Quest Baits Blog

Having read Spencer’s post from last week it occurred to me just how many anglers probably have hung their rods up over this particularly difficult and frustrating winter of frozen lakes and snow blocked tracks.

Well, a word of warning here, nature is starting to wake up again along with the carp becoming more active. 6am this morning the birds were singing their hearts out as I sat drinking my wakening cup of coffee. I strolled outside, lean’t against the bridge of my garden pool and couldn’t help but smile. Nature was telling me that everything is starting to return from the winter slumber.

It really is time for you to be thinking about dusting the gear down if you want to tempt yourself one of those gorgeous late winter carp still sporting the beautiful reddy orange tinge they develop during the winter months.

Winter carp usually look as though they are in their full peak of health as well as usually being up in weight, which is total evidence that they still carry on rooting around and feeding all through the winter.

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I don’t know about you guys, but it seems an eternity since I’ve been angling. It’s well overdue but finally the time is here to get back at ‘em! continue reading…

Even in the depths of winter our mind turns to the first sunny days of Spring, when the temperature is going upwards and the lake shows more and more fish activity. The warmth of the sun is responsible for more carp movement and often you can catch them fairly easy on these mild days.

A few tips that can be effective considering the early time of the season;

1.    Fish often don’t respond to heavy baiting under these circumstances, try fishing PVA bags and single hook baits… remember bait that’s gone in, can’t be taken out! So be careful with free offerings.

2.    Always try to get your baits near the bank where the fist sunlight falls on. This side of the lake will warm up faster and on allot of occasions the majority of the fish will be hanging around in that part of the lake.

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By Jim Kelly

In March and April the weather can be very variable. Carp are cold blooded and at this time of the year will usually end up in the part of the lake that has the most comfortable conditions for them… and this usually means the warmest area.
On calm sunny days I look for shallow areas that are hit by the sun for the majority of the day. Water less than 3 foot deep can be very productive especially if there are snags close by.

My tactic is to cast into the shallow water with just hookbaits or with a small PVA bag with a mixture of Maximum Action Pellets and broken boilies. I don’t want to scare the fish and there is no need to attract them as they are there anyway… all I want is a feeding response.  This tactic has worked for me on numerous occasions. continue reading…

By Carl Bullock;

It may be hard to believe due to the weather we have been receiving lately, but spring is definitely on its way. Already the daylight hours are increasing in length.  I’ve recently witnessed a number of various flying insects creeping there way into the kitchen and just the other week I saw flowers starting to bud in the mother-in-laws garden.

And all this to me indicates that it is time for preparation, time for stocking up on bait, time for new lines and just generally time to get a good spring clean on the go. I usually fish right through the winter, but due to work and various courses I have not been able to get out much at all.

It goes without saying though that the spring time, whether you are taking the rods out of hibernation or not brings an element of excitement and even more fishing. So here are a few things I do in preparation for those hungry carp waking up.

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By roy van goor

All anglers are waiting for the first sunny days, when the temperatures are going upwards and the lake shows more and more fish activity. The warmth of the sun is responsible for more carp movement and often you can catch them fairly easily on these mild days. A few tips that can be effective considering the early time of the season;

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1) Fish often don’t respond to heavy baiting: Under these circumstances, try to fish bags and single hookbaits. Bait that has gone in, can’t be taking out. So be careful with free offerings.

2) Always try to get your rods on the bank where the first sunlight falls on: This side of the lake will warm up faster and on a lot of occasions the majority of the fish will be hanging around in that part of the lake.

3) Don’t ignore the margins: Most of my early season captures are hooked just a few feet of the bank, right in my own margin..

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