Hi all, I was just wondering if people could give me some information on different baiting approaches. Do you tend to bait differently if your fishing pop ups to wafters or a bottom bait and if so how? And also if your fishing for a example a pop up on a rod and bottom bait on other is the baiting approach the same ?
Probably no real answer but just wanted some advice
Probably no real answer but just wanted some advice
In reply to Post #1
many factors
bottom of lake bed
stock
size of fish
competition from other anglers
Ive never used a wafter in 40 yrs of angling
if lake bed is hard, i tend to use bottom baits
If a tad mucky (choddy, i believe is the more up to date word) i'll use a pop up
I tend to fish on the outerside of "Clear spot"
If weedy, i just cast in the middle of it.
many factors
bottom of lake bed
stock
size of fish
competition from other anglers
Ive never used a wafter in 40 yrs of angling
if lake bed is hard, i tend to use bottom baits
If a tad mucky (choddy, i believe is the more up to date word) i'll use a pop up
I tend to fish on the outerside of "Clear spot"
If weedy, i just cast in the middle of it.
In reply to Post #1
Time of year and weather conditions also important considerations.
Time of year and weather conditions also important considerations.
In reply to Post #3
indeed
indeed
In reply to Post #1
So many different scenarios.
Your water and how other anglers bait may or almost definitely will have some relevance. If every other angler is baiting heavily and catching you might want to do the same, or be completely different, if say they are catching 'average' fish, but not the biggest.
You might need to bait heavily to compete with natural food, or sparingly to get an 'inquisitive' pick up.
The use of a spod mix, groundbait, pellets, small particles up to sweetcorn size may attract too many smaller fish, even silvers, yet doing that MIGHT attract the carp.
Possibly baiting with boilies alone is what gets carp only.
Or on a Big water you might need to pile bait in so there is something there for the fish to find.
At both Ardleigh and Alton I really piled bait in, a mix of Vitalin, pigeon conditioner, tigers and boilies, often catching on the 2nd night of a session when they moved in, or on Ardleigh after a single overnighter round work, 2 days later when I did another overnighter.
On other waters on an overnight trip I just relied on stringers and baited up when I left.
I rarely put much bait around a pop-up, relying on a mesh, bag or stringer, although I do fish it 'just off' the baited area. Sometimes the single bait pop-up approach is the one that works.
I currently bait up the same for bottom baits, snowman baits or wafters, usually a fair amount of background feed; crushed boilies, particles and/or Vitalin on 1 rod, and another with a mesh or bag just off the bait, or at showing fish.
So many different scenarios.
Your water and how other anglers bait may or almost definitely will have some relevance. If every other angler is baiting heavily and catching you might want to do the same, or be completely different, if say they are catching 'average' fish, but not the biggest.
You might need to bait heavily to compete with natural food, or sparingly to get an 'inquisitive' pick up.
The use of a spod mix, groundbait, pellets, small particles up to sweetcorn size may attract too many smaller fish, even silvers, yet doing that MIGHT attract the carp.
Possibly baiting with boilies alone is what gets carp only.
Or on a Big water you might need to pile bait in so there is something there for the fish to find.
At both Ardleigh and Alton I really piled bait in, a mix of Vitalin, pigeon conditioner, tigers and boilies, often catching on the 2nd night of a session when they moved in, or on Ardleigh after a single overnighter round work, 2 days later when I did another overnighter.
On other waters on an overnight trip I just relied on stringers and baited up when I left.
I rarely put much bait around a pop-up, relying on a mesh, bag or stringer, although I do fish it 'just off' the baited area. Sometimes the single bait pop-up approach is the one that works.
I currently bait up the same for bottom baits, snowman baits or wafters, usually a fair amount of background feed; crushed boilies, particles and/or Vitalin on 1 rod, and another with a mesh or bag just off the bait, or at showing fish.
