The Best Carp and Catfish Tackle and Baits for Fishing Success

Commercial fishing bait manufacturers are always on the look-out for something new and different to tempt customers with. Often this is simply making use of a bait ingredient in a different way. Far less commonly by comparison, there’s a completely new product or design on the scene. This has clear parallels with carp and catfish feeding behaviour on new rigs and baits. It’s like the saying “Once bitten, twice shy.” But if you’ve never been bitten; you may not be “shy” at all and very even keen to test something “new” because you are oblivious to any potential risks! The funny thing with carp is ,that although they can completely “switch-off” from eating a bait due to being hooked on it, very often they have to eat it due to basic energy and dietary essential needs. This is where fish can they “learn” (with simple limited association with “cues”) how to eat baits safely and isolate and reject baited rigs!

One of the funniest learning periods I’ve had with bait and developing the “bigger picture” of what was happening on a fishery was over a particular 6 week period one summer. I kept a new bait regularly going into a fishery, but it was very soluble and small in size. The rationale with these baits was that the fish had wised-up to fresh baits and were almost only feeding on them when fully washed-out, or leached of all significant tastes and flavours, after about 4 days immersed in the water.

As my baits were so soft they leached attraction very fast and were similar to the safe leached baits but in only 4 to 6 hours. (And they absolutely “hammered this lake as a result.”) Even though it was very hard work making and constantly baiting very carefully with them. Also when using them, they only stayed on the rig for about 3 hours before becoming too soft and dropping-off.)

Meanwhile, I calculated that 70 percent of anglers “blanked” on this fishery literally all the time no matter what baits it seemed were used. This fresh and leached bait thing was the major reason why!

Very often the usual behaviour of anglers at this fishery like most other fisheries would be like this: Arrive, set-up the tackle and “bivvy” and chuck out a kilogram or three of boilies straight from the bag, (Or a bucket full of pellets etc,) and soon settle-in to read fishing magazines or get on the mobile phone to their mates. (Use of mobile phones has now become simply a joke at many fisheries!) The next morning out would go more free baits, simply adding to what was already still there. After a couple of days and nights the “angler” would leave, complaining the fishery was “rubbish” with comments like “There’s no fish left in it” etc. This may sound familiar. To my mind this is not fishing at all, but sleep-walking out-side… (Why continue to use this “method,” when catching fish is so much easier using different approaches!)

Most fishermen seem to be “fixated” by any perceived potential “competitive-edge” they become aware of and cultivating and exploiting this behaviour for maximum profit, is the goal of most fishing companies! Again, it’s like some of the best fishing baits. These will stimulate the fish in order to maximise the effects of their own behaviours and instinctive needs or perceived wants “as it were,” showing a little of the similarities between fish and human behaviours.

Fishing success is much about using natural behaviours which are usually used in order for defence and survival and exploiting them in ways that improve your chances of hooking a fish. (More on this later; this takes experience and confidence to consistently “integrate” personally and apply in your fishing.) Fishing is definitely not all about becoming “copy-cat facsimile” of the bait, equipment and actions of “high-profile” type fishermen! In fact this could not be further from the “truth” as it is best to be as “different” and individual and as unique as possible as fishing gets more and more competitive!

Now most would agree that the moment the best anglers have “given away their secrets,” they have already “evolved” new ones that keep them ahead of the fish and fellow anglers. (That is the mark of true “leading” anglers.) They are frequently the most generous with fellow anglers with their advice and time too! (Often very many more successful ones keep a “low public profile,” but with good reason, (there are great competitive advantages in doing this!)

Totally original new products on the fishing “scene,” which are actually offered as products available for use for the buying public, are relatively rare. These can carry far more cost and risk to the manufacturer and initial stockists to introduce, than a version of a previously successful item of tackle or bait. For instance, a product may in “principle” be the very best available, but simply perceived as too sophisticated or just less practical in terms of the normal angler’s personal skill level. Often with a really effective bait or item of tackle.

