For The Sharper Carper...

TRY THIS

The Solar Tackle team share 12 of their favourite bait edges…

TIP 1 - Up Close
Close-range fishing is often overlooked by carp anglers, and with spodding being so popular, feeding boilies with a catapult is almost a rarity. Doing something a little different will often produce results, particularly on pressured venues, and so try fishing close in over a scattering of just boilies.
 
TIP 2 - Esterblend 12
Try adding a few milliliters of Solar’s Mixmaster Esterblend 12 to your favourite hook baits, or even just dipping your hook bait in the bottle prior to casting. It’s a brilliant way to boost the attraction of your hook bait, no matter what venue or time of the year. But remember, it’s a concentrated liquid and so you only need to use a tiny amount at a time, 3ml added to a tub of pop-ups is plenty!
Easterblend 12 is one of the flavours used most by the Solar team members, at all times of the year. If you’re into rolling your hook baits, or boilies, then add a bit of this to the mix and watch the results.
 
TIP 3 - Be Different
Following Top 1 with regard to going against the grain, try using a different hook bait to ‘the norm’ on your water. If most anglers are using bright, high-attract baits then try a dark, food-based hook bait and vice versa. It’s a simple edge that can often result in extra fish on the bank.
The same applies with hook bait size and buoyancy, so be brave and buck the trend.
 
TIP 4 - Split 'Em Up
To help release the attraction from your boilies a little quicker split the skin before feeding them into the lake. Simply squeeze the baits until they split. Of course, if you are feeding your boilies via a throwing stick then this will cause the baits to split in mid air, so only do this when using a catapult, feeding by hand or spodding.
 
TIP 5 - Go Big
Use a big hook bait and big hook. Giving the fish a bigger mouthful to deal with can make it harder for them to eject once picked up. Don’t worry that your baits may be too big, as fish of just a couple of pounds can eat a 20mm boilie and size 4 hook! Sometimes, you may find that a bigger hook bait results in bigger fish too.
 
TIP 6 - Oily Boilies
Now that we are into the warmer months and the water temperatures are at their highest, soak your baits in a high-quality salmon oil for 24 hours prior to fishing. Not only will this boost the attraction and the ‘flavour leak off’, but oily baits will produce a flat spot on the lake’s surface when they are disturbed, giving you a visual signal.
 
TIP 7 - Dip It
Dip your hook baits and small PVA bags in PVA-friendly, amino-based liquid such as Marine 17 liquid prior to casting out to give instant attraction to any bait.
 
TIP 8 - All Tied Up
When using pop-ups and leaving them out in the lake for long periods of time tie your baits on using bait floss or dental floss rather than threading them on to a hair rig. Piercing the baits will speed up the ingress of water into the pop-up, which will affect the buoyancy over time.
Therefore, a pop-up that’s tie on will remain buoyancy for longer than one that has ben pierced.
 
Tip 9 - Use A Zig
Carp spend very little time on the lakebed, spending the vast majority suspended somewhere in the water column. There’s every chance that carp pass through your swim at some stage on each session, but unless you can see them on the surface or they drop down and pick up your hook bait, you may not even realize it. To increase your catch rate you need to grab their attention as they pass through and give them a reason to drop down to the lakebed and pick up your hook bait. Solar’s Up & Down Mix creates a column of particles from lakebed to lake surface that is all but impossible for a passing carp to ignore.
As the particles rise and fall through the entire water column a carp’s inquisitive nature encourages it to investigate the source of the activity, where it’ll come across your hook bait. You can use the bright Up & Down Mixes neat for a very visual column that works very well on well-stocked waters, or you can combine the Up & Down Mix with boilie crumb or your favourite stick mix for a more subtle approach, but one that still works to pull carp down from mid water.
 
TIP 10 - Something Unique
Following on from TIP 9, the Up & Down Mix also creates the perfect zig-rig presentation. A small PVA bag of this gear attached to you lead system will create a column of attraction directly around your zig hook bait in mid water.
 
TIP 11 - Use PVA Foam
PVA foam is a great aid to rig presentation all year round. Wrapping a PVA nugget around your hook and hair protects the hook point from being fouled on weed or debris, eliminates any risk of the hair from tangling on the cast and helps your hook bait to settle gently on top of any bottom debris.
It’s extremely useful for zig rigs, as it prevents the hook from getting caught up on the cast and protects the hook from damage, particularly before casting when your hook is likely to be laying on the ground due to the long hook link.
 
Tip 12 - Soak Your Floaters
Soak your floaters in salmon oil. It creates a huge slick of attraction, but also flattens any surface ripple around your baits, making shy-taking carp easier to spot and target.
 


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