Bait – and knowing when to put it in – plays a massive part in successful carp fishing. Put in too much at the start on a busy water and you might kill your chances. Don’t put in enough, however, and the fish may simply pass you by.
It’s important to remember that every venue is different. One of the joys of carp fishing is that there are so many variables that make it hard to master. That said, on the two types of waters I’m fishing, that being the more prolific venues like Linear and the lower stocked big fish waters like Horton, I’ve formulated my go-to mix and how to apply it, so I have a base I can work around.
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MY MAGIC MIX
It’s important to match your chosen mix to the style and rig you want to fish. I want everything on one tight spot, usually putting all three rods on Ronnie rigs over the top of it.
My mix for this style of fishing consists of a whole jar of hemp, two tins of corn and 1kg of 12mm boilies. I’ll usually knock this up the night before and add a decent splash of Dynamite’s Tiger Nut oil, which will then soak into the boilies. When I arrive and the rods are out, I’ll knock up another bucketful.
Everything in the mix is attractive to carp and I’ve had so many big fish on it that it has my full confidence. The oil lets me know at what’s going on out in the lake, because it slicks up and creates a flat spot when fish are in the area. When this happens, I know a bite is on the cards. If it stops, something’s wrong with my rigs and they need recasting, or I need to rebait. The only time I’d deviate from this mix is in really deep water of over 12ft. This is when I remove the hemp, because it spreads out too much, making it harder for me to get a bite.
HOW MUCH AND WHEN
On venues like Linear, I’d look to kick off the swim with 12-15 Spombs of this mix on my spot. On a slightly trickier big fish water like Kingsmead, I’d reduce this to five or six, simply because you have fewer fish visiting the spot at any one time.
From then on, I’d look to add three more Spombs of bait after every couple of fish. This is just enough to keep them interested. I’d keep doing this until bites die off, at which point I might consider putting the same amount I started with out again to get the spot primed for the next group of fish.
Try and get all your rods tight on the spot to maximise your chances. Baiting multiple spots gives fish too many options, and is something I’ll only consider if my spot has blown or I’m seeing lots of fish elsewhere.
Have general rules, but always be adaptable.
TIPS FOR SPOMBING
Most successful anglers clip up their fishing rods to the same distance as their Spomb rod, and I’m no different. I try to hit the clip just before the surface and then push the rod out – however, others hold the rod high. What’s important here is that no matter what your style, be consistent with how you cast. Your baiting needs to be nice and tight.
SPOT CHOICE AND RIG
Anyone who has followed any of my fishing will know that the Ronnie is my go-to rig. It’s just phenomenal, so why change it? I fish it with a Carp Spirit size 4 Medium Curve hook and a 32lb Optimex boom, and the only change I make is to drop this to a slightly softer 23lb boom if the bottom is particularly soft.
LEARN HOW TO TIE THE ONLY CARP RIGS YOU WILL EVER NEED HERE.
Many people think that to fish like this you need to find a hard gravel area, and while these can produce, don’t be afraid to fish in the slightly softer stuff. Silt is where a lot of the natural food is, and carp love feeding in it.
When I’m looking for spots on venues like Wraysbury, I’ve found that if you can bounce a lead with the rod high, often that will do. Many people look for that tingle as the lead pulls over gravel but, if most the lake is like that, finding something different is definitely an edge.
The best example is when fishing to bars. Sure, when they really want it, you’ll get bites on the clear stuff on top. But if they’re being a little more cautious, try to think of the bar as a curb stone with leaves blown against it. The majority of natural food will be at the base.
So that’s my general approach to baiting – it sounds simple but it’s super effective, so get on it!
FIND A GREAT WATER TO TRY THESE CARP FISHING TIPS ON IN THIS WHERE TO FISH GUIDE.
BONUS TIP
We often latch on to things in our fishing which work, and we just repeat them over and over again. This baiting approach is working wonders for me at the moment but, in the past, I’ve had to change things when bites are hard to come by. I’ve used coarse anglers’ groundbait mixes to great effect and have done really well on luncheon meat. If something is working well, then get on it – but if it’s not, be different. This could be something as simple as giving them the mother load of bait if everyone else is only picking up the odd fish over small amounts – something you regularly see on lakes dominated by bait boats or spoons.