salokcinnodrog

Here we go again! A good food source bait will outfish a lower quality bait, and in both shelf life and freezer forms. Fred Wilton worked out that a decent bait prebaited and fished well will produce more fish than a rubbish bait. Look up the history of Darenth and the Kent waters Shelf life's now are a very different bait from 25years ago, improvements in preservation, the preservatives used or no longer used are very different. Some freezer baits are identical to the shelf life bait in the same form, only the preservation is different. I know Crafty Catcher use a glycerine sugar syrup process to preserve the shelf life. King Prawn is the same bait in both forms. Shelf life food baits can be more instantly attractive than the freezer version, the glycerine syrup is providing the attraction, where freezer baits can become more attractive on day 3 or 4 as the sugars, salts and enzymes come to the fore through a process known as efflorescence. (Also happens to food's and concrete) You are mixing up the baiting situation on various lakes. If you fish over groundbait and/or particles with a rubbish bait, you may get takes as the fish clean up everything. However, if you fish with just boilies then the carp often have a preference for a decent bait. Added to that you may use a high attract bait in limited quantities to try to provoke a take. I go back to it, but I fished a week winter session where day 1 and 2 takes came to the high attract pop-up, from day 3 the only takes came to the food source bait, despite fishing the high attract baits all the way through. The number of times and lakes I have seen decent food source baits outcatch a rubbish bait! Sugar, a very interesting ingredient, works differently in different forms. Normal granulated sugar, exactly the same product as icing sugar, yet not as attractive an ingredient as icing sugar, a different reaction totally.

Kevin Maddocks mentions it in Carp Fever although not the flavour.

It wasn't Seafood Takeaway, I used that myself in freezer and shelfie version. Rolling them is not that hard to be honest, quick boil of an 8mm in my case then paste wrap it, roll by hand and boil as normal. Long winded yes, but it did work. More faffing to roll the bait made it unviable

I have had carp while the marker float is still in the swim after feeling around and baiting up to it, and had takes within minutes of reeling in. I tend to lead around, or even use the marker float every trip. Sometimes a feature is so 'tight' that I need to be hitting it, a metre either side could see my bait in missing the gravel bar totally, or in a thick weedbed. Right now I'm using the leading around to find fishable spots, and then get my rods clipped up to that length, with far bank markers as my aiming point. Just casting out 'blind' could, again, see my bait in thick weed. I don't mind my freebies landing in weed, but it is soul destroying reeling in a ball of weed with your hook point masked in weed, and the contents of the PVA bag stuck in the middle of it. I may know the features of the lake, even mapped it out, but a marker float, and/or leading around are invaluable every trip. Some trips, I may actually cast and bait up to the marker every day.

Strangely enough we had a dog otter on the lake and his favourite food was coots, probably easier to catch than most fish. He left the carp alone, picked up the occasional pike and mostly coot. I tend to use the spod mix when I want to clear an area from weed and bring in the naturals for the carp to feed on. In the weedy areas that are fishable (mostly cleared) is where I tend to use pop ups

Pigeon conditioner, maize, pellets and boilies whole and chopped. Be careful if you have birdlife on your water; swans, coots and tufted ducks will make fishing over particles a 'mare in shallow waters as they won't leave the bait alone, even at night. Sometimes this is where a 'free moving' pop-up can be beneficial, the movement of the hookbait can spook the coots. It doesn't always work though

I tend to fish a high attraction pop-up on 1 rod (fishing 3 rods) every session. For some reason I seem to catch on either the bottom bait rod(s) or the pop-up, rarely both, and I don't have any explanation for it. Years ago I was fishing for a week in winter, for 2 days the pop-up was catching, then every take after was on the bottom baits I had been feeding. Other things to consider are the lakebed; some areas are black and smelly, sulphurous, a bottom bait on that is rarely taken, whereas a pop-up may well be as the fish will just grab it and run. On or in 'decent' silt, a bottom bait may be better, even on harder lakebed areas, a bottom bait may be the one. Your hooking arrangement, basically your rig, and how the carp feed can determine bottom bait or pop-up. If the carp are mouthing baits to take them, then a pop-up could give you a better chance, whereas sucking and blowing, a bottom bait on a proper hair. Or perhaps you find that a single bright pop-up fished on its own is the best way to catch. That to me is usually the rod with no other bait around it. The bottom bait(s) has (boilies) bait around it. Possibly you want a pop-up over groundbait, loads of small crumb size particles, There is no fixed way to fish a bottom or pop-up, experiment and experience may tell you.