It takes new personal skills and sacrifice in time spent developing and learning how to efficiently and quickly use less easy or more sophisticated items and apply them to best effect. (Think fly casting, or use of multi-stranded hook link materials for instance!) The “mass market” of “average anglers” is obviously where most profits often exist. Unfortunately, most of the best baits are just too soft or soluble for practical for use by demanding “average anglers,” who have now become conditioned to expect easy quick “instant results.”

Therefore the “easiest” and quickest to use baits and tackle are mostly prevalent. There was a time before commercialisation. When anglers had to think for themselves and innovate, even just to get their baits on fish without “spooking them.”

But in successful fishing, use of a completely new substance or a far more refined efficiently working version of tackle is a huge “edge.” Such a new substance or item can produce the kinds of advantages for “average anglers” that result in amazing improvement of catches instantly, (but usually for only a limited initial period of time!)

New flavours, additives and ingredients used in baits for carp such as “Carophyll Red” “Thaumatin B” and “N-butyric acid” are obvious examples of this point. N-butyric acid is one of the most prominent odours in the realm of flavour components. It belongs to the group successful group of flavour components called carboxylic (’organic’) acids. It is a natural substance found in foods like butter and rancid cheese. You can include its effects in baits by incorporating the more enzyme active mature cheeses.

In the UK, this is currently one of the most popular flavourings and is often used in and associated with pineapple boilies and pellets for instance. The funny thing is that by telling you this, you are far more likely to try it; but I’m not selling! What you’re doing is simply “human nature” at work. The most energy efficient route is the “direct one,” so copying what has previously proven to be successful makes sense doesn’t it? (In fishing this is actually a big disadvantage in many situations for many key reasons!)

Thaumatin (A and B) are derivatives of an African fruit and a protein based natural sweetener. It has a phenomenal effect on fish receptors as it is 10,000 times sweeter than sugar. (Talin is another excellent related example.)

Carophyll red is an artificial carotene pigment used to colour bird plumage. However, despite all the controversy over whether it is used in the carp bait additive “Robin Red,” the effects on carp of this potent antioxidant are not in doubt by those “in the know.”

Each of these were far less well known by anglers, even a few years ago, but each has produced huge numbers of fish since being offered to anglers in individual form, (as opposed to as part of other products!) It’s a bit like the impact “Robin Red,” the bird food additive. Is has had enormous success since its first use by carp anglers, decades ago. There are few commercial bait manufacturers that do not include it in their range of bait recipes and ingredients.

It is noticeable that very often in fishing, too much of a good thing becomes a big negative disadvantage. This has happened to many flavours on solvent bases which have been over-used in high levels and fish have “switched-off” to them. (This is largely due to their “survival instincts kicking-in” and associating these substances with the previous experiences and dangers of eating such flavoured baits and getting hooked.) This is not new, but it has occurred to many bait ingredients, additives and flavours at heavily fishing pressured waters, over the decades and years. Some baits reach the point where they have no “edge” (or “biological nutritional value”) left, with which to tempt the fish beyond initial attraction and levels of stimulation.

It is a fact that for the “average angler” who is the first to use a new ingredient, form of bait or concept of rig design, his initial catches success can truly sky-rocket until the carp “wise-up” to it and before competing anglers get hold of it! “Average anglers” are just that, because what they do is literally what the majority do, especially in terms of how they think in approaching their fishing problems and goals.

In fact everyone is pretty much an “average fisherman” until something changes in him or her and aspects of their fishing evolve beyond the “normal level.” Please note that I certainly do not mean to be “patronising” to any fellow anglers here. Even an angler who has developed a tremendous enthusiasm alone is likely to catch more fish than “normal.” For instance, he may be keen enough to constantly keep introducing tiny soluble baits to a spot in his swim for many hours or days before actually wetting a line. Most anglers simply arrive at a water, “grill fellow anglers for recent catches and fish location information, set-up, bait-up and cast out!)

