Scott Sweetman - Hemp In The Autumn

Hemp, as a pre-bait, plays a vital role in my angling all year. The small food items keep the carp feeding in areas for longer periods, also helping to clean and prime spots, acting as the perfect pre-bait.

Baiting with hemp 3 days or more prior to my fishing will gain the carp's trust in the area so when I return to fish, the carp are really confident and are coming to the spot, expecting to feed. I'll rarely, if ever, actually fish over hemp, simply because I feel it can take longer to get the bite. So by applying hemp and boilie as a pre-bait, when it comes to actually fishing the spot, I'll look to fish over just a few pouchfuls of boilie, with boilie hookbaits, hoping for really quick bites.

When fishing on limited time, you want to get the bites as quickly as possible, so by drawing the carp into the area before your trip, you can often quietly drop in with minimal disturbance, and get bites on short sessions.

I find this approach to really come into its own at this time of year, where the carp are searching for food, often in the hours of darkness, perfect for the overnighters. You tend to find the carp get on the naturals at this time of year, and I've found hemp a great alternative. It's size, colour and crunchy texture replicate the small snails and other natural food the carp love to eat.

More on Scott's style and approach can be found on his recent Mindset film, now available on Korda YouTube.