Posted on behalf of Jon:

quote:

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What kind of bait can you use for carp, bream and pike?
 
thank you

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Carp and bream id use sweetcorn or a small peice of sausage meat, carp go wild for pepparami.

for carp you can use boilies aswell and if you like messing around with tiny hooks then casters are good.

for Pike you can use a roach as deadbait or livebait if your fishery allows it, a strip of mackeral would work fine too, also try spinning a large bass type lure. also dont forget your wire trace!!!

Use the carp and bream for the pike.

Seriously though, I take it that you are a beginner. In which case you are just happy to catch anything and not going for specimen fish.

For the carp and bream, general all round baits are maggots, sweetcorn, pellets etc. Try and find out what other anglers are using on your chosen venue and go with those baits. And don't forget a disgorger for deep hooked fish.

Pike are fish eaters, so live/dead baits or artificial baits (lures) are the order of the day. However, pike fishing is an area of angling that does require special thought.

It's not something that you can switch from in the same way that you can go gudgeon fishing on the canal one day and roach fishing on a pool the next.

There are special items of tackle needed - mostly to do with the welfare of the fish, but also because you are targeting a specific fish that demands specific tackle.

Before tackling pike I would do some research and if possible, try to speak with an experinced pike angler. In fact I do believe there is a pike teach-in being organised via AN. You would probably find that something like that would take your understanding of the species along in leaps and bounds.

Anyway, all the best.

carp = anything
bream = anything set out for carp
pike = anything carp and bream won't eat and a couple that they do

When you think of a fish you have to look at their habitat and way of life. Carp are grubbers who like to eat whatever is in abundance, be that bloodworm, caddis fly, maggots, hemp, luncheon meat, breadflake, maize, artificials, pellets or boilies etc. The point is, if where you fish is commercialised then they will have seen most types of bait and it's your presentation that is important because they will certainly have been caught on everything you'll find in your tackle shop or your fridge or larder. Yup, on some waters there is a 'going' bait, but the fish soon wise up and then it pays to be different. Take a selection with you. read the forums and the magazines to get your choices down to a reasonable amount though!
Bream really do eat anything a carp will, as will tench, but you'll be plagued by them using such little nibbles as maggots or worms ... along with any silver fish in the locale.

I can't really comment on baits for pike other than having caught one recently on two peices of popped up maize on a gravel bar in a lake! There is no silver fish population in there so they just take advantage of anything on offer (and as a result of their natural prey fish diet being lacking, they only go to about 7 - 8lbs in there)

Keep reading, keep asking, but best of all take a selection and experiment

[ 12. August 2004, 12:03 PM: Message edited by: allibee ]

Pike:-

Always use a wire trace. Those teeth are sharp.

Lures until it gets a bit nippier then live/deadbaits from Sept until April.

Deadbait: Mackerel is great - tough skin so you don't lose it and nice and smelly too. I also like sardine as the oily smell works well. My favourite is Lamprey, it leaks blood and pike love the smell. For big Pike I'd use a large mackerel tail.

Live bait: catch something small that is in the water you are fishing and use that. Roach or a small perch are good. Nothing over 8 ounces. Just hook it through chin and up through top lip. Don't put another treble in it's back as that's just nasty!

Get a big landing net and a long pair of forceps.

I also remove barbs from my hooks when piking. A good strike will get the hook in well enough and won't hurt the fish as much as a barb.

I would also say don't strike until the float has been moving for a wee while. I usually count to 5 (or up to ten if I've lost one stirking earlier that day), to give the Pike time as it turns the fish around in it's mouth to swallow it, and that's when you should hook it.

Good luck!

Simon

[ 12. August 2004, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: BoozleBear ]

I do hope that nobody reads the above thread from Simon and follows his advice regarding the timing of a strike when pike fishing. You should always strike at the first indication, otherwise you risk deep-hooking.

Wind down until you feel the pike, then strike! Counting 5, 10 or whatever, no way. Re read Fenboys comment, and then write it out 50 times!

Where did that nugget of information come from??
"The Puffin Guide to Coarse Fishing 1971" perhaps?