Carp bait
The subject of carp bait
is vast. This article is not supposed to be
a reference work on every type of carp bait
available today. If it was, then it could
take me a lifetime to complete and would warrant
its own web site. What I am aiming to do is
to provide an introduction to the type of
carp baits used in carp fishing today. It
is geared more towards the novice carp angler,
and runs through the different types of carp
baits and there practical uses.
Walk into a tackle shop and you will be overwhelmed
by the vast array of carp baits and carp bait
making products available in today's market.
It has become a bit like walking into a food
hall, with the hundreds of flavours of boilies
and readymade baits available.
Carp bait needn't however be
all shop bought ready made boilies, and
there is a huge choice available without
having to spend a fortune as well. Over
the years, carp have wised up to a lot of
the old type baits such as bread, cheese,
luncheon meat and the like, and anglers
tend to almost exclusively use boilies.
This of course does mean that the carp have
had time to forget some of those older baits
used to catch carp, and they can still produce
some great results.
What carp baits are available
So what carp baits are available
which will catch carp? Let's start with boilies
then. Boilies come in a variety of sizes and
in literally thousands of flavours. Some are
better than others, but a lot of that is down
to personal preference. You do need to be
confident in your carp bait, if you are not,
you may as well give up before you even make
the first cast. The one disadvantage to the
novice angler is that boilies need to be attached
to a hair on a hair rig. Although not too
difficult, rigs are a science of their own
and can be confusing to start with. They also
cost a little more than just a hook. They
do however account for the majority of larger
carp caught these days, and so you will need
to master them.
Types of Boilies
Probably more carp anglers
use boilies as carp bait than any other bait.
As a carp bait they are easy to use, easy
to store and have proven results when fishing
for carp.
So what types of boilies are there? Well apart
from different sizes, the main types are shelf
life, frozen and home mades. Shelf life are
available in most tackle shops and via mail
order. They will keep for months in their
original packaging and even once opened will
last a fair while if kept cool and dry. They
will however become very hard if allowed to
dry out and are subjected to the sun for too
long. If they get damp, they may well go mouldy.
Once I have opened a packet, I usually try
to use them during the session or freeze them
once I get home. They will also tend to lose
some flavour once opened and I like to try
to use a new batch each session. I also own
a fairly large koi pond, and so I don't find
too many get wasted.
Frozen boilies are becoming
a lot more commonplace recently. Again,
I would tend to use them up during a session
and not re-freeze them for the same reasons.
Home made boilies really warrants
its own article, and so I won't go into
much detail here. Suffice to say that it
is an art form of its own. Many anglers
wouldn't consider using any boilies that
they had not made themselves. They will
of course always be fresher and you can
make them to your exact requirements to
suit the water conditions and feeding habits
of the carp you are fishing for.
What other types of carp bait are available
Moving on then, the other
carp baits fall into several categories, which
I will run through one at a time. They are
man mades, pellets, pastes, particles, naturals
and floaters.
By man made, I mean such baits
as bread, meats, cheese, sausage, in fact
anything available on the shelves of a supermarket
which carp will eat. Bread is of course
the old favourite carp bait and can be used
in many forms, flake, where the bread is
squeezed gently onto the hook at the eye
end only leaving a fresh clump of bread
around the rest of the hook. Paste, where
the bread is dampened and rolled into a
ball, and may be flavoured before use. And
then of course crust, where just a piece
of the crust is attached to the hook and
allowed to float on the surface to temp
the carp. Cheese is another old favourite
carp bait of mine, any type of cheese that
will stay on a hook can be used, either
cut into cubes or moulded around the hook.
Meats such as luncheon meat are popular
with many anglers and have accounted for
a lot of fish. Again this can be cubed and
attached directly to the hook or used on
a hair rig. Try experimenting with some
of the more unusual flavours such as spiced
pork or curried flavour. Or flavour your
own. Also the spiced sausages available
now are popular with the carp. Fresh meat
will also catch, liver can be a great attractor
of carp with its high blood content. I have
also caught carp close to the edge with
tinned meat balls, but don't try casting
them, especially if there is someone opposite
you on a smaller lake. They also get a bit
messy and are a bit too tempting if your
lunch has already gone. The key is to experiment
and try to use something that the fish haven't
seen before.
Pellets
Pellets are available in the shops in a
huge variety of forms, and as well as the
old favourite trout pellets, a lot of specially
made carp pellets are now becoming popular.
The good thing about trout pellets is that
they have a high oil content and do pull
the carp in. They can either be attached
to a hair if they are large enough, or for
the smaller types, try making them into
a paste by adding hot water for about half
an hour, not too much or they will just
dissolve. If they wont stay on the hook,
an egg added to the mix will do the job.
Pastes can be shop bought or
home made. Recipes for home mades will be
featured in future articles. Shop bought
pastes again come in a huge variety of flavours
and I recommend experimenting.
Particles
Particles cover a massive spectrum
of baits. One of the most popular is hemp.
Its rich oily content when cooked attracts
the carp, and its small particle size gets
them grubbing around on the lake bed and
churning it up looking for more. If your
bait is amongst it, there is every chance
that they will find it. It is of course
too small to put on a hook, and is normally
used as an attractor with a larger pellet
on the hook. Hemp pellets are available
and this can be a deadly combination. Other
particles include just about any seed, and
of course the pulses such as beans, peas
and chick peas, sweetcorn, the old favourite,
seeds, and nuts make greate carp baits.
Most nuts and seeds will need to be cooked
before use, and it essential to get this
right. If you are not sure, seek advice
from your bait dealer or fishery owner.
Many waters ban certain particles and I
recommend checking this before preparing
your bait.
Natural carp baits
Natural carp baits include
maggots, casters, worms, insects and anything
that occurs naturally in the water or out
of it. It also includes one of my personal
favourites, cockles, which can be attached
directly to a hook or thread one or more
onto a hair rig. Also try shrimps and prawns
and other sea foods and freshwater mussels
are a favourite of carp where they occur
naturally.
Floating carp baits
Lastly then, floaters. If it
floats and carp will eat it, then try it.
Chum mixer, any other dog or cat biscuits,
seeds (soaked first to enable hooking),
floating boilies and as mentioned before
bread crust. Experiment here. I have seen
carp caught on Maltesers. Luncheon meat
when microwaved for a few seconds will float.
Give it a try. Also experiment with flavours,
either in dip form, or spray cans. For dog
mixers, place a bit of flavouring in a polythene
bag with the biscuits, inflate and then
tie the top. Shake to mix them well and
then store ready for use.
The key is always to experiment.
Don't just arrive at a water and copy everyone
else. They may all be blanking. If you come
up with something different that no-one
else is using and the carp like it, you
could clean up. Do remember though to check
with the fishery owner that the bait you
intend to use is allowable. Some baits,
especially particles, are banned on some
waters and this must be adhered to. It is
usually for a good reason and in the interests
of the fishery and the fish.
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