Adam Smith details the fishy hookbaits that he uses to catch some of the finest big fish in the land!
I have been fishing Stoneacres for the last few seasons, and it requires a completely different mindset and approach. It is not like other lakes where you may recast each day; sometimes my baits are out in the pond for a couple of days at a time. This means they need to be ultra-durable and be able to withstand attention from both tench and birds to allow any chance of the carp seeking them out. The Krill is naturally a soft bait, which is how good bait should be, but when leaving it out in the pond for a while, you need to mesh it to ensure it remains on the Hair. The easy option is to use something like a tiger nut or some plastic, but the fish get big through boilies, and I know how much these carp love them.
“When you feed a proper fishmeal ramped full of nutrition and attraction, carp will keep coming back for it”
When you feed a proper fishmeal ramped full of nutrition and attraction, carp will keep coming back for it. I have seen it time and time again, especially on this lake. It is the fourth season of it going in now, and it still catches the vast majority of the fish. I have seen others come on the lake with a plan to heavily bait it, but it quite often just sits there until the birds eat it. On big-fish lakes, cheap flour mixes get found out, and this is certainly the case on here. I have made my own fishy hookbaits for years. It is more of a confidence thing, and to try to get some sort of edge over other anglers.
I put a lot of effort into my fishing. It would be really easy for someone to jump in behind my hard work and reap the rewards, so this is why I do something slightly different with both my freebies and my hookbaits. With the boat being accessible on Stoneacres, I have learned a hell of a lot. Some of the things that carp will do to spots is incredible, it really is. I know, though, that there is more chance of getting bites over these spots than from fishing just into the silt. Because of this, I favour a pop-up presentation.
“I like to use my own little mix that keeps my hookbaits fishing for days on end.”
The Multi-Rig is ideal for fishing over fine layers of silt, and it requires a cork ball pop-up to make the presentation sit correctly for a long period of time. If I was fishing across the way on Christchurch, or on one of the Linear Lakes, I would be more than happy to use one straight out of the pot, but on here, I like to use my own little mix that keeps my hookbaits fishing for days on end. The Krill Hookbait Kit is perfect, being the base mix to the Krill but with added egg albumen. This toughens the mix and makes the hookbaits really durable and long-lasting.
“It is a confidence thing, and to get some sort of edge over other anglers.”
STEP BY STEP – HOOKBAIT KIT
I like to make a mixture of wafters too. I mentioned about breaking some of the paste away earlier, and this is what it’s for. I flatten the paste and lay it on a bucket lid. I then take some cork dust and try to put an equal amount next to it. Once done, I knead the paste into the cork. When it is all mixed in, I mould some on a rig and test it in the edge.
If it is too buoyant, I add some more paste; if it’s not buoyant enough, I add more cork, and so on. This means I can have baits the size, and even shape, that I like to suit the rig I am fishing. Everyone has their own opinion as to the perfect buoyancy for a wafter to suit the rig they favour.
STEP BY STEP – WAFTERS
