Could you devote a little bit more time to your fishing

Could you devote a little bit more time to your fishing? Do you mainly fish venues close to home? If the answer to these questions is yes then I think I might be able to help you out. Over the last few years I have become a bit of a bait junky. This all started almost a decade ago when I was seriously carp fishing around London. Although I was catching my fair share of fish, some lads appeared to be catching as many fish with less effort. Their secret, it appeared, was the heavy and sustained baiting that they were using on the water. The team of four anglers took it in turn to fish the same swim and over a period of months took over a hundred fish. Now, this was a swim which in previous years had not been anything out of the ordinary, but it appeared that their heavy baiting had swung the odds in their favour. A couple of years later a couple of friends and I used the heavy baiting approach on a couple of lakes we were fishing. This was still in the time of the close season, so we had several weeks to feed the fish before fishing began. Once again the baiting worked a treat with us being top rods on all the lakes we fished. Later on I used the same technique on rivers for chub and barbel and also on lakes for bream. Each time I am convinced that the bit of bait we kept trickling in gave us a distinct advantage. Fish know what is good for them and will not pass up a free meal. Put food in the same spot at the same time on a regular basis, and as long as the fish pass it by, they will learn to stop and feed upon it. The bait doesn’t have to be anything particularly expensive. Sacks of pellets and grains can be bought for a few pounds from both larger tackle shops and feed merchants. I normally use a combination of hemp, trout pellets, wheat and a few boilies in my feed. Friends use pigeon feed mix, poultry pellets, maple peas, just about anything that they can lay their hands on. Although we use a diverse range of foods we always ensure that the food is of the highest quality, we do not use out of date materials, as the last thing we want is to have rotting bait lying on the bed of the fishery. How often and how much you introduce are key questions. Generally, it is only worth baiting up seriously if you can get to the water every three days or so. Any longer than this and you will not be able to keep the fish interested. How much depends on what you are using as feed. When using small seeds, I think it is difficult to over bait as all the small fish, as well as the bird life in the fishery will take a share. When using larger items, such as boilies you have to be more careful and cut down on the amount you introduce. Concerns about over baiting and cost are the two reasons that we do not bait entirely with boilies. You might be surprised at some of the results we have experienced with pre-baiting. This last winter I have been heavily baiting my local day ticket fishery since Christmas. The aim was to try and stimulate the carp to feed in what is generally a very slow winter water. I introduced around ten kilos of bait each week to a single swim, which receives very little pressure. I knew the carp were in residence, as I had seen them rolling while pike fishing, but decided to give it a few weeks before fishing for them. The baiting continued twice each week for nearly two months before I got the chance to fish for a night. The result was a lot of liners, but no proper bites. This was hardly surprising as the temperature had plummeted to well below freezing and it was a clear night with a bright moon. The next week I was back again for a night in much better conditions. This time the fish were interested in a little feed and during the night I managed six bream to over twelve pounds, all caught on carp tackle. A couple more evenings spent on the water during the following weeks resulted in several more big bream and a huge hybrid. Although I had not achieved what I had set out to do, the capture of those bream did prove to me that the pre-baiting worked a treat. While I banked multiple catches during short sessions other anglers spent days on the water without a bite. This is the kind of result that can be achieved with a little effort on what is commonly regarded as a relatively easy water. Just imagine what is possible on more difficult fisheries.

As the water temperature begins to rise, now is as good a time as any to start introducing a bit of feed. Remember, keep it to one swim and keep it going in regularly and, as long as your location is right, it will help you catch more fish.