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Fake baits


Mikench

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Thanks for all your comments. I will try the suggestions and report back eventually. I caught 3 tench yesterday on real corn.

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Ive no doubt that fake baits do work in certain circumstances; and I have quite a selection in my tacklebox, but when Ive tried them (flavoured and unflavoured floating and sinking: artificial corn, maggots, caster, bloodworm, bread, hemp, earthworm and chum mixer) I cant say that they were anywhere near as good as real baits, so unless I can get them sitting in the middle of a bed of real baits and can very easily get sucked up amongst real baits or Im fishing in crayfish soup waters, Ive got very little confidence in fake baits; however I dont leave my baits out for long periods so using them doesnt give me many advantages and real baits are all I really need.

 

However; For trout and Chub which are great surface feeders in a few of the streams that I fish; I will still often use artificial flies, and I have a few artificial floating insects in my bag that I keep promising myself to use as zig-rigs for the large Grass Carp in a certain fishery (not far from a well known southern zoo) that have refused to eat anything else that the members have thrown at them; so far.

 

Keith

Edited by BoldBear

Happiness is Fish shaped (it used to be woman shaped but the wife is getting on a bit now)

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Thanks Phone,

 

There are 22 of these grass Carp in the smallish lake ranging from about 17lb up to the mid 20s and they sit there just below the surface and are extremely hard to get to take your bait, and if someone does manage to hook one (which is quite rare) its usually just a fluke when theyre after other species.

 

The two lakes were previously trout only lakes and they both get very weeded up during the summer months and they introduced these grass Carp to one of the lakes quite a few years ago to try and keep the weed down a bit, but it didnt really work and when my club took over they turned one of the two lakes containing the grass Carp into a good Tench and mixed fishery (no king Carp) and the grass Carp just lie there probably laughing at our attempts to hook them on silkweed, bread, grubs or floating lobworm but Ive an idea that an artificial insect presented on the surface film might possibly be able to fool one or two of them if I can manage to present it in the right way at distance :thumbs:

 

Keith

Edited by BoldBear

Happiness is Fish shaped (it used to be woman shaped but the wife is getting on a bit now)

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Keith, I remember Hugh Fearnley Whiitingstall on one of those River Cottage prog's - he caught a grass Carp using a floating Sugar Puff.

 

PS - a dry, spider pattern could work well??

 

https://blog.fishtec.co.uk/fly-tying-for-beginners-part-1-the-black-peacock-spider.

 

OK this shows you how to tie it, but I'm sure ones like these can be bought, and the Author says he's had Carp & Rudd using this one.

 

Or this one - a Daddy Long legs with a foam body.

 

https://youtu.be/7o8MjCUZX3Y

Edited by Martin56
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Fishin' - "Best Fun Ya' can 'ave wi' Ya' Clothes On"!!

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What constitutes a 'fake' bait is open to question. I'm assuming that on this occasion it means plastic imitations of baits we regard as 'normal'. Baits such as maggot, worm, sweetcorn, bread etc. I've never bought any plastic versions of any of those, but have used 'fake' versions of some of them.

From my early years I've been fascinated by what a fish would take on a hook, float fishing a nymph, and even a dry fly, just to see if I can.

My earliest attempts were using pieces of chewing gum rolled to look like a maggot. Having got a shoal of dace boiling on the surface to intercept a few hand fed maggots, I cast in the said chewing gum 'maggot', and caught dace from the off. It was just a matter of constant loose feeding and casting my bait into the 'boil'. I even caught a small, (very small, about 5"), pike on a bigger piece of chewing gum, shaped so it would wriggle as I drew it back. I've done the same with chub, carp and roach, when feeding caster/chrysalis, by constant loose feeding, the fish compete so hard for the bait that they will take anything that looks remotely similar, in this case, pieces of float rubber slid over the hook shank. Pieces of foam trotted through a swim, often dipped in a cheese sauce, condensed milk, even gravy mix, all after feeding bread, cheese, or luncheon meat, I've also caught using the same as a floating bait. A sliver of carrot, doubled, and attached to the hook with a float rubber, has caught me perch when fished 'sink and draw', silver paper on a hook has caught me trout, perch, pike, and mackerel.

I don't fish where I leave a bait for hours, amongst a bed of particles, so I can't really comment on any personal success of baits in that situation.

My personal experience, tells me that any bait that looks remotely like a bait can be taken if the conditions are right, or if you create the right conditions, ie, the fish are really hungry, you create a feeding 'frenzy', you impart movement to stir a hunting/feeding instinct, or on some occasions it's been pure luck, or a particularly stupid fish. As others have said, if you lay down a carpet of particles, then any fish that will hoover the bed and discard any detritus, offers the chance of a hook up, especially with a bolt rig set up.

 

John.

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Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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Lure fishing and fly fishing helped me get over the confidence hump with fake baits. I always used to think that flies and lures needed action to trigger fish into taking them, but I've now lost count of the number of trout I've caught on tiny static buzzers fished under an indicator, or zander and perch caught on static soft plastics fished vertically. As people have said, fake baits are only good in some situations, but in those situations they're amazingly effective, more so than real baits.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

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What constitutes a 'fake' bait is open to question. I'm assuming that on this occasion it means plastic imitations of baits we regard as 'normal'. Baits such as maggot, worm, sweetcorn, bread etc. I've never bought any plastic versions of any of those, but have used 'fake' versions of some of them.

From my early years I've been fascinated by what a fish would take on a hook, float fishing a nymph, and even a dry fly, just to see if I can.

My earliest attempts were using pieces of chewing gum rolled to look like a maggot. Having got a shoal of dace boiling on the surface to intercept a few hand fed maggots, I cast in the said chewing gum 'maggot', and caught dace from the off. It was just a matter of constant loose feeding and casting my bait into the 'boil'. I even caught a small, (very small, about 5"), pike on a bigger piece of chewing gum, shaped so it would wriggle as I drew it back. I've done the same with chub, carp and roach, when feeding caster/chrysalis, by constant loose feeding, the fish compete so hard for the bait that they will take anything that looks remotely similar, in this case, pieces of float rubber slid over the hook shank. Pieces of foam trotted through a swim, often dipped in a cheese sauce, condensed milk, even gravy mix, all after feeding bread, cheese, or luncheon meat, I've also caught using the same as a floating bait. A sliver of carrot, doubled, and attached to the hook with a float rubber, has caught me perch when fished 'sink and draw', silver paper on a hook has caught me trout, perch, pike, and mackerel.

I don't fish where I leave a bait for hours, amongst a bed of particles, so I can't really comment on any personal success of baits in that situation.

My personal experience, tells me that any bait that looks remotely like a bait can be taken if the conditions are right, or if you create the right conditions, ie, the fish are really hungry, you create a feeding 'frenzy', you impart movement to stir a hunting/feeding instinct, or on some occasions it's been pure luck, or a particularly stupid fish. As others have said, if you lay down a carpet of particles, then any fish that will hoover the bed and discard any detritus, offers the chance of a hook up, especially with a bolt rig set up.

 

John.

When fish are boiling on the surface i have caught them on just gold coloured hooks hanging an inch from a unweighted float so even a fake bait is fake

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

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When fish are boiling on the surface i have caught them on just gold coloured hooks hanging an inch from a unweighted float so even a fake bait is fake

 

I have as well chesters, in an old mill pond we fished as kids, but they were carp, and will eat anything, so I don't really count them.biggrin.png

 

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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