Catch Reports
Back in the thick of it!
Posted in Catch Reports on 24th March 2007Following on from his outstanding success of 2006, Martin Finan from Glos has immediately been back in the thick of the action. Martin decided to fish for a 24 hour session on a relatively low stocked gravel pit to produce a 3 fish catch, topped by this awesome looking 30lb 1oz Mirror. Not bad for the middle of Feb!
Martin introduced approx 100 B5 barrels per fish and presented a B5 Corker Pop-up fished ‘Withy Pool’ style over the top. It’s already looking like Martin can look forward to yet another cracking year ahead.
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.
