| tumn, winter and early spring conditions make | | | | There is a vast diversity of baits that catch |
| carp much harder to catch you need to really | | | | winter carp. Very many of these are not high |
| think about how you are using your baits, if you | | | | protein baits but they catch big carp and have |
| are using them to their full potential to catch the | | | | done for years. The other day I had someone |
| most fish, and how you can do things to improve | | | | ask me about peptones and their impacts on |
| your catches. Many readymade baits may well be | | | | various fish meal ingredients. Peptones are in |
| actually reducing your chances of getting as many | | | | general a range of substances composed of |
| bites as possible. Maximise your chances of bites | | | | protein constituents that are broken down into |
| to a much greater degree and read on now to | | | | their smaller elements by various means and as |
| find out more! | | | | such are easily water-soluble and easily detected |
| If you are using high protein baits in cold water | | | | by carp. My question for him was what |
| temperatures in particular this can seriously | | | | percentage of his bait ingredients and additives |
| reduce your catch rate. The reason for this is | | | | and liquid foods etc consisted of soluble |
| very simple. A fish may take 3 days to digest | | | | substances that are very easily digested by carp. |
| your bait before it feels like feeding again. | | | | The fact is that he did not know these things |
| Meanwhile it is busy not feeding and using energy | | | | meant that asking me about peptones would |
| digesting the bait it has already consumed. This is | | | | basically be meaningless to him. Peptones are |
| not exactly the situation you want because every | | | | produced from very many various protein |
| hour that fish are not feeding but digesting baits is | | | | sources. This guy did not know which versions he |
| wasted fishing time! You might be aware that in | | | | was specifically wanting to use (or why) and what |
| past decades very high protein milk ingredient | | | | jobs they were going to be specifically aimed at |
| dominated baits were usually used very sparingly | | | | doing. Such things do not just impact on carp |
| compared to the mass baiting of fish based | | | | internally and externally but also work within baits |
| pellets and boilies for instance in use today. | | | | working synergistically as a whole. |
| Very many cold water bait designs exploiting a | | | | Cold water baits are so much about easy |
| mere 22 percent protein for instance will be | | | | digestion and it is easy to see why. After all, you |
| digested much faster in low temperatures and | | | | are after getting as many bites as possible - and |
| you can expect fish eating and filling up on your | | | | certainly not into feeding up the fish at the |
| baits to have digested them in just 8 hours for | | | | expense of bites! It seems to me that many bait |
| instance - and then again be actively feeding again | | | | buffs go carp fishing in order to grow monster |
| (and so available to catch once again.) This of | | | | carp by their baiting up and not so much to |
| course means you get far more chances of more | | | | maximise bait for its potential to achieve the |
| bites as you have more actively feeding fish | | | | most bites possible and thus the most hooked |
| available. | | | | fish. |
| In some respects high protein boilies are probably | | | | Now on to a related subject regarding homemade |
| more suited to pre-baiting scenarios in many | | | | base mixes. I really like fishing with bait base |
| situations and periods of the year where you can | | | | mixes in various more conventional or more |
| leave a baited swim for 3 days and expect to | | | | unusual forms. Stick mixes are just one example |
| find actively feeding fish looking for more of your | | | | where you can make up your own boilie base mix |
| bait upon your return. It makes logical sense that | | | | and apply it or adapt it for use in winter. |
| when fish are full of high protein bait they need a | | | | Applying a base mix in various different ways as |
| longer period to digest such baits during which | | | | opposed to just in boilies for example has many |
| your bait is not catching you fish if you are trying | | | | benefits. Base mix based ground baits of many |
| to catch them during this period of time. | | | | kinds can be used with various PVA products to |
| Full up fish tend to move away from actively | | | | deliver very loose and easily dispersed attraction |
| fished baited areas in order to find somewhere | | | | in the water to pull fish to your hook baits in a |
| quiet to most efficiently digest their food. Often | | | | more excited mode of behaviour; particularly in |
| such quieter areas are not the kind of areas in | | | | lower water temperatures and this also applies to |
| lakes that produce very many fish. Similarly such | | | | slop and spod mixes and others too. |
| areas are often the retreat of fish that have | | | | Open texture baits are obviously very good |
| been recently hooked and are in a state of | | | | performers in cold weather. I am certainly not |
| recovery. | | | | against using baits incorporating bread in winter. Of |
| Also it may be noticed that in the case of big fish | | | | course there are very many bread based types |
| on angling-pressured waters, more frequently than | | | | of ground baits, stick mixes, method mixes and |
| not the majority of the fish will be caught in areas | | | | other baits. You can make cheap boilies for |
| that receive the largest volumes of free baits. | | | | autumn, winter and spring that include bread |
