiting campaign as this can confuse the carp when it comes to taking your hookbait. Although the sizes you are able to use can depend on the range your baiting at as smaller boilies won’t reach the spots with a catapult or stick if you’re baiting at a distance. There are a range of good boilies available, Baitcraft T1, Mainline Cell, Dynamite Baits Banana Nut Crunch and Richworth Kg1 to name a few. I would suggest choosing your preferred bait and sticking to it, you won’t be as successful chopping and changing between baits if you plan to establish it as a good food source on your water.

Pellets and particles can be a very effective method of prebaiting. The quantity of smaller food items in the swim means that the bait remains on the lake bed for longer keeping to fish grubbing around and revisiting the area. Although smaller course fish on a water can prove to be a problem when baiting with pellets and particles, purely because they are able to eat the small food items. A lot of people like to use pellets and/or particles to prepare and clear spots of weed and debris as not only will the fish help clean the spot but diving birds will help as they try to pick up food items. A pellet, particle and boilie is a firm favourite.

In the following sections I will cover where to prebait, quantities to bait with and how to go about it. In the meantime there some older Carp Catchers Blogs on the same subject that may be of interest to you go to New Season Baiting Campaign  and Good Quality Baits .

Tight Lines

Dave

Best Fishes,

John

During my session I banked 6 carp to 21lb 15oz from 3 different spots using  Baitcraft T1  boilies over a spread of bait which included a spod mix of hemp, Solar Pure Bait BYT and crushed T1s over one of my rods. Most of the bites came during the hours of darkness which meant I had to have all my spots marked up to get them back on the spots in the darkness.

The rigs I used consisted of 15lb Korda IQ2 tied to 2 inches of stripped Sufix Stiff Silt with a size 6 Korda Wide Gape Hook, a small piece of shrink tubing over the eye and tied blowback style.

Tight Lines

Dave

(I should have turned my head torch off for the night time shots, but had forgotten while sorting the self takes. Luckily they didn’t turn out too bad.)

Best fishes,

John

Best fishes,

John