Potatoes ?

[kas]

I am in the process of reading an old book entitled 'Still Water Angling' by Richard Walker which dates back to around 1953.

In it the author rates 'potato' as one of the best general baits for carp/tench/bream fishing. I was wondering if anyone still uses it regularly as a bait, and if so in what form (ie raw, roasted, boiled, whole, chopped or 'mashed' only joking! on that one). I haven't heard it mentioned often as a bait, but might give it a go!

Would be interested to hear veiws on 'potatoes'.

kas

[Newt]

They were basically the pre-boilie boilie. They worked well then and will work well now.

 

I use them on occasion and the fish still rate them highly. In your case (the UK with pressured carp waters) I'd expect them to do even better since they are so rarely seen.

 

I like 'new' potatoes (about the size of a golf ball) both raw and cooked. Halves are good but if the fish are largish, whole is fine too.

 

They do nicely with no added flavours but also with a bit of your favourite.

 

I suspect that most of the responses you get will be from other old timers since as you note, it is not a commonly used bait in the UK.

 

If you need to cast to distance, a small plastic straw run completely through and cut to length will keep your line from cutting the bait so easily.

[chesters1]

par boiled ,i tried often as a kid but never had a thing on any that made it as far as the water ,Mr Walker could be very annoying on occasion

there was also "dock grubs" never ever found one in docks and elderberries they probably did work in swims with overhanging elderberry trees but using them in ones without all you got was purple fingers

slugs worked rarely but you ended up glued to everything you touched ,i stuck to bread it catches everything ,i found freezing soft baits worked a treat ,put hook with a hooklenght in the bait ,put bait in icecube tray add water and freeze ,when frozen put icecubes in a widemouthed flask ,use as neccessary ,you can cast really soft baits as far as you like for carp ,they slowly sink down under the weight of a leger and thaw out leaving the bait in perfect condition on the bottom! try it ,it works a treat for freelineing onto lillies as well ,you can cast past the lillies the draw the icecube to where you want it for those elusive suckers that elude you in every other method.the cube thaws and you can hold the bait on the pad or let it sink down by holding the line taught ,a run on that is very stimulating and little to get hooked up on the stems bar the line ,great fun

Edited July 11, 2008 by chesters1

[Ken L]

I am in the process of reading an old book entitled 'Still Water Angling' by Richard Walker which dates back to around 1953.

In it the author rates 'potato' as one of the best general baits for carp/tench/bream fishing.

 

Of course, in 1953, carp were usually considered "uncatchable". It's just possible that there is a corrolation there.

[Dick Dastardly]

I've used them for carp and caught both carp and the odd big roach (by accident) on them.Ive always used tinned new potatoes as they dont need preparing.

[Leon Roskilly]

Chesters,

 

Boiled potatoes stay on the treble hook just fine.

[old novice - jeff]

they make good cheap weights when fishing snags / sea fishing off rocks

[poledark]

Newt is right of course, spuds and old timers go together.

 

This just might become a long post, so bear with me....

 

Not sure when I used my first spuds,,but certainly used them at Summerhill lake (Tonbridge) when I was 17, so that would have been 1954. Caught 54 fish for a total weight of 504 Lbs, this was in a 1 week session. Small chicken egg sized ones. Also caught with them at Horton Kirby before the sausage meat took over, followed by the specials.

 

Interesting what Newt says about the drinking straw though I wrote a short piece for Angling Times (my second article I think) in 1956. This described my experience when using spuds and catching an 18lber. While playing this fish I noticed that the spud was sliding up the line, so the fish must have sucked the hook out. I was using the straw idea with a whipped on salmon fly hook (no eye) and a little bit of card under the bend of the hook to stop it pulling thro on the cast.

 

My thoughts were that the hook was sucked out when the fish tried to suck the spud into it's mouth. I only remember getting a couple more like that, but the sausage meat took over, so the idea was forgotten...............not by everyone it seems, eh Newt

 

I described the straw idea in that article, with a little drawing to illustrate it

 

It is staggering the size of spud a 10lb carp will pick up, certainly chicken egg size no trouble. I used to go to the local greengrocers and he let me pick out all the small ones for free, but quite often I added a few (or more ) of bigger ones.

 

Hooks were No2 aberdeen type (long shank) tied to a 12 inch length of nylon and threaded on the spud with a baiting needle, ready to be tied to the main line and cast out. No weights (no one used weights for carp in those days), and as I said, a small piece of card (fag packet) tucked under the bend.

 

One feature of this bait, was the number of foul hooked fish, I assumed some of the fish swam off with the spud still sticking out of its mouth and the line across its head/back. Quite a few were hooked in the side of the body, and the fight was either almost unstoppable (many fish kiting into the bank ) or the fish was just rolled over . This depended which way it swam when hooked

 

One other thing I remember which may be of some use nowadays. When fishing over silt, the spud would get pushed in to the silt by tiddlers (or maybe sometimes by a carp) It probably became hidden, so If we did not get a take within about 20 mins, we used to pull the spud a couple of inches towards us. Quite often this would result in a take within a minute or so.

 

Maybe worth trying with boilies over silt?

 

I have tried spuds (tinned ready cooked ones) a few times since...usually when I have got desperate.....and failed to catch. Maybe I should have tried them when fish were feeding?

 

With the skins off they take a colour nicely, and probably a flavour as well.

 

Ken, your comment has to be looked at in the situation of the 1950's. Carp were not all that prolific in the years up to about 1953, but where they were in reasonable numbers, they were caught quite a lot. Most of Walkers book relates to the period up to '52 or '53 and estate lakes were the only ones with reasonable numbers of carp in them. The whole situation changed very rapidly after that time, especially with all the newly dug gravel pits being stoked with carp. I think the old Kent River Board stocked many thousands in the Darenth valley and Medway valley pits in about 1956. Some of those fish are still alive now

 

I was within 3 feet of a 50+ on Thursday.........awesome sight perhaps he would pick up a spud?

 

Den

Edited July 11, 2008 by poledark

[Rolo]

I am going to be using Potatoes for the first time tommorow as i saw a video with Bob nudd using them, i am soaking them in gravy granuals over night as Bob said, just wandering if anyone has used this and does it work?

[Peter Sharpe]

To be fair to Dick, I don't think the point of using potatoes was in their drawing power as a bait, but in their ability to withstand the constant attentions of small, nuisance fish, which could destroy a large bread bait very quickly. It would obviously be possible to catch carp on them today, but it would only be worthwhile if it amused you to try. A good boilie would beat them every time.