Category Archives: Fishing Tips

Fishing Tips

Big Catfish and Carp Baits – Cool Hook Bait Ingredients

Keeping ahead of fish by using new baits, or versions of baits to keep on catching consistently, is so often the key to success, after location! But some fishermen might wonder how and why constantly changing baits has major advantages; there’s more to this than you might expect…

With many big catfish when fished for constantly, over time, many traditional baits can fail as fish associate these baits with ‘danger.’ Often catfish baits will go in a cycle of success before seemingly failing completely at the point where the catfish diet may have changed to predominantly feeding on live fish instead of fishermens’ baits.

I’m not alone in experiencing having ‘hits’ often very good hauls of catfish over a relatively short space of time, on one particular bait. Then the catfish simply ‘switch off’ the successful bait, often for an extremely long of time indeed. You can end up constantly searching for a completely new bait altogether.

Making catfish dough baits is an easier option as the ingredients, attractors and stimulators, size, shape, colour, density, texture, buoyancy etc, can be skilfully manipulated to constantly keep ahead of the fish before it ‘blows’ and results significantly reduce.

This has been found with various boilies, squid, and liver, certain pork baits like luncheon meat and Pepperami, even with nightcrawlers, prawns, mussels and cockles and so on. It seems like each has its day, then they can be ignored completely for an amazingly long time. However, dead baits of whole or chopped fish, but more especially, live baits, can really exploit the catfishes’ change in feeding behaviour.

In certain situations with particular fish, the question is how to get around these ‘defence mechanisms.’ Use of natural baits style is one answer but these often just act like a needle in a haystack, like fishing a single bloodworm in a bed of millions of them. Sure, worms, night crawlers, maggots and the like do make catching ‘clued-up’ fish easier initially, especially where fish have been not been used to being hooked on these baits before.

The famous giant 50 pound common called “Herman” of “Warmwell” repute in the UK, was very wised-up about conventional boilies. But this fish was not immune to worm bait… The “Redmire” fish, which could be very difficult to catch, were very keen to feed on tiny baits like various particles such as hemp. Use of new particle baits to a carp water can be devastating and this has been proven again and again.

The “Redmire” carp including Chris Yates’s record fish that stood for years were often tempted by sweetcorn. Often a can of “Jolly Green Giant” can save the day. These days soaking sweetcorn in sweeteners lik talin and thaumatin, or in liquid liver, yeast or betaine might work better. I’ve had good hits of fish on ‘Scopex’ soaked sweetcorn for example. The possibilities just with bait are endles, but it could be tiger nuts, peanuts, or any other bait. But I wonder how many fisherman think how to give the fish what they want but are very difficult to tempt on an individual bait alone.

A hook with samples of various diverse unrelated baits can often produce fish for many reasons, not least because the fish have not previously been ‘conditioned’ to be able to deal easily with it. Various different types of boilies and or dough type baits with particle baits or maggots or worms on the hook can do well for example.

Combinations with seafoods like prawn or cockles, an old fish cube, with some chicken or pork meat, all coated in an enticing paste or dough mixture can really produce fish when an individual bait simply will not.

Even boilie and dough mixes that have done so well on waters previously, can need changing after a long period of success. The revitalised success of the boilie “Active 8,” when teamed with a new maple attractor brought a new generation of anglers their first big fish success, even when the original version of this bait was still available, but it’s effectiveness had tailed-off compared to its early success before fish wised-up to it.

Often bait is still effective in triggering a feeding response, but the carp feed in different more cautious ways on and around the bait. Often the phenomenon of baits being picked-up, off the edge of, or even some distance away from a bed of baits, has worked better than a hookbait fished in the middle of thousands of identical baits.

The amazing way carp can ‘clean-up’ a huge bed of baits just leaving your hookbaits remaining is quite staggering to those fishermen who just do not appreciate how sensitive to every aspect of their surroundings, fish can be. Often it is those last remaining baits, your hookbaits, which are the last to be picked up, if they are at all!

Big fish man Dave Lane has experienced this many times. The question is really, why do the fish still pick up these hook baits at all, when out of possibly hundreds or even thousands of baits, these have been identified by all the feeding fish to be the ‘dangerous’ ones?

Most fishermen might suggest it is the ‘just one more’ syndrome kicking-in, where the urge to feel the effect of one more morsel replaces the instinct to leave those last baits ‘well-alone.’

