Catch Reports
Yet more B5 success
Posted in Catch Reports on 11th August 2009There’s not many anglers that can boast they have had more than fifteen UK forties, but Glos big fish angler Martin Finan is certainly one of them. Furthermore, every single one of them has fallen to the incredible B5, and if that doesn’t tell you that the B5 is a phenomenal big fish bait, we don’t know what does!
Martin’s latest success came in the shape of this immaculate 41lb 2oz mirror during an overnight session on a large gravel pit and was the biggest fish out of the pit so far this season. He has since returned to the lake to catch a brace of thirty pound plus commons but no prizes for guessing what bait he had them on!!
Hard Hook Baits (Mike's view)
There are often times throughout the season when I find myself having to use hard hook baits. There’s nothing worse than reeling in after you’ve seen a frenzied amount of fishing activity over your baited area, only to find that your hook baits have been nibbled away by nuisance fish! Some venues are obviously more prone to nuisance fish activity than others, but it’s not just nuisance fish that can be a problem. Diving birds or even pick ups from swans will often result in ‘missing hook baits’!
Hard hook baits will alleviate this problem, in fact, I actually think it’s advantageous when a diving bird picks up my hard hook bait. It gives me confidence that my presentation is good, and as the bird drops the rig, I actually believe it straightens everything out and gives me a better presentation that I can achieve via casting. I can remember fishing at Frampton some years ago, when the only time I could seemingly get a bite, was after a coot had picked up and dropped my hard hook bait!
Top Tip
After you’ve made a batch of hard hookers, leave them out on a towel to air dry for at least ten days, preferably in a warm dry place. Once they have sufficiently dried out, put them in a polythene bag and add a small amount of ‘Boilie Glug’ or ‘Liquid Food’ and shake well. For extra convenience transfer them to an empty pop-up jar or similar before placing them in the fridge or the freezer until needed. If keeping in the fridge, make sure you give them a good shake every few days and top up the liquid if and as required.
