A few of my lads were chatting recently and I was trying to get to the bottom of what type of hookbait is used the most. What do you look for in a hookbait? Who out there likes the cork ball food bait type ones, who likes a bright and buoyant 12 miller and who still uses cured bottom baits?
Last year I was still catching on pop ups but i had some big bits on small dull matching ones when the bright ones were being avoided. This winter I have had some really good results on little bright ones again. Did everyone else notice the same?
Last year I was still catching on pop ups but i had some big bits on small dull matching ones when the bright ones were being avoided. This winter I have had some really good results on little bright ones again. Did everyone else notice the same?
In reply to Post #1
must admit, if im using pop ups i only use two colours
white and yellow.
i always use barrels, 16mm
bottom baits, i just use straight out the bag of my chosen freebies
must admit, if im using pop ups i only use two colours
white and yellow.
i always use barrels, 16mm
bottom baits, i just use straight out the bag of my chosen freebies
In reply to Post #2
Bottom baits straight out of the bag every time if the situation permits. Every other bait in the swim is hard on the bottom, why stick something alien out there amongst it? If I'm fishing singles then its a different matter and bright pop-ups or zigs come in to their own.
Bottom baits straight out of the bag every time if the situation permits. Every other bait in the swim is hard on the bottom, why stick something alien out there amongst it? If I'm fishing singles then its a different matter and bright pop-ups or zigs come in to their own.
In reply to Post #3
my aliens appear to work ok
my aliens appear to work ok
In reply to Post #4
No denying they work in some/ most situations mate, its just I found myself going down the rabbit hole regarding hookbaits. Always been a big fan of bog standard bottom baits, great that hardly anyone uses them any more
No denying they work in some/ most situations mate, its just I found myself going down the rabbit hole regarding hookbaits. Always been a big fan of bog standard bottom baits, great that hardly anyone uses them any more
In reply to Post #5
What about plastic hookbaits? Straight from the packet or modified with liquids?
What about plastic hookbaits? Straight from the packet or modified with liquids?
In reply to Post #1
Depends on the way you fish and situations you face.
For about the last 5 years or so I have been using a lot of particle and they feed different over the mass seeds than they would over whole boilies, so for me a bottom bait was best, sometimes I added a small amount of buoyancy and also tipped with colour.
Last season bright yellows worked well as I had corn in the mix, but I also had fish on whites, reds, orange, pink the lot!
Start of Autumn I switched to black and had a nice run of fish before returning to yellow towards the end of Autumn.
Definitely something in it but I cant seem to make head nor tails of it!
Depends on the way you fish and situations you face.
For about the last 5 years or so I have been using a lot of particle and they feed different over the mass seeds than they would over whole boilies, so for me a bottom bait was best, sometimes I added a small amount of buoyancy and also tipped with colour.
Last season bright yellows worked well as I had corn in the mix, but I also had fish on whites, reds, orange, pink the lot!
Start of Autumn I switched to black and had a nice run of fish before returning to yellow towards the end of Autumn.
Definitely something in it but I cant seem to make head nor tails of it!
In reply to Post #6
When I was allowed to fish them it was straight from the packet for me.
When I was allowed to fish them it was straight from the packet for me.
In reply to Post #7
I think that the pressure cycle is the biggest factor. I have watched so many carp avoid bright baits but on lightly fished venues I have witnessed them swim over freebies to take them first! It Is why I always have 4/5 different hookbaits with me on each new venue I go to. I fish bottom baits the least as I can hardly ever guarantee the lakebed is appropriate to fish them. A 20mm bottom bait is a very effective hooker though.
Last week I caught a lovely mid 30 that I watched focus on my bright hookbait from about 3 metres away. It bypassed all the crumb and pellets and went straight for my rig. Visibility is clearly the factor that makes a difference at times. The linch hill fish avoided them like the plague in the edge at times!
I think that the pressure cycle is the biggest factor. I have watched so many carp avoid bright baits but on lightly fished venues I have witnessed them swim over freebies to take them first! It Is why I always have 4/5 different hookbaits with me on each new venue I go to. I fish bottom baits the least as I can hardly ever guarantee the lakebed is appropriate to fish them. A 20mm bottom bait is a very effective hooker though.
Last week I caught a lovely mid 30 that I watched focus on my bright hookbait from about 3 metres away. It bypassed all the crumb and pellets and went straight for my rig. Visibility is clearly the factor that makes a difference at times. The linch hill fish avoided them like the plague in the edge at times!
In reply to Post #5
Straight out of the bag for me as well.
Straight out of the bag for me as well.
In reply to Post #9
How do you get to see what's happening around the area you're fishing in such detail?
How do you get to see what's happening around the area you're fishing in such detail?
I've never had much success with pop ups - although I have never used them to a great extent and subsequently lack concidence in them.
I use straight from the bag or occasionally a wafter jf there is a lot of crap on the bottom. As previously mentioned, all of the other food is on the bottom so to me it makes sense to put my hookbait there too.
I use straight from the bag or occasionally a wafter jf there is a lot of crap on the bottom. As previously mentioned, all of the other food is on the bottom so to me it makes sense to put my hookbait there too.
straight out of the bag or a wafter that matches the freebies, but also coloured wafters.
Can be good to have different colour on each rod sometimes as i have seen them prefer a particular colour one day and different the next
Can be good to have different colour on each rod sometimes as i have seen them prefer a particular colour one day and different the next
Because I use soft freebaits every hookbait I use is made separately. This is the case for plain hook baits with added egg albumin and Whey gel, wafters with egg albumin, Whey gel and pop up mix or full on pop ups. I know I'm binding the surface so add extra liquid attractors to overcome this.
Pop ups are usually pop up mix, Cork granules and some powdered additives to match the main basemix plus coloured to match as close as I can. I will also make some pop ups in a bright colour but if I have got my basemix right I don't expect them to outfish the plain ones.
Pop ups are usually pop up mix, Cork granules and some powdered additives to match the main basemix plus coloured to match as close as I can. I will also make some pop ups in a bright colour but if I have got my basemix right I don't expect them to outfish the plain ones.
Dumbbell wafters most of the time or straight out the bag bottom bait