In the last Haith's Blog piece I wrote, I went over a few ingredients that I really like to use in one of my typical winter baits.
With a large emphasis on solubility, texture for quicker throughput (roughage) through the carp, and also for increased leakage, therefore giving me increased and quicker attraction. Now this kind of bait is breaking down quick, leaking out attraction quick and hopefully catching carp quick!
The other faction of my winter baiting approach I mentioned was the 'little and often' approach. The reasons for this are twofold; firstly because of increased leakage, I like to keep that attraction going so rather than piling it in, I steadily introduce a couple of baits at a time, and secondly; because I do think that the occasional 'plop' of a bait or two going in will at the very least arouse a carp's curiosity. It works well for me.
Another thing I do is to use my baits from frozen, to ensure they are as fresh as possible. I don't air dry before freezing them, either; they are simply laid out for around half an hour, then a light coating (5ml/kg) of liquids are added to the bag, the baits are moved around to ensure an even coating of said liquids, then they are put in the freezer, until required.
I also don't go in for long boiling times, just 30 seconds on a 'simmer' is fine. The inclusion of 10% acid casein ensures a firm, but crumbly bait, when used in conjunction with Haith's bird food ingredients, which is perfect for me, and my approach.
The approach also relies heavily on finding the fish, and regardless of water type, I'm normally kept active, casting around, looking for signs, moving swims etc, which I much prefer to sitting still and shivering for long periods in the winter!
It is possible with thought and application, to keep the carp feeding throughout the winter, but keep the bait going in, failure to do so could achieve CLAMPDOWN!
They can and will stop moving so much if you stop giving them a reason to move so much! But don't go mad, keep them wanting a searching for it...
Most of the time, upon seeing a sign of a carp, I'll cast a single hook bait to it, as quickly and quietly as possible. If I catch, then I introduce bait, to start off with, probably; two or three baits, if an hour passes with no further bites, and I've not seen any other signs of carp elsewhere, then I'll introduce a couple more, I'll also introduce bait when I leave. Introducing baits in this fashion makes the carp highly catchable on single hook baits, so exploit it! Join me soon for Part 3 of Winter Baiting- Decrease the Waiting, where I'll talk more about the bait and recipes themselves.
Good luck with your fishing.
Written by Andy Obrien
