Few baits can switch roach on like hemp. It’s been around for decades, once clouded in controversy, but today it’s rightly seen as one of the best coarse fish baits you can feed.
Yes, hempseed comes from the cannabis plant, but the stuff you’ll find in tackle shops has been heat-treated and cooked so it can’t grow. It’s safe, split, and ready to use.
Hemp looks very similar to small snails on the riverbed. Roach can’t resist it, and no serious river angler would be without a pint or two in the bait bag. But it’s not just roach — tench, carp, chub and barbel will happily feed over a bed of hemp too.
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Feeding hemp
Hemp is heavy enough to feed by hand, but on rivers with pace, a bait dropper is the way to go. It doesn’t mix well in groundbait, so stick to feeding it on its own. For roach, the key is little and often, fired in with a catapult or via a pole cup. For bigger species, lay down a carpet of feed for them to graze over.
GIVE HEMP FISHING A GO AT ONE OF THESE VENUES IN OUR WHERE TO FISH GUIDE.
Buying and preparing hemp
Most tackle shops sell cooked hemp they prepare themselves and it's usually frozen, plus there are tinned and bulk jars available in preservatives from bait companies that will see you through several sessions.
Cooking your own is cheaper but be warned the aroma is an acquired taste. Buy raw hemp from bird feed merchants, soak it overnight, then boil until the seeds split to show the white kernel. Adding a pinch of bicarbonate of soda helps to give hemp a darker black colour.
If you don’t require a large amount a cleaner and less smelly method is to use a flask. Fill the flask three-quarters full with dry hemp, then top up with boiling water, seal the flask and give it a shake and leave for an hour. The thermal retention of the flask will speed up the splitting of the seed and should be ready to fish.
As with all particle baits, hemp must be prepared correctly before use. Never use it raw as it will be ineffective and most likely float.
LEARN HOW TO USE AND PREPARE PARTICLES IN THIS HELPFUL GUIDE.
Hooking hemp
Hooking hemp is fiddly but incredibly effective for picking off better stamp roach. Look for larger grains, although a good quality hemp should be sizeable enough to hook if required.
A sharp fine wire hook can make hooking hemp simpler. Pierce the flat base and roll on to the bend of the hook so the point protrudes through the split. Done right, you can catch multiple fish on a single seed.
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Don’t forget the tares
Hemp and tares go hand in hand. Once roach are confidently feeding on hemp, a switch to a tare (a cooked pulse used in pigeon feed) can bring a bigger stamp of fish. Hook them on a size 16 wide gape hook very much the same you would a soft pellet, and the bites are usually unmissable. Just remember, tares don’t always score, if bites dry up, don’t waste time, switch back to hemp.
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Other classic combinations
Hemp works well when fed with other baits that work well as hook baits. It's no secret how effective hemp and casters can be for all species of coarse fish.
Baits such as sweetcorn and luncheon meat, also compliment hemp well. The hemp gives small feed items to graze over whilst the sweetcorn and luncheon meat give target hookbaits. Try adding some 2mm or 4mm pellets to the combination to offer even more variety to the feed.
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