There are numerous ways to make a bait have this effect, often by exploiting essential nutritional food signals, or by using attractors, enhancers, stimulators etc with highly stimulatory effects, many of which bear little resemblance to any natural carp food at all nor providing any particular nutritional benefits, but work anyway.

There are many ways to add these effects using many ingredients and additives to boilies, meats, and particles like hemp, pellets, and ground baits etc which are highly effective at keeping those bites coming.

This fishing bait secrets books author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges.’ Just one could impact on your catches!

By Tim Richardson.

For the unique acclaimed expert bait making and secrets ‘bibles’ ebooks / books:

“BIG CATFISH AND CARP BAIT SECRETS!”
AND “BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!” And ” BIG FLAVORS, FEEDING TRIGGERS AND CHEMORECEPTION EXPLOITATION SECRETS!” SEE:


http://www.baitbigfish.com


Tim is a highly experienced homemade bait maker big carp and catfish angler of 30 years. His bait enhancing books / ebooks now help anglers in 43 countries improve their results – see this bait and fishing secrets website now!

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Fishing Tips

Making Homemade Boilies For Big Carp and Catfish Fishing!

My readers ask me questions every day on the subject of fishing baits. Far too many anglers just do not realise what are the most important aspects of carp or catfish baits that make fish most interested in picking them up – at all! Some of the very most vital aspects of how and why baits actually work and can be improved are inevitably missed; so why not read on now and find out more on how to make your baits and big fish catches better!

 

So how do you think a fish senses your bait in the first instance and how does this make a fish test out your bait with its mouth and various senses simultaneously? When you think about it, if they were ways you could enhance the impact of your baits on fish senses internally and externally, and even exploit how your baits change the water around your baits, then you will certainly massively improve your chances of catching loads more fish than the average angler!

 

I knew as a kid of 6 or 7 that fishing over tiny particles of bait that all dispersed in the water column where some sunk to the bottom, some remained hovering suspended and rising and falling in different water levels, and where some even rose to the surface, that this kind of bait was extremely effective for catching carp – and catfish later too. Bait success is very much all about dispersal in water. This dispersal is how fish come into contact with various bait substances, and these substances and particles provide a trail of suspended particles, and a concentration gradient of diffused substances in solution (or part solution) that lead the fish right back to the area of your hook baits waiting for them to make a mistake on them!

 

But there are endless things you can do to massively improve this effect so your fish are incredibly stimulated – even long before they come across your hook baits. It appears that relatively few anglers realise just what stages of modes of feeding behaviours carp can go through on their way to becoming hooked up! You can exploit and manipulate these behaviours by using various baits and bait substances, and combined fishing tactics and approaches to maximise fish behaviours in your unique personal favour.

 

Ok so you might think that using boilies or pellets straight from the bag is a very well proven way to catch carp, catfish or maybe big barbel for instance. But consider this; these fish home predominantly home in on the bait substances that leach out and become solution, that dissolve the most easily in the water. Dry baits take time to hydrate in water, and this also means that such baits are harder for fish to digest. But most worryingly is this; these baits take the longest to pull in fish – so you are wasting your valuable time, when you could be doing things to maximise every bait in every single fishing situation!

 

So consider this; next time you buy readymade baits use a few ideas from homemade bait making. In making homemade baits you learn countless tricks to overcome fish caution and manipulate both fish senses and feeding behaviours massively in your unique favour, but also get to know how to get very distinct competitive edges over the vast range of readymade baits out there which seem to confuse anglers so much.

 

So taken from my own products, let us imagine you are fishing a water dominated by a brand of readymade bait and you cannot hope to compete with the guys using that bait – because you either do not want to bother trying, or want to do things your own way, or simply do not see why you should spend all that money on bait when these guys are maybe getting it massively discounted or even for free. So what kinds of options might you consider to catch more fish despite fishing pressure from a dominant group on a bait?

 

The first obvious thing is to simply find out what their bait is and fish on the edge or on top of their baited areas in between times they are fishing in their chosen swims – that way you are catching fish guerrilla style and exploiting their efforts. This is an age old trick that has frequently caught angler good numbers of big fish. But you often cannot do it and anyway I for one do not fish this way because I prefer to do things my own way and derive far greater fun and satisfaction from my catches by doing this!

 

So maybe something you might do is maybe look at the boilie base mix they are using, and cut it so you make a cheaper more economical version – that the fish will recognise, that you can use but at much less cost. In fact this can be a brilliant edge and can lead to you catching even more fish than them as they will still be on the old version of the bait that fish could easily be getting wary of after enough captures.

