The Ultimate Guide to Carp Fishing Bait – PART 4

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The Ultimate Guide to Carp Fishing Bait – PART 4

Carp fishing is a popular type of freshwater fish that many anglers target. Not only are carp plenty, but their fight can be quite challenging and satisfying too! There's no one way to bait them - different methods work better depending on what kind of conditions and venue you fish at. In this post, we show different ways to get the bait to the carp (bait application) while also covering some other essential bait topics like making homemade baits with easy-to-teach steps and the best tools, that make it easier than ever before.

If you have missed or want to read back the rest of our Ultimate Carp Bait Guide, you can find the different parts of the series below...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

This is part 4 of the guide and the final instalment of the series.

 

The Top 10 Ways To Get the Bait to the Carp

Almost as important as the bait choice is bait application. As just mentioned there are several factors to consider when figuring out the best way to get your bait out to the carp you are targeting. Listed below are a few methods paired with ideal bait choices.

Hook & Line:

This is ideal for using PVA bags full of bait or for your hookbait. Whatever presentation you choose, there are the bait tactics used to get the fish hooked after you have built interest in your swim.

Catapult:

Ideal for boilies or particle-feed, a catapult can achieve a reasonable distance with some practice.

Throw Stick:

Or a Throwing Stick are good for getting out a small quantity of bait with accuracy and minimal disturbance.

By Hand:

Throwing out most baits by hand is a fast way of delivering a lot of bait, however, it is only really ideal for short distance or margin fishing.

Bait Boats:

Are ideal if you are looking for minimum disturbance in the swim and mega-accurate delivery. Some boats can deliver 5kg of bait in one go along with taking your rigs out at the same time.

Spodding or Spombing:

The spomb is a bomb styled capsule that opens on impact with the water and the spod is an open-ended rocket or torpedo shape that tips out bait when it hits the water. This tactic is ideal for accurate delivery of large bait quantities, this tactic also makes a large disturbance with your spomb hits the water but for some fish, this is more of a food signal than an alarm bell.

PVA Bags:

Ideal for spreading bigger pellets or baits surrounding the hook bait.

PVA String / Tape:

A PVA tape that threads through a boilie and then attaches it to your rig adds attraction to your hookbait as once the PVA stringer has hit that water, it will dissolve, leaving a few freebies in the immediate area of the hook.

Method Feeder:

Ideal for using micro pellets or groundbait mixes, a method feeder allows you to mould a ball of bait mix around its frame to then be broken down in the water attracting lots of fish to your swim.

Pellet Feeder:

Ideal for colder waters, a pellet feeder allows you to present fewer free offerings in your swim as rather than using hundreds of micro pellets or groundbait particles, you can present a handful of 4mm’s.

Hybrid Feeder:

Similar to the Method Feeder, this tactic holds less bait so it is ideal for targeting one big fish at a time. A hybrid feeder helps with hookbait presentation thanks to the raised sides of the feeder so your bait is protected on the cast.

 

The Best Carp Bait for the Seasons

Carp, being cold-blooded, have different nutritional requirements as their body temperature changes in line with their environment or the season. Here we list the top baits for each season to save you time when choosing the right bait for the time of year.

 

Top 5 Carp Baits for Autumn:

In the autumn, the carp seek a higher fat diet that allows them to store the excess fat in their muscle for use later in the winter.

1.       Highly nutritious boilies

2.       Maggots & Worms

3.       Tiger Nuts

4.       Liquids and Powders added near hookbaits

5.       Hemp & Particle

 

Top 5 Bait for Winter:

During the winter when the water is cold, the carp’s metabolic rate slows, resulting in a low protein diet and higher carbohydrate-based feed.

1.       Maggots – See our Top Tips for Winter Carp Fishing with Maggots 

2.       Hemp

3.       Lobworms

4.       Highly Visible Pop-Ups

5.       Boilies

 

Top 5 Bait for Spring:

Spring baits require higher protein to allow carp to regain the weight they have lost during the winter months.

1.       Fishmeal Flavoured Boilies

2.       Highly Visible Pop-Ups

3.       Sweetcorn Spod Mix

4.       Fishy flavoured Pellets

5.       Maggots

 

Top 5 Bait for Summer:

Warmer water means carp are much more active and there are more regular feedings of natural baits to continue to regain the weight that is lost in the winter months.

1.       Snails

2.       Hemp & Particles

3.       Tiger Nuts

4.       Mussels

5.       Sweetcorn / Artificial Corn

 

 

How to Make Carp Bait

Some anglers like to go the extra mile and create their carp bait from scratch. Making a bait yourself can give you the unique advantage at the bankside if not only knowing exactly what is in your fishing bait but perhaps giving yourself that edge that others are lacking when trying to attract carp.

Carp, will readily take dough baits made from flour and cornmeal mixtures.

 

The Complete Set of Bait Making Tools & Equipment

Some baits you can get using straight from the bag or tub but some baits like mixes, pellets or boilies you might want to prepare a little bit further, especially for loose feed for carp.

Blade Set – Ideal for cutting up luncheon meat, carp boilies and pellets.

Pots – Ideal for storing leftover or homemade boilies, pellets, wafters, etc.

Sausage Gun – Ideal for filling up a bag of PVA with your chosen bait mix. Especially useful with mushy baits such as sweetcorn and hemp.

Pellet Pump – Used to make hard pellets soft and expanded.

Bread Punches – Bread is a great carp bait but rather than tearing the bread you can just perfect little punches of it to add to your hook.

Air Dry Bags – Ideal for drying out soaked boilies and pellets for using at the bank.

Baiting Needles – Used to thread bait such as boilies, pellets and sweetcorn onto your line/ rig.

Read more in our dedicate bait making equipment guide.

 

Got a question about carp bait or do want to share your tips and ideas? Feel free to contact us through our social media or pop into your local Angling Direct store where the AD team will be happy to help!

 

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