Joe Stephens - The Power of Bait

As a short session angler, often limited to quick overnight sessions between work and other commitments, its important I can drop into zones I know they’ve visited without causing unnecessary disturbance.

Having spots primed makes fishing the work nights much easier and is a huge confidence boost. Baiting up in advance of my trip allows me to take my time getting the bait out to make sure it’s perfect. Then, when it comes to fishing, I already know the wraps and often, it’s just a case of casting single hookbaits to spots with minimal time or fuss.

Giving the fish a chance to feed freely not only helps clean the area, but massively boosts the carp’s confidence, encouraging a more aggressive feeding response making them much easier to catch.

It can be really tricky these days baiting up in advance, with lakes getting busier and fishery rules often not allowing baiting, but whenever possible, I’ll always look to use bait as my main pulling tool. Even now, I’m fishing one night a week on a busy club water, but I’m still making the effort to get the bait out. If I can, I try to bait various areas of the pit, giving me a few options to drop into based on angling pressure and conditions.

My baiting changes depending on time of year, conditions and the stock. As a rule, I’m not afraid to go in with big hits of bait, especially on bait ups before my fishing trip. The longer you can prime spots without fishing them, the better. Baiting for a period of several weeks, trickling it in maybe twice a week would be the ideal scenario, then giving it one final hit three days prior to a fishing session would be perfect.

I like to use quality bait and ensure it’s all fresh. Freshwater Shrimp and the matching glug dominate the mix, but I also love to bait with mixed particle and nuts when allowed, soaked with lots of salt.

There’s nothing like prepping a spot over time, watching it get cleaner and then finally catching off it. Putting in that work makes the end result that bit sweeter.