| This is just a simple indication of how extremely | | | | crumbs along with other open-textured ingredients |
| energy-efficient carp so often are in their feeding | | | | and use them pretty much as carriers for |
| even despite the pressures angling puts on them. | | | | protein-rich liquids for example. Just using some |
| It is obviously energy-efficient to browse regularly | | | | garlic concentrate, intense sweetener and certain |
| fed areas particularly when your instinctive | | | | spice extracts for example will grab the attention |
| behavioural defence mechanisms for dealing with | | | | of carp although many anglers will just go for |
| suspicious baits and rigs is extremely well honed | | | | their favourite flavour and a sweetener for |
| from 24 hours-a-day practice! | | | | example. |
| Now just in case you are a the type of angler | | | | One of the bonuses of playing around with bread |
| who continues to use oily pellets and fish meal | | | | products in winter is that you can exploit fishing in |
| boilies for example into winter, you might be | | | | various depths of water and specifically introduce |
| over-looking this fact but if your bait is steeped in | | | | free baits so they rise in the water or gradually |
| oils in cold conditions this will reduce or in very low | | | | sink or hang in the water to effectively tempt |
| temperatures totally prevent digestion of various | | | | fish situated at different depths in the water |
| elements of your baits. | | | | column. As we know, carp are notorious for |
| For a long period I tested fishing in low winter | | | | sitting within certain comfortable layers of water |
| temperatures using popular pellets compared to | | | | in autumn, winter and spring especially in spells of |
| open-textured easily digestible homemade boilies | | | | high pressure for instance. In this regard many |
| and the results were very distinct. When water | | | | more carp anglers are much more aware today |
| temperatures were under around 12 degrees the | | | | that persisting with bottom baits or pop-up baits |
| open texture easy-digest boilies seriously | | | | near the bottom in winter is often the wrong |
| out-performed the medium to high oil (low | | | | method to use when fish wish to be situated off |
| viscosity oil) types of marine type pellets. I had to | | | | the bottom for significant periods of time. |
| try this experiment just to prove the point in | | | | Especially stimulating homemade breads or cakes |
| practice to myself so it was not merely hearsay | | | | are great cold water edges when used on their |
| or theory. | | | | own or used in combination with boilies or any |
| The fact that the oily pellets had been very | | | | other bait; but this is something I know very few |
| successful in much higher temperatures just | | | | anglers will even consider doing as it appears not |
| underlined how their effectiveness as baits had | | | | to be fashionable. But I have proved this baits |
| dive-bombed in the period around the late | | | | worth on countless occasions in my own fishing |
| autumn, winter and early to mid-spring when | | | | ever since my early days of baking conventional |
| water temperatures were yet to rise. Of course | | | | (buoyant) floater cake using homemade base |
| medium to high lipid content fits conditions when | | | | mixes and readymade base mixes for example. |
| carp metabolism is very high due to elevated | | | | This is definitely a more unusual winter method to |
| water temperatures when oxygen saturation is | | | | experiment with and I encourage open-minded |
| sufficient to promote high activity and heavy | | | | anglers to try it! Using dog biscuits under water is |
| feeding. | | | | a good trick but why not make your own baits |
| In winter, obviously if any bait is in the right place | | | | that are totally unique with your own specific |
| it can catch fish but if inducing as many bites as | | | | attractive alternative characteristics in mind?! For |
| possible form almost torpid fish is your goal and | | | | instance why not try fishing a homemade |
| you wish to maximise all your valuable time, | | | | buoyant jelly based bait teamed with a floater |
| money and efforts you need to use a very | | | | cake bait for a really different winter option that I |
| attractive bait suited to prevailing conditions not | | | | doubt hardly any experienced pressured fish will |
| just in water but within the carp too. | | | | have had to deal with previously. |
| Often you get totally illogical statements from | | | | Sure fishing a bit of popped-up plastic corn near |
| anglers on the bank who say things along the lines | | | | the bottom, or fishing a piece of black foam in |
| of: I prefer to use fish meal baits on this particular | | | | mid-water can produce fish. But if you are looking |
| water in the winter. If you ask them if they | | | | for something a little bit different in a cold water |
| know the ingredients and their ratios of their baits | | | | bait and one that hold lots of attractive liquids |
| and how long their gut transit times are through | | | | then why not consider trying homemade buoyant |
| the gut in low temperatures regimes they simply | | | | cake! (For much more more information on |
| how no idea. Added to this and even more | | | | making homemade baits and boosting and |
| importantly, they do not even know why these | | | | adapting readymade baits of all kinds see my |
| baits might possibly make fish actually be | | | | unique bait secrets ebooks and articles at |
| attracted to them - as opposed to being actively | | | | Baitbigfish right now! |
| repelled by them in the first place. | | | | |