The times when fishermen went after carp and did not use bait are gone. Nowadays, it is simply impossible to do without it, both for a novice fisherman and a professional athlete.
However, there are a large number of examples when the use of a bait mixture did not give the desired effect, and in some cases even scared away the fish.
In this article you will learn how to avoid falling into such a situation and prepare bait that will certainly attract even the most “lazy” carp in the spring.
Roach in spring
The roach, already leading an active lifestyle throughout the year, becomes active at the very beginning of March, when the ice begins to melt. With food, of course, during this period things are not very good, but when the first streams flow, they will bring enough food in their waters. These are earthworms, larvae, insect corpses and grass seeds.
The roach's need for protein at this time is very high. Being exhausted over the winter, and preparing for spawning, which will begin at the end of May, she is glad for any opportunity to profit from food of animal origin.
Based on this need, fishermen build fishing tactics during this period. In accordance with it, both bait and groundbait for roaches in the spring should contain protein. By the way, this postulate applies to most fish.
Store-bought or homemade?
Store-bought bait for catching crucian carp can be recommended to be used in late spring (after crucian carp spawning) and early summer, when it is necessary to feed the fish abundantly.
When they talk about store-bought or homemade groundbait, they mean a dry mixture, to which flavoring, base and baking powder are subsequently added.
In bait made with your own hands, all ingredients will be present in the required volume and will be of high quality.
Creating such a mixture is a labor-intensive process. Anyone who tries to independently grind, for example, at least 100 g of dry grain in an electric coffee grinder, will understand that this process takes a lot of time.
Therefore, from the point of view of time spent per unit of product, a purchased mixture will give a 100 point head start.
In terms of cost, it is also much more profitable to purchase a purchased base. Based on the composition, an interesting picture emerges. By purchasing each ingredient separately, the fisherman will overpay at least 2 times.
In addition, do not underestimate bait manufacturers. Every serious manufacturer has a research laboratory. There is no doubt that they know the taste preferences of fish. The problem is that these preferences can differ even in neighboring bodies of water.
The filler still needs to be used, focusing on cereals. In most reservoirs, steamed millet serves as a good filler.
In early spring (before spawning) and in the summer heat, it is better to use homemade mixtures. During this period, not so much of them is required in volume, but always taking into account the taste preferences of the fish in the pond.
You can use chaff as a filler.
In early autumn, when the crucian carp is already preparing for hibernation and gaining fat, both types work. Here you still need to focus on the filler of the bait, add more protein-rich food.
In winter, crucian carp are most often fed with bloodworms, which is not a complete bait.
Why do you need bait?
Some fishermen argue that baiting a spot is an absolutely unnecessary activity, boiling down to simply feeding hungry fish instead of attracting them with quality bait. In fact, everything is not so, or not quite so. Yes, if you take an incomprehensible food mix and feed it to a place, this will happen. But if you take into account all the necessary nuances and choose or prepare the mixture correctly, and even supply it in the right quantity to the right place, this will only work to your advantage.
Bait for roach in the spring is designed to attract fish with its appearance and smell, and also to keep it in place for as long as possible. To achieve this effect, you need to properly select and balance the ingredients. To do this, you need to understand what the bait mixture should consist of.
Buy it or make it yourself?
Fishing stores today are filled with a wide variety of bait mixtures for any type of fish and for any fishing conditions. But they are not cheap, especially if it is a truly high-quality product.
Some anglers choose not to use a store-bought product, and not just because of the price. Knowing well the characteristics of the reservoir and the natural diet of the fish, you can independently prepare a mixture that will be many times more effective than the purchased one. Moreover, preparing bait for roaches in the spring with your own hands is not so difficult, and you can always find some ingredients for it in your kitchen.
The best bait for crucian carp in spring
It is quite easy to train crucian carp to a specific feeding place and this is only to the benefit of the fishermen. But don’t think that it’s enough to prepare kilograms of delicious bait, pour it onto the bottom of the reservoir, and active biting will immediately begin:
Firstly. There should be little bait for crucian carp in the spring so as not to oversaturate the fish. It is enough for her to attract them with her smell. Otherwise, the fish will stop responding adequately to the bait. - Secondly. In the spring, crucian carp is quite picky and not every complementary food can be to its taste. Even the best bait in your opinion can easily push him away.