Now I happen to consider that the number one skill in fishing is pretty much fish location. Without the experience and personal development of this learnt skill, more often than not you will not be able to “read’ a water successfully. This is in order to determine not just where fish are, but to anticipate where they will feed in the proceeding hours or days or nights. (And also it’s very much about knowing and exploiting the reasons and factors how and why they will be located in an area or spot in a swim.) But even more importantly today, is the skill in isolating and identifying exactly which spots in a swim where fish will actually pick up a bait, as opposed to ignoring it completely. This skill alone in identifying such precise and often “mobile” feeding spots, sets-apart many “high-profile” anglers!

I’m very much in favour of bait being the second most important fishing ingredient for consistent success. (This is the prime reason I am fascinated by how and why fishing baits do their intended job and how to make them “stay-ahead of the game!”) It is the bait that catches the fish, by getting the hook inside the mouth for just long enough and in such a way, that the point penetrates the fish enabling it to landed. (As opposed to a “hook-pull” at the landing net etc!)

Therefore it also makes sense for the third most vital factor to be a trustworthy and extremely sharp hook. On many waters, if you use choose the wrong patterns or apply them to a rig inconsistent with the manner that fish are feeding it will cost you fish without you ever realising it! This can also be in relation to the size of bait used, (among many other factors,) and you will more than likely either not get “bites,” or lose fish through poor penetration and “hook-pulls.” (Even testing a hook by pushing it into your skin can blunt the tip to some degree if it was truly sharp in the first place!)

The safest way to test a hooks sharpness is to run the point sideways along your thumbnail to see how narrow the line is that is scored in the nail by the side of the point. Trialling different hooks and the results will shock you, even using the many “leading brands and hook designs today! Despite everything claimed about hook design, physical integrity of the point etc; I always use a diamond hook sharpener as it has caught me literally dozens of big fish I”m convinced would not have given me any indication of a bite without its use as the fish rid the hook or ripped the hook out at the highest pressure moment of the fish..

When your hook penetrates your skin with no pressure at all; you’re on a winner providing the tip and metal immediately adjacent the point is not too thin for too far! (Yes, I have lost some very big fish due to tips of hooks bending out, but then would they have been hooked without the resulting ease of penetration?) In my experience, the most valuable item of tackle that catches the most fish above all else, is the first 6 millimetres or so your hook. After that, everything else is secondary!

You can now go ahead and list all the rest of the tackle items you consider among the most important… For instance; the correct hook link material for each fishing situation had better be spot-on (its physical and chemical properties and action in water for example. When wet, your line preferably had better be beyond the “quoted manufacturers strength. Wet knot strength is often literally, “the weakest link!’

On very highly pressured waters, where fish have seen “everything” it is often imperative that both your hook-link and main line is as “invisible” unobtrusive and as “natural acting” as physically possible. Your main line had better be strong enough to stand the pressure and abrasions (even at the reel roller and rod rings) when the biggest fish in the lake rips off with your baited hook and ploughs towards the nastiest snags in the water! Usually such fish will test your rod and line past their limits and quoted breaking strain as the biggest fish normally have had years of practice being hooked and diving for safe snags!

The quality and condition of your rod rings, reel line roller and clutch mechanism can easily lose you “the fish of a life-time,” so regular maintenance and attention to detail is essential. It is a massive advantage if you get advance experience of using your tackle at full pressure fishing for other big species. During key moments in a fish when your adrenaline is pumping and it is fifty-fifty who is going to win, knowing exactly what to do in advance and how to maximise the leverage and limits of your gear really matters. (They often help you keep a “cool head” and control any sense of panic or shock if the fish is evidently more cunning or powerful than you’ve ever experienced previously!)

Fishing “Lac Du Salagou” and “Lac Du Curton” (’Rainbow Lake’) in France is best done after having previously tested your gear to the limit and then seriously up-graded both your tackle and “mental approach!”

Other aspects of lines that all can combine and stack the odds of success in your favour are: Exceptionally “low memory,” minimal “line twist” and smooth casting properties to hit that “dinner plate” spot accurately at 120 meters away. This distance is often about 40 to 50 metres further away than most anglers estimate 120 metres to be and is a hell of a cast. (In fact such a cast is beyond the capabilities of many an “average” angler, despite “modern distance rods and big line capacity big-pit reels!”) It helps to do 3 decade of long-range beach casting to seriously train-in and hone your range, casting action, motor skills, appropriate musculature, technique and most importantly; your accuracy. (Often applying free bait accurately is a huge factor contributing to success as fish move further and further “out of range of our lines and leads!)

