UK Carp & Coarse Fishing

Quick Fire Question Time – Mark Holmes

1. Shelf Life or freezer baits
If we had been talking 10 years ago I’d have said definitely freezer baits but not anymore. The advancement in human grade preservative availability, coupled with the process of steaming have improved readymades beyond recognition. So for me these days shelf life!

2. Hook bait of choice
Now this is a toughie. It’s well known my love for Trigga Ice but not so well known is I used the BFM with garlic for over 10 years in the mid 90s onward and had great success. However, the new Ener-gise is something very, very special. As having a small part in its formation via real life bank scenarios to conclude from, I suppose I’m a little bias.

3. Particles or Pellets
In a word…pellets. To be honest I don’t use much of any of either but the simple fact I can use Nutrabaits formulations in pellet form is the big pull. I do steer away from small sized pellets though as they attract nuisance fish in my experience.

4. Glugged or Not Glugged
Well I’m going to be obtuse here and say both. I believe the way you prepare your freebies is just, if not more, important than the freebies. The ability to vary the attraction and types mean I use unglugged, glugged, different sizes and shapes. This stops the carp becoming too familiar with dangerous food items!

5. Overbait or bag fishing
When I say overbait immediately I reckon some of you will say I’ve chosen that because it attracts the big uns. Now that’s not the reason I prefer not to use bags. Although outstanding when you’re unsure about the bottom of the lake your fishing, or weed problems, stealth etc my big dislike of bag fishing is it promotes spot feeding. The problem here is not getting the carp to take the offering, it’s making sure you get correct bite indication. By careful spreading of loose feed I’m able to move the carp when feeding and so promote far better bite indication.

My favorite capture from the last couple of years:-
Black and Gold a stunning, now Yorkshire Forty I caught last year at 39lb. Very rare visitor as this male carp fights like the absolute beast it is.

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