Reusable baits

[Carpman98]

how often should you re use baits and how long should you keep your pop ups and wafters on before changing them?

[Carpbell3]

27 minutes ago, Carpman98 said:

how often should you re use baits and how long should you keep your pop ups and wafters on before changing them?

I try to change on every cast unless it's a quick recast for better placement depends on the water though on a good day at a runs water you can get away with having a few out on the same hook bait.

[Golden Paws]

When you re use, do you mean use them for the next session? Anything that gets cast out, never gets a second outing on another trip. If I'm say fishing for 24 hours, a fresh bait goes on first thing and then I'll probably change it just before it gets dark. All baits take on water and their ability to pop-up or waft is reduced.

I can't understand some people who say they cast out once during a 48 hour session and leave it. The amount of times I've reeled in and some weed has tumbled down and masked the hook point would have me wondering all the time whether I was fishing effectively.

[Carpman98]

This was a perfect answer thank you.

I was wondering if you should be using a fresh pop up or wafter every session, or if they were durable enough to say you brought your rods in and put them back out the following morning or next couple of days and still be effective.

[salokcinnodrog]

7 hours ago, Carpman98 said:

how often should you re use baits and how long should you keep your pop ups and wafters on before changing them?

 

2 hours ago, Golden Paws said:

When you re use, do you mean use them for the next session? Anything that gets cast out, never gets a second outing on another trip. If I'm say fishing for 24 hours, a fresh bait goes on first thing and then I'll probably change it just before it gets dark. All baits take on water and their ability to pop-up or waft is reduced.

I can't understand some people who say they cast out once during a 48 hour session and leave it. The amount of times I've reeled in and some weed has tumbled down and masked the hook point would have me wondering all the time whether I was fishing effectively.

I will try not to change a bait unless I have to. I have cast out a bait smelling of me, once it has been taken by the fish it is now acceptable to the fish, putting a new bait on may mean I have to start again, and that may be having to wait for 48hours.

I have had takes where I cast out at the start of a session, and it did stay in place until I got a take. I knew the water, I knew some fish were particularly wary of 'new' baits, and would leave boilies for a couple of days until they were 'convinced they were safe'. Every other angler would reel in, fresh bait and recast.

Even on day trips, I have had numerous fish on one hookbait, until that bait is 'marmalised', or pulled off the hook/hair.

Get your rigs right, use PVA to protect the hook and there should be no problems with the hook being masked.

 

At the end of a session, my wafter or meshed pop-up hookbaits get taken off, put in a tub and reused next trip. By drying out, they regain their buoyancy.

I've again had loads of fish caught on those reused hookbaits, in fact the 23 from the other week was caught on a meshed hookbait out of the re-use tub.

 

The very fact that baits take on water may be to their benefit, especially if fishing over any groundbait or particle. 

 

 

If you are reeling in every day on a longer trip, a fresh stringer, mesh or bag and leave the hookbait alone, do not change it unless you absolutely have to.

[framey]

If it comes of I change otherwise it stays on 

unless I change flavour and then It will go back in the pot 

[Golden Paws]

I've had several fish on the same bait and will happily cast it out again as long as it looks as though it will survive the cast. I won't put a used bait back into the pot though.

The issue about the smell of your hands is valid and I could argue that smokers should never catch a carp in their life but unfortunately I know a lot of good anglers that are addicted to the weed. I try to remember to wash my hands in lake water prior to casting out. I know some people use disposable gloves to put the bait on. It's easy to chase your tail so don't worry too much about it, Carp still pick up baits whatever.

[B B]

2 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

I have cast out a bait smelling of me, once it has been taken by the fish it is now acceptable to the fish,

Maybe you had the fish because it still smelled of you and not that your smell had washed off… who knows 

Tobacco smells on bait…iv seen a vid with the great late Iven Marks chain smoking catching fish after fish that was on a river but seen him mixing ground bait and catching fish on a lake also. 
I used to smoke cigars 😞 and still had my share of fish maybe they like the smell of us humans…who knows 

The one time I category known for certainty a 100% that smoking spoiled my chance of fish was when I had was smoking a Henry Wintman cigar (other brands are available) they were quite long and I was reeling in a fish using a multiplier and got to close to the line and burned through the line. 🙄 

A fresh bait every time I reel in even if the bait don’t smell of decaying silt and the old hook bait goes to feed the wildlife I have used wash out baits when I got in a swim and a previous angler had put his or hers left over bait in the margin I put one on as a hook bait 

[Carpbell3]

3 hours ago, Golden Paws said:

I've had several fish on the same bait and will happily cast it out again as long as it looks as though it will survive the cast. I won't put a used bait back into the pot though.