Other bits of tackle you might prefer not to leave at home, include a very sensitive bite detector. Often you can have fish “playing with baits’ on and off for hours, without them getting hooked. This is without a fisherman having had any sound other than one or two “bleeps” from the indicator, (especially at range!). When fish are used to shedding hooks every day and night, they get very skilled at it in response to exposure to all the most popular contemporary rigs.

These are supposedly designed to be “self-hooking” self-turning’ contraptions to always give you the “edge” and get around the crafty fishes defensive behaviours. If you have ever seen fish get off these rigs with ease in the margins (it might take a fraction of a second, or half an hour without moving-off though.) It could be argued that a truly effective hooking rig providing a truly genuine hooking “edge” is one that fish in any particular lake have never experienced the like of before!

Your fish hooking success includes the design of your chosen hooks and the materials and quality and gauge of metal it is made from. Added to this are decisions you make regarding the rest of the rig and the use of hook-link material and of particular strategic pivot points for rig movement and son. A good example is a version of a “cranked hook” with multi-stranded hook link material where the hook is positioned above and independent of one bait but sandwiched between the top bait and the smaller less buoyant one beneath the hook.

As recent innovation from “Solar Tackle” is the introduction of a “ring-swivel” incorporating tiny ball-bearings which make it turn on your line more efficiently than ever before. The great advantage of this is it allows your rig to turn instantly in the mouth exactly in the way your rig design requires for maximum hooking potential. I can personally vouch for the fact that an efficiently-turning rig catches more fish!

Many of the most successful big fish anglers use a handful of very simple rigs for all their fishing, casting, weed, gravel, silt, or bottom detritus (’chod’) situations. However, these guys have many hidden attributes that “mask appearances.” I’ve used the same range of rig dimensions and “mechanics” for years. But this has been in various refined ways and in accordance with the individual fishery and swim requirements and using various more advantageous materials.

A simple rig or bait in the hands of one of the most skilled or experienced anglers on a water, equals fish caught! If an experienced angler has all the advantages of high levels of skill in “reading” a water and fish location, he may well seem to constantly “drop straight on fish” and catch them pretty soon after. A great “hidden advantage” of many top anglers is they’re often very skilled in the application of bait in order to manipulate and stimulate fish feeding behaviour to the extent of controlling fish location when they do feed.

This skill may be exercised over a season or numbers of seasons until the “target fish” are finally caught. It is often an over-looked fact that the biggest fish have the greatest energy requirements and nutritional needs and it makes sense they very often get caught in swims where the largest amounts of regular free baits are introduced. “Beginners luck” can rule in such swims!

But it is obvious to me at least, that after 3 decades of hunting for big fish of many species, that “confidence” is the real number one factor in fishing success. Without it you would not bother going at all. It is the thing that keeps you going back and which leads to most of your learning, feed-back, catches and in fact, personal satisfaction and enjoyment of the sport. When you are confident in anything in life, you tend to think and therefore behave in that way with all its benefits!

Confidence makes you “anticipate success.” This leads to you constantly be looking for “cues” and clues of all kinds that bring you nearer to your goals. It is the thing that allows you to stay awake through the quietest most anti-social night hours listening for moving, rolling and feeding fish, (to give away their location.) Confidence makes you try ideas and things that your “mates” will probably call you an “idiot” for trying. Well “an “idiot’ is someone who does not learn from their mistakes, whereas the most successful people have by definition made far more mistakes; but they learn from this “feedback” and develop even more confidence! (And their catches put their “mates” to shame!)

Confidence also makes you “pressure-test” every aspect of your tackle; because you truly believe there is no doubt you are going to hook the fish of your dreams. When the rare fishing opportunities you have been waiting for, meet all your carefully refined preparations and personal skills, then you have the highest possibility of achieving your fishing goals! This might be described as “cultivating your own luck.”

Be lucky!

By Tim Richardson.