To: "Carpnet"
Subject: 26 Aug Report
Date: Sunday, August 26, 2001 10:00 PM
Hi All,
Was out on the river today, which is about 20 -30 yds wide on average, soft clay/ sand combination bottom at this area of the river. Water is fairly turbid , temp around 75 deg f. Nith River, Cambridge Ontario.
Parked up & looked for fish , found some amongst some overhanging branches, fished in a wide gap between them. There were some fish of 5 lbs or so feeding close in, water only 9-12" deep. Carefully baited up, untill I could see the fish churning the bottom. Hooked 1 fish which immediately became snagged (somehow snagging both rods in the same log) bait was Scopex sweetcorn. After this no more carp showed, I continued lightly baiting with corn. After about 1.5 hrs with nothing to show I decided to change tactics completely on 1 rod ( MNR have given up chasing me around for a while). Took off all weights hairs etc & fished with freelined paste bait (doughbait). Rig was # 6 eagle claw (LS) hook (which is more like a #2), open bail arm with a tiny bobbin (twig) to just stop line spill from the spool. About 10 mins later the freeline rod twitched once then screamed, I struck & hit into a common of about 5 lbs or so. I recast & this scenario was repeated at least 10 times in just under 4 hrs, the s/corn rod did not move during this time, despite rebaiting etc. I eventually took off the sweetcorn completely & moulded paste around a concealed kernal of hard maize, fished with a hair rig & 1oz lead. This caught a carp within 15 mins, all I did was change bait! I do think that the freeline rig was better in this case though. No big fish caught but hey, it's still better than catchin' guppies.
To those that might think bait is a forgone conclusion, on this water for certain :-
1) location
2) BAIT
3) Presentation
Bait used
1 cup Soya Flour
1 cup Semolina
1 cup Millet
1 cup Cookie dough
2 cups Cornmeal
1 egg
1 ts Scopex
10 drops Sweet Orange Oil (Aromatherapy)
1/2 ts red colour
1/4 ts cajouser (Nutrabaits)
Pinch salt
Method
Mix all the ingrediants written red above in a bowl, add a cupfull of the dry stuff to this . Try to mix it on the wet side , let soak in the fridge for 1/2 hr. This lets the moisture in the bait absorb better. Take from the fridge & add more dry mix if needed. Bag up in a ziplock & freeze or refrigerate as required.
Bait will take a fairly heavy cast & will withstand a 1 oz lead if required, will stay intact for over an hour in the water. With the above freelined method & no hair rig ,it is usual to get a few twitches before the run, some fish will manage to get the doughbait off the hook before a fast run develops , but not very often. These fish are not pressured. During the session I catapulted about 6 freebaits every 20 mins or so.
If you try this bait let me know how it goes ,
Good luck & happy carpin'
Steve in Kitchener, On, Canada
Visit Carpsava at ;-
www.oocities.org/carpsava/