CUSTOMISE YOUR CORN
Try these tricks to get even more from this brilliant bait
“When hair-rigging, pick out the larger, complete grains of corn”
SIMPLE to use yet mega-effective for a huge range of species, corn is a bait that I always have a few tins of tucked away in the boot of the car.
It might surprise some people to know that it’s a relatively new bait, and one with an interesting history. Its use can be traced back to the heady days of carp fishing at Redmire Pool, where Chris Yates, having taken some corn with him as part of his food rations, tried the ‘golden grains’ on the hook, and caught carp. Not just any carp either – he used corn to catch his British Record 51-pounder in 1981!
Shortly afterwards, Rod Hutchinson, among others, popularised the use of various particles, including corn, while Kevin Clifford and friends were treading a similar path for tench. Today, it’s hard to imagine not using corn as bait, whether you target specimens, fish matches or enjoy pleasure sessions. Cheap, readily available and easy to store – it’s brilliant!
STRAIGHT FROM THE TIN
A big advantage of corn is that it needs no preparation. Open a tin, tip it into a bait tub and you’re ready to go. Unlike most baits, the consistency is just right for hooking or hairrigging. The combination of the bright colour and sugary and salty taste means that it’s very attractive to fish. I prefer tinned corn because of these additives – it definitely has the edge over the cheaper bags of frozen corn.
Try using two pieces of corn on a size 12 hook, while feeding single grains.
The larger hookbait stands out well and has a knack of attracting bigger fish. Bury most of the hook inside the bait to disguise the hook.
When hair-rigging, pick out the larger, complete grains which have the base intact. These are tough, making them ideal when fishing with Method feeders, or at range. Often, you can have several casts with the same hookbait.
HOW MUCH TO USE
Corn is quite filling, so be mindful of your feeding. With water temperatures still quite low, err on the side of caution and keep it to a minimum.
Fish can easily spot the bright grains sitting on the bottom, so they won’t miss many. For carp, tench and bream I’ll feed 20 grains to begin with and then top up with half this amount after each bite.
By mid-summer, I’ll step up the feed considerably, especially for carp, which will demolish a lot of feed and not hang about unless there is more. A large handful of corn to begin with, followed by a palmful every 10 minutes, is ideal. Feed less often, but with larger amounts when it’s warm to ensure the bait gets to the bottom and the carp don’t follow it up into midwater, bringing line-bites.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN
You can flavour and colour corn easily, and this can be a useful tactic to single out different species, or to deal with wary fish. If I want to use a lot of corn, then I’ll normally dye it dark red, as this is less blatant on the bottom, and fish will tend to feed more confidently over it than yellow corn.
For bream I like to use Scopex-flavoured corn, while for barbel I find Monster Crab to be unbeatable, and a brilliant alternative to pellets. A few drops of Shellfish Sense Appeal will give corn an edge when tench are your target, too.