Quest Baits Blog

The location of carp is not such an easy task when we move into the colder months. My time on the bank tends to be shorter, fishing time is at a premium with the shorter days, and time for fish spotting is limited.

Rolling and leaping carp are rare, as are the tell tale feeding bubbles so often seen when the fish are more active. They are less likely to be actively moving around the lake seeking food, so one answer is to take it to them.

When I’m winter fishing at least one of my rods will be roaming. Every half to one hour I will recast to a different area of the swim.

I like PVA mesh tube as it breaks down very quickly and releases the bait. Attaching a small bag of crumbed boile or Quest Maximum Action Pellets to the hook increases the attraction without feeding the carp too much.

This will often stimulate a feeding response and put that bonus winter carp on the bank.

By Ron Key

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White Out on the Mangrove

by Jim Kelly

Winter carping can be one of the most sole destroying pastimes imaginable. What with the long cold nights, freezing days and with little chance of a fish anyone would be mad to fish through the winter months – wrong winter carping can be one of the most rewarding and exciting parts of carp fishing, if you get it right!

 The fish are normally at their best weight and in excellent condition. The million dollar question how do you get it right in winter?

Firstly my definition of a winter carp is one caught between 1st November and 1st March just to make it clear. Now that has been cleared up what makes the difference between success and failure?

I have winter fished for carp for well over 20 years, with some spectacular successes and some dismal failures. The problem with winter carping is that there are few rules.

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My mirror fell to the new bait on test, Surf ‘n’ Turf which was attached to an unusual take on the chod which I have been playing around with.

Rather than using beads to hold the hook link in place, I have been experiencing a lot of success by using two air-dried 10mm hookbaits threaded on to a TF leader and a 3 oz distance lead.

Alongside this I presented a small PVA bags containing a dozen whole and broken freebies. I was the only one to catch during the trip and to do so during the snow make the experience even more special.

Samantha Collins-Ratcliffe

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A question to Shaun;

I am doing some winter fishing this year and wonder what bait you would recommend and what size. I like the look of the Fruity Trifle.
Tom

Hi Tom,

Fruity Trifle is one of my favourite winter baits. The base mix I started using right back in the 80’s and have caught literally hundreds of carp on it. It is very easily digestible so the carp will feed again quite quickly – very important in the winter as many baits stay inside them for too long.

Size wise I always try and mix the sizes in my own fishing and if the distance being fished allows I always crumble baits up for loose feed as well as offering whole ones.

Ideally I would introduce a small amount of 10mm’s, 15mm’s and 20mm’s whole and broken… but if I were limiting myself to just one size of bait I would take the larger 20mm’s simply because there is plenty of scope for breaking them into smaller pieces and trimming them down etc.

Hope this helps
Best fishes, Shaun Harrison

Ron Neville and Steve Beeton have just phoned from France to say they are notching up a few catches with the Quest Rahja spice in the very cold weather on Grosley Lake.

With 13 carp so far, including 2 x 30’s (11 on the Rahja proving once again what a truly exceptional winter bait it is) and they are just into their 6^th day!

They will update at the end of the week but are looking to extend their stay for a few days more… & with the weather set to get milder catches could get better still!

Regards, Bridget

Stephen Vaughan wrote:

Are particles worth fishing during winter? If so would garlic be a sensible winter choice for flavour? 

Hi Stephen,

I strongly recommend using particles during the Winter as I find it a good method for lengthy sessions. During the winter months I tend to use a method that is made up using partiblend and powdered banana milkshake. I have recently tried using a mix with garlic but didn’t get the results I had hoped for.

I soak 1kg of partiblend in water for 24 hours before cooking and then add 500g of powdered banana milkshake, to the water, bringing it to the boil and then simmering for 40 mins until the water turns a thick yellow colour. I find putting this mixture straight into a bait bucket with a lid on increases the flavour intensity.

When setting up your rig using this mixture thread a selection of particles onto the hair. Then take a handful of particles and mix with any kind of base mix, I prefer to use pineapple crush boiles that have been reduced to powder. This can then be placed in a PVA bag ready for you to cast out.

 Good luck with this method.

Samantha Collins – Ratcliffe