Choosing the right bait for that special foreign carp fishing holiday.
By Roman Buczynski
Thousands of UK anglers’ make the trip across the Channel every year to fish one of the many holiday type venues. These sorts of holidays certainly don’t come cheap and you want to give yourself the best chance of catching your dream fish rather than shelling out loads of your hard earned cash and wasting holiday time whilst sat behind static rods. Therefore in my opinion choosing the right bait and correct amount of bait is of vital importance if you want a session of a lifetime rather than being sat on the return ferry feeling dejected.
The air dried baits are provided in brown paper bags, which help keep the baits in tip top condition.
In the last few years I have fished dozens of venues on the Continent, from the likes of the sprawling and daunting reservoirs such as the Orient right through to quaint French mill ponds. My sessions have lasted from three night quick-hit trips right through to mammoth seven week sessions. Through my extensive travels and contact with fellow travelling anglers’ the biggest worry and question hanging before any foreign session is what and how much bait to take. For this article I will focus specifically on the most common type of trip that is undertaken by UK anglers’- a one week session on a well stocked holiday type venues in France; drive and survive as well as fully catered trips that include transportation.
Below are some important considerations to take into account:
- Stocking density of the lake; holiday venue owners’ want you to catch so holiday venues are regularly stocked and are likely to have good heads of hungry carp.
- Angling pressure; some of the more popular venues such as Rainbow may have anglers’ fishing 24/7 throughout the year. Whereas less popular venues will still be fully booked throughout the main holiday seasons; therefore angling pressure is a key factor. A back ground knowledge of baits that have been successful in the past.
- Logistics regarding the quantity of bait that can be transported and how perishable the bait will be if there are no storage facilities available on site.
- Quantity of nuisance species such as poisson chats, crayfish and silver fish that could also be eating a good percentage of your bait.
- Baits that are banned.
- Finally and probably the most important for the majority of people is the expense.
Now only some prior knowledge or careful research will give you the answers. But such information is not always readily available and following what was once successful; may not be what’s successful now so by following my basic tips you can optimise your trip and make sure you’re covered for all situations.
 I have been using Bait and Feed Company rolled bait for several years now; the reason I first contacted David Coakley was that he rolled 24mm baits; generally bait companies roll up to a maximum of 20mm which is very limiting; and on my foreign trips I was still getting troubled by nuisance species on the 20mm baits. What further pricked my ears up was that the Bait and Feed Company also air dry baits- which totally take’s the hassle out of doing the job yourself. I now never go on any foreign trip without theses air dried baits and they are always over 20mm and ideally they should be 24mm. Such baits offer fantastic opportunities in that they are nuisance species resistant, the bait can be kept for as long as you want; so if you don’t use all your bait on the trip you can take it back to the UK and use it again without any worries about freshness or it going off. The Bait and Feed Company provide the baits in brown paper bags which makes sure that your air dried baits are in tip top condition all the time. The baits can be throwing stick or catapulted a long distance out and if you choose to further enhance the attraction by re-hydrating the baits with all manner of different oils.
Now some of you maybe asking; well why not just use ready made baits? Well the fact of the matter is you will catch a better stamp of fish using a fresh bait rather than a ready made. Similarly ready made baits are quite expensive in relation to fresh baits and after using both types of bait for a significant time I know which is the most successful and which I prefer!
This early season lump was caught from the margins over air dried 20mm Grange.
Which bait to choose?
The Bait and Feed Company offer a huge variety of baits from all the top companies as well as their own mixes. However I have been an avid user of Mainline baits’ for six years’ and I’ve never doubted the bait at any time and have always stuck with the base mixes from them. My two all time favourite baits for foreign fishing are the Grange for sessions in the winter time and the awesome Maple 8 for other sessions. I don’t know what it is about the Maple 8 but it is has worked for me on all manner of different waters. However what appeals to me about the bait most is how versatile it is: you can take it onto virgin waters that have never ever seen a boilie and the fish will instantly respond to the bait. Conversely, the bait is subtle enough to be used on the most pressured venue where the fish have seen everything. But if you still have any doubts then give one of the guys’ at the Bait and Feed a ring and they’ll put you on the right track.
Alternative hookbaits will certainly bring extra fish to the bank on pressured venues.
How much bait?
For a typical weeks fishing at a holiday venue in France I would be taking a minimum of 20kg of boilie, and if my budget allowed up to 40kg. Remember that you can take the rest of your unused bait home as its air dried. I would also take a few kilos of mixed pellets and a small amount of hemp with tigers (If particles are banned then take a tiger nut or similar ground bait). As well as a pot of bright and dulled down hookbaits.
This brace of commons was caught using snowman hookbaits fished at range.
My above recommendations are for holiday type venues, for the large reservoirs and rivers I would still be using my air dried 24mm Maple 8 boilies. However I would be using larger quantities and also using 20mm plus halibut pellets and tiger nuts to compliment the boilie. I hope that I have helped some of you travelling anglers’ decide on what bait to use on your next trip.
Good luck
Roman |
