Hemp and Tares

[The Flying Tench]

I'm planning the start of the new season, and was thinking of trying for some roach on hemp and tares. I used hemp with success a few times as a teenager, but when I've tried it as a hook bait a couple of times in recent years I never got a bite.

 

People tell me it takes about an hour for the fish to start taking the hemp. I find this hard to understand, because those who use it as groundbait don't believe they're having to wait an hour before it attracts the fish. And if the fish think it's small water snails I don't see why there'd be such a delay. Nevertheless, if it takes an hour it takes an hour. But I was reading an old 'advice from the experts' column from an angling mag, and after extolling hemp 'n tares it made the extraordinary comment that hemp 'n tares only works 'once in a blue moon', but when it does it's brilliant! In other words, if I understand it right, most of the time you won't catch anything on it? What is other people's experience?

[Will Wilkinson]

Difficult baits to fish, but if fished well can be the best roach baits going. Feeding hemp and fishing a tare on the hook can be a killer combination. The real key is, as always, feeding. I usually start with a small pinch of hemp (around a dozen grains) every minute or so. If you're using hemp on the hook the I've found that it's worth taking a few out 5 minutes early when cooking it to use as hookbaits as they'll be a bit firmer and stay on better. I don't often fish them by thmselves though, tend to use caster as well and alternate hookbaits.

 

HTH

 

Will

[Howard 13]

In my experience, hemp will definately find the bigger roach amongst the shoal. I find it works well for about 20 mins to half an hour then seems to go dead.

 

Switch to caster or maggot and again you'll start catching so you know the roach are still there, so it's a bit weird. I totally understand the bit about giving them an hour to start taking your tare hookbait, I've never understood that either but it does seem true.

 

BTW - Don't loosefeed any tares as they are very filling apparently.

 

HB.

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

"HEMP N TARES SON, HEMP N TARES,THATS WHAT YOU WANT" lol sorry my mate at work(hes getting on a bit now)alwasy mentions hemp n bloody tares very funny,he swears by it for big roach,one tip he gave me i know works,fish tares on the bottom.

[The Flying Tench]

I think that Howard and Will are saying that what I read about Hemp 'n Tares only working once in a blue moon is rubbish, and that it's well worth a try?

[Howard 13]

Definately worth a try. The first time I used hemp as bait I was amazed at the size of the roach I was catching. If you have difficulty hooking the hemp then try the artificial stuff sold by enterprise.

 

I've only fished it with my pole and whip, and you have to be quick to hit the bites. You'll also catch alot of skimmers, and if using tares the odd chub as well.

 

When I go carp fishing on the river I normally take my whip and a bag of hemp just for something to do whilst waiting for a run. I had a bream over 4lbs on it last season.

 

Good luck,

HB.

[The Flying Tench]

Thanks for the encouragement, folks. I went to the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hungerford today with the limited aim of catching a roach of any size on hemp and/or tares. I fed hemp for 2 hours, but not only one bite (on a tare) and no fish. But there were loads of small fish there. I only had to put on a small piece of bread and I got a 5 inch roach straight away. The funny thing is, the hemp must have been attracting them, otherwise why would there have been so many fish in the swim?

 

I can see why the small fish didn't take tares, as they might be a bit big, but most of the second hour I had hemp on the hook. Maybe they just don't have a taste for it there?

[dogfish]

Years ago (30+) I used to fish the Trent near my house in radcliife and prior to that on Newark dyke.

 

We just fished Tares on their own. No hemp. Just loosefeed a few tares at a time.

We used to catch massive bags of big roach.

They are a brilliant bait but need to be used regularly to get best effect.

May take a while to be effective on a water where they have not been used.

Other similar baits are Pearl barley and wheat.

Cheap and effective.

If you are going to use these baits you need to persevere.

Don't give up just because you have a blank or two or if you have to wait for bites.

I remember a guy winning a matckh on the lower great ouse.He never had a bite for 4 hours but then caught nearly 50lbs. of roach in the last hour

Good luck

 

DF

[Will Wilkinson]

The rig can be pretty important when fishing hemp/tares, I've found that usually 80-90% of the bites come on the drop. Therefore you need a rig that will show these bites instantly and allow a natural drop to the seed.

 

You should know when you've got it right

 

Will

 

 

{2008 Editor's Note - for hemp products for fishing, please click here}

[Rusty]

*Old thread alert*

 

But it’s still relevant to something I’ll be trying in the near future so I wondered if anyone has anything to add after all these years. To set the scene I’ll be after river roach but in slack clear water a rod length out (I can see them easily), my plan was to use liquidised bread mixed with hemp as a groundbait but it seems that most people just loosefeed the hemp, a few seeds at a time rather than a large bed.

 

I’ll floatfish with no shot so the float will lie flat and the bait will descend at its natural rate, 4lb mainline and a 2lb hooklength to a size 20 hook are my thoughts. The hemp will be shop bought tinned and I understand that I have to push the hook shank into the white seed such that the shell sort of clamps it in place with the hook bend pointing away from the seed?

 

I’ve tried for them on trotting days but they completely ignored my maggot, it was infuriating, they just swam around it. I think my improvised setup may have been too obvious to them so a different approach is called for.