TIGERS WITH A TASTY TWEAK

QI want to start fishing with tiger nuts, but am not sure about the best way to prepare them or the best rigs to use. Can you offer any advice? Steve Wilson, email

AZak Taylor:

Tiger nuts are such a brilliant bait and can be used all year round. I like to glug the tigers that I use for hookbaits in Multi-Stim, Sweet Ade and Toasted Almond liquid flavour to add an extra edge of attraction. The nuts are hugely attractive in their naked form, but I feel this gives me an added edge over anglers using theirs straight from the tin, so to speak.

In my tub of hookbaits I’ll have half the nuts pre-drilled ready for me to insert foam or cork in order to critically balance them. However, the rest are left intact for when I want to use a heavier bottom bait, or tip one with a Mainline Topper as a sighter.

It’s important when using tigers that you don’t overdo the quantity, because nuts not as easily digestible as boilies, and can soon fill the carp up. I add no more than half-a-kilo at the absolute most to, say, two kilos of boilies when baiting up.

Rig-wise, tiger nuts can be treated like a boilie. I’ve done really well when using a large cork plug to pop them up over a scattering of boilies and tigers. One final tip with these magical nuts – use them on waters where crayfish are a problem. The crays tend not to bother with them too much and, even when they do, the firm nut is pretty immune to their clawing!