Catch Reports
Unbelievable!!
Posted in Catch Reports on 11th October 2011This just has to be one of the best catch reports of the year and we've held it back for over a month out of respect... Matt Gosling had been fishing away on a notoriously difficult gin clear 90-acre Cambridshire pit for several months without so much as a single bite (not on Essential Baits incidentally). Then a close friend suggested he should try Essential's Black Snail frozen boilies following the baits phenomenal success on a number of different waters.
Due to the pit's abundance of natural food Matt decided to give the Black Snail a go and on his very first session using the Black Snail he caught one of the jewels in the crown in the shape of an absolutely stunning 42lb 12oz mirror!
As if that wasn't enough, Matt returned to the pit a few days later for his second session on the new bait and instantly carried on where he left off by catching another forty!! This one went 40lb 2oz as well as mirror's of 27lb 8oz and a 31lb during the same session! - on his next session Matt continued to take the place apart when he banked another stunning creature, this one went 32lb 8oz!
A truly awesome feat on such a difficult water and full respect to Matt for catching what most would consider to be a season's worth of fish in just a few weeks. Take a close look at the fish - they don't get much better than these stunners and it just goes to prove (once again) that changing from a mediocre bait to a high quality food source makes a MASSIVE difference.
Well done Matt from all at Essential, you are the worthy winner of our latest 'Top Catch' competition...
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.