Breadcrumbs can be the basis of bait for crucian carp in the spring. You can add crushed cookies, semolina and other small ingredients to them, everything will depend on your imagination. If you don’t want to bother preparing bait, then you can buy bait for crucian carp at any fishing store.
Whatever bait you choose for crucian carp in the spring, you must add ingredients of animal origin to it - chopped dung worms or bloodworms are an excellent bait that can attract crucian carp.
Some fishermen tried adding canned pork, and sometimes fried meat, to the bait. In both cases, the result pleased them; the crucian bite was excellent.
Composition of bait mixture for roach
Proper bait for roach in spring should include:
- base (crushed seeds, cereals, crackers);
- food supply (boiled cereals, natural food of animal origin);
- sticky substances (flour, starch, sugar, etc.);
- attractants (flavors);
- pigments (dyes).
The base of the mixture is designed to attract fish due to small particles that “float” in the water and form a far visible “cloud”. The food supply is needed in order to keep the roach in place. The purpose of adhesives is to hold all the ingredients together. Flavorings attract fish with their smell, and dyes - with color.
This is the simple set we will need to create an effective bait for roaches in the spring.
What else do you need to prepare your own bait mixture?
To prepare the mixture at home, you will definitely need a coffee grinder or any other device that will allow you to grind our base as much as possible. In addition, you will need a thermos and a regular kitchen pan. We will steam and cook cereals in them. That's basically it, with the exception of some components of the bait. I'll have to go to the market and buy something.
Features of consistency
Bait for roaches in the spring is prepared with your own hands using the smallest particles of the base in the mixture. This is necessary so that the mixture becomes dusty when it gets into the water, attracting fish from a maximum distance. However, two factors should be taken into account here: the intensity of the current and the depth of fishing.
With a strong flow of water, the usual mixture will be washed away in a few minutes. Therefore, bait for catching roach in the spring in the current must contain a large amount of sticky substances: starch, flour, sugar, etc. If you plan to fish at depth, the mixture must be additionally weighted with clay.
When fishing in still water in shallows, the minimum amount of adhesive is required. It is enough for the lump of food to reach a certain place without crumbling.
Features of adding dyes
Bait for roaches in the spring is prepared at home with the obligatory use of dyes (pigments). But here it is necessary to take into account some nuances. The main one is the color of the bottom. The bait should not stand out too much against its background, otherwise the fish will be wary. Therefore, refrain from using too bright colors.
For a sandy bottom, beta-carotene or a homemade pigment made from dry ground rose hips is ideal as a dye. If the bottom is dark, add a special black dye to the mixture.
About the benefits of pigeon droppings
Dried and crushed pigeon droppings are perfect as an additive to increase the appetite of roaches. But not wild birds, but cultivated ones, specially fed with flax, hemp, sunflower and corn seeds. Due to the digestive characteristics of pigeons, seeds are not completely digested in their stomachs, so the droppings themselves can attract fish, and the gastric juice of birds gives roaches an unusual appetite. In addition, this substance, when soaked, is an excellent adhesive element for bait.
What does bream eat in spring?
Content
It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of catching bream in early spring, namely: the lack of plant food, which is why the only source of food is food of animal origin. If bloodworms and maggots are present, there is a high probability of catching bream, since in its natural environment it feeds on all kinds of insects and their larvae. Animal components are used in groundbait and as bait.
To catch cautious, large fish, you should also take into account the peculiarities of the feeding process. In nature, bream erodes the bottom with the help of a stream of water flowing through the folded lips of the fish. By washing away the silt, it finds food for itself inside the soil.
As the weather warms and spring sets in, an abundance of plant food appears under water, and its quantity in the diet increases significantly. A mixture of plant and animal foods will help you get a good catch. It is worth focusing on millet and pearl barley after warming, usually from mid-late April until summer. At the same time, bream spawning begins, mainly after April 20.
Bait for bream in spring has its own characteristics, without knowledge of which you can be left without a catch
There are some useful tips when hunting bream:
- Promising fishing spots can often be identified during a visual inspection of the reservoir; usually there are many air bubbles that form during the process of silt erosion;
- Due to the structure of the mouth, it is more convenient for fish to take food located on an inclined section of the bottom. Experienced anglers use this when casting to the edge. It is simpler and easier to create a feeding area here;
- If, after using worms, corn or other bait, small fish no longer get hooked, you should not quickly change the bait. The small fish make way when large bream approach; you just have to wait a little.
