The Best Fishing Lures for Spring and Summer

Fishing is called amateur fishing only to separate the concepts of hobby and trade. In all other respects, amateur fishing is a completely professional activity. And it starts with careful preparation. Selecting everything necessary, trying not to forget anything, the amateur already enters that special state that psychologists recommend for relieving fatigue syndrome

. The first remedy for this illness is considered to be such a change in activity as preparing for and going fishing, hours spent in communication with nature. In everyday life among amateurs, preparation for fishing is rightfully added to the time spent on the pond with a fishing rod.

Fishing starts in the kitchen

They say that the airplane was invented by optimists, and the parachute by pessimists. Fish bait is also a matter for optimists. Only they, having leafed through many special books, remembering everything they heard and tried, can create something new. If the recipe turns out to be catchy, then a true amateur does not need a patent for the invention; it is enough for him to tell about it and receive kind reviews and thanks. And it’s good if the bait for feeder and float fishing works in warm and cold water, in winter and summer. This is exactly the recipe offered in this review.

Bait composition, structure and other nuances

Spring bait is a different story, the recipe for which depends on the place of fishing, the size and type of prey, and the angler’s own experience. The passivity of the fish can be used as fundamental information. Knowing that representatives of the ichthyofauna are inactive, we can conclude that the mixture fraction should be small, contain bloodworms and not have a strong odor.

Read: Catching tench. Prepare your own bait

The bait should have several key elements:

The basis. In spring, as in summer, you can also use cereals, but their percentage is significantly reduced. If in the warm season pea or corn porridge makes up 30-40% of the mixture, then in the spring this figure is halved.
Breakdown. The bulk mixture, with the help of which the bait is brought to the required fraction, is sold in any fishing store. It is better to take specialized formulations for spring; they have a light aroma and dark color
Darkening agent. If the mixture still turns out light or even bright, then food coloring in liquid or dry form will come to the rescue. Spring bait can be dark brown, black or dark green.
Animal component. Its presence significantly increases the interest of fish in the fishing zone, and there should be a lot of additives, much more than in the fall or summer. Bloodworms and maggots are half the battle; chopped worms are also included.

It is better to avoid liquid and dry flavors. The additional aroma will confuse the fish and, most likely, push them away from the fishing spot. Attractants become useful closer to May, when the water warms up to the required level, and representatives of the ichthyofauna respond well to bright colors and strong odors.

Read: Bait for the rocket

Adding Daphnia and Cyclops

Few fishermen know how the smell of dried microorganisms affects linen. The natural bite activator serves as a dietary supplement that can increase the catch several times. Daphnia and Cyclops are the basis of the food supply for many species of fish. Small organisms inhabit both standing and flowing water bodies, occupying areas with moderate currents.

Of course, you can catch daphnia yourself, but it’s better not to waste time and buy a few glasses at a pet store. The price of daphnia is very affordable, so absolutely any angler can afford the supplement.

In addition to dried organisms, frozen organisms are also sold in cubes or plates. This substance has a certain smell and is perfectly perceived by fish. Many fishermen who know this secret grind dry daphnia, add a small amount of liquid and knead the dough. Often the attachment gives unexpected results, leaving behind worms, maggots and even bloodworms.

Spring bait is a springboard for a wide variety of experiments, but you should remember the main rules derived from practice. In addition to the fraction, the addition of animal components and food coloring, the structure is also important. The ball of bait should mold easily, but at the same time fall apart as it sinks to the bottom.

What do you need

Let's not say that this is fast food. We need to tinker. To attract white fish, the most sophisticated baits are generally used. There is already a lot of food in the water, and delicacies are needed to trigger the grasping instinct. But everything in this recipe is inexpensive, available for purchase and has a long shelf life. Stock up on rolled oats, fried sunflower seeds, breadcrumbs (not at the fish store), and whole wheat. Corn can be purchased as grits. The list is completed by flax seed, vanillin and red beets. The cooking procedure is such that it takes as little time as possible. A single measure of quantity is half a glass, approximately 100 grams.

Subtleties of spring feeding

Often, the success of fishing depends not only on the selected bait composition and its quantity. Other factors also play an important role: fishing location, time of day, weather, delicacy of gear and installation.

Feeder volume

This parameter is especially important when fishing with a feeder or bait. Unlike the warm season, starting feeding is not used in the spring. Cold water does not allow the fish to eat much, so the volume of the feeder should be minimal.

Many anglers use closed models, but the large amount of animal feed that is added to the spring composition does not pass through the fine mesh well. The feeder should be open on both sides. The frequency of re-rolls also increases. 15-20 minutes is enough for inactive fish to approach the bait.

Catching distance

It is no secret that the same composition works completely differently in still water and in flowing water. As a rule, the middle of the river is the channel where there is a strong current. In such places there is no point in using weightless mixtures; they are carried away too quickly by the flow. You can make the bait heavier using broken clay or sifted soil from a molehill. This technique is also used in places with a depth of 4 meters.

