Tag Archives: Hook

Fishing Strategies

Spring Carp Bait Flavors and Irresistible Cold Water Fishing Ground Baits

In spring, carp are notorious for being very difficult to catch. Fishing bottom baits or ‘pop-up’ baits on the lake bed can be a complete waste of time. But also using buoyant baits in the middle or top layers of water. The top layers are where carp will often ‘sit’ most comfortably for a great proportion of time without visiting the denser, colder bottom layers. If they do visit the bottom layers to feed, it may often be for a very limited period of time indeed!

In carp fishing it is often the case that without sufficient stimulatory attraction substances dissolved (or ‘semi-dissolved’) in the water, the fish can seem ‘blind’ to your hook baits. In order to induce takes’ far more efficiently in spring, you need an edge which will activate the senses of carp which hang n the top water layers as if oblivious to a hook bait on its own even when boosted with flavours and glowing with fluorescent colours!

To achieve the levels of stimulation in the water around and directly above you hook bait is distinct advantage at times when water is cold especially. Having an ‘active’ ground bait (or chum) that constantly releases rising particles and attractive and stimulatory substances is a great ‘edge.’

Oily ground baits can disintegrate and components can rise up to ‘activate’ the water column surrounding your hovering pop-up or floating buoyant hook bait above it in the middle and top layers where fish are often located. Cold water fish are often unwilling to feed in more dense lower water near the bottom as this is more uncomfortable for them and too cold for their metabolism to be efficient.

The top water layers receive radiated heat fro the sun and bit becomes less dense. Top layers are warmer and suit fish metabolism parameters and they use energy far more efficiently there, but carp can also be caught at great depths too… A great ‘plus’ about fishing the top water layers is that ‘takes’ can come at any time and be totally unexpected, whereas winter and spring carp fishing results and feeding times can be far more limited. With bottom baits, bites may be limited to happen during a short half-hour period in the early morning on a fishery. This can mean that the rest of your time fishing on the lake bed is just a waste of time!

Water soluble poly vinyl alcohol (‘PVA’) bags or ‘netting’ can be used filled with all kinds of tasty morsels to attract fish. The more they react and remain active and move around in the water the better! Filling these with bread crumb based ground bait and maggots to get movement it can really improve results when fish are unresponsive to more conventional inactive pellets and boilies, meats etc. Maggots and hook baits can be sprayed with flavours to boost attraction. Proven cold water flavours like Rod Hutchinson’s ‘Megaspice’ or ‘Scopex’ at about 3 milliliters per kilogram of crushed boilies or pellets as part of a ground bait mix in a ‘PVA’ bag (or net) can work wonders on a cold day.

Hemp oil which is far more water soluble and viscous in low temps than most oils used in fishing baits does not inhibit bait digestion like fish oils.

Adding liquid lecithins has many stimulatory advantages helping any oils already in the crushed boilies or pellets to emulsify and spread more effectively through water to attract fish.

Adding a mixture of essential oils can really make a difference at this time of year. You can use a single one or a mixture. Among the most well known are black pepper oil and geranium terpenes and clove oil. Eucalyptus oil has also been very successful in winter and spring for me as well as the cold decongestant essential oil mixture called ‘Olbas Oil’ which has done well for me all year round any temperatures. It comes into its own in spring those variable spring temperatures.

As an attractor and flavor ‘Olbas Oil’ contains many ‘bioactive’ antioxidant compounds also regarded as antiseptics. (Clove oil in dentistry for instance!) It has a proven range of essential oils but one constituent is also a very potent, extremely soluble, naturally occurring carboxylic (‘organic’) acid a derivative of birch trees. This special group of acidic substances are just one among very many which has been used extremely successfully in commercially produced fishing flavors and baits for years.

Adding edible dyes to your ground bait adds visual stimulation. (You can mix ‘Ccmoore’ red pigment based ‘Red Venom’ which is extremely effective at this time of year.) It is based on the famed ‘Carophyll Red.’ (The substance connected to so much controversy in connection with another excellent bait additive especially for this time of year namely, ‘Robin Red.’) There are a vast range of other stimulants, enhancers, flavours etc to exploit especially for low temperature use and much depends if you are using the ‘instant bait’ approach, the long-term bait approach, or both!

