BAITING: IT PAYS TO BE ECONOMIC

At this time of year you can reduce the diameter of bait used without fear of seeing bream or other catfish coming to your spot. Grains are very effective in winter and the dish of choice for carp. A classic amongst classics, corn is very attractive because it naturally contains sugar. This grain also has the advantage of not over feeding the carp. Once it's cooked it's easily digested.

Contrary to received wisdom, tigernuts are still an excellent grain for carp fishing in winter.  However it's advisable to always use them cooked and sparingly so they can be more easily digested by the fish.

Unlike other grains tigernuts don't go off

#Caperlan Tip
In winter, to make digestion even easier for the carp, you can crush your tigernuts beforehand. Pellets and boilies can also be used at this time of year. It's better to use recipes based on meat and bone meal(fish, squid). These rich mixtures will provide more energy than recipes based on vegetable flour (soya, wheat semolina).

A few kilos of pellets will generally be enough for one session lasting several hours

Soluble bait sticks (nets) and bags have become more widespread in the last few years. Easy to use, they have many benefits:
·         Grouped and precise baiting on the spot
·         small amount of bait needed
·         Economical
·         The hook is sure to be surrounded by bait
·         Using sticks considerably reduces the risk of getting snarled up

A few sticks full of pellets or even boilies will be enough for a short session (4-6 hours).
You can prepare several in advance, as long as you don't use damp bait for fear of dissolving your stick. If the weather is damp, it's better to keep your sticks under shelter and just bring them out at the last minute.

Crushing the bait improves the way they spread through water and are digested by the carp.

For fishing with finer grains such as hempseed, soluble bags are a more suitable solution. This alternative to sticks also means larger amounts of bait can be used.

A soluble bag means you can use more bait than with a stick. However, soluble solutions also have disadvantages. Their shape is not very aerodynamic which means they can't be cast long distances. It's better to use a spod rod for baiting on the opposite bank.

If you don't have a boat, spods mean you can send large amounts of bait (grains, pellets, boilies) long distances. This accessory shaped like a small rocket, releases the bait it contains on impact with the water. To bait with a spod, you need to use a specific rod, which is stronger than a regular carp rod.

The aerodynamic shape of the spod means you can bait longer distances with greater precision. We recommend that you keep spods for regularly fished waters because in a wild area, its impact could frighten the fish and make them flee in the worst case scenario.

#Caperlan Tip
Don't "bring it back" if it doesn't go off. You risk over feeding the only active fish in the area.

Using soluble line means you can attach a string of boilies on your rig. To do this, just make a loop with a bit of soluble line, then thread the boilies on one by one. Then all you have to do is attach your string to the hook by the loop to cast it on the spot.

A string of 3 to 4 boilies will be more than enough

#Caperlan Tip
Space out your boilies half a centimetre apart on the soluble line so they dissolve better in the water.

Easy to use, PVA line dissolves after a few minutes on contact with the water. It can also be used for closing soluble sticks and bags.

In winter, bear in mind that quality is more important than quantity for carp. The fish don't eat very much for sure, but they eat well. Now it's up to you to use your experience and intuition to serve them a choice "morsel" on a plate.