Why catch average big fish results when it is possible to achieve so much more by precisely leveraging bait and baiting tactics? Superb catches can be produced instead of blank fishing sessions with the right approach and this is proven here without any need for exaggeration! So what are you waiting for? Read on...
After a self-enforced period of around one and a half years of practically no fishing i.e. no hooking of carp at all many amazing realisations have come to me. I am back on the highly exciting verge of starting to fish again. One of my primary goals this year is to prove again just to what degree the correct design and application of bait for a variety of big fish and fishing situations can be, as an "equaliser" of results. (Against full-time and sponsored anglers and those with more time, bait, experience etc!) And also by this, I mean comparatively massive catches of big fish by an "ordinary angler" out of practice and with average skills, tackle and time.
But the leveraging of bait towards this purpose has to be part of a bigger plan. The fact is I'm out of practice so much; I've only carp fished twice in nearly 2 years! I still do not know what it will feel like to hook another fish much less see it on the mat. My thinking strategy, tactics, choice of waters, rigs baits and actual approach to fishing has got to be fresh extremely innovative attract all the "competitive edges" I can possibly achieve on my return to fishing. I will be returning to some very competitive fishing situations with very much sharper, honed skilled anglers and some very difficult angler-conditioned fish!
My real targets are those fish which are very rarely caught, if at all. Many of these fish have adapted to fishing threats by simply "switching-off" to anglers baits, attractors and ingredients and have turned to exclusively eating natural food items. Such fish get big of course just by eating these as the size of the legendary fish in Redmire before the time of heavy baiting schedules and its impact on growth and weight gains (and extreme global warming weather changes!)
It is my certain belief that if bait is presented in the correct format containing stimulators that fish essentially need and eat naturally in their environment, then they will always be catchable. Even if fish simply filter feed on daphnia and brose on algae for their needs, there must be ways to exploit this too... Time will tell regarding these challenges and my results!
Herein the UK we have just experienced a hard winter's fishing especially for carp. The weather was not as mild as last winter of 2006 and 2007. Last winter produced fish from many waters tight through the winter which would usually have "shut-up shop" from around November to early April. I fished a whole winter a few years ago in order to get a "big picture" of fish catches and behaviours compared to presence of reduced angling activity and bait. Again it was a hard winters fishing as it was pretty cold. The lake froze over twice for long periods. March was high pressure weather systems and hard frosts all the way through.
These conditions made fishing very hard. That spring though, the fish were very easy to catch just about the third week of April through to early June. Catches at this time probably equally those for the rest of the year put together! It reminded me of one April when fishing Darenth big lake when over a period of about 4 weeks nearly all the big carp over 40 pounds were caught and the banks were thick with anglers and bivvies! Usually when such pressure hits fish after very little fishing activity, with all its leads flying everywhere, lines tight crossing every swim and a tonne of bait in the water every night; a fishery can often produce very few fish! But sometimes it is very significant in spring, that rising temperatures and fish metabolism and low fish energy reserves combine to create spectacular fishing often for a limited period in spring...
If you have been paying attention to your waters, you will very likely know exactly where most of the fish are situated now which is the fourth week of March as I write. If you have noticed which spots fish have been showing over or holding-up in like marginal snags etc, even though it's very likely few fish have been landed yet, these spots are the places to start your spring assault. I've tried fishing various methods in spring and the application of bait can produce incredible results compared to the average angler who turns up with a bucket of pellets or hemp and a few kilograms of boilies with a popular flavor or flavors, on a weekend.
One particular year, I had great success fishing short sessions from early April through to early June. What I did first was "fish for liners." This means that as fish pass through a swim, they brush the line which vibrates your bite alarm and indicates a fish in the swim. At this stage, while fishing, only tiny soluble polyvinyl alcohol "PVA" bags were used or single baits steeped in stimulators and enhancers. The primary aim at this stage was to identify the carp patrol routes in order to map them in order to more effectively intercept them in later sessions. If you can deliberately intercept fish as they start or end their natural feeding patterns and movements, you can really do well.