Read: Ready bait

Having chosen a fishing location, you need to identify several promising areas for yourself. At the beginning of spring, schools of roach and bream, crucian carp and crucian carp come out to the shallows, to the boundaries of vegetation, to soak up the sun.

Application of pellets

This technique has found its way among sports fishermen. Its essence is to throw a small pinch of granules at the fishing point every 5-10 minutes. Thus, you can accurately determine whether the fish responds to bait and whether this procedure gives results.

Pellets granules are rich in amino acids, fats and protein; they were first used to feed trout in private farms. Underwater, pellets perfectly increase the bite, releasing a subtle meaty aroma near the bait. The main thing is not to overdo it; 10 granules are enough for one cast.

How it's done

Preparation of bait begins with frying 4 servings of wheat grains in oil. At the same time, the seeds are ground in a coffee grinder. Do not remove the shells - they are also included in the recipe. A golden crust on the wheat means it is ready. After it, two portions of rolled oats and half a portion of flax are poured into the frying pan - just so that the flax grains do not shoot out throughout the kitchen. Darkened flax and rolled oats are crushed into pieces. Wheat too. The beets are grated. The procurement stage is completed. Everything that is prepared is flavored with powdered milk, vanilla, and before fishing, it is colored with grated beets. The bait is ready. Author: Pike.Pinsk©

Bait for white fish
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Additional components for baits

Of course, such bait can also attract fish. But it most likely won’t be able to hold on to it, much less create an appetite for the bait. For these purposes, additional ingredients are added that change the taste, color, smell and consistency of the mixture. Here are the main ones:

Peanut flour. These are finely ground nuts, most likely the crushed pomace left over from the production of peanut butter. This component is added to most budget baits.
Copra molasses. A mixture of ground coconut meat and molasses, the thick liquid left over from sugar production. It has been noticed that carp fish really like this sweet, slightly bitter taste.
Ground sunflower seeds. A universal, win-win supplement. Almost all white fish like it.
Ground hemp seeds. They act as spices and can stimulate appetite in white fish, especially roach. To enhance the effect, it is advisable to lightly fry the hemp.
Ground corn. At the same time it functions as a base filler and a flavoring additive. The large yellow particles attract attention, and the smell and taste of corn add to the appeal of the mixture.
Coriander and cinnamon. Excellent flavorings for bait. It is known that bream is very partial to the smell of coriander, and roach is very partial to cinnamon.
Powdered milk. Gives the bait a nutritious taste and a fragrant cloud of white clouds.

Winter bait

Winter baits have significant differences from summer ones. In winter, the bait should be finely ground, and the ingredients should be selected so that it itself merges with the water and river bottom. In addition, there is no need to flavor the bait with flavorings, since in winter it causes absolutely no appetite in the fish.

The selection of feeding components itself should be made according to the following rules:

Bodies of standing water, such as ponds and lakes, are very rich in bloodworms, which is why they should be the main ingredient in bait. And to ensure that the fish are not overfed, small bloodworms are selected.

In rivers, the main diet of fish is crustaceans. If you use bloodworms, this will improve the bite only in the coastal zone, so at depth it is better to use bait with a jig.

Read: Groundbait for silver bream

In river quays and bays, it is better to use chopped worms, due to the fact that such places are rich in worms, larvae of dragonflies and butterflies.

You can add millet, barley or semolina to the bait.

Bait recipes for bleak

Bleak is a fish that can be caught almost all year round. To prepare food for this fish, you need to prepare a special mixture.

Here is the first option, which is based on wheat porridge:

1 kg of wheat porridge;
0.5 steamed cake.

Mix and roll out into small balls. We throw them at the fishing spot. You can also place it in special gauze, thereby creating a cloud of the mixture that is more attractive to fish.

The second option for bleak bait is using breadcrumbs.

Here's what you need for this:

0.5 kg breadcrumbs;
300 grams of finely ground sunflower seeds;
1-2 teaspoons vanilla;
150 grams of milk;
200 grams of river sand or clay (can be added on site).

You can also use potato-based bait:

1 kg of boiled potatoes;
1 kg breadcrumbs.

Mix and make small balls.

Bait recipes for bream

Those who catch bream know that this fish can sometimes be difficult to find. In this case, bait is required. For bream, you need small bait (but not “powder”), and at the same time dense and viscous, so that it does not wash away or be carried away by the current. There are several recipes for bait for bream.

The most popular is bait for bream with mixed feed.

For this bait you will need:

200 grams of wheat cereal;
300 grams of breadcrumbs;
150-200 grams of ground sunflower seeds;
flavoring such as vanilla or honey.

Experienced fishermen have another recipe:

300 grams of breadcrumbs;
200 grams of lightly cooked rice;
ground roasted seeds;
3 handfuls of bloodworms or worms;
anise oil or small pieces of pear.

