Dear Spug,

I am just about to go carp fishing on an 8-acre pit with a fair head of carp (around 10 x 30s and 100 x 20s) and will be fishing for 72 hours. My question is this. How much bait should I take (boilies) for this length of session and what feeding methods are best? I am interested in trying a new method rather than my usual little and often approach. I am thinking about putting in 2kg of boilies and some particle and then sitting it out and waiting for a take, but I’m not very confident about fishing like this. I have also read somewhere about soaking your bait in the lake water to try to trick the carp into thinking the bait is safe to eat because it has been in the water for a long time. Surely this removes the attraction of fresh bait?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Martin Trewick

Hi Martin, and thanks for the question. There are a million different ways to answer that question because you have a lot of variables to consider, i.e. weather, time of year, angling pressure, and nuisance fish. A lot of these will change on a weekly basis, so the first thing to consider is that there isn’t one hard and fast rule which will cover the answer, however, that in itself is a good thing because it gets you constantly thinking about what you are doing and why you are doing it, and then in the long run, after a bit of experience you'll just do what’s right without thinking. That’s all well and good for then, but we need a starting point from now, so here goes.

On you next session, the first thing I would do is try to find the fish, then lump the whole lot in where you think the carp are. See how your results go and you will probably find that at some point the fish will be attracted to the bait.

I think it’s fair to say that a lot of anglers try to keep the bait going in on the same spots – priming them, as we say. It wouldn’t hurt you to consider some quiet little spot on your lake and start trickling some bait in there also, maybe half a kilo to start with. If your other method doesn't work, then try putting in more of your bait on this quiet spot; ideally, if you get the chance, put in 1.75kg three days before your session and fish with just a few freebies around your hookbaits on your 72-hour session. Very basic, but one method should work. If you are still struggling and want to try the ‘washed out’ bait approach – fine. Do exactly the same as in the second option but drop a few hookbaits in a pot of lake water too, so the flavour levels are the same. Personally I have never used washed out baits, but some of my friends have and rate them when things are tricky.

Hope this helps,

Spug