PAUL GARNER

The power of particles

OFTEN overlooked in today’s boilieobsessed culture, particle baits are a brilliant low-cost alternative that are just as effective for barbel, tench and bream as they are for carp.

Although we tend to use them mainly during the summer, particles will work all year round, and the larger ones make great hookbaits.

You can buy ready-prepared particles in tins and jars, or frozen, making them just as convenient as boilies. Or you can prepare your own, using your favourite additives to make a unique bait.

One of the most commonly used particle baits is maize. It is perhaps most commonly found in spod mixes, yet few anglers use it on the hook, despite the carp being used to feeding on it without fear.

This gives it a massive edge on the more pressured day-ticket venues, where it quietly accounts for a lot of fish.

If you are looking for a particle that will single out just carp then tiger nuts are well worth considering. Very often I will use these hard baits just on the hair, or with a tiny pinch of baits mixed in with some hemp as loosefeed. Carp appear to instinctively recognise the smell of tigers as food and can sniff out a single bait from many metres away.

An almost forgotten particle bait are maple peas. Roughly the same size as mini-boilies when prepared, maples are a great bream bait, as well as catching lots of carp down the years. Big river chub also love them!

Maples seem to work particularly well when sweetened to bring out their natural attraction.

If tench are your intended quarry, then black eye beans are my top pick of the particle baits. These small, brightlycoloured beans can be boosted with flavouring to make them even more effective. Try using them instead of sweetcorn when floatfishing in the margins.

My favourite particle baits, simply because they can be used in so many different ways, are

chickpeas. The light colour and lack of much flavour mean these baits are ideal for customising with your own additives.

The ideal boilie alternative, they make a great year-round carp feed and hookbait.