We’re at that time of year when sweetcorn really comes into its own as a commercial carp bait both for feed and on the hook.
With the carp becoming increasingly active as the water warms, corn is a bait that they will seek out readily for its food value.
But unlike in the depths of winter, when a single yellow grain of sweetcorn can be highly effective when cast around the swim, now you need to feed something too.
However, even with such a seemingly simple offering, you’ll catch more if you use the right type of corn.
Guru’s Adam Rooney is your guide to choosing the right corn…
1) Maize
Maize is a larger, tougher grain than food-grade sweetcorn. I find it is excellent as a single hookbait when casting long distances on big waters, or if the lake I am fishing has an average stamp of much bigger fish.
2) Tackle company corn
Although the most expensive of all the corns, bespoke bait company offerings do bring a number of distinct advantages.
First, the grains are bigger and uniform, as all are graded. This make them perfect of catapulting.
They are generally tougher and more robust, for a better hook hold, and they come pre-flavoured and coloured, so all the work has been done for you.
3) Supermarket
I use two different tinned corns. For hookbaits, it’s Jolly Green Giant, which is often larger than other tinned corns, although this can differ from tin to tin.
For loosefeed, I have found Heinz to be excellent, as the grains are a little smaller. This means the hookbait will stand out well over the top of it.
4) Frozen
If you are looking to prebait an area, or you wish to use a lot of corn, then frozen corn (thawed out, of course) is a cheaper alternative to tinned.
The advantage of frozen corn is that it tends to be softer. In comparative terms, it’s the expander pellet of the corn world.
5) Imitation
Rubber corn is resilient to small nuisance fish and can be cast great distances. It’s also soft, so it feels ‘right’ to the fish. I normally use the buoyant type, popped up off the bottom with a bomb or feeder.