Nutrabaits Diary Part Two
After last month’s opening gambit, this month’s diary piece will be more analytical about the fishing conditions I experienced in predominantly the month of May. Late Spring can be a very frustrating time for big carp fishing as the air temperatures can fluctuate from air frost at night to scorching sun during the day. Now the problem with this is that although the water temperatures can be a lot more stable than the air temperatures, very bright sunshine can have a massive impact on actual fishing situations. Now rather than this piece turn into a standard what, where and how to look for signs of feeding carp it’s authenticity comes from real fishing as should be all diary pieces. Now the syndicate that I am fishing has certain rules that prohibit a lot of standard spring tactics…namely zigs. No zigs are allowed due to their propensity to foul hook carp.
As I believe in the mantra that a feeding carp is easier to catch it’s a tactic I never use…so no loss to me. However, the point is that emerging insect larvae are attracted and agitated to make their way up through the water column once the temperature is over 15C in my opinion. Now carp being masters of scavenging don’t miss this opportunity. So the scenario of bottom only boilies makes the attractiveness of them limited. However, those who know some of my tactics and edges will know that I look to try and stimulate feeding triggers within the water column as a whole…not just the bottom bit. This is key to ALL of my carp fishing and is the reason why I have become so synonymous with liquids and syrups as stand alone tactics. This Spring was not exception. The great thing is the amount of liquids; syrups and oils within the Nutrabaits range make the ability to keep creating this across all four seasons dead easy. Now I am just thinking that might sound a little arrogant but what I mean is there are so many fluid attractors that the key is to use in conjunction with water temperatures and understand clearly which of the range works at a certain optimum level. This is why I am constantly advocating the tank test procedure in your shed, kitchen or garage. Also try and use samples of the lake water your fishing in too. You can heat the water accordingly and see how various liquids react. The most important aspect of doing this is when the liquids are not stand alone but are part of a mix, boilie glug or part of a few liquids and oils used.
You will have often heard me or read my written advice, that mixing of certain ingredients can be very dangerous. In scientific parlay some ingredients are cartelistic an evaluating what’s done what is impossible. The easiest example of this is when you mix particles such as hemp, corn and tigers. You may do really well on the mix but I’m always wondering which of those three is attracting carp. It’s a little naive to think all of them. Now the problem with liquids is that they can mix and that makes the liquids evaluation even harder. Now I am not a big fan of oils but there are oils and there are oils. One of the little nuggets that we still do at Nutrabaits is the essential oils. Often forgotten but absolutely devastating particularly the Garlic Oil. Now I have been using this product since the mid-eighties and even today it’s a go to attractor. In my last piece I mentioned the oleoresins that Nutrabaits use and this is a classic example of that. There had been many write about the use of Garlic but there are three parts to Garlic attraction and not all give the same level of attraction. Now as I keep saying, do not mix up attraction with nutrition…completely separate things. In fact the main boilie choice I go for is Trigga Ice and without giving too many secrets away, there are quite a few oleoresins used in its make-up. In fact the Trigga Ice liquid boosters is fast becoming a stand out product for me. If you look closely at it, you will see that familiar ‘reddish’ tint to it but boosted by the staple ingredient that has made Trigga so famous. In fact that signature smell is only used by Nutrabaits and there aren’t many ingredients you can say that about in todays bait game. I have found that by using two of the 500ml bottles to 5kg of the steamed boilies provided it is left in a bucket for a good 24 hours, nearly all the liquid is absorbed into the steamed boilie. I went into a little detail last month about the difference between boilied and steamed bait. Although quite a late arrival to the party, I am a converted steam guy now. The extra solubility and protection of the powdered attractors used within the boilie means there will be no turning back for me.
One thing that is non-bait related and something that has frustrated me a lot this Spring is I have lost a few good carp. Now this has been down to the increased water levels on my syndicate. This has affected fishing in that a flooded swim means the waders need putting on first. Now when a carp has a clear water expanse in front of it not a problem. However, when fishing up to the slope of bars or islands you really have to be fishing locked up. Now in a flooded swim that’s a no no as it could result in a lost rod. So I have tried to fish away from the usual hot spots but just occasionally in daylight hours I would go back to well known pick up spots. Now when I’ve got to the screaming rod and clamped all on a couple of times the hook has pulled out of the carp. When fishing for big cap this is very. Very frustrating…but he it’s carp fishing.
