Leaderboard

Imo if anyone thinks they can feed off a lake full of small carp they are wrong geezer. Not a realistic solution imo buddy.

The Leila I knew was not carpy either but a very good ambassador for Anglo Israeli relations, if you get my meaning .

i was kind of thinking of attracting them to a spot i wasnt fishing or maybe dropping a rig a rod length or 2 off a baited spot... More a case of pulling the smaller fish to an area i wasnt fishing

Many years ago I made some baits up the size and shape of swan mussels. A few small doubles later I stopped. I do know that Nash make some of their baits in 24mm as a standard item.

As you know I have travelled round a lot of the worlds carp breeding sites and I must say that some of the European breeders are very careful about what they do, after all its their livelihood and reputation that's on the line. However Europe has got some nasty virus diseases etc and unfortunately a lot in the wild and that seems to be the source of a lot of fish destined for the UK angling market. Legally fish can only be exported imported from fish farms that can prove they are Virus free and bio secure, Illegally they can be exported/imported from anywhere. As for Israel, I am torn on this one- On one hand they are fantastic at breeding, rearing and general husbandry, but lets be honest their expertise came from the masters in what is now Germany, Poland, Czech rep and Slovakia. Likewise their brood fish came from same self countries after the 2nd world war and from these through selective breeding they produced some fantastic strains of carp, some were exported to the UK and South Africa etc. But on the other hand some of the breeders there are producing and exporting fish that are danger to the carp as a breed worldwide. On the subject of Israeli exports, I knew one called Leila, well worth knowing but that another tale!!!!

Welcome to the forum. No it’s not unusual for fish to take “different” baits. It’s been well documented over the years of carp being caught on a variety of baits. What I will say about Krave is they go soft quite quick,I know this as there my young sons favourite and if he leaves a few they go mushy quite quick. My favourite change bait is liquorice...... they catch allsorts. I’ll get my coat ....... 🙄🙄😬

I know what you are saying, but when nutritional need is fulfilled they can stop eating and go elsewhere to 'chill'.

There is a chapter in Rod Hutchinson's The Carp Strikes Back called 'Doing a Fred', where he made some orange size boilies in an attempt to avoid smaller carp. Go as big as you can, I've used 2 20mm baits on a hair and still caught carp only just reaching double figures, but at the same time, I have also gone down in size to 10mm baits and caught big carp over 20lb. Double or even treble your baits on the hair, maybe 2 or 3 20mm boilies on the hair (Albert Romp and the Greedy Pig rig) instead of singles. The other thing is you may find the larger carp avoid feeding with smaller carp, or stick to particular areas. It could pay to feed off the smaller carp, continually baiting one spot until they are full up and move off. The bigger carp may then move in, and pick up your 'oversize' hookbait, or you may need to find the areas the larger carp frequent if they stick to 'their' areas.

I'm thinking of going back to my Smallwaters from next week. I really miss using them. So light, and more accurate to cast with.

i once knew a Leila, not one bit carpy but could trout pout like a champion

I know someone who has absolutely ruled using huge donkey chokers, but a 10 lb carp can still suck in a boilie the size of a golf ball.

I agree Vik. There'a not much you can do to put little'n's off. When I was a lad I spent too much time trying to single out bigger fish in waters full of smaller carp. It took me too long to realise that the best way to catch bigguns is to fish water with bigger fish in!