I’ve written a lot about the application of what I term ‘Free Safe Food’ and there’s no better way to break down the edginess of spooky/pressured carp on busy day-ticket and holiday venues. It allows you to create a feeding situation where the carp feed with greed and a distinct lack of caution. The process uses a baiting strategy whereby the angler doesn’t fish the swim, but instead baits it and lets fish feed without any danger or disturbance. This results in the numbers of fish visiting the area increasing, and the strength of feeding response steadily increasing too.
GET THE BEST BAITS FOR YOUR CARP FISHING BY CHECKING OUT THIS GUIDE TO BOILIES.
I’ve used this concept in my own angling and with clients many, many times both home and abroad, with astonishing success. The busier the venue is and the more pressure it receives, the better the results are, because really popular lakes simply never receive bait without angling pressure. I’ve used the tactic in the UK on venues like Linear St Johns too - baiting little and often for 24 hours and then fishing the zone for two nights. The first time I did it, I caught more than 30 carp to 40lb. Had I simply fished in the standard way then I’m sure the spectacular potential would never have been realised.
I don’t need to have hooks in the lake to feel like I’m angling. I’m looking at the bigger picture, playing the long game, and I know that the longer I do it for, the better the end result. It’s an investment process. What do you think would be better on a highly pressured lake: turning up and attacking the swim, fishing it solid for seven days, or leaving the swim without disturbance, baiting it for two days and then fishing it for five?
PRACTICE THIS TACTIC ON ONE OF THESE AWESOME UK CARP FISHING HOLIDAY VENUES.
I know which sounds more sensible to me and, after doing this for many years, there’s no doubt that it’s one of the biggest edges out there. In fact, only last week, I had a client contact me asking for advice on a French trip that he was making with a few mates. I told him about the concept in great detail, and he went on to catch four or five times what the rest of the lads did.
Fish like everyone else and you’ll catch the same as everyone else. Don’t accept that – be greedy and want more!
GRAB ALL THE KIT YOU NEED FOR YOUR NEXT CARP FISHING TRIP BY CHECKING OUR OUR BUYER'S GUIDES TO RODS, REELS, ALARMS, BIVVIES, BARROWS AND MORE.