Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Carp love a crusty boilie – Rob Burgess
Boilies take some beating but Sticky’s Rob Burgess has a clever trick to make his baits even more attractive to the residents of the historic Wraysbury North Lake
WE ARE here at Wraysbury, a lake that I have fished a couple of times in the BCAC finals, but in general it is pretty new to me. At this time of year, the fish are going to be in the safe zones taking advantage of the cover and shallow water. The carp will be seeking out the warmer water and if it is somewhere that anglers can’t fish, they will most certainly be there. The swim that I am in now has all of the above. It is called the Lawns and faces an outof-bounds area with shallow water and an abundance of snags. The carp were there in numbers when I arrived, so it was a no-brainer for me to set up here. There are a set of buoys preventing you from fishing behind the back of the island, so I wanted to get as tight to that as I possibly could.
Find the safe areas
Until the weed comes up in the summer, the fish will spend as much time as they can in the safe areas of any lake, whether that be the middle, in snags or out-of-bounds sections. Fish will behave differently behind that roped-off area compared to being this side of it, so getting as close to the safe area as possible will always get you more bites. I clipped up as tight as I could and the spot felt lovely and clean as I felt down the lead. It’s clearly a spot that they are happy to feed on. With so many snags behind the rope and fishing so close to the rope itself, I used braided mainline. It has zero stretch, so every time I hit the clip it will land bang on. Equally, if I get a bite, I will know instantly and be able to stop the fish getting into the snags. Because the spot was hard I wanted to fish a bait on the bottom. I am a huge fan of a balanced bait on a rig that will re-set should it be picked up by a carp and ejected. To achieve this, I tie a simple combi-link with the main
“I am convinced that this gets me more bites than standard boilies”
section being stiff fluorocarbon. I use a 12mm Signature pop-up as hookbait, plugged with a little lead wire to balance it perfectly. For whatever reason, yellow baits seem to be the real winners for me at the minute and it’s a colour that a many anglers ignore in favour of other options.
Draw the carp to the lakebed
Like all carp the ones in Wraysbury absolutely love boilies and l believe these baits pick out the bigger fish. Instead of using them straight out the bag, I have a few tricks to help them give off even more attraction. This is important because the carp are constantly in and out of these bays and I want something that is going to pull them down to the bottom to feed. I start by pouring my Krill boilies into a bucket. I then coat them in the Pure Krill Liquid. Carp love this stuff and it is so salty and sticky that it clings on to the bait. Once they are glazed, I add Krill Powder. This light, fluffy
product will stick to the liquid to give the bait an attractive finish. This is all done prior to the session so that my boilies have a crusty coating when I arrive at the venue. I am using shelf-life Krill boilies and will always have a spare bucket of this mix ready to go. Once the baits reach the bottom they will start reacting in the water. The powder will begin to fall off and the liquid leak out. If I was to do this and not let it settle much of those liquids and powders will fall off on the way down or on impact with the water. I want all of that goodness on the bottom and I am convinced that this gets me more bites than standard boilies out the bag. And even if all the boilies are eaten there will still be all those wonderful liquids and Krill Powder in the swim.
Spread the baits
Because I am able to walk round to the area I am fishing, I can bait up with a catapult. This enabled me to spread the bait around the rope, some behind it and some directly over my rigs. The theory behind this it that fish would begin to graze on the boilies in the safe area and then carry on until they find my hookbait. When I know I am on fish, I like to give them 3-4 kilos in one hit. I am fishing for bites during the productive morning period and I don’t want to disturb the swim by topping it up with bait while the action unfolds. This is another reason for having a bright hookbait. I want them to find it quickly so that there is still bait on the spot to help draw them down and hopefully keep the action going for as long as possible. My first morning on Wraysbury was a great success and I put the plan in the practice, catching three lovely carp to over 22lb. The bites all came within an hour of each other and then dried up. Whether the bait was cleared out or the disturbance of the re-casts put them off, I don’t know. It is all a learning curve on these types of water, but I know that my tactics worked and I am sure they will for you too.