If you mix up your special ground bait and find it is too light or buoyant you can add sterilised sand to provide weight and when spread on the lake bed will release and send up into the water column tiny globules of oils attached to them from the ground baits mixture, so adding to the attraction

So you cast out and your ‘PVA’ bag or netting of ground bait attached to your hook and or lead releases bits of bait and tiny droplets of oils travelling upwards constantly release from the bait in regularly occurring streams of attraction. As your flavours, additives and oils travel and diffuse through the water in varying amounts, any carp in the vicinity will be able to home in on it and identify the exact proximity of your hook bait as the source of all this exciting substances.

As the ground bait is composed of crumbs which are not going to fill the carp up before it has at least sampled your hook bait as it is the only sold food available, the chances of a hooking a fish and getting a take are maximised. I have since learnt that this is the kind of idea used with the compressed ground bait ‘stick’ method. This method can rely less on ground bait design of ingredients being very ‘active’ It differs in that the bait is compressed tightly into soluble PVA netting and when this dissolves in the water, the ground bait expands and disperses, so increasing its carp ‘pulling power!’

Although this is just the tip of the winter and spring bait ‘ice-berg’ and there is far more to successful baits and techniques, even using these few simple methods has proven effective for me personally, but are just a ‘half-way stage’ to even more effective things…

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

By Tim Richardson.

For the unique and acclaimed new massive expert bait making / enhancing ‘bibles’ ebooks / books:

“BIG CATFISH AND CARP BAIT SECRETS!”

And: “BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!” (AND “FLAVOUR, FEEDING TRIGGERS AND CHEMORECEPTION SECRETS”) SEE:


http://www.baitbigfish.com


Tim Richardson is a homemade carp and catfish bait-maker, and proven big fish angler. His bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks are even used by members of the “British Carp Study Group” for reference. View this dedicated bait secrets website now!

Carp Fishing Equipment

Basic Carp Fishing Pointers

Frustrating as it is, carp fishing is awesome. Carp are really good at sucking in and blowing out suspicious baits.  It’s such an excitement to see the whole action in a fraction of a second as you hang on for dear life while the reel is trembling with a loud noise.

Carp happily devour on the surface as long as you keep the pellets, biscuits, chic peas, bread, and re-hydrated corn coming in, and these are inexpensive baits as well.  Just attach them to the hooks, most preferably the bread.  Have the biscuits softened by dipping it in the water for about 2 minutes, then, place them in a sealed sandwich bag for about an hour.  Since different brands have different textures, just experiment to know which is firm enough to cast.  Another way to hook baits is super gluing the pellet into the shank.

Once they get into feeding, let them feel comfortable around the bait.  This gives more opportunity for the fisherman since they begin to not feel picky.  This tactic can be useful for zig rigs.

As soon as they’re feeding, cast the bait but make sure not to drop the bait directly onto the feeding carp.  Cast away from the feeding area then slowly draw it in position.  While the bait is till hanging, keep the food coming in so as to keep the carp from going away.  

How to Set-Up?

•    Use a hair rig to increase your chance of catching.  As carp taste food first, if they don’t like the taste, they won’t come near it.
•    You may also use a Spider Line, 50 lbs test, then use a leader material that fits the situation.
•    Thread the bait on the baiting needle and hook the hair loop.  You may also use foam dipped in a flavor as this enhances the attractiveness of the bait.
•    Also make a baiting needle by just straightening a long shank hook.  Slide the bait on the shank, then slide the bait from the needle onto the hair.
•    Using a float is also an advantage because it adds weight for further distancing and the location is easily identified.
•    Don’t forget the controller float rig.  A leader can be used which is attached to the swivel to its mainline of at least 3 feet length with a 10lbs Drennan double strength.  A low diameter mono will do just as long as it floats well enough for visibility.  