For autumn fishing, some fishermen prepare special bait for bream.

Here's one of them:

300 grams of millet porridge;
300 grams of feed;
300 grams of ground peanuts;
3 handfuls of bloodworms;
clay or sand;
vanilla.

Summer

In the summer, for fishing on a feeder and float tackle, light-colored coarse commercial baits are used, as well as homemade porridges from peas, corn, and grains. Dark-colored bait is used for targeted fishing with small fish - roach, silver bream, bream, roach. To give the bait a smell in the summer, I use fruit flavors, as well as honey, garlic, hemp, chocolate, and molasses. Animal components are added to bait mixtures extremely rarely in the summer, when fishing in heavily pressed reservoirs, as well as during a sudden change in weather.

Autumn

In the fall, bait is prepared by mixing a dark roach mixture with light crucian carp or carp in a 1:1 ratio. At the beginning of autumn, a handful of pastochino or grain croutons are added to the resulting mixture; in the middle and end of autumn, any additives from the bait are excluded. Also, animal components are introduced into the bait - bloodworms, maggots, chopped worms. To add flavor to the bait, flavorings such as coriander, garlic, hemp, shrimp, and fish oil are added to it.

Types of bait

Today there are quite a large number of different baits, but they can all be divided into two types:

Purchased (branded)
Homemade

The first, as you might guess, includes all types of bait that are commercially available. Such baits can be either domestic or foreign, ready-made or semi-ready. The second type includes fishing baits prepared at home. As a rule, many ingredients are needed to make such baits. Here is a sample list of them:

Bread;
Bran;
Various cereals;
Breadcrumbs;
Bite activator;
Flour;
Vegetable oils.

Read: How to prepare aromatic porridge for feeding spring fish

Also, every real fisherman has a secret ingredient, which is kept under the heading “Secret”. Bait made by yourself is usually used only by experienced fishermen, but purchased bait is mainly used by beginners. Bait can also be divided into winter and summer.

Tricky ways to lure fish

You can mix flour or flour bran with boiled grain, add clay if desired and make balls. Clay holds such a ball together well so that when casting, the grains do not scatter in different places, but end up in the intended place. Bran balls, mixed with grains and hemp cakes, should be made in such a way that their density is optimal, and they erode over time, and not immediately.

Flax and hemp cakes are one of the best fish feeds; they are boiled until soft in a small amount of water. They are thrown into a pond by the handful, or mixed with bran and steamed grain, balls are made.

We recommend reading: How to make boilies at home

When fishing with a fast current, cakes, or balls of the mixture, are placed in a mesh feeder, and it is lowered by a rope to the ground of the reservoir. Hemp seeds fried in a frying pan are passed through a coffee grinder or softened in a mortar. Hemp seed thus adds a scent that all carp fish go for. You can use this bait two or three days before fishing, so that the fish are sure to stand at the fishing spot.

Various cereals such as buckwheat, millet and others are also good for complementary feeding. These porridges are cooked two to three hours before fishing and tossed during fishing.

In the same way, various types of garbage can be used, such as road dust, sheep and horse droppings, molded into balls and thrown into the water. Insect larvae, chopped earthworms, boiled animal blood and intestines go well. All this is mixed with bran and sent to the bottom.

For various bottom inhabitants of the reservoir, such as crucian carp or tench, curd products will be an excellent complementary food. Also, it is worth adding chopped worms to the cottage cheese.

Bait recipes for ide

In order to catch ide, bait based on roasted sunflower seeds is most often used.

Here's one of them:

400-500 grams of seeds;
100 grams of peas;
1 kg breadcrumbs;
100 grams of corn;
200 grams of semolina porridge;
oatmeal flakes;
maggots;
flavoring, such as vanilla.

Another option for bait for ide is prepared as follows:

500 grams of boiled wheat;
200 grams of oatmeal;
300 grams of sunflower cake;
3 drops of formic acid;
bloodworm or worm;
dry fine clay.

The main thing is to remember that ide loves loose bait.

Flight bait

Summer bait differs from winter bait in a greater contrast of colors; due to the more saturated colors of reservoirs in summer, the use of flavorings will attract more fish.

There are not so many rules when preparing bait in the summer, and they consist of the following points:

The bait should have a brighter color; its main task is to stand out among the natural food, which is located at the bottom of the reservoir.

Due to the fact that the preferences of fish, compared to winter, change in summer, the bait should include rolled oats, fish meal and breadcrumbs, dry bloodworms, and molasses will also be good in summer.

“Scents” that have animal odors can be completely avoided at this time of year.

During daytime fishing, it is undesirable to use dusty substances in the bait, because they will attract many small fish, but using them during night fishing will increase the catch.

Read: How to feed roaches in summer?

When fishing takes place in the bay, the use of dusty substances in bait is in no way limited during day or night fishing.