[What Winter Bait]

Foxcarp,, I don't think pop-ups would work as a loose bait, or in a PVA bag

 

And...he didn't suggest they would.

[Winemaking]

BTW. A couple of litres af pure grape/orange/apple juice from a cheapie supermarket and a bag of sugar make a gallon of white wine that isn't particularly tasty but which makes the perfect base for a bowel of punch. It got me invited back to more parties than I can remember in my younger days.

 

That sounds good how long does it need to be left for?

[maize]

Just boiled up a parti mix and while other seeds such as the tares in the mix have gone mushy the maize is only slightly softer.

 

I boiled the particles for about 30 minutes. Will maize go completely soft or is it ok to use quite hard?

[Spods]

I like the fox spod (here) as it has removable inserts so you can have holes in the side which helps with emptying and retrieving.

 

Rich

 

Yeah that looks good. I was planning on using it for sloppy particles mixes as well as boilies etc. so that covers all areas.

 

Still, I would like to make my own as well just to see if it's worthwhile. No-one else had a go at this?

[Particles]

Sounds good, will let you know how I get on

 

Im sure I remember something about condensed milk being added to the particles mixes. Anyone else heard of/tried this?

[any free boilies anyone?]

I was going to buy some Halibut pellets but I thought I would ask if anyone has any free ones for me that they could send me through the post or deliver to my house

 

 

Likewise, anyone got any bivies knocking about, i'll even pay towards delivery!

[Particles]

No but you could try fermenting some in with your seeds and then pick a few out to try on the hook. let us know how you get on.

 

Going fishing for a 24 hour session on thursday so i'll start soaking the mix tomorrow and then compare raisins results with other hookbaits: boilies, corn, meat etc.

 

Do the raisins need soaking though because they are soft already?

[Spods]

My catapults broken and I need a way of getting a carpet of bait out and was thinking about a spod.

 

I don't really want to buy one so has anyone made their own spods or know of how to do it?

 

Thanks in advance for replies

[Particles]

Don't know if it makes any difference but I have always boiled my seeds & then fermented them not the other way round. Must say the blending bit sounds good never tried that. Think your right about the flavours (none really needed) but i do like to put a tea spoon of flaked chilly in my hemp when I'm boiling it for the winter barbel.

 

Chilly sounds like a good additive and cheap too, I might try that or some curry powder in one batch and compare with results from unflavoured seeds see if it makes a difference.

 

Just a thought, anyone ever tried or heard of raisins as bait?

[Particles]

Why would you want to add flavour?

 

I was thinking about an article I read in one of the weeklies were I think it was swimstim was added to make a cloud of attraction, however blending some and adding it back would do that anyway and make a lovely trail for the fish to follow.

 

Thanks for the advice Elton

[Particles]

Just bought my first unprepared particles including hemp, pigeon conditioner and mixed bird seed.

 

Do these need to be prepared separately or can I mix them in advance and boil them together?

 

At what stage of preparation should flavour be added?

 

How long will they last after they have been cooked or can they be frozen?

 

Any other tips will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

James

[May Bugs]

Thanks for the replies

 

Andy, thats an impressive selection of baits to catch on. I was also planning to try insects like woodlice and centipedes that sort of thing.

 

Newt, that baistick looks like the dogs, though the shipping from the U.S will be pricey, any idea of a similar product closer to home?

 

They don't usually end up in the water in large enough quantities to preoccupy fish into feeding on them avidly, but I've no doubt that plopping one down near a chub would prove successful.

I wonder if they'll still be about when the river season starts though? I seem to remember them only appearing for a few weeks.

[May Bugs]

Just wondering if anyone has ever tried them or read anything about them being used for bait?

[Uncaught Fish]

I watched a fishing programme last night were the angler identified the fish as uncaught because of an intact skin flap at the top of the mouth. How would this show if it had been caught or not if it was there after they had caught it?

[Hideout 2 Man Bivvy/Winter Skin]

Just brought this 2-man bivvy from Dragon Carp for £170 two weeks ago, used it once but something's come up meaning I need the money more than the bivvy. It's literally as good as new.

 

I anyone fancies it - £140.

[Next season]

Im going to be trying to take chub from the surface using bread, bleak livebaits and surface poppers.

 

Night fishing for barbel, aim to catch my first double.

 

River piking using lures and livebaits hoping for anything over 15lb

 

And finally catching some crayfish for the barbeque.

