Difficult new dam with big fish! Need help!

[Dick Dastardly]

Pipe,dont worry about boiling Maize.Its not necessary.Just leave it in the sun soaking for a few days.Most effective once it starts to ferment.

[Pipe]

Pipe,dont worry about boiling Maize.Its not necessary.Just leave it in the sun soaking for a few days.Most effective once it starts to ferment.

 

 

What other tips do you have fot me Budgie?

My dad caught the fish on a worm...any tips on using worms? How do you use them there in europe?

[bingo]

Pipe,dont worry about boiling Maize.Its not necessary.Just leave it in the sun soaking for a few days.Most effective once it starts to ferment.

 

Is that ok to do if there's no sun Budgie?

 

Don't mean to sound cheeky. Just wondered if it would be ok to put some in a bucket (with lid?) and leave it for a few days in mild uk weather?

 

I've only ever prepared small quantities but it's a right faff boiling it in the house.........................

[Newt]

Bingo - about the only good reason for soaking or boiling maize is to give some zing to the flavour. Soaking for a few days as long as the temps aren't too cold does nicely. Boiling is faster but certainly not needed.

 

Contrary to what you may have read or been told, dry maize is harmless to carp if they eat it.

[Dick Dastardly]

Just stick it in a sealed tub in the airing cupboard Bingo! a bit of heat just speeds up the fermenting process mate.All though Pipe shouldnt have any problems with availability of sunlight in SA! If you need it quick the try cracked maize as this takes on the water quicker.

 

People get a bit confused/mislead about this whole buisness of preparing various particle baits.The real rteasons to soak and boil most seed/grain/pulse/nut baits is to speed up the fermenting process and thus improve their attractiveness.As these types of food stuff start to ferment the chemical breakdown causes the various sugars/enzymes they contain to be released.A side benifit )in the pre nut drill days!) was that the soaking/boilling made it easier to stick a hook or hair needle through them!

 

Some of these are also capable of actually germinating and growing in shallow watewr (not going to be able to in over a foot or so though!,mainly where they are dropped in the margins in actual reality) I have actually seen one water in the CV that had a very good crop of American Buckwheat! So boilling can be sensible as it kills off seeds etc and prevents this from happwening.

 

Anglers got it in their heads for many years that un prepared bits could actually damage carp.It was said that if carp were to pick up unsoaked and un boiled particles that they would take on water and swell up in the carps stomach causing it to explode.........pointless a no body like me trying to quote biological or practical facts to debunk this so try asking a recognised fisheries biologist..er not a Pseudo scientific angler!

[bingo]

Cheers for the help guys. Much appreciated.

 

I've read stuff about unprepared peanuts and other particles being bad for carp and apparently have caused deaths??? Don't know how much of this is true. Like you say, there's a lot of heresay and myths in angling and very little facts!

[Newt]

I've read stuff about unprepared peanuts and other particles being bad for carp and apparently have caused deaths!

 

Not going to give the fish much in the way of nutrients so too much and they will lose some weight from not being hungry enough to eat a normal amount of other food. Of course, the same is true of most of these particles when they are prepared so it's pretty much a wash.

 

The sole exception would be peanuts that were infected with Aflatoxin which can happen if they are poorly stored. This fungus is known to be harmful to humans and fish but with food grade nuts (the only ones available for sale these days) the problem does not arise. Have a look at this link for some solid info on the good about peanuts and a paragraph about this particular danger. A search for 'peanuts aflatoxin' will bring up many others.

http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=f...ce&dbid=101

 

Otherwise I can't remember any first hand experience or solid published information indicating they are harmful.

 

I will cite two things from personal experience that lead me to believe the 'harmful' tales are just that.

 

- I live in an area where peanuts are grown and the major processing plants dump waste (bits of nuts and hulls) into a river. Carp feast on them in a frenzy during the several weeks they are available. Not seen any signs of dead or ill fish in the area.

- Likewise with field corn (maize). Tons of dried grains dumped into a nearby river in the several weeks following harvest. Fat carp but otherwise no noted problems.