“Not been fishing for most the year but got out over the Xmas holidays and had this near 25lb pike was on some dead bait I had of you over a year ago!”

Well done Rob

Dave

John, Angela & David

11th June – Linear Fisheries, Oxfordshire

16th & 17th July – Cudmore Fisheries

23rd July - Hawkhurst Fishery, Kent

30th July – White Springs Fishery, Wales

5th, 6th & 7th August – Rookley Country Park, Isle of Wight

3rd September – Great Linford Lakes, Buckinghamshire

10th September – A1 Pits, Nottinghamshire

For more details of each individual event, directions to venue, anglers in attendance and any other specific info please check out www.nashtackle.co.uk – www.nashtv.co.uk

Best Fishes,

John, Angela & David

I would pick two swims in completely different areas of the lake so that you have the choice of which to fish. This means that if the weather conditions should favour one area you can head for that area. I would personally pick one area on the end of what would be a south westerly wind and another in an area where you know the fish visit frequently. Once you have chosen your areas its time to decide on the spots/features you wish to fish. Its best to do a bit of marker work in the swims you’re baiting and find any likely holding areas and/or patrol routes. You could be looking for a needle in a haystack, but remember if your going to be spending money on travelling to bait up its worth putting 100% effort in. When looking for spots you could be looking for subtle differences in depth, smooth areas of “clean” silt where the carp have been feeding, bloodworm beds or areas which are not so choked with weed. It really all depends on your water. 

If you are able to observe the fish then watch them closely and figure out what sort of areas they are feeding in and on what sort of lakebed. If you can’t observe the fish then I would suggest you look at past captures if any, or speak to other anglers and see if they are willing to tell you what sort of areas and lake bed they have caught from. Obviously don’t go jumping straight into these areas as they could well be popular swims which you should try to avoid, as other anglers will be benefiting from your bait and hard work. Once you have built up a bigger picture its time to find the spots you wish to bait. Margins are always a good bet too and very often neglected by other anglers.

Make sure once you have found your spots that you have marked them on your lines or paced them out and you have picked far bank markers to aim for. It can sometimes be easier to note these things in some sort of a fishing diary, which you can used to build up a better knowledge of the lake. Here is a blog which may help you when it comes to this stage.  Another Carp Catchers Blog which may help is New Season Baiting Campaign .

Tight Lines

Dave

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

Setting the rig like this means the bait sits up off the lake bed by about 10mm if using a pop up hookbait. It allows the hook to lay flat on the lake bed alway from the bait, making it less obvious to wary carp. This alternate Shot On The Hair Rig  provides good bait separation and ensures the rig is hook heavy, making it more likely to catch in the carps mouth.  Though more effective with pop up hookbaits, a bottom bait can be used and the rig will still be very effective as it is still hook heavy.

Tight Lines

Dave

Best Fishes,

John

Boilie Dips

Boilie dips are normally quite viscose and clear. They have a powerful flavour dissolved in a neutral carrier. Your hookbaits can be left to soak in them indefinitely and this will have an added effect/benefit of hardening them. Boilie Dips can be used with bottom baits, but they are ideally suited to pop ups. A couple of good examples are the  Richworth Impact Boilie Dips and Mainline Hookbait Enhancement System.

Glugs

Glugs are normally quite thick and based on a liquid food source. Very often they will have the same liquid attractors and nutrients as the boilies they represent. Hookbaits can be left in them indefinitely and though both bottom and pop ups can be glugged longer soaking is more suited to bottom baits. The reason for this that glugs or food dips as they are sometimes known are quite heavy and soak right into the hookbaits and this can affect the buoyancy of pop ups. Glugging into a food dip before casting is the more usual way to get an extra boost is the more usual way to use glugs with pop ups. A couple of good examples would be Nash Baits Top Rod Food Dips and Fresh Fish Mussel And Oyster Liquid .

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.)