How to make a fishy groundbait mix for attracting pike.
Dr Paul Garner is here to help
APIKE’S organs of taste and smell work the same as those of other coarse fish, and are equally important in locating food.
So why not make your hookbaits more attractive to these predators and attract more pike into your chosen swim over weeks or months? Rarely do we think much about how to do this, so we miss out on a real ‘edge’. The additives that you can use to boost
your deadbaits
are endless. I favour fish-based additives and oils, which mimic the scent of the bait. If you are using oil-based additives, make sure they have been ‘winterised’ so that they stay in a liquid state in cold water.
OIL INJECTION
On the bank, the simplest way to boost a bait is to very carefully inject oil just under the skin. This will seep out over a long period.
Frozen baits can also be boosted very effectively at home. I do this by carefully injecting a small amount of fish oil into the sealed bait bags, ensuring that the oil coats the baits inside.
When they are taken out of the freezer and start to defrost they will soak up the oil into their skin, giving a thorough coating for maximum dispersion.
The simplest tactic of all is to maximise the amount of the bait’s own smell that can escape. Carefully stab some holes into the bait, especially just behind the gills where most of the blood is to be found. Alternatively, try using half baits, or fillets, which let the scent flood out. Although a lot of anglers shy away from using them, the head end of most baits will contain more blood, and hence more attraction, than the tail.
GROUNDBAITING
I know of several very successful, if rather secretive, pikers who swear by groundbaiting when they are deadbait fishing. This could be introducing chopped fish via a Spomb around their hookbaits, or firing out balls of groundbait laced with all manner of fish-based attractants.
Having tried this tactic extensively, comparing the results from one rod that has been groundbaited accurately next to one that has not, groundbaiting really does seem to bring more runs – especially if you are planning on fishing the same swim all day, as the added attraction seems to attract pike over time. However, if I am moving swims, or repositioning my baits regularly, I have found no advantage in groundbaiting.
PREBAITING
Many anglers talk about prebaiting with deadbaits for pike but few actually do it effectively.
A key thing to remember is that pike may only feed infrequently in winter, so introducing too much bait can be the kiss of death, filling them up for days and making
them virtually uncatchable. Baiting up little and often is much more effective than filling it in once a week. This, of course, means you’ll be limited to venues close to home, which might render the whole idea a non-starter.
Try introducing just a dozen chunks of bait into your preferred area three times a week to begin with. Ideally, this should be a swim that you already know holds pike, and one that is not going to be fished by other anglers.
You can bait up with any cheap baits that you can get your hands on, although it often pays to use quality baits on the hook, as the pike can become quite choosy.
I tend to keep any used baits at the end of a session and use these to prebait, introducing it as I am about to leave.
Never introduce baits used on one venue to another, as this could lead to the spread of disease.