I went the cheaper route to get what I was after, and have had no problems. Mine have been worn while pike fishing, a swim on the local water is one that requires waders to be worn to net fish. You don't have time to faff putting them on. They also do the job when carp fishing, I have spent a lot of time wading the past 2 years. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303283926650?hash=item469d21767a:g:LYcAAOSwSC1de8fr

This morning at 9am

The coots definitely tell you when there is an otter about, and otters will get a few of them. It was the bird life disappearing that gave away the presence of an otter on a local club water. No dead fish were found, but the moorhens and coots disappeared. The water is now fenced and the public footpath alongside the water has auto shut gates to keep otters out. Sadly the otters have been on the big chub instead. I've had Sky rip her lead peg out of the ground when there is an otter on the bank near me, she wants it! She slipped her lead one day, took 45mins to get her back, she followed the otter to the island and didn't come back until she chased it off there.

Other species, tench, perch, pike (which can be a nuisance) and maybe some roach, and old bream. Boilies, pellet, maize have been going onto spots. I did find a couple of spots in one swim that were fishable and rich in bloodworm and baited them up for a few weeks. I caught off them, then another angler fished on there, and had a fish, and didn't put any bait in. The fish moved off and won't feed there now.

I agree, Best way to test them. I'm not a Burco man, I have a large cooking pan that I use on the cooker, it doubles up as my Ragu and chilli pan when I make enough for 4 meals (prep and freeze) I use a lot of maize myself as tiggers😉 are banned on my lake. I usually soak for 48 hours in water with some sunflower oil and then slow boil, as in bring to the boil then turn heat down to simmer for 20 minutes. I will keep it unused for no more than 2 days before use. I get lovely maize this way, soft enough to put baiting needle through if I want to use it on the hair. I had some awful particles a few years back mid summer when I was on Nazeing. I'd used up all my own ready prepared stuff and the fish were really on the munch so I popped into Johnson Ross to buy a large tub of mixed particles. When I opened the tub the oil had solidified; I had to use a bankstick to break the lump up just to tip them out into my bait bucket to mix them with Vitalin. I didn't catch over them!

Definitely tried raking spots, and unless it is over natural food, the fish avoid them. I spent a lot of spring and this summer on a couple of spots that I had cleared myself. If you bait on your raked spot, nothing. You have to find fish cleared spots with natural food on that they are happy to come to. Made slightly more difficult by not being able to use a boat, every weed clearing session is in chesties or from the bank.

At the moment I'm regularly blanking, but so are all the other anglers. One thing I don't or didn't have until recently is the ability to prebait before trips, although now landing a job 5miles away from the lake... Just to get time to fish now is the hope, as Assistant Manager of the hotel is always on call... I try to analyse every trip, learning from every session, although on a hard lake when no-one is catching is difficult. I think my biggest failure is finding fishable weedy spots or weed free spots that the fish will visit. Some weed free ones they avoid, especially when they have been caught on them before or the natural food is gone. My usual answer is always 'must try harder'.

The Swan mussel shells above the water line are a big giveaway, along with the way the corpse was left. Extremely likely to be an otter about! We discovered on my syndicate that the coots were going missing, numbers of their claws left in the field, no other remains. In the end a couple of us actually saw the darn thing, both during the day. Spraints weren't obvious, the long grass, sheep and out of bounds area meant we probably missed them until we saw the otter definitely.

I would be worried! Most of the time, a fish corpse will last no more than 48 hours on the bank; foxes, crows, rats will eat it. Only otters and foxes are strong enough drag the body up the bank. Otters have different types of 'patrol' or ranges. A dog otter may move around his territory, river to lake, over into female territories, whereas a female with cubs is likely to stay put. They will take the available food source, so if fish are within reach they will take them. They will also take coots, moorhens, and I have seen them take greylag geese and a year old Swan. Just because you still have silver fish does not mean the otters have moved on. In fact if you have loads of silvers it could be a sign that the bigger fish are not there; perch and pike will munch on silvers, the ill, slow and dying, and keep excess numbers down.

