Particle Fishing

Particles are an important bait for the carp angler. This short piece gives a very brief overview of particles and their use in modern carp fishing techniques. Particles have become immensely popular over the last few years, with dealers stocking a never ending variety of the, They have actually been used as a carp bait for decades in one form or another, with the classic all time favourite being sweetcorn. One of the countries most famous carp waters, Redmire Pool, has surrendered some of its biggest carp to sweetcorn over the years to sweetcorn, including Richard Walker's 44lb common, which stood as the British record for many years.

So, what is it that makes particles so effective? The key is their small size. They resemble the carp's natural diet, being small items of food which have to be picked up over a large area. Compared to boilies, they are very small and the carp have to work for their meal. They have to get their heads down and hunt around for each particle. This tends to hold them for longer in one area and often induces competitive feeding and if your hookbait is amongst the particles then you stand a good chance of it being taken.

There are also disadvantages to the small size. Using particles as hook bait is not easy. They are not easily attached to a rig. For this reason a lot of anglers will fish a single larger hook bait over a bed of particles. This method can be deadly as the carp, working competitively for the particles, come across one larger hook bait and it is often snapped up greedily. Another disadvantage of using particles is in the preparation. Many types, especially the smaller seeds and nuts, need to be soaked or boiled in advance. This operation can be messy and smelly, and may not make you popular in the kitchen. However, most particles can be bought ready prepared in smaller quantities these days and if you don't mind paying a little extra for them, this can save a lot of time and trouble.

Particles available

So let's look at some of the particles available. We have already mentioned the famous sweetcorn, but it is also available in many colours and flavours from most tackle dealers. You can also colour and flavour your own, making it an extremely versatile bait. Also most other tinned particle vegetables available in supermarkets can be used, such as peas, chickpeas, black-eyed beans, butter beans, red kidney beans, borlotti beans or haricot beans.

Hemp

Hemp seed being one of the carp's favourites is a most popular particle. The seeds resemble small water insects or snails and has an oily consistency when cooked, and carp go mad for it. It can be attached to a fine hair, but is probably best used as an attractor with a larger hookbait laid on a bed of hemp. Once carp are feeding well on hemp, they will take most hook baits, although I prefer to use a dark pellet or bait which blends in well with the hemp.

Pellets

Also available from tackle and bait dealers and pond supply outlets are pellets. These can be extremely effective in attracting carp into your swim, and although hard to use as hookbait, they are easily made into a paste by adding water and egg. They are available in many sizes and the larger ones can be attached to a hair rig by using a bait drill. Recently many new types of carp pellets have become available as well as the old faithful trout pellets, which are supposedly more water friendly and less likely to pollute waters after heavy usage. I fish pellet in the same way as hemp, with a larger hook bait over a bed of pellet, and the advantage here is that pellet being dry, it can be used in PVA bags for accurate loose feeding.

Nuts

Particles also include nuts of many types, which must be prepared by boiling. Peanuts for instance should be placed in boiling water in an airtight container and soaked for two days. One of the most popular nuts as a carp bait is the tiger nut. Prepare as per peanuts and then pressure cook for 20 minutes, they can be penetrated with a baiting needle, but if still slightly hard, a bait drill will help. I fish them two on a hair or sometimes singly straight on the hook. As they are a hard bait, they stay on the rig well and so are good for casting.

Methods with particles

When particle fishing, the aim is to place a bed of bait on the bottom and fish your hook bait right on top of it. For this reason, accuracy is important. There are many methods of getting particles into your swim. For longer-range fishing, spodding is useful, whereby a container or spod of the particle is attached to a line on a separate rod and repeatedly cast to a particular spot, where the bait is released from the spod and falls to the bottom. When sufficient loose bait has been deposited, your bait is cast to the same spot and fished over the bed of particles.

Another method is the PVA bag. PVA dissolves in water and bags of bait can be cast attached to the fishing rig, ensuring that your bait lands in exactly the same spot as the particles. As PVA dissolves when wet, this method only works with dry particles, hemp and crushed or broken boilies being the favourite.

If you can afford one, then bait boats make the whole process of baiting up very much simpler over long distances. The boat can be loaded up with large amounts of bait as well as your terminal tackle and the whole lot can be delivered to the exact spot in which you want to fish. This can even be underneath overhanging branches of trees or on the very edge of an island or feature.

For short range fishing, again PVA bags are good or loose feed particles if you can reach your fishing position accurately either by hand or using a catapult.

Remember, accuracy is the key. You want to position your bait right in the middle of the particles and so use whatever method of fishing best achieves this. Try different baits and don't be afraid to try something different. Take a look around your local supermarket. You'll be surprised at the variety of particles right there on the shelves, and it can make the weekly shop a lot more interesting.