Catch Reports
Early morning reward
Posted in Catch Reports on 01st August 2010Consistent catcher of big carp Rick Golder decided to tackle a private Surrey lake and was rewarded with this immaculate 39lb 1oz mirror during the small hours of the morning. This was one of Rick’s target fish for the year so you can imagine how pleased he was when the torchlight revealed his prize.
Rick used his favourite B5 boilies to bank the big mirror and he also lost another big fish just before catching this one. Whilst compiling this catch report we’ve just received another message from Rick to say he’s been back out again, but this time to a different venue, to bank three more carp to 32lb 2oz. As you would expect, Shellfish B5 doing the business again!
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.
