Mike Willmott - Essential Baits

It was undoubtedly the one I’d
seen stick its head out earlier.
Back on the Park Lake during a
particularly windy spell that took out a
100-year old beech tree not far from me!
comes to a single hookbait presentation, and
I much preferred to use a colour from the
brown/red end of the spectrum when it came
to nailing the big � sh on this water. Obviously
the B5 � tted the bill perfectly, and due to the
fact that it was an established food source on
the venue, the choice of bait was a simple one.
I always have a batch of separate hookbaits
knocking around during the colder months,
these being a mixture of pop-ups, bottom
baits, and balanced wa� ers that have been
air-dried, then glugged and rehydrated in a
liquid food to absorb the moisture and boost
attraction properties. Perfect for the single
hookbait approach or to boost food signals
around the baited area.
With the mild weather conditions and
dropping air pressure, combined with the
fact that one or two carp had been out from
di� erent areas of the lake, it was likely that
they would be up for a munch, so I wanted
to � sh over a bit of bait. When doing so,
I prefer to use bottom bait presentations,
therefore two rods were launched out into the
central silty area of the lake with about 40 B5
freebies loosely scattered around each rig. � e
third rod was set up with a single
hookbait approach in mind, and I
opted for the previously mentioned
Spinning Withy Rig that had been
so successful in June and July. � is
was � shed in conjunction with
one of my high-leakage B5 Corker
pop-ups that include cork dust and
stay popped up forever and a day!
� ey are also far more durable and
will easily withstand the attention of
diving tu� ies and the like.
� e night passed quickly and by � rst
light nothing had occurred, however, the
conditions certainly looked favourable for
some action, and I wasn’t surprised to see the
unmistakable but most welcome sight of a
big carp’s head come clean out of the water a
little further down the bank from where I was
� shing. I quickly reeled in the rods and within
10 minutes I was set up in the swim next door,
� e Little Rats, with just the rods out and
the rest of my kit stationed behind me in case
The anticipated activity
came via the sound
of my SS3000 clutch
screaming and I was
soon doing battle with
a big old carp trying its
best to head off in the
opposite direction
another quick move was on the cards.
Fresh hookbaits were quickly mounted and
the � rst rod was positioned bang on the mark
where I’d seen the � sh show a little earlier.
I felt the lead down through the water and
it landed with a semi-� rm thud in about 8�
of water, thus telling me it was positioned
close to the edge of where the stone-covered
margins start to turn silty – an area that I
had always found productive in years gone
by. � e B5 balanced wa� er was accompanied
with about a dozen freebies scattered loosely
over the area. Perfect, and not too much
disturbance. � e Spinning Withy Rig was
� shed as a single hookbait presentation on
my second rod several yards further along
the shelf, whilst the third trap was set with
a dozen or so freebies alongside another
balanced wa� er presentation, over silt further
out into the lake.
After positioning the baits and making a
brew, I sat back to watch the water for any
further signs of activity – and I didn’t have
to wait long! The anticipated activity came
via the sound of my SS3000 clutch screaming
out into the chilly morning air and I was
soon doing battle with a big old carp trying
its best to head off in the opposite direction!
The fish had tripped up on the very first rod
I’d positioned, this being the one that was
placed on the spot where I’d seen the carp
stick its head out just 20 minutes before. I
also knew that if it was the same fish, it was a
fair old chunk!
� e � sh stayed out in the deep water long
enough to convince me that it was a good
one, but steady pressure soon had it circling
around in front of me as its last lunges for
Life and Carp Life Mike Willmott
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