Article: Andrew Wood
As I move on from the first full year on a new northern water, it’s time to reflect on the little things that I’m sure have helped me succeed.
Like many anglers, fishing has always been a hobby. Fitting it in between a fine balancing act of work and family life, I simply don’t have the time to spend many days bankside. Some months I’ve been limited to 1 session, other months I have been blessed with a 2 nighter or a handful of days. However long or short the sessions have been, I have always been ready with arguably one of the most important parts of catching carp. A great bait!
This all starts with my preparation.
With limited freezer space I’ve gone straight into the shelf life range choosing to mix the range with the Classic Corn and the Smokey Jack. Both on their own great baits but certain carp prefer certain things. Some carp like a fishmeal, some carp like veg!
This way I’m at least offering a varied mix to attract something to the dinner table. I add a mixture of sizes to a bucket and start by glazing them with an oil to suit. For the Classic corn, it’s the hemp oil and for the Smokey Jack, the salmon oil. I’ll keep repeating this process every couple of days but also make sure that I am never soaking them, instead constantly boosting them by letting them dry up before repeating. Being the shelf life range, there are absolutely no worries about them going off and the buckets can be stored wherever space allows.
Once the time comes to go fishing, I have the base ready for starting a ‘mix’. I chop and crumb the boosted baits in a separate bucket together, adding at this stage the Liquid Betaine and depending on hookbait choice the Pink Pepper Squid particle syrup or the Classic Corn Particle syrup.
This is to add more attraction and also a match to the hookbait I’m going to be using. So by this time I’ve got a high attract mix to get them feeding but ultimately now I need to catch them and this is where my hookbait boost comes into play.
Straight out the tub hookbaits work wonders, again accounting for thousands of carp every year, but I believe going a little bit further will often account for quicker bites when time doesn’t allow. Simply take your tub of chosen hookbaits, the matching booster spray and any one of the essence flavours or oils available, then add 3 sprays of booster spray and 5 drops of oil to give them a serious upgrade.
My desired oil has always been the black pepper oil. Results speak for themselves and this combination has accounted for one of my best seasons yet!
I hope using these few tips not only increases catch rates but for the angler that only has a small amount of time at their disposal, turns a blank couple of hours into a successful one!
Tight Lines for 2022 everyone
Woody