 

Boosting your own unique boilie base mix with extra elevated levels of hygroscopic substances that are extremely rich in fish feeding triggers is a sure way to ensure you get really good results! But there are countless more innovative ways to catch more fish – economically, using methods, substances and knowledge beyond the conventional or the expected! Revealed in my unique readymade bait and homemade bait carp and catfish bait secrets ebooks is far more powerful information – look up my unique website (Baitbigfish) and see my biography below for details of my ebooks deals right now!

 

By Tim Richardson.

Now why not seize this moment to improve your catches for life with these unique fishing bibles: “BIG CARP FLAVOURS FEEDING TRIGGERS AND CARP SENSES EXPLOITATION SECRETS!” “BIG CARP AND CATFISH BAIT SECRETS!” And “BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!” For these and much more now visit:

http://www.baitbigfish.com

The home of the world-wide proven homemade bait making and readymade bait success secrets bibles and more unique free bait secrets articles by Tim Richardson!

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Fishing Tips

Fish Breeding Methods For The Crucian Carp

 

Fish farming is carried out at largely in most countries of Asia and Europe. Crucian Carp is one of the freshwater fishes that dwell in the rivers, lakes and reservoirs.  This is a fact sheet provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN which explains the methods that are adopted for the production of Crucian Carp.

Environmental and biological facts:

Crucian carp are usually sedentary type fishes that naturally propagate in different types of water bodies like lakes, rivers and reservoirs. They are basically omnivores generally feeding on filamentous algae, organic detritus, seeds and pieces of aquatic weeds and small benthic animals. But the larvae or the fry feed usually on zooplankton.

Artificial feed like pelleted feed, by-products from oil extraction and grain processing are also used in aquaculture. The main stimuli for reproduction are water level, rainfall and the temperature changes. The existence of aquatic weeds aids in spawning. They serve as the substrata for the eggs, which are normally adhesive. The average growth rate of a medium sized Crucian Carp is 1.25 kg.

The earthen pond culture is the mainly used system for rearing the Crucian Carp. But even rice paddies are used in countries like China.

Production cycle

 

Production cycle of Crusian Carp 

Criteria for Pond preparation:

There are certain typical aspects for the preparation of the pond for the reproduction and nursing of Crucian Carp and getting them ready for the end of year carp Sale.

Generally earthen ponds of the size of 1.5-2.0 m deep and 0.07-0.2 ha, are used for farming of the Crucian Carp. Before the Crucian carp is introduced in the ponds, the ponds are treated chemically with quicklime to ensure the elimination of all the harmful organisms that hinder in the process of Carp hatchery. The quicklime that is used usually amounts to 900-1125 kg/ha.

Even the organic fertilizers like the green and the animal manure are used for increasing the biomass of the zooplankton that is the natural food organisms for the carp. These are applied 5-10 days prior to stocking. This also depends on the water temperature. The quantity of the organic manures used may be:

4500 kg/ha for green manure.
3000 kg/ha for animal manure.

However, when both are used, their quantity gets reduced.

Supply of seeds:

The major supply of seed for Crucian carp culture is derived from artificial spawning. There are also natural seeds available in various water bodies that aid in carp culture. Carassius carassius gibelio is the commonly cultured carp. This is produced through the method of gynogenesis with the Xingguo red common carp which is the male and the female Carassius carassius gibelio. All female off-springs provided by the assorted gynogenesis, have a growth rate of 30-40 percent, which is higher than that of the original fish. There are also various other strains and species of Crucian Carp cultured in different parts of China.

Hatching process:

Usually matured and well selected brood stock is released into the spawning ponds, cages or tanks. Providing good substrata of palm leaves, plastic weeds, grass bundles and branches of fine trees, is very important in the water column where the spawning is carried on and the egg attachment takes place. Eggs can also be hatched in earthen ponds after treating them chemically. They require the eggs to be moved and fixed in the water column in the ponds along with the substrata.

Eggs hatch better in running water (jar or raceway). The eggs along with the substrata are merely hanged in the water column. The eggs along with the substrata can also be placed in jars or raceways, for hatching. The adhesiveness in the eggs is removed by blending with the clay solution before stocking. Later, the fry or hatchlings are shifted to the nursery ponds when they become capable to feed actively and swim well.

Sometimes hormonal injections are also given for the synchronous spawning of the fishes. Such hormonal injections are optional only. The fishes spawn well even without using them.

