| Is your bait pulling in every big fish for miles? If | | | | only ‘traces’ of dissolved attractors in the |
| your chum or ground bait is not you are seriously | | | | water have an advantage over ‘solid’ |
| missing out and really need to exploit this vital | | | | ground baits, because odds are that fish will pick |
| element of successful fishing far more! | | | | up your hook baits far quicker and there is no risk |
| The act of feeding bait into your swim while | | | | of ‘filling the fish-up’ with free bait even |
| fishing or indeed before going fishing as in | | | | before the fish finally eat your hook bait. |
| ‘pre-baiting,’ is a cornerstone in effective | | | | Ground baits that are ‘active’ will |
| angling. If you cannot pull fish into your swim and | | | | promote more response from fish. This might |
| hold them there looking for food for any length of | | | | mean adding live creatures into it, like worms or |
| time, then there are very vital things going wrong | | | | maggots etc. Or incorporating ingredients that will |
| for you. | | | | ‘cloud-up’ and flavour the water, and rise |
| * If your fish do not become stimulated by your | | | | to different levels in the water column as |
| bait, they may not even ‘realise’ that | | | | different ingredients of various buoyancies |
| even your hook bait is in the swim. In many | | | | disperse. |
| situations just fishing a single hook bait on its own | | | | There are many ways and means of offering |
| will not be enough to produce satisfactory results. | | | | free baits to fish. From the tried and tested |
| * If you wish to consistently ‘target’ big | | | | ‘pre-baiting method’ to the ‘little and |
| fish, then it is advisable to get enough fish into | | | | often’ regular feeding while actually fishing as |
| your swim over a length of time, so that only the | | | | with ‘match fishing.’ However one thing is |
| biggest fish are left competing for your bait. | | | | clear, even with the little and often method: it can |
| Otherwise you may keep on being pestered by | | | | very often take a large amount of bait over a |
| the less wary smaller fish over and over again. | | | | period of time to ‘build-up’ your swim and |
| * If big fish are your goal and you only bait up | | | | produce the greatest and heaviest catches of |
| with a minimum amount of ‘ground bait’ | | | | bigger fish. |
| or chum, then you may only hold fish for a very | | | | Whether this applies to feeding your swim with |
| short period in your swim, before they leave the | | | | gallons of maggots via swim-feeder, PVA bag, or |
| area. | | | | ‘compressed ground bait stick’ method, |
| * Big fish can eat very substantial amounts of | | | | or feeding with pellets, boilies etc. |
| food extremely quickly, and may require far | | | | There are various ‘special’ ingredients |
| more food to hold them than you expect! It is | | | | that can be added to your free bait that will |
| obvious that the longer fish remain actively | | | | stimulate your fish from different ranges and |
| feeding or looking for food or are in a | | | | some especially from long range, e.g. over 100 |
| ‘feeding stimulated state’ that you will | | | | meters away. This will depend on the sensory |
| generate more chances of a ‘bite’ even | | | | detectors that receive ‘messages’ from |
| if this means your hook bait may be tested or | | | | your bait and these ingredients are very |
| sampled numerous times, by different fish, until | | | | interesting and powerful! |
| one makes a mistake and becomes hooked! | | | | The author has many more fishing and bait |
| * If you really stimulate your fish with the use of | | | | ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one |
| ‘feeding triggering’ ground baits and free | | | | can have a huge impact on catches. (Warning: |
| baits, you are more likely to get ‘bites’ | | | | This article is protected by copyright, but reprints |
| especially from perhaps more wary big fish, than | | | | with a link are OK.) |
| if they entered the swim un-stimulated first. | | | | By Tim Richardson. ‘The thinking angler’s |
| Feeding with ground bait that dissolves leaving | | | | fishing author and expert bait making guru. |