Hi I'm relatively new to carp fishing so have many questions, my main one is how much bait to feed to begin with and how much to top off with. I'm going to fish a 1 1/2 acre lake with around 80 fish mainly in mid 20's and some higher. I will be doing my first over night next week so would appreciate some advice, the owner said not to spod in as this spooks the fish and they avoid the bait for a couple of days , I plan to fish Pacific tuna boilies with stick mixes or stringers, but how many loose offering should I put around each rig to start with and how often should I top this up or recast my rods, any advise is appreciated
How much bait
- Thread starter jason1234
- Start date
iannate
The fish made me do it!
How much indeed; there is no single answer to this because it will depend on the weather before and during your trip along with many other variables.
Generally the warmer it is the more the fish will feed, but there's a very big warning from the owner; it's a small lake and they will spook from a lot of noise, take heed.
This time of year you would be better just using your stick mixes in a pva bag and see how it goes, expect to spend most of your time getting a feel for the place, try to get an idea of any features and areas where the fish can be seen moving about and showing their presence or underwater features where they might hold up.
If boilies aren't used much on the lake (or even if they are), I would look to use bread, sweetcorn, maggots and some hemp.
If the water is coloured, put some sweetcorn, maggots and hemp under you rod tips to one side and see if they colour up the water (and drop a bait in gently) - If there are no ducks etc. on the lake you could also try chucking a few bits of bread and see if they like floating baits.
There are so many scenarios you'll just have to take it one step at a time, hope for the best but don't expect it, it's a funny time of year.
And Welcome to the forum, good luck on your foray.
Generally the warmer it is the more the fish will feed, but there's a very big warning from the owner; it's a small lake and they will spook from a lot of noise, take heed.
This time of year you would be better just using your stick mixes in a pva bag and see how it goes, expect to spend most of your time getting a feel for the place, try to get an idea of any features and areas where the fish can be seen moving about and showing their presence or underwater features where they might hold up.
If boilies aren't used much on the lake (or even if they are), I would look to use bread, sweetcorn, maggots and some hemp.
If the water is coloured, put some sweetcorn, maggots and hemp under you rod tips to one side and see if they colour up the water (and drop a bait in gently) - If there are no ducks etc. on the lake you could also try chucking a few bits of bread and see if they like floating baits.
There are so many scenarios you'll just have to take it one step at a time, hope for the best but don't expect it, it's a funny time of year.
And Welcome to the forum, good luck on your foray.
Good luck finding that perfect balance. Just a mouthful less than too much is about right I guess. I'm not a carpfisherman by any stretch but this problem is relevant to all anglers.
The classic approach for roach is little and often. Take time building a swim, and maybe step up feed during a session to feed off smaller fish to attract a better stamp. Does that work for Carp? Many times on a club lake I see spods bombing a lot of bait into areas i know good fish come from. The guys i see catching are the ones that visit 3/4 times a week to bait up with a handful or two at most. When they actually fish, only a small (usually very small) pva bag goes alonside the hook-bait.
To me there is an element of building a swim steadily that creates the successful environment to catch the better fish. With Carp this may take several weeks rather than a few hours.
The classic approach for roach is little and often. Take time building a swim, and maybe step up feed during a session to feed off smaller fish to attract a better stamp. Does that work for Carp? Many times on a club lake I see spods bombing a lot of bait into areas i know good fish come from. The guys i see catching are the ones that visit 3/4 times a week to bait up with a handful or two at most. When they actually fish, only a small (usually very small) pva bag goes alonside the hook-bait.
To me there is an element of building a swim steadily that creates the successful environment to catch the better fish. With Carp this may take several weeks rather than a few hours.
I know recently a few fish have been out on boilies and last time I fished the lake I fished maggots and corn with nothing to show for my efforts ?? so I've decided to take the boilie approach, I was thinking on catapulting around 20-30 boilies over each rod to start with, does that sound too many given the time of year?
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
Hi, the water will be very cold at this time of year and most fish will not be too interested in feeding. I'd be inclined to stick just my hookbait out and no loosefeed at all...
Why give a fish that may just be tempted to eat one bait a whole plateful to choose from?
Why give a fish that may just be tempted to eat one bait a whole plateful to choose from?
barbelboi
Well-known member
At this time of year a zig fished at approximately two feet off bottom on a roving approach can be lethal. Keep moving and find where the fish are 'bunched' up and the takes can be instantaneous and quite vicious...........