 

Nursery stage continued on our blog website

Fish breeding specialise in fish breeding and fish farming. http;//www.fish-breeding.com

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Fishing Tips

Crappie Fishing Basic Gear

There are some bare essentials that every crappie fisher needs: pole, reel (although truly optional I think you will want one), fishing line and a hook. I hope those are somewhat obvious but let us look at the basics first. Crappie poles are generally long, slender poles reaching lengths of 18 feet or longer. I do not recommend a super long pole for someone that is just getting started or not ready for them. Longer poles have their advantages such as reaching into tight areas and also extending your reach from a central point. This is an advantage when employing a technique called spider fishing, using varying length poles you can create a blanket of hooks, often in a semi-circular pattern.


Longer, and often more slender, poles provide amplified sensitivity as well. Most crappie specific poles would be poor poles for catching catfish or large carp. When choosing a pole consider your application such as how are you planning on casting. Long poles work for just dropping a line in the water but slightly shorter poles will help you when bait casting.


If you have a good idea of what you want for a pole you will now need a reel. There are as many reels to chose from as there are crappies, not really but almost. There are three main components of a reel those are a barrel, crank and a guide or eye. There are two types of spinning reels, an open face and closed, these are easily distinguished. If you can see where the line is stored it is open faced if you cannot it is closed faced. Both types also vary greatly in operation, one you must flip the bail back while holding the line and the other uses a simple push button on the back of the reel which is loosely egg shaped. I like the first one because you can see what is happening with your line and the general feel is better. The later is very popular with kids and the very casual fisher.


There are two more types of reels, a bait caster and the fly reel. The later is not extremely popular with crappie fishers but should not be excluded especially in the spring where fly fishing can be a great weapon in your armory. The first reel has been around in some form for hundreds of years and is very popular with bass fishers and for good reason. Theses reels are easy to recognize as they are the only ones where the axis of the barrel, the part that holds the line, is perpendicular to the pole where all others are parallel to the pole like a spinning reel.


Of course there is an exception with the fly reel but the size of the barrel often gives it away. The bait casting reel gives the user the greatest control over the feed of the line and is also one of the most difficult to master. Simple answer for this is pick a reel you can use and become familiar with all of its various adjustments as I’m sure there will be many such as brakes and clutches.

Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is committed to providing the best crappie fishing information possible. Get more information on basic crappie fishing gear here: http://www.askcrappiefishing.com

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Flathead Catfish Fishing Secrets Of Bring Up The Big Guys

When seeking out various types of fish, it’s good to have some general knowledge about not only that particular species’ preferred habitat but also about its habits, food preferences, and lifestyle in general.


While it’s not common for humans to think about animals and fish having a “lifestyle”, the idea is quite important to determining the best tactics to use in hunting or fishing for a species. This is definitely true of certain types of catfish, especially flathead catfish. Fishing for catfish is a popular sport throughout the United States, but tactics for catching different types of catfish vary greatly.


For example, most catfish are considered to be opportunistic feeders. This means that they are literally scavengers, seeking out the easiest meals they can find. They’ll eat other hunters’ “leftovers” – pieces of dead fish and other bits and bobbles – to avoid having to hunt down food. They’ll survive off insects and invertebrates native to their waters, and they’ll even eat plants to satisfy their hunger.


However, flatheads are different, meaning that flathead catfish fishing requires a different approach.


Flatheads, which may also be referred to as mud cats, shovelhead cats, johnnie cats, yellow cats, Mississippi cats, and Opelousa cats, are not simply scavengers. While they would not turn down an opportunistic meal, they are predators and prefer to hunt down live fish.


They are also one of the largest breeds of catfish around, growing regularly to sizes of three or four feet in length and weighing up to 100 pounds. Therefore, unlike many smaller species of catfish, you’ll need heftier equipment and specialized bait to attract these monsters.


Flathead catfish fishing requires live bait. In fact, the live bait you use should be sizeable in order to attract the flatheads because they do not appreciate a small meal. While you can use invertebrates, like worms, you will have to stuff your hook with several night crawlers to increase your chances of drawing in a flathead.


More useful bait would consist of large minnows or small shad and carp, as these are typically included in their diet anyway. If you choose not to use live bait to attract a flathead catfish, fishing with stink bait is probably the only way to attract your catch. This works on occasion because catfish find food mostly based on smell rather than sight, and large chicken livers or other rotting stink bait foods will permeate the water and drawn in your prey.

Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is commited to providing the best catfish fishing information possible. Get more information on flathead catfish fishing here: http://www.askcatfishfishing.com

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