Carp Fishing Bait

From bait dips and meat dips to tigernuts and boilies, as much as anglers are addicted to carp fishing, they also need to use the right bait. Carp fishing is a specialized sport, and there has always been a variety of concoctions where bait it concerned. Tigernuts have been an all time favorite with many anglers. Preparing the bait does not require much innovation except for a soak, a boil, and in some cases a bit of maple syrup or sugar. However, certain places in France don’t allow tigernuts as bait, so make sure you are well prepared otherwise.

Of course, you have the option of using your own bait recipe. This could be a better alternative because synthetic lob worm extracts available in the market do not contain the required amino acids that attract carp. Your bait recipe must include amino acids if you want a big catch. Sweet corn, cubed potatoes, cheese, and dough are ideal carp fishing bait. Meat baits can help you catch loads of carp. Carp seem to thrive on spam and luncheon meat. Cut them into cubes and place it on the hook, and your bait is ready. Using a bait dip helps during winter since carp are less active during this season. To boost your carp catch, you can use paste baits that are sticky and can be molded on hooks, leads, and the main bait.

For a sure shot at a 30 pounders, lobworms are the perfect choice. This is great bait in summer and winter, which can be used alongside homemade pellets and pastes. Bloodworm products are expensive but are also a good option. Hormone based stimulants work well with male carp, which are easily attracted to such bait. However, to catch carp consistently you need to consider the location, season, and most importantly, the situation. If you are on for an overnight session or a day trip then high attraction baits are the best solution. They cost less and contain many additives, which is ideal for short fishing sessions only. If you plan to use these then carry different colors and flavors in your kit.

Carps are known to be greedy fish, so creating bait with a great taste will have them coming back for more. This means limiting the amount of preservatives, however, using this type of bait can assure a decent catch. There are plenty of high quality baits available at a price. These consist of a fishmeal base mix and a liquid attractor. Although the liquid attractor may not last in the water, the base mix is well flavored to last for much longer.

Another good bait are the high nutritional boilies that contain all the necessary nutrients. However, these are expensive but provide value for money. They have a longer life cycle and can be effective for carp fishing sessions over five days or more. They may contain less liquid attractors, which is why it may take longer to attract carp, but is more effective in the long run. Adding a bait dip works well with this type of bait. Remember, it’s all in the ‘bait’. So, a little bit of trial and error will help you find the right bait.

Understanding the Basics of Carp Fishing In France

With a high number of different carp lakes, France has become one of the most admired destinations for more and more carp anglers. Some of these lakes have carp in intemperance of 40-50lbs plus.

However because of such sheer size, it becomes all the more important to possess sensible equipment for the proper landing of these fishes. Usually experts recommend the use of rod with minimum two and three-fourth test curve, even more are preferred. These rods must be accompanied by bait runner reels while going carp fishing in France.

France houses a large number of privately owned carp fishing lakes. Some of the famous ones are L’Etang de Chef de Ville, L’Etang de Tricheria and Rainbow Lake. There are many more such as Brittany Lake, Bills Lake, etc. that allow the visitors to hire boats or even use their own bait boats.

However, there are many lakes that do not support the use of braid, in such condition; using monofilament line is an excellent option. Just remember that you require a high breaking strain line while carp fishing in France.

Some of these lakes are also extremely strict with their rules about the tent. So in case you own a huge, gaudy color tent, then it’s better to check with the rules and regulations of the lakes prior to planning your carp fishing holiday as you may not be allowed to go fishing because of this reason.

For beginners, it is very important to understand that baits differ from one lake to another. Some of the French carp lakes allow you to make use of only some specific kinds of baits. Because of this reason it become vital to check beforehand as the baits like tiger nuts, etc. might not be allowed.

Mobile phones have become a dire necessity in the existing world. And these phones do require charging; therefore the selection of the bait boat plays a big pole in facilitating the carp anglers with necessary charging equipment. There are several carp fishing lakes that cater to the visitors with multiple facilities. These boats even provide you with freezers and washing facilities.

As more and more carp fishing enthusiasts are finding their way to France, numerous carp fishing lakes have started offering complete packages to their visitors. These packages have been designed to take care of all the aspects of a perfect carp fishing holiday. Right from the accommodation, to the supplying if the apt equipment everything is taken care of by these packages. These packages even include the flight management and focus on exclusive fishing experience. Some of the famous lakes that offer such exotic packages include Croix Blanche, Lake Juvanze, dream Lakes, Brittany Mill lakes, Willow Lake and many more. However, the money consumed in these packages can be considerably more as compared to that spent in making your own arrangements, but these packages can save you from a lot of stress and hassle.