[barbed or barbless hooks]

Talking to a tackle dealer the other day about this very subject he reckoned that the barbless was responsible for most of the lip damage today, I couldn't quite see his theory.

 

I've heard people say that barbless hooks can cause the hook to move around too much in the fishes lip which is why some fisheries ban them.

[Mounting Soft Baits]

When using spam I find it best to hook it through the side, push the hook through, turn it and then pull it back into the meat. This works on a decent sized piece and i've never had any trouble getting the hook to pull through on the strike. Another way is attach your hookling via a swivel and then use a baiting needle to pull the whole hooklink through the meat, again pulling the hook into the spam.

 

A method I tried out of curiosity and had good hook up rates with is a reverse hair rig style were the hook comes out the bottom of the meat. Don't ask me why but even with a size 6 sticking from the bottom of the meat the fish didn't seem to notice.

[landing nets]

Not sure when the next one is but fishing shows/festivals are the best place to buy tackle.

 

At the recent Go Fishing show at Thorpe Park I picked up a quality 42" net with pole for £2 from a second hand stall and there were loads of net+pole combos from reputable companies for under £10.

 

Might be an idea to see if there are any similar coming up.

[Fishing in Margarita]

In August I'm going for two weeks to Margarita which is just off the coast of Venezuela for a family holiday and will be doing some fishing whilst there .

 

The fishing on last years holiday in Lanzarote wasn't great mainly due to lack of experience and planning (though my friend did hook then loose a Wahoo whilst trolling) and we only managed to catch a few small fish from the lagoon.

 

Though an experienced coarse fisherman I don't know much about sea fishing and so would like to know what sort of fish I am likely to catch, how to catch them and what baits to use. I know there are lagoons, lakes, mangrove swamps and the Caribbean ocean.

 

If anyone has any experience with anywhere similar then I would be very grateful to hear from you.

 

Thanks in advance

 

James

[Rod Pods]

Excellent, glad to hear it arrived ok. Did you get out and try it over the weekend?

 

Unfortunately a little bit hungover on saturday so had to give it a miss this weekend. Will let you know how it is next monday.

 

Thanks again.

 

James

[Lobworms]

So far as I know, lobworms can't be bred artificially. I looked into this a few years ago, drew a blank. The traditional method of going out with a torch on a damp summer evening, or finding a patch you can dig are probably still favourite. One method that I know works from experience is to flood an area of grass with water with a bit of washing up liquid, or better still formalin (which you can get from a farmers co-op). The area needs to be well flooded, (we used to use a 40gal drum!). Be prepared to wait up to half an hour sometimes, then the worms start coming up. Wash them in fresh water, then they can be stored in bins etc, in damp soil with newspaper or carpet on the top.

 

Sounds interesting, how many worms would you expect to get from this technique? I have been out at night with a headlamp pulling them from the ground but have never tried this.

 

I dont use lob worm as such but for general worms start a composter. Some councils will give you the equipment required as its classed as recycling takes a few months to get established then all i did was put my unused denddrobena in it and now i have a steady supply of worms. just remember to put back the worms you dont use after each trip.

 

Cheers Terry, I have a composter and do indeed have a large number of denddrobena which got in their naturally however lobworms don't seem to breed in their.

 

a good way to keep a few about (if you have room in your garden) is to lay out an old carpet ,it suppresses weeds and if kept damp has a healthy crop of worms under it ,even laid on concrete if kept permanantly damp will soon have worms under it,more layers more worms its surprising how quickly they find it.

 

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately my soil is unsuitable for any worms for some reason and so have to go to my nearest field to gather worms. Not sure they'd appreciate me killing the grass on their cricket pitch!

[River Rod]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I'm going to the Go Fishing Show in March and so will stick with what i've got until then.

 

I'll have a look for all the rods mentioned when i'm there and hopefully i'll be able to try them out and find the one which suits me.

 

Thanks again for the advice.

 

James.

[Lobworms]

Lobworms being my favorite bait for many species i am tired of paying extortionate prices for them and have little time to collect them myself (there seems to be less recently anyway, maybe due to the weather) and so i was wondering wether anyone has had any success breeding them in captivity.

 

I've not heard anything about it before but if i can't be done, does anyone know why?

 

Cheers

[River Rod]

Thanks for the advice.

 

I like the look of the John Wilson rod especially.

 

Would that be suitable for light carp fishing aswell?

 

Cheers