Scott Lloyd reveals his top five autumn bait tips to help improve your catch rate when the leaves and temperatures begin to fall!
Bait multiple areas on the lake.
When it comes to pre-baiting and applying bait to a spot, I always try choosing two different areas to target. These two areas will always be different to the each other, be that in lakebed substrate or even just the area on the lake they are. This could be an area which looks good on a warm south-westerly or a corner where the sunshine hits for the vast majority of the day. This leaves you with options to choose from, depending on the weather on the day of your actual session.
ALWAYS use a good quality bait, such as The Krill Active.
Once I’ve found my spots, I’ll always take note of the make-up of the lakebed before I start applying bait, as over time, you’ll feel the difference as the carp start feeding on your spots. As the fish clear the sediment away, your spots will become far cleaner and firmer which indicates your bait and spot is the right choice.
Start baiting with small amounts first, but gauge that to the stock of your lake; in a low stock venue a kilo could be enough, whereas somewhere with a few hundred fish could benefit from going in a bit heavier. Giving them a bait which they want to eat is crucial, as you want to feed those fish a food source which they’ll (excuse the pun) actively want to find and eat! Breaking up the boilie will also force the carp to grub around more, cleaning the spot off even more than just a whole bait; particles like hemp and nuts are also great for this. As winter slowly creeps up on them, easy meals packed with nutrients are what the carp crave. The Krill Active is a perfect food source, for the fish to up their reserves for winter; therefore, including more boilie as the season progresses is a must.
Use pop-ups in the mucky stuff.
As the leaves start falling, you get a lot of floating debris which in turn makes its way down onto the lakebed, couple this with the weed dying off, it can turn clean spots you thought were ok previously, into leaf infested hell holes! Hinges with bright hookbaits like the Mulbz are a great way to ensure you’re presented, and the hookbait stands out from the lakebed. I like to use crushed tigers in my mix too, this provides a fleck of white on the lakebed, so white hookbaits are ideal amongst this feed.
If the spots are clear, use balanced baits!
Due to the boom in modern carp fishing, most carp have seen it all and so there’s no doubt they feed with far more caution due to the pressure they’ve received. Using a balanced match-the-hatch bait like a Krill Dumbell Wafter will only help you, but remember…only if the spot is clear enough to do so!
Use liquids to boost the attraction of your mix.
The Pure Calanus Liquid is perfect for the autumn with its blend of highly soluble amino acids being super attractive even in the cooler water temperatures. Personally, I feel it binds my go-to mix together perfectly, whilst releasing an abundance of amino acids into the water, which transforms the mix, especially the particles. As an added bonus the liquids help attract fish to your swim even when the bait has all gone, by working their way into the bottom debris.
