Pre-baiting

Pre-baiting a water can certainly helps in putting more fish on the bank and getting more bites.  There are numerous ways to do this like feeding a certain swim with bait to persuade the fish to return to the same spot over and over again.

I have categorized my pre-baiting techniques into two:  Short-Term baiting and Long-Term baiting. 

Short-Term Pre-baiting

Short-term pre-baiting is classified as pre-baiting from two weeks before to just a few hours before I commence fishing.  Most of my pre-baiting has been done for carp, but I applied this principle to other coarse fish and had some success.  The same thing applies in fishing for tench.  Selecting a swim and baiting it the day before fishing draws fish in and I will regularly find that fish have cleared up all the bait but stayed in the area looking for more. This short-term pre-baiting can work well on some waters ( comecial waters and highly stocked waters ) but I have found that long-term pre-baiting works better on others.

I recommend that you use 50% hemp to pre-bait ( short or long term ) as  it effectively draws in most types of coarse fish and is cheap costing as little as £10 for 15kg. 

Long-Term Pre-baiting

I like to start when the water is only lightly fished, in January, Introducing bait into several spots. At the begining only baiting once per week but then increacing it to every day once the spring arrives, this will make the fishes accustomed to finding your bait in the spots you placed them.  I like to bait known fish holding areas and areas that are quiet and unfished where I can bait more discretely without upsetting other anglers. When long-term pre-baiting be very carful not to let any other fishermen see what you are doing because you do not want them taking advantage of you hard work and money.

If you’re limited to only a small amount of money/bait, concentrate only on a small part of water so that the fish would get used to visiting that specific area and feeding on your chosen bait.  According to Julian Cundiff’s book ‘Practical Carp Fishing’, to attract 50 carp, use 4 pounds of bait three times a week; for 100 carp, use 6 pounds of bait and 10 pounds for 200 carp ( this is a guide )

If nobody else is introducing large amounts of bait, you should be able to take the water.  It is necessary that you choose the right bait.  It is the food source for the fish and initial attraction by means of giving them high flavor level is unnecessary.  Use the well-proven mixes with low-level flavors such as Nash S-Mix, Nutrabaits Big Fish Mix or one of the highly successful Mainline baits and you’ll be surprised of the results.