Read more
How to make bottom tackle for carp fishing?
Bait for roach in spring: recipe for fishing at depth
Required ingredients:
- ground biscuit or cookies - 3 parts;
- breadcrumbs - 1 part;
- wheat bran – 1 part;
- corn flour – 1 part;
- dry crushed clay – 1 part;
- small maggot – 0.5 parts;
- bloodworm - 0.5 parts;
- salt – 0.2 parts;
- cumin – 1 pinch.
This is a standard bait for roach in early spring for fishing from the bottom. As you can see, you don’t even need to grind anything here except the cookies. Bloodworms can be replaced with chopped worms, and clay with viscous earth.
Do-it-yourself bait for carp and carp in spring
To independently prepare bait mixtures for carp in the spring, the most standard herbal ingredients are suitable:
- cereals;
- breadcrumbs;
- cake, sunflower and other seeds (for example, pumpkin);
- cookie;
- nuts and so on.
You also need to add ingredients of animal origin:
- powdered milk;
- egg powder;
- bone or fish meal;
- fish cutting (fish chopped into small pieces).
Note! Such ingredients can be replaced with one another if they are more or less similar in consistency (for example, milk powder with bone meal). As a rule, this does not impair the properties of the bait.
As in the case of ready-made baits, you need to add soil and, for example, maggots with a worm to the mixture, and then fill it with water.
Groundbait with rye crackers
A low-calorie mixture recipe that is perfect for hunting carp in cold water. To prepare it, you need to mix:
- 1 cup each of ground rye crackers, soy flour and milk powder;
- ½ cup egg powder;
- 1 teaspoon sugar;
- a pinch of salt.
Rye crackers here serve as a flavoring agent. This smell perfectly attracts carp and carp in cold water. You can make your own crackers by drying black bread in the oven. The main thing is that it doesn’t burn.
Groundbait with millet
Due to the presence of boiled millet in the composition, this mixture turns out to be more high in calories. It is better suited for carp fishing in the second half of spring, especially at the end of the spring period. The water at this time is already well warmed up, the fish feeds more actively, which means that the chances of overfeeding it are not so great.
To prepare this mixture, you need to take:
- 1 cup each of dry millet, breadcrumbs and dry milk;
- 3 walnuts;
- 1 raw egg;
- a bunch of fresh dill.
You need to boil the millet, chop the walnuts and dill, and then mix all the ingredients.
This video shows a universal and quite working recipe for bait for catching carp:
Recipe for fishing at shallow depths
Ingredients:
- wheat bread crackers - 3 parts;
- crushed cookies - 2 parts;
- corn grits - 1 part;
- corn flakes – 1 part;
- pigeon droppings – 0.5 parts;
- sunflower cake – 0.5 parts;
- crushed pumpkin seeds – 0.5 parts;
- crushed flax seeds – 0.5 parts;
- bloodworm - 0.5 parts;
- ground black pepper – 1 tbsp. spoon;
- beta-carotene – 2 tbsp. spoons.
This is the best bait for roach in the spring if fishing is carried out at a depth of up to 1.5 meters. If you add crushed cloves (0.5 parts) to the mixture, it will work great on spring bream.
Bait recipes at home
- Recipe No. 1. Need to mix:
- 0.5 kg of crackers;
- 0.5 kg of chopped meat;
- 0.5 kg semolina;
- 0.25 kg sunflower cake;
- 0.25 vanilla cookies. You can add 2 cloves of garlic, cinnamon, anise, dill seeds, powder for a cocoa bean drink. We do not add flavoring. The dry mixture must be diluted with a small amount of water and packed in an airtight container for storage. The mixture must be diluted with water from the reservoir until ready for use. Then you can prepare the balls for throwing into the water.
- Recipe No. 2. Need to mix:
- 0.5 kg steamed pearl barley;
- 0.5 kg millet;
- 0.25 ground peas. Pour boiling water over this mixture and leave for 2 hours. Then drain the excess water and add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil. Pack the resulting mixture into an airtight container. On the spot we add molehill or soil from the shore.
- Recipe No. 3. Knead:
- 1 kg of wheat cereal;
- 1 kg of millet;
- 0.5 kg of corn grits;
- 0.5 kg semolina;
- 0.5 kg of cake. Pour boiling water and leave for about 2 hours. Then add 5 drops of anise oil. Directly on site we add soil from the shore, and, if necessary, water.
