Mike’s Diary
Old year out - new year in!
Posted in Mike’s Diary on 02nd January 2012The past few December's have seen lakes up and down the country iced over and under several inches of snow - but not this year! It's been incredibly mild with lots of much needed rain, and of course, the milder temperature often means prolonged feeding spells for our beloved quarry - time to up the ante!!
After missing much of 2011 due to my new house build I was now itching to get back on the bank, and I knew my enthusiasm had returned with a vengeance when I found myself travelling the 100-mile round trip to bait up my chosen venue with 10kg boilies at 1am on Christmas day morning!! Let's be fair, the carp are entitled to a good Christmas dinner as well!!!
I returned 48-hours later to bank an absolutely stunning 30lb 4oz common followed by another lovely common of 22lb - what a nice way to end the year. I was now well and truly back in the zone!
After another baiting up visit I was back on the bank for a day only session as daylight broke on the first day of the year. Back to the pre-baited spots, out went the rigs, on went the kettle and off went the Delkim!! A nice long lean 19lb common was my first carp meeting of 2012 - I just love this game!
Happy new year to each and every one of you.
Wafters as hookbaits
Ian May with one of many 40lb+ commons he's landed on Essential Baits by making sure his hookbait placement is spot on.
The name 'Wafters' can be a little misleading because we don't want these baits too critically balanced. In our experience a hookbait that's too 'buoyant' can 'waft' all over the place as a carp approaches the bait and render it very ineffective and easy to eject. What we have done with these special hookbaits is to make them slightly more buoyant than a standard bottom bait straight out of the bag. This in turn will negate the weight of the hook and the hooklink and by the time the rig is presented, it will behave the same as the free offerings surrounding it. This is exactly what you need to achieve if you think about it because the carp will be feeding on the freebies and you want your hookbait to behave in exactly the same way.
Note
Our Wafters are 'tougher' than boilies straight out of the bag and are a popular choice for anglers that prefer their hookbaits a little harder than their freebies.
