Tips and Tricks
A WAY WITH PARTICLES.
The summer is almost here I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about a few of my ideas and thoughts regarding particle type baits and how and when I like to use them. I’ve been a fan of particle type baits for many years and normally include a few buckets of hemp and tiger nuts in my summer bait armoWithury, and whilst I do love using boilies there can be little doubt as to the effectiveness of particles in the height of summer.
The months of July and August can be tricky at times as these months usually see waters at their weediest, with that comes high temperatures and lots of natural food. When conditions are like this then particle type baits can be very effective and on some waters baits like tiger nuts can get you bites when others fail.
The particles from Baitzone are particularly useful as not only are they ready prepared and shelf life but by being PVA friendly you can of course use them in a number of situations when using PVA products. One method that I found particularly effective last summer was to use PVA friendly hemp combined with PVA friendly tiger nuts fished on the hook. Of course fishing hemp and tigers is nothing new but using them in solid PVA bags is something you don’t see a lot of anglers doing. In fact I can remember reading in Mike Willmot’s excellent book Carp Life how when he fished on Frampton Court many years ago he used small PVA parcels of particles using dry oat groats to take off the moisture of the baits, his results at the time were spectacular with him landing if my memory is correct a number of good fish including the lakes first 40lber. It’s no surprise that now years later the method is still effective as I still see few people going to the trouble of presenting particles in PVA bags.
Most of my angling in the summer of 2010 on the couple of waters I was targeting was day session fishing, moving around looking for signs or sightings of fish at close range. This approach seemed perfect for fishing small solid bags as small traps of bait could be set or dropped near to fish especially when the banks were quite and the fish close in. With the attraction of the oily hempseed and the visual addition of a small tiger nut hookbait it was the perfect combination and tricked a number of fish from a couple of waters when the temperatures where high and the natural food at a peak.
When it comes to how best to present these small parcels of food then I like to use a short 4-5 inch of soft braided hooklink with the newTrickster from Gardner Tackle my current favourite, this soft weed like hooklink combined with a small grabbing type hook like the Covert longshank Mugga is my usual choice. Lead wise I’ll use either a flat inline lead of between 2 -4 oz for maximum effect or if the weed is bad then I switch to a reliable lead clip with a dumpy type lead.
Fished in a solid PVA bag of hempseed or seed type mix and you have a great little parcel of food with just enough to get you a bite.
Of course fishing this way means you have to keep mobile and make sure your priority is to find fish that will allow you an opportunity to present a small bag of bait and rig to them.
If on the other hand your fishing is more static or your angling for a couple of days then fishing over larger beds of particle baits is a great way of fishing and can lead to multiple captures especially in the later part of the summer. I’ve used this approach on a number of occasions going in heavy with the hempseed/maize/tigers and then fishing different hookbaits over the top. When fishing this way I like to spread both my free offerings and my hookbaits. Fishing 3 rods over a good spread of particle baits perhaps the size of half a tennis court is perfect. In my experience fishing like this especially over long periods can lead to multiple captures as the more food items that are used then the more the fish start to visit the area on a regular bases searching and feeding hard for every last morsel of food.
This way of fishing can be hard work as regular topping up of swims with bait maybe necessary In fact I’ve known some waters to be taken apart as teams of anglers work together ‘Hemping up’ the same swims week after week. Hard work it maybe but with the right preparation and commitment mass particle fishing can be superb.
Again with this method the PVA friendly particles can be effective and depending on the distance I’m fishing will usually dictate how I present my bait. Whilst short hook lengths and solid bags are still effective when fishing over a larger and wider spread bed of particles when fishing like this I prefer more conventional coated type hooklinks combined with a lead clip system. A 6-10 inch hooklink coupled with my trusty Mugga hooks is my usual choice. Fished this way you can present a number of different hookbaits either popped up or as I prefer wafter style using either foam or cork pieces to add slight buoyancy.
A great way to add attraction to your hookbait is to attach a small mesh PVA bag to your hook before casting out, not only will this completely eliminate tangles something that can be problematic when using light weight hookbaits especially in windy condition but when melted you’ll have a lovely little parcel right next to your hookbait. The contents are down to the individual but 3 or 4 tiger nuts or pieces of maize or perhaps a small bag of hemp is all you need.
With the summer just around the corner I can think of no better time to give particle type baits a go and with the use of these superb PVA friendly ones from Baitzone you’ll certainly have an edge over both the fish and your fellow anglers. Tim Childs.
