Dear Spug,

I have just acquired a bait boat for my carp fishing and I would like to know if this is better for dropping bait, or would you say that spodding is actually better? Personally I would have thought that dropping everything from the boat at once would be better than spodding, as surely it would take a lot longer and create a lot more disturbance if spodding the bait out? Can you please help me?

Many thanks, Stephen Ford

Hi Stephen,

I have also recently bought a boat bait and I think they are great! They are definitely better for getting the bait out and save me literally hours of hard work with a spod rod, which to me is great because spodding sends me round the twist. However, which one is better? Now that’s a good question! When you spod, your baits tend to be spread over a larger area because they don't often land in exactly the same place. I don't think this hurts at all if you are fishing out in the lake. Spreading the bait out over a larger area has better potential for holding a group of fish. However, if you’re fishing to an overhanging tree, then the boat will really come into its own, as one trip out with the boat and the job’s done.

Going back to fishing out in the lake, I don't think frequent spodding is detrimental, as I truly believe that the fish are attracted to the sound of the spod hitting the water and they know there's food on the way. That’s a personal opinion, but even after two hours of heavy spodding I have had line bites within half an hour – proof if it were needed. Having said that, I would have probably preferred to use a boat for half of that spodding and saved myself an hour. In that way I could have had the barbecue on quicker – now that’s angling!

Spug