As experts say, it is not the bait that catches the carp but the method in which the bait is introduced.  Pre-bait everyday, in one spot for a few days.  This makes the carp think that there is a regular source of food for them and by “word of mouth” there’ll soon be a school of fish around.  Just be patient and it will all work.

Carp Fishing Equipment

Commonly Used Fishing Equipment in the UK

Fishing in the UK is a sport that’s both relaxing and exciting. The relaxing part is casting a baited hook into the water and waiting for an unsuspecting fish to happen by. The exciting part is when the fish takes the bait. Here’s some information about two types of Fishing Equipment required for this enjoyable sport.

When you are starting out as a fisherman in the UK, it is best to start with the most simplistic form of Fishing Equipment. It really doesn’t require a lot of fishing gear to go fishing. However, a rod or pole is indeed a necessary piece of equipment. The fishing pole is used to suspend the line from which hangs the bait for the fish. Bamboo, fiberglass and carbon fiber are all basic materials used to make the poles. The fishing rod is used for the same purpose but is somewhat more sophisticated. They have various lengths and also vary in action. The sizes are available from a 24-inch rod to 20 foot one. The casting is better with the longer rod.

There are many different types of fishing rods. A carbon fiber pole is a more technologically advanced pole, which is usually used for coarse fishing in Europe. Fly fishing rods are made to cast artificial flies. They are part of the Fishing Equipment used to catch salmon in the UK. Many fishermen in the UK use this salmon fishing equipment each year for a successful catch. Normally salmon is fished from the rivers in England, although it can be done well in the sea also. In addition to the right rod, you will need waders for the majority of UK Rivers in order to get to the best fishing places.

When you are searching for sea fishing equipment in the UK, try to find sea rods made to be used on the open sea. These rods will be built stronger and longer than the other kinds. For sharks and other huge game, specialty rods are designed. Be sure that the deep-sea fishing rod that you have selected can hold up to the pressure of the resistant larger fish when they are hooked. Also be certain that it is constructed from material such as fiberglass or graphite, which will resist corrosion from the salt air.

Every other part of your tackle has to be able to fit with your rod. This includes the lines, lures, reels and hooks. If you aren’t sure about your choices, get advice from a more experienced fisherman. You need to bear in mind that no matter what kind of fish you are trying to catch in the UK, you have to have the right fishing equipment to be successful.

Our fishing store caters for Sea,Game and Coarse anglers.We hold all leading brands in rods and reels as well as a range of terminal tackle and baits.For more information Click Fishing Equipment For further details Click http://www.keenstackleandguns.co.uk/fishing-equipment/

Fishing Tips

Making Beginner Carp Fishing Boilies – Cheap Ingredients And Flavours!

If you are one of the thousands of carp anglers who are turning to making their own homemade baits or are considering it in order to be able to go fishing without unaffordable bait costs, you are in luck! Here is a very revealing article to seriously set you on your way to big fish with massive savings for years to come!

Traditionally carp anglers have used boilies as a way to defeat the attentions of smaller fish because these baits do not in general get whittles away or pulled off the hook or rig very easily unlike paste baits. Boilies can be made for very many functions to suit fishing situations and methods of fishing, from soft and soluble heavy ones to very hard and buoyant ones that can be fished in critically-balanced ways, or mid water or on the surface and so on.

Boiled baits are a more resilient progression of what used to be called specials or carp baits that were pretty much a more customised version of bread or wheat flour paste or dough type baits. Modern carp fishing boilies are often not very different in terms of recipes and ingredients from baits made even as far back as the Sixties.

The advent of the huge upsurge in the promotion and production of soluble fish proteins and their increased availability around the early Seventies and onwards has certainly had a big impact in terms of the success of many carp baits and pellets too for example. The newer generation of predigested fish meal containing boilies and products like marine or halibut pellets containing high levels of these products plus high quality oils and other factors has meant such baits have made quite an impression on catches of carp and catfish and other species too.