So the month started off with a couple of big carp falling off, not what you want when bites are a bit of a premium. However very quickly I had managed to get back into my rhythm and a couple of character carp were soon being hoisted up for the camera. One that sticks out in my mind is a carp called the Horse at 35lb. He is a wily old carp and I have seen it out over 40 in the past but weights are like the wind, it blows up and it blows down! Now the changing of pick up spots is something that I do change a lot these days. I have been a member of my main syndicate since 2005 and know it like the back of my hand but still get a kick out of developing a spot within a spot. Something vital as carp work clean the original area. Now I always tell other anglers that if a spot has been worked you have to give carp a reason for being there and that is through putting food in a worked area. However, for the bigger specimens, I fish away from the main baited area. Simplistic in that sometimes, not always, the biggies keep away from shoal feeding with their smaller brethren. I have caught thousands and thousands of carp over the years and that simple principle still works today. I like it too as it never seems to blow as you just keep varying the areas you place a bait. Now in May there was a plethora of emerging silkweed on the bottom of the lake. I like to fish on it though and provided you keep you boilie, hair and hook weed free you can get carp to pick up in it continuously. I have found shy feeding carp will fall for this approach far more than ravenous carp do on clearer spots.
The one thing you need to be aware of fishing in weed though is diving birds. The birds will pick your bait up and nearly always drop it in weed. Of course you get anglers saying…Oh it’s self-setting and will be OK. My advise is don’t leave it to chance. Most of the pick-ups I have left have resulted in me finding my hook baits in weed and not presented how I would want. The number one rule in Big Carp fishing is ‘nearly right’ or ‘it’ll be good enough’ invariable isn’t. Don’t chance it!
Now of course the use of syrups and thick viscosity liquids that sink to the bottom stop wildlife picking up a solid object. In fact that was one of the principle reasons I developed the tactic of fishing with syrup rather than glugged baits.
So armed with a new twist on our boilie range which is still in the R&D classification, the high liquid boosted Trigga Ice and the use of Essential Garlic Oil on my hook baits, the bites started to come at quite consistent times. This is easy to understand. On what I have termed transient waters, the carp have pre-routes that they always follow. If they start at first light they will cover all areas on lakes less than 10 acres at some time during a 24-hour period. I have proved it so often and during warm water conditions, 18C, it’s even more apparent. So armed with this knowledge I recently moved the hook bait from the bottom of a bar to the top. It worked well and one of the lakes gems I was after was soon in the landing net. A real belter of a common just over 40lb. The real interesting thing was I was to catch the same carp 10 days later on the same bait and the same spot. Now I don’t beat myself up about repeat captures, as carp fishing for me these days just isn’t about the lakes stock…no. I fish for enjoyment and I fish to develop baits. In fact I get the biggest kick out of developing new edges and tactics and passing them onto grass root anglers. Please don’t throw up but that brings just as much pleasure as catching them myself these days.
Now I keep writing about this but I never fill in one particular spot but like to build up the bait within a swim. This is to try and realise that during a session, most of my sessions are three days and nights; there will be countless times when carp move over my hook baits. Now that means and I have done it with target carp, caught them twice during a session, fish can be tempted more than once to pick the same bait up.
May was fast turning into a good month’s catching and there seemed to be a trend of fish of similar sizes coming. Now that is a double-edge sword as if you wade through the twenties it proves tactics are working and the big uns and a good hit can be moments away. Well I was very fortunate, again LOL, to catch in my last session three Forties of 40+, 45+ and 44+. Through in the mix a 38 and 35 Commons and I knew that the current bait approach was working. Although as I keep reiterating, the real acid test comes over a four-season evaluation when the fluctuating water temperatures, changing eco pictures and weather variances that you get over a year make judging your results more rounded. This was to be my last session before I set foot on a new venue with a new set of problems that I had to compete with…its is a bait boat water. Now contrary to popular belief, I am not anti bait boat but ‘m anti idiot use of them…but that’s for my next instalment.
