Baits and additives for commercial fisheries

Below I have listed just some brief information on the different baits being used on today’s commercial fisheries.

Naturals

   These are baits such as maggots/worms/casters, these baits still have there place on commercials especially in the colder months when the carp shy away from all the hi-protein baits, also as most commercials contain good stocks of silver fish these baits can still score and put fish in your net, on some fisheries feeding casters shallow at range is a good tactic as demonstrated by Steve Ringer at this years Fish ‘o’ Mania, also caster as feed and worm on the hook is a great combination when fishing down the edge for lumps, so don’t forget this original baits.

Particles

   These are  baits such as hemp/corn/maize/nuts/peas etc this are very good baits indeed especially for laying down a carpet of bait of setting  PVA bag traps as the fish really like these baits it gives them something to get there heads down over, hemp and meat is a great combo on commercials accounting for some good weights, also use corn as a change bait, corn on a hair rig is my No 1 bait for commercials I have had countless fish on 2-3 grains on hook when fished in conjunction with the feeder, Particles such as maize/nuts/peas etc are more of a specimen anglers bait but can be used by match anglers never discount any bait if that catch 40lb carp using it then it will catch the smaller ones as well

Pellets 

 Now this must be the most commonly used bait by anglers in this country now, I would now say that more pellets are sold than maggots every weekend, pellets are a great bait for carp because basically farmed fish are feed on fishmeal pellets from the word go, also most pellets contain oils and    hi - protein food content which all fish love even the wild carp, also as it is mainly fishmeal baits being used these days fish such as Roach/Bream/Tench are all being caught on them as that is the main baits being feed into the waters they inhabit. Pellets come in a variety of sizes from tiny 1mm feed micro pellets right up to 26mm donkey chokers, they also come in flavors/colors , flavors  range from fishmeal/halibut/strawberry/cat food and many more, color choices are brown/black/reed/green and many more, Pellets come in either a hard or soft texture the soft(expander type) hooker variety are the pole anglers main choice as they are easily hooked and are light and can be worked up and down on a pole which helps simulate a bait falling through the water, these are usually combined with soaked hard feed pellets as the main feed, the larger harder pellets are perfect for drilling or banding and are ideally suited as hair rigged baits, specimen anglers use the larger sizes such as 16mm and above for the big carp as they seem to love them the benefit of the harder pellet over the softer one is they can withstand a hard cast, which on most soft pellets is not possible exceptions are  the new Sonu baits range from Preston innovations or Mainlines active range  these are much tougher pellets .

Boilies

 These are another one of the specimen anglers baits that is now being used by us match and pleasure anglers as well when allowed, the boilies I use are of the smaller variety 10-15mm max this I finds suits my set ups better that the larger boilies used for specimen work , but the smaller size doesn’t mean smaller fish as I personally caught my PB on x2 10mm Ringers white boiles, it weighed 20lb as was cracking looking mirror. There are several brands that produce the smaller sizes such as Dynamite baits/GB baits/Ringers/Richworth/Nash and are available in various colors and flavors with matching liquid additives(glugs) and pastes available as well. Boilies are usually fished by being mounted on a hair rig and fished in conjunction with either a straight lead or method/caged feeder setup, I personally think no commercial angler should leave home without a few boilies in there tackle bag.  

Ground baits

    There are loads of ground baits aimed at commercial fishing , these are for example Dynamites Swim stim range/Bait tech’s special (G) green/senses crazy bait carp range and many others, to cut out the confusion most of these ground baits contain a mixture of crushed pellets and feed stimulants such as betaine, the main thing you need to know about these baits is when to use them , what I mean is some of these baits have a high feed and oil  content which is no good for the colder months as the fish’s metabolism’s are slowing down and they don’t require the high levels of feed that they do in the summer, this is when you want to stick to the brands using mainly crushed pellets and no other particles or oils for example dynamite marine halibut ground bait as strong oily flavors which is perfect for the summer bagging months but not the colder less active months, when it is colder mixes like Dynamite swim stim amino original or black are good choices or ringers bag up mix but use them both in much smaller quantity’s as you may be trying to catch only 2-3 fish in the cooler months.

Ground baits have many uses such as carrying particles or pellets/cubes of meat and more and can be dyed or flavored to increase there attraction, they can be made in to balls and either cupped in on the pole line or thrown in by hand (balling in) or used in cage or method feeders, there other uses are when there mixed into a slop the make a brilliant fish attracting cloud which is perfect for when fishing up in the water, they also can be made in to deadly pastes and much more all in all they are a vital and very versatile bait/attractant.

Liquids and other additives

 Both of this are now being increasing used on the match and pleasure scene as well as the big carp boys scene, there are literally loads of flavors available in liquids such as maple,pinapple/fishy flavors/chilli/garlic basically the list is endless, like all the baits for commercials these days I think the anglers get attracted to them as much as the fish do, my advice is yes try different baits but try and settle on a small selection and get confident in using them and knowing how and when to use them, doing this will improve your fishing trust me . There are also many powdered additives which can also be added to paste and ground bait mixes but I prefer the liquids and there better value.

Remember the main thing is not to try and over complicate your fishing, get happy using certain baits and just enjoy your fishing after all that's why we all go isn't it.