Going back in time a few decades, using trout pellet boilies and paste were often almost the normal thing to use on many carp waters in various versions and were certainly very successful, so these things are far from new today. We could begin with a high carbohydrate bait based on ground cereals and flavours but as one of the big advantages of protein baits is their natural nutritional attraction compared to most carbohydrate baits a description of how to make a pellet powder ingredients bait follows:

It is very easy for a beginner to make a homemade bait from ground trout pellet or ground marine halibut pellet powder far more appropriately, using proprietary ground carp pellet powder! Carp pellets are far more ethical as these are actually designed to suit carp dietary essential requirements specifically as opposed to pellets meant for other fish groups such as the salmonids (trout, salmon etc) with different energy and other aspects of essential requirements.

Note; just because a bait catches fish does not mean it is harmless and will not lead to fish damage and diseases in the long run. Fatty liver diseases in carp due to over use of high oil pellets and boilies is a blight on UK big fish angling and I cannot bear to land big carp even over forty pounds with ruddy great livers protruding out of the side of their abdomens where the diet of baits supplied by anglers themselves is leading to these often fatal conditions!

Think about high oil pellets like MacDonalds or crisps and chocolates eaten by many obese people. You can see the fat outside, and sure you see many fat bellied carp that often barely fight when hooked, but imagine how much fat is around the organs and in the tissues of fish fed unhealthy baits 24 hours a day every day week in week out for years; it is not good and leads to completely unnecessary fish fatalities!

I have also found that use of carp pellet type baits out-fish baits based on the vast majority of salmonids pellets in cool water temperatures too. This is very much due to the low oil content of carp pellets. The bulk oils in halibut pellets for instance certainly mess up the digestion rate of carp when temperatures drop and I am still amazed when you see the high oil trout and salmon and halibut pellets being offered or in use in winter; I guess it just shows some angler do not want to catch so many fish!

If you visit carpfishingpellets on the web you will find a whole range of specialist carp pellets and koi feeds for all kinds of stages of growth and different times of year and containing various different formulations and ingredients and additives to suit every fishing situation. You can order these in whole form or in ground form and I consider these products some of the most instant carp catchers for lazy carp bait makers imaginable! They contain the essential nutritional stimulation and attraction needed for reliable short and long-term baits and can be boosted or adapted in multitudes of ways to enhance bait performance.

This past winter I used a winter formulation of koi pellet as an experiment. To this I added binders in the form of very cheap maize and wheat flours just to enable baits to rolled but this is not totally necessary as often pellets contain enough cereal binders that they roll into baits anyway especially when eggs and a little hemp oil for instance is added to smooth the baits in this process.

I named this range of my experimental boilie recipes Borg Cubes from an episode of an old Star Trek episode – I never did get why it was such a cult but the name of this craft made me laugh! With these carp pellets based homemade baits I made the great percentage by rolling prepared dough out and just cutting it with a bread knife into cubes (which takes just a few minutes for kilograms of baits!)

I made my free baits square. My hook baits were made into uneven rectangles (which wobble in the mouth.) Used using these baits in practice carp obviously find these a real challenge when attempting to eject such baits. This is in great contrast to uniformly round, dumbbell or more rounded cylinder or pellet shaped baits. In fact such baits are a big thing of mine!

Bait secrets may seem to all be known right? But this is simply not the case! For instance I am mad keen about making new connections between disparate aspects of life and between all kinds of things that at first sight may first appear completely irrelevant to each other. My own inspiration for making cube baits was not simply to be different and achieve a competitive edge by simply this.

The secret is to solve answers to challenges carp behaviours present us with. In this case it is obvious from my own experiences and first hand observations of carp behaviours that they have evolved incredible skill at avoiding and ejecting hook baits even when fairly well hooked but most of all in spitting out rounded baits most of all. This is because they have had years to develop these skills and most of the big old wary carp which we dream of catching are too many individual degrees masters or masters in the making in these skills. The fact is that irregular angular baits create totally different pressures that carp find much harder to deal with than with more uniformly rounded baits. For more information see my readymade improvement and homemade bait making secrets site link and biography now!

