Catch Reports
Back with a bang!
Posted in Catch Reports on 31st July 2009After a short break from the big carp scene following his capture of the Black Mirror, Essential bait boss Mike Willmott wasted no time getting back into the swing of things by banking his latest target fish in the shape of this immaculate 37lb 3oz mirror (above right) from a very tricky undisclosed venue. Such was the carp’s confidence in the bait, when he went to remove the hook, he found it was lodged over 10” back and had to borrow a pair of 12” pike forceps to remove it!!
A number of other good fish have fallen to Mike and Lee following a pre-baiting campaign at the low stocked water, with the latest being a lovely dark chestnut coloured mirror that Mike believes is one of the best looking carp he’s ever seen!
Unfortunately on a sad note, the otters seem to be catching just as many carp from the venue as they are and having had first hand experience of otters on their own lake as well as Ashlea Pool, Mike believes it’s only a matter of time before these fish are wiped out.
Footnote: Mike has recently started a new mini series of articles in Carpworld for anyone interested and part one appears in the July issue.
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.