Obviously cos I have a tie in but have a look https://rodhutchinson.co.uk/product/rod-hutchinson-sceptre-rods/

This government blaming the NHS or other utility for shortfalls is totally the governments fault. The government have not increased sizes or built new prisons, but settled for privatising them. Exactly the same for the NHS, water companies, even British Rail. British Rail was in the midst of modernisation when it was privatised. Lines were being electrified, locomotives and coaches were being upgraded. Britain had become the 2nd most modern in the world behind Japan (!), and 2nd most successful on timekeeping and profit in Europe behind only Germany. Strangely the Big 4 rail companies in the UK were nationalised in the first place exactly because they were putting profit over safety and service back in the days of steam. British Rail back then didn't want to modernise but had no choice as the 1960/70's came. Too many providers are behind the population. By that I mean we have a population of around 65million,yet hospitals that can only cater for 45million, prisons that can cater for the criminal percentage of 45million, not 65million. It is exactly the same for the water infrastructure, and we are still not adding additional infrastructure for new builds. I believe Bazalgette catered for a London population of 4million back in Victorian times (double the actual of the time) yet the population is now over 10million and can't cope. The London sewerage system being increased is a high profile to hide other failures. Sussex water pumping and piping sewage 2miles out to sea to hide it. If it is clean fresh water why is it not going back inland to be used for irrigation?

Problem is that it started with privatisation 30years ago. Various utilities including the water boards had been saving and investing money to modernise the infrastructure, yet as they were privatised this money suddenly disappeared. For years now Thames Water being a high profile company has been prosecuted regularly for various offences. This pumping of sewage into the sea and rivers needs to be stopped, and it needs government support for that to happen. Sadly the current batch of muppets in parliament are offering no more than lip service, and many are in all probability on the backhanded list of the water companies.

The Angry fish is what I use for pike fishing as well. I've had it on for a year on both with no problems, although the colour does fade. Amnesia is also used for comb-rigs or stiff links. One thing I have found with braid is that hitting the clip hard at short range with a Spomb it fails to open, whereas a spod will drop the bait.

This is what I use for spodding and marker/leading around with a leader. Worked out with a medium Spomb I can drop down to 30lb Amnesia

Danny Fairbrass once said curved shank hooks don't need a line aligner, yet I personally found that some fish were able to eject the rig on curved hooks without it. This was where I was able to watch the fish picking up and ejecting the hook and bait, in an area where few people fished. I add a line aligner to every bottom or snowman bait rig now, whether straight or curved shank. The shank length extension and the line aligner I believe reduces ejection. Some fish will still get away with it, but hooking I think is improved

I trust my own knots and those that my mate Bruce has tied for me. We fished together for a lot of years and have tied rigs for each other numerous times, but I could not convince myself to trust anyone else's. The combi section I do use on clearer water, no weed to mess it up or stop it laying flat, and 20lb Amnesia in black or clear to Merlin I found very good. I must stress though, after a fish or two on the Amnesia combi-rig, I would check and/or change the rig as the overhand to uni knot (shockleader knot ) on the Amnesia can pull through, even lighter blabbing the Amnesia. You have seen my tackle box... Plenty of items in there that haven't been used, lead clips, pieces of Cork, fake corn, leads and tail rubbers

As Yonny says don't over think what you're doing. I haven't played with rigs for years, I could put up current rig pics, they would be almost identical to pics taken 20years ago. My bottom bait and snowman rigs are knotless knotted rigs with a line aligner, or with a sliding ring on the hooks hookshank. My pop-up rigs are D rigs or with a sliding ring on the hookshank... Put your rigs in front of the fish, get them feeding on your bait. To be honest hookbait presentation is the least of my worries, but where I put my hookbait is important. The honest answer is I rarely use a Ronnie rig, and have never knowingly used a German rig. Most rigs are fashion, not needed.

I have never really bought into the curve of the hook or tubing closing off the hook preventing penetration. That would make some very effective rigs 'not work', like the bent hook rigs, Withy pool rig, even the standard kickers or line aligner as well as curved shank hooks. I can understand the beaked point being used on gravel to try to reduce the chances of the point being burred over. Rigs incorporating line aligners on Gardner Muggas and on straight shank patterns have worked very well for me over years and years of use.