The issue about the smell of your hands is valid and I could argue that smokers should never catch a carp in their life but unfortunately I know a lot of good anglers that are addicted to the weed. I try to remember to wash my hands in lake water prior to casting out. I know some people use disposable gloves to put the bait on. It's easy to chase your tail so don't worry too much about it, Carp still pick up baits whatever.

Carp love hemp, seriously though my catch rate improved after giving up smoking.

Did anyone else see those gimmick boilies on sale a few years back green in colour and said to include hemp flowers industrial obviously. 

I found a tub of krill Hard hookers I glugged in krill liquid a few years back they are still good and packed with krill juice will be using them this year, also got a tub of manila pop ups that have been soaking in JBs milk liquid they smell delicious will be using those as well.

[salokcinnodrog]

3 hours ago, Golden Paws said:

I've had several fish on the same bait and will happily cast it out again as long as it looks as though it will survive the cast. I won't put a used bait back into the pot though.

The issue about the smell of your hands is valid and I could argue that smokers should never catch a carp in their life but unfortunately I know a lot of good anglers that are addicted to the weed. I try to remember to wash my hands in lake water prior to casting out. I know some people use disposable gloves to put the bait on. It's easy to chase your tail so don't worry too much about it, Carp still pick up baits whatever.

I was going to say I normally have a tub for used hookbaits, but my wafters have gone back in the wafter tub, and my meshed mini pop-ups have gone back in their respective tubs still attached to the rig ring from the multi-rigs they were on. (I put fresh rings on while in storage so the hooklink doesn't pull tight, and then put the ring and  hookbait back on).

 

As for smoking, I quite frequently arrive at the lake or swim and roll myself a cigarette while I'm looking around. I don't bother washing my hands in lake water. One thing I do use disposable gloves for is if I every have to put fuel in on the way, something I do try to avoid, but occasionally it happens. My hand washing is sanitiser between meals, but the boiled washing up water after, and a baby wipe wash.

52 minutes ago, B B said:

Maybe you had the fish because it still smelled of you and not that your smell had washed off… who knows 

That is a possibility.

I have caught fish on baits that have been cast in within minutes. One within 10minutes of casting in a series of 30bait (!) stringers, and another at Brackens when I was sure I was marginally short of the undercut bank, so reeled in and recast. Yet it was Brackens where I had to leave a bait in the water for 2days before the take from a 30lb mirror.

 

It was Tim Paisley who first highlighted the 'used bait' smell. I can't remember whether it was in More From the Bivvy, or from Carp Amid the Storm, but I'm positive that I wasn't changing my bottom bait or  toppers on snowman set-ups unless I had to before I read it.

Other than wooden balls, wafters or pop-ups I don't think I've used many  hardened or specific hookbaits, I've nearly always used bottom baits out of the bag, with a couple of exceptions. My personal best river carp was definitely on a special glugged hookbait, 2x 16mm glugged in Nutrabaits Bait soak with added Cinnamon and Peach, but other than that fish I never found the need when comparing my results to other anglers on the lake.

Big Dave has offered me baits in glugs at Bromeswell, and I would still catch as many on out of the bag baits.

 

 

 

[Golden Paws]

I never fuel up on a trip, I always do it a few days earlier especially since I bought the (clean!) modern diesel a couple of years ago. If I'm going later in the day and have a shower in the morning, I'll hold fire on the underarm spray. Can't swear it makes a difference but fishing is all about those 1%'s that add up.

[crusian]

On 01/05/2023 at 09:39, Carpman98 said:

how often should you re use baits and how long should you keep your pop ups and wafters on before changing them?