In reply to Post #1
My biggest asset is pre baiting
Get it right and it's brilliant
With that comes problems other anglers etc
Do the leg work, bait the right spot
Bait , if anglers are fishing the same techniques
then think, I've gone back to big baits a bit
Can get the bigger fish, I actually worked out the size of the big fish mouths and did the bait to that, it worked
My biggest asset is pre baiting
Get it right and it's brilliant
With that comes problems other anglers etc
Do the leg work, bait the right spot
Bait , if anglers are fishing the same techniques
then think, I've gone back to big baits a bit
Can get the bigger fish, I actually worked out the size of the big fish mouths and did the bait to that, it worked
If I'm expecting carp to pass over or very near to my spots I try and keep my free bait within a 6 to 8 wide circle around my hookbaits, if I'm using pop ups I like to stick to boilies only but generally I prefer bottom baits or wafters and then I add small quantities of pellets, Hemp etc.
If I am just hoping for the fish to come somewhere near me I will spread my bait much wider and usually use a variety of feed items but in greater quantities, but again I try and have concentrated patch around the hookbaits.
If I am just hoping for the fish to come somewhere near me I will spread my bait much wider and usually use a variety of feed items but in greater quantities, but again I try and have concentrated patch around the hookbaits.
In reply to Post #1
larger items with popups, smaller items / mix of sizes when on the deck.
however id probably bait both rods the same if i was feeling lazy haha.
larger items with popups, smaller items / mix of sizes when on the deck.
however id probably bait both rods the same if i was feeling lazy haha.
In reply to Post #1
For my canal sessions if I'm going for a few days or a week I start putting bait in a week before then I up it 2/3 days before with a 10 ltr bucket of particles made up of birdseed and Asian supermarket pulses and sweetcorn and hemp and even vitalin,this helps save money and covers more area for the fish to feed.
A bucket goes in 2 days before and then same again the day before session then on the morning I go and put in another bucket I think this stops them in there tracks as I fish a stretch that's 14 miles plus between locks and chances of someone fishing same spots as you are very slim as you hardly see anybody down where I am as it's a 40 min walk with barrow but rewards are worth it.
I also carry another 10 ltr bucket to use as a top up through out my session as well that comes with me on the day I've had carp up to 32lb ,in one 3 day session I had 5 runs losing 2 and landing 3 not big but happy with results
For my canal sessions if I'm going for a few days or a week I start putting bait in a week before then I up it 2/3 days before with a 10 ltr bucket of particles made up of birdseed and Asian supermarket pulses and sweetcorn and hemp and even vitalin,this helps save money and covers more area for the fish to feed.
A bucket goes in 2 days before and then same again the day before session then on the morning I go and put in another bucket I think this stops them in there tracks as I fish a stretch that's 14 miles plus between locks and chances of someone fishing same spots as you are very slim as you hardly see anybody down where I am as it's a 40 min walk with barrow but rewards are worth it.
I also carry another 10 ltr bucket to use as a top up through out my session as well that comes with me on the day I've had carp up to 32lb ,in one 3 day session I had 5 runs losing 2 and landing 3 not big but happy with results
In reply to Post #1
So many variables it's impossible to say. But as far as popups are concerned, always boilie only spread about. Makes no sense to spod a load of little bits out on the lakebed then having your hookbait waving about inches above it. Fish feed very differently if gorging on particles etc than they do when moving between boilies
So many variables it's impossible to say. But as far as popups are concerned, always boilie only spread about. Makes no sense to spod a load of little bits out on the lakebed then having your hookbait waving about inches above it. Fish feed very differently if gorging on particles etc than they do when moving between boilies
In reply to Post #1
If it's just boilies then generally it's the same baiting approach over these rigs whether bottom bait, wafter or pop-up, that's if I've read your post right, no need to do anything too different at all.
If it's just boilies then generally it's the same baiting approach over these rigs whether bottom bait, wafter or pop-up, that's if I've read your post right, no need to do anything too different at all.