Quest Baits Blog

By Mark Parry:

One peice of none fishing tackle I wouldn’t be without is the amazing Mosquito Repeller. I have had a couple of these for a few years now and must say they reallyare excellent and only cost a few pounds off ebay. I used to suffer very badly by mosquitos but no more,
I’ve used these on very bad mosquito infested places in France such as La Horre and Salagou and they honestly work. Just 2 x AA batterys and they last weeks simply letting out a very high frequency tone which you can hardly hear. I find that one is enough for the places I have fished in England but I do use two in France and nothing comes in the bivvy. I also think they keep flys away. Very good product I wouldn’t be without.

Silk weed – love it!

I must admit it does make me smile when I see anglers trying to find clear areas to present their baits when confronted with a swim full of silk weed.

Silkweed harbours a lot of natural food particularly shrimps which the carp love which in turn means they will regularly be visiting these food rich areas as a matter of course. The natural world is baiting up for you constantly if you take time to find the natural food harbours.

Rather than try and find clear areas to present your baits you would do yourself a far bigger favour to find the ‘hotspot’ areas of weed containing the most food.

Simply cast out with a heavy bottom bait on leave it a few seconds to settle then wind in. The bait will help get the hook down a little further into the weed so it becomes a mini grapple hook for gathering samples. Examine what you have wound in and see what sort of creepy crawlies there are. If there is nothing then try another area until you encounter life. continue reading…

You know some things go to the back of your mind and are often forgotten about until something jogs the old memory banks?

Well the old memory bank has been jogged. I had someone ask me if I knew where they could get hold of real cheap back leads as they were fishing a productive water and losing quite a few of them but were needing to pin their line down a few rod lengths out over a hump.

I delved into my tackle box, and came out with a plastic run ring and rubber band, I looked at the ground at the side of me and picked up a stone.

Within seconds I had produced a environmentally friendly back weight (can’t really call it a lead) which has the chance to release the stone or the clip from the line. The person I showed it too seemed real impressed so I thought I would share the tip with the rest of you.

For what it is worth it is a little dodge I used to use whilst margin fishing on a local water where the fish were very tackle aware. Instead of a lead I used to attach a stone out of the margins in the same way.

The other added bonus is that you don’t have to hump a bag full of back leads around with you as most venues I have ever visited have plenty of useable stones laying around.

Best fishes

Shaun

I was sat on the bank last week watching the world go by as you do and taking note how the different anglers present were tackling the lake. I find I learn an awful lot by simply taking a mental note of what others are doing and at the times they are doing them. I find I learn more from those that don’t catch regularly than I do from those that do.

Spodding/Spombing is something which can make or break a swim. It does amuse me when anglers make the comment along the lines of ‘spodding doesn’t work here – it spooks the fish. The answer to this is something I don’t usually bother giving but usually start thinking about including a spod rod on my next trip.

Spodding/Spombing can indeed spook the fish on some lakes when carried out at the wrong time of the day. If you are fishing a water where the fish are under constant pressure then just as they are about to start cautious feeding isn’t the time to be crashing a spod/Spomb on top of them. Ideally you want to be introducing the spod/spomb several hours before the expected feeding spell or the expected arrival of fish in your swim if you know the water well. continue reading…

When should we use fluorocarbon as hooklinks and when not to?

Over the years on many different pressured waters in the UK I have tried and tested many different hooklink materials to suit my style of fishing.  Waters that I target are gin clear, especially in the colder months, and this makes the carp are very tricky to catch due to the the fact that every little item of end tackle can stand out on the lake bed, making it very easy for Mr carp to suspect danger and move away.  I made a massive step forward when I started using Fluorocarbon in 10lb and 12lb.

At all times we are trying to improve our chances of getting that all important pick up and due to the fact that fluorocarbon is transparent to the lake bed, regardless of whether your hooklink is laid upon silt, weed, gravel, or clay, it gives you a massive edge.  I believe using this material correctly you can put 30% more fish on the bank.

Your lead arrangement can also play a vital role; should we choose inline, lead clip system, helicopter or running rig?  All have there place… but at all times make sure that in any case of cracking-off or snagging-up your end tackle is safe and the lead will be dropped every time.

Hooklink lengths using the fluorocarbon can vary from 2” to 12” depending on the situation i.e. what you’re fishing over and the bait you’re placing on the hair.  Does the hair have to be fluorocarbon? continue reading…

As more and more UK carp anglers venture abroad to France they are confronted with a huge choice of waters and fishing conditions. The giant fish we read about in the magazines, the success stories of leviathan carp all sound very attractive. These fish do exist and the potential of some large waters is outstanding. France is fast becoming a number one destination for the travelling angler.

Smaller pits and lakes don’t usually pose too much of a problem for anyone who has the usual armoury of techniques and tactics at his disposal, and the usual UK approach will cope without any problem. Those who fancy having a go at one of the big French waters should only do so if they have done their home work and are well prepared for such a venue. Lakes like the Der Chantecoq, the Foret de l’Orient, Salagou and Madine all hold massive fish, but all are, by English standards very big waters.  Approaching such a venue cannot be taken lightly, adequate tackle and equipment is a must if your fishing to be as enjoyable as it should and your chances of catching optimised.

First of all you need to do you ground work. Large scale maps of the various waters can be obtained from specialist shops and show the access roads to the bankside. These are edited by IGN and can be obtained in the UK or once you arrive in France.

A visit to a French tackle shop near your chosen water is a necessity for the various “Permits de Pêche” and information on the night sectors. On most of the waters, even the very large ones, the oppressive French angling laws make night fishing very difficult. Huge waters like the Orient have only a few areas one can fish, and these are often occupied for the major part of the season. One is often faced with the paradoxical situation of being on one of the largest waters in Europe and nowhere to fish. Don’t be put off by this, as most of these areas regularly produce. continue reading…