Hello Carpman98

Thanks for starting this thread , I'm finding it very interesting .

Personally I have been keeping my pop ups on my hooks from ending one session , and then 1st cast of the next session to save time .

I tend to recast say every 2 hours , and then change flavour / colour , but I probably shouldn't as my rig should be resetting , and presenting correctly .

😃

[kevtaylor]

I was re-using cork ball pop-ups, drying them off off home, re-starting the glugging process - they worked fine, I've used the same bait to catch several fish with the thinking that a washed out is better than a fresh one on occasion.

For me the key is to know what your pop-ups and wafters achieve in terms of staying popped-up or wafting, many are utter rubbish in home tests.

[crusian]

12 hours ago, Golden Paws said:

I never fuel up on a trip, I always do it a few days earlier especially since I bought the (clean!) modern diesel a couple of years ago. If I'm going later in the day and have a shower in the morning, I'll hold fire on the underarm spray. Can't swear it makes a difference but fishing is all about those 1%'s that add up.

Well I won't be fishing down wind of you then , Golden Paws .

😁

[salokcinnodrog]

5 hours ago, crusian said:

I tend to recast say every 2 hours , and then change flavour / colour , but I probably shouldn't as my rig should be resetting , and presenting correctly .

😃

On one rod being fished as a rover I might do that on a 'runs' water, to find which is the preferred bait and/or spot, although I haven't been on that type of water for years, but the other rod(s) I will leave alone.

 

On my 'big fish waters', once its cast in it stays in unless I get a take or reel in to walk Sky (which does now stop me leaving a bait in situ for a couple of days).

 

Any type of boilie hookbait might be overloaded with 'smells' on the first cast,  after time in the water those smells will be gradually getting less, or those smells could be an attractor or not off-putting.

Those smells could be flavour, your personal skin or body smells, even the smell of  plastic from a bait tub or bag on a warm day. 

I'm sure some people's smell is a repellent to some fish and to other fish it's an attractor.

A chap I used to fish with regularly caught a couple of fish from a lake, anywhere around it, he had one of them from a few swims at opposite ends, yet he could not catch some other fish, it was like they avoided him.

 

12 hours ago, Golden Paws said:

I'll hold fire on the underarm spray.

I have done so many trips after work, where I have to smell lovely and fresh, so put the BO Basher on before work and others from home. I honestly don't know if it is off-putting or not, but from home I try not to spray, although after 24hours in summer on a hot day I probably smell like a polecat. 

 

9 minutes ago, crusian said:

Well I won't be fishing down wind of you then , Golden Paws .

Probably nor me after I've had a dinner with extra onions...lol

[norwegianblue]

Good topic.
If I catch on a hookbait I reuse it if it is still usable. It was acceptable at that time to the fish I caught so it should be acceptable to the next fish that find it. 

In the Loeb report (scientist testing various substances on blind carp in the 60s) Loeb finds that human saliva and tobacco juice is among the substances found attractive by carp. 
Regarding the smell of skin. There has also been some testing on various species with "finger-rinse", water where someone has dipped their fingers. This is from memory acting as a stimulant to some fishes (I believe goldfish was one) and repellent in others (some sort of salmon)

[crusian]

On 05/05/2023 at 08:28, norwegianblue said:

Good topic.
If I catch on a hookbait I reuse it if it is still usable. It was acceptable at that time to the fish I caught so it should be acceptable to the next fish that find it. 

In the Loeb report (scientist testing various substances on blind carp in the 60s) Loeb finds that human saliva and tobacco juice is among the substances found attractive by carp. 
Regarding the smell of skin. There has also been some testing on various species with "finger-rinse", water where someone has dipped their fingers. This is from memory acting as a stimulant to some fishes (I believe goldfish was one) and repellent in others (some sort of salmon)

Hi Norwegianblue 

How are you  , hopefully not " pining for the fjords " ? .

😁

[norwegianblue]

13 hours ago, crusian said:

Hi Norwegianblue 

How are you  , hopefully not " pining for the fjords " ? .

😁

Hi Crusian,

No worries, I'm just resting

😁