Rules and regulations vary from one carp fishing lake to another. Hence it is important to get acquainted with these restrictions and make sure that you do nothing that can spoil the fun of carp fishing in France.

Beginners Guide for Carp Fishing in France

A European saying best describes the fun-filled activity of carp fishing in France – “The road to bigger carp is paved with compromise”, which suggests that a number of factors come into the play while you are planning to start with carp fishing in france. Months from April to October are considered to be most favourable for indulging in carp fishing in France. So if you are novice in this field and looking for some tips to get started, read on:

The first important piece of advice to be kept in mind is that you need to select suitable carp water which is dependent upon what you are looking for, is it the maximum number of catch or are you just looking for some quiet, peace and fun. You have the option to join club water by becoming a member of any angling society or club or you can purchase day ticket waters that allow you to fish in the private area for a day by paying some fees. The beginners could also try their luck at public lakes which though doesn’t boast of big catches are certainly light on a person’s pocket. 

Next thing to keep in mind is to invest in a good quality tackle. Though you may not spend a fortune on buying a tackle but invest in a device that is stable and sturdy and carps are usually big and extremely demanding fish to catch. A good fishing kit should contain rods and reels. Select a reel line not lighter than 12 pounds as you would not like to loose your hard earned catch. To prevent drop back bites buy some indicators like swingers and hangers. You also need a well padded unhooking mat to protect your hand from scales

The next important step is to select the right bait and also the correct approach to increase your chances of getting a good catch. Look for indicators like bubbles, muddy clouds and fish movements to decide where you would like to hang the bait. The beginners have the tendency of randomly dipping the rod in the river or lake which may not always be lucky. Always select a suitable bait to tempt a carp. Boilies works well with carp; you can even make your own homemade baits by searching for recipes online. It is always advisable to use same type of bait time and again as fish starts recognizing the smell and gets used to the flavour. 

Carps are known to be creatures of habit and so before planning carp fishing in France, one must surf internet and gain all the useful information from the successful anglers. Even while on the fishing lake keenly observe all the feeding signs such as leaping fishes, fish cruising on lake surface, bubbles, mud clouds which will help you in ascertaining the best location to find a big carp. Also study the other anglers around but don’t pester them with unnecessary questions which would not earn you many good advices. Gradually win friends and learn from them the tricks of the trade. 

Once you are equipped with basic knowledge, make a foray into the exciting world of carp fishing in France.

Different Carp Baits

A carp is an intelligent fish and it also has a memory. It knows what’s good and what’s not edible. Carp may test the food’s nutritional content, its taste or to determine if it has gone off. It may reject bait because it remembers that a particular substance or smell was previously accompanied by a hook.

Like all creatures, carp have daily nutritional requirements for vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids (lysine and methionine), carbohydrates, oil and fibre. Carp can smell amino acids emitted by bloodworms, crayfish, and aquatic plants. Green-lipped mussel extract, kelp extract, liver powder and molasses contain sucrose and amino acids, which the carp has learned to recognise as having nutritional value. Some anglers use peanuts. While peanuts contain lipids, sugars and amino acids, these do not mimic the natural foods carp like.

Carp love boilies, bread crust, meat baits, maize, fruity flavours (items containing vitamin C), stilton cheese, white fishmeal (herring meal is very desirable to carp), full fat soya flour, lactalbumin, rennet casein, robin red, hemp and seaweed extract. The best items are those that either emit favourable smells or contain ingredients which mimic them. Carp will also eat flavoured imitation baits. When boilies fail to attract them, artificial corn will usually work. Zoom Carp Snacks have been used successfully by many carp anglers. The snacks come in honey, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavours.

What works one place at one time of the year will not necessarily work at another or during a different season. Anglers often use easily digested food/ingredients in bait during the winter because carp don’t move much due to the cold conditions. In the summer months, when fish are more active, anglers should use more protein in their carp baits. Older carp, however, require less protein.

Boilies

There are shelf life boilies and there are the homemade varieties. Generally, if you make your own boilies they should work out cheaper and if done correctly, some anglers swear, more effective. You must make up your own mind on which is best for you and your situation.