By Tim Richardson.

For the unique and acclaimed new massive expert bait making / enhancing ‘bibles’ ebooks / books: “BIG CATFISH AND CARP BAIT SECRETS!” And: “BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!” (AND “FLAVOUR, FEEDING TRIGGERS AND CHEMORECEPTION SECRETS”) SEE: http://www.baitbigfish.com Tim Richardson is a homemade carp and catfish bait-maker, and proven big fish angler. His bait making and bait enhancing books / ebooks are even used by members of the British Carp Study Group for reference. See this dedicated bait secrets website now – and improve your catches for life!

Carp Fishing Equipment

4 Carp Fishing Secrets – We Reveal Big Carp Tips For Bait Rigs And Tackle

When it comes to catching big carp, you will benefit from some carp fishing secrets, we all know that it is vital to understand certain crucial factors that will at least give us a fighting chance to hook that elusive lake record carp. Catching big carp should not be down to just chance but someone we can be confident about achieving and if you want that edge to start catching bigger carp then carry on reading and next time you go to the river bank or your syndicate water you can make the bagging of a record carp a reality.

Your 4 Carp Fishing Tips and Tactics – So How Do I Catch Big Carp?

1) Understanding why carp can be elusive is the most important factor to being able to catch the big ones. Carp get used to seeing standard baits being presented on fancy rigs that can make the fish stand up and think to themselves – Danger. You need to present a bait in a reasonable manner and on a carp fishing rig that suits the environment on the bottom on the lake. Lake information should be obtainable by the bailiff and they are usually more than happy to let you know certain quirks about a particular swim and to what type of lake bed you are casting onto.

2) Big Carp also seem to have more developed awareness to baiting patterns and an over fished swim may lead to the carp filter feeding of the dissolving bait already having been put there by over keen anglers who think that throwing in a ton of bait will actually help them catch. Again, it is worth getting to know information about each swim of the particular lake and when the last carp was caught. It is really good when you can get into a swim that is bare of old bait and the fish start to feed again on your whole baits – you are then in for a full catching session so don’t expect to get much sleep if you are doing an all-nighter.

3) Baiting for Carp is a much discussed topic for top anglers but it has been proven that certain factors influence the carp into feeding on dissolving or whole baits. If you are fishing a swim for just a couple of nights and you can see lots of splashing around and occasional cloudy patches on the top of the water where the carp have been splashing it is true that the dissolving bottom bait is the normal cause. Whilst, dissolving bait is available to the carp they will often feed on this as they have become used it to this as being safe to eat. However, if you present new carp bollies or other bait they will still prefer the filter feeding until it has run out and then will venture upon your new baits. The rule of thumb and best practice for the big carp is to pre-bait small amounts of new bait and wait until you know that a swim has been quite for at least 3-4 days and then get established in the swim and do a 4-7 night session which will result in good carp catches and maybe get you that elusive carp record.

4) Make sure you have all the tackle and spare equipment that you think you may need for a good carping session. We know that carp tackle can be expensive these days but if you are serious about catching, carp fishing secrets and tips aside, then you should at least have a mid range carp rod and spend as much as you can on the bait runner reels, I still use and prefer Shimano. Make sure you have good bite alarms and you take a few spare batteries with you. Remember, you can always upgrade your other carp equipment but it is best to start with a good package of rods, reels and bite alarms so you minimize having to waste that money when you find that the tackle you first purchased may not be up to the job after 6 months.

The more you can understand about the proven methods to catching big carp as early as possible will stand you in good stead for future carp catching success. There is much written about catching good carp and you should take the time to read and read more on the subject as knowledge is King – having loads of fantastic carp fishing tackle doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed to catch the elusive fish.

Next, using top carp fishing secrets and techniques to catching carp there will be no stopping you. Fishing for carp is a great pastime and it’s time to take it as a measured approach and benefit from a big carp catching future. Val Marks @ fishingforcarp.net