Seasonal
In spring and autumn, it is advisable to add fewer large components so that the crucian carp does not become saturated with bait alone.
Also, during this season of the year you need to add a minimum amount of flavoring, especially of chemical origin. In clear water it will scare away fish rather than attract it.
At this time, you can and should add pieces of worms, maggots or crushed bloodworms.
Spring bait (pre-spawning period):
- The goal is to attract the attention of the fish, but not to overfeed.
- Base - millet or pearl barley chopped in a coffee grinder - 0.5 kg;
- Filling - breading - 0.2 kg;
- Baking powder - soil from the shore (if necessary);
- Flavoring - crushed vanilla cookies 0.2 kg with the addition of bait used to catch crucian carp in this place (crushed bloodworms or chopped red worms);
Spring bait after spawning (also known as summer bait):
- The task is to lure and hold in a certain place.
- Base – purchased – 1 kg;
- Filling - well-steamed millet - 2 kg and pearl barley - 0.5 kg;
- Baking powder - soil from the shore, molehill, breading. In addition, you need to add large fractions, for example, half a can of canned corn;
- Flavoring - store bought or vegetable oil, chopped worm, garlic, bloodworm. All this in small quantities.
For late summer, early autumn:
- The goal is to attract the attention of the fish and keep it in place.
- Base - ground crackers 0.5 kg;
- Filling – steamed millet – 0.5 kg;
- Baking powder - soil from the shore;
- Flavoring - 10 g of crushed bloodworms and 2 g of vanillin;
For late autumn:
- The goal is to attract attention with a pungent odor.
- Base - crushed cake 0.5 kg;
- Filler - buckwheat or pearl barley - 0.5 kg;
- Flavoring - fish food, crushed shells, 0.2 kg each
Recipe for passive roach
Ingredients:
- rye bran – 3 parts;
- crushed rye crackers - 2 parts;
- wheat bran – 1 part;
- crushed hemp seeds - 1 part;
- corn flour – 1 part;
- bloodworm or caddisfly - 0.5 parts;
- pigeon droppings – 0.5 parts;
- salt – 0.2 parts;
- coriander – 2 pinches.
Do-it-yourself bait for roach in early spring from these ingredients copes well with its role in clear water during periods of low fish activity.
The recipes given are not mandatory, they are intended to show what you can use to prepare a bait mixture and what to pay attention to.
Ingredients
A mixture of crushed rye crackers with the addition of breadcrumbs can be used as a base; crushed cereals (buckwheat, rolled oats, oats) can be used.
Ready-made boiled or steamed cereals, such as millet, hominy, rolled oats, barley and others, depending on the reservoir, are usually used as a filler.
Baking powder
This component can be represented by the following substances:
- purchased baking powder;
- soil from the shore of the reservoir in which fishing takes place;
- crushed sunflower seed cake;
- boiled potatoes;
- molehill;
Flavors
Flavorings can be of chemical or natural origin. The former are used mainly in summer fishing for crucian carp. The latter can be used all year round.
Naturally occurring flavors include sunflower and hemp oil, vanilla, and crushed fruit.
Ingredients of chemical origin are sold in any fishing store.
Natural flavorings include:
- the aroma of rye bread with bran;
- anise drops;
- unrefined sunflower oil;
- aroma of hemp oil.
- vanillin or vanilla sugar;
Purchased flavors that can arouse interest and attract attention:
- bloodworm;
- strawberry;
- worm;
- banana;
- Tutti Frutti;
- garlic, etc.;
How to properly feed roaches
Bait for roach and bream in the spring should be mixed directly at the fishing site using water from the reservoir where you plan to catch them.
If you are fishing with a float rod at shallow depths, form balls the size of an orange from the moistened mixture. Next, throw 3-4 of these balls to the fishing spot, then pause for 10-15 minutes. This is necessary so that the fish, frightened by the splash from the fallen bait, calms down and becomes interested in it.
While fishing, systematically feed the area, otherwise the roach will simply leave it in search of food in another area of the reservoir.
When bottom fishing, fill the feeder with groundbait and make a few idle casts without bait to deliver the mixture to the desired area. If you are fishing with feeder gear, before you start fishing, also feed the area manually or using a special slingshot. Next, pause for 10-15 minutes, after which you can safely cast the tackle.