At the time of writing, Mainline makes boilies in several different flavours that are attractive to carp. These include Strawberry Jam, Sweet Pineapple, Tiger Nut, Tutti-Frutti, and Halibut. The 18mm versions are designed to catch in all fishing situations. Newfields makes Fire and Ice (F&I) boilies. They are a blend of marine proteins, milk protein, vegetable extracts, kelp, belachan block, hot chilli powder, spices and betaine. F&I boilies are available in 14-24mm sizes. They are designed for year round usage and are especially valuable in the cold winter months.

Making a boilie at home is akin to making a cake. You mix 6-10 eggs; flavours and additives; liquids; maize, corn semolina, soy flours; powdered milk and sugar to form a paste. Almond essence, liver flavour, anchovy concentrate, squid, octopus, amino acids, peach and pepper flavours, betaine, shellfish, plum, fruit, green lipped mussel, red salmon oil and curry powder are particularly effective additives. The mixture is rolled into a ball, placed into a fry basket and then boiled for 1-3 minutes. The finished boilies are dried on paper for 2-3 days. They are now ready to use or they can be stored in the freezer.

There are various types of boilies depending on the materials used. High Nutritional Value (HNV) boilies incorporate a range of ingredients that benefit the fish in some way. A typical HNV mix will include digestible or predigested casein’s, proteins, vitamins and minerals. An angler making his own boilies can add other flavours, colours, and enhancers. The drawback to HNV baits is that they are expensive. Best results using HNV boilies are achieved from June to November.

High Attract (HA) boilies are generally buoyant. They are normally used as a single hook bait (no free offerings around the hook bait). The HA boilies are over flavoured, producing a brightly coloured bait that stands out from the lake bed. The high level of attraction is produced with the aid of a bait dip, soak or glug. The baits are very effective all year round, but especially so during the really cold winter months when the carp don’t want to get their heads down to feed.

Soluble boilies are not used to place the hook in the carp’s mouth. Instead, they dissolve and form a particle layer on the bottom with an intense scent that cause the carps to investigate. They have delicious flavors, usually wheat, maize, or cinnamon amongst others. The soluble boilies are made without eggs. The flours, including portions of salt or sugar, are mixed with water or with milk. The boilies are not cooked and left to air dry.

Non-soluble pellets are made the same as regular boilies. Instead of being rolled into balls, they are formed into long cylinders, cut into sections, cooked in water, and dried on paper.

Particle baits

Particles refer to seeds, nuts and grains that are used as either hook bait or groundbait. The best known and most widely used is maize. It makes a great bait after soaking and boiling. Tiger nuts are brown nuts with a very rough texture. They are one of the hardest particles around and must soak for 24 hours before being boiled for 30 minutes. The prepared nuts are best when left in the water for 2-3 days after boiling. The water is turned milky white due to sugars in the nuts. Two nuts on a hair rig are excellent as a bottom bait. To make a pop-up (buoyant bait), sandwich a piece of cork shaped like a nut between two nuts on a hair rig. Other particle baits include hemp, hempseed, maple peas, and lupins. Flavorings, dips and additives make particle baits more attractive to carp. One of the best commercial particle baits is WackerBlendPlus.

Groundbaits

Groundbait is made from different kinds of natural ingredients such as bread crumbs, hemp, walnut flour and so on. It is moistened with water, formed into balls and thrown into the water where you plan to fish. The carp are attracted to the smell and clouding of the water. One of the best types of groundbait is made by van den Eynde.

Live baits

The diet of small carp includes black midges and animals without backbones ½ millimeter+ long (the size of a pencil dot). These animals live on rocks, logs, sediment, debris and aquatic plants during some phase of their life. They include crayfish, clams, snails, aquatic worms and the immature forms of aquatic insects, such as stonefly and mayfly nymphs.

The adult carps are omnivores, and their diet includes molluscs, water fleas, aquatic crustaceans, sea lice, lawn shrimp, beach flees, aquatic and terrestrial insects, detritus, seeds, fragments of dead aquatic plants and filamentous algae

There are a number of live baits that you use to catch carp. These are the same creatures that carp would find in the water. Mainline makes bloodworm extract stik pellets, which easily break down and draw carp to your baiting area. Dynamite Baits makes fishmeal boilies containing flavours that carp like, such as crab, shrimp, octopus, halibut, oyster, and chicken.