10 Great Baits For Winter Fishing
Some of you go fishing regularly, and some others are fair weather fisherman, that’s fine, whatever works for you. If however, you’re a little put off because when you do go out in the winter nothing bites then this could be for you. Even if you fish regularly, it’s worth trying out some of these tasty titbits.
Most fish have very slow metabolism, particularly in the cold winter waters, that’s why it is so hard to lure them on your hook. Fish in winter require much less food than they do in warmer months because they are less active and they use much less energy.
That’s why it’s so hard to catch them in cold waters, and because of that, you need to be careful when selecting the right bait for catching the little guys (well, hopefully, it will be a big guy).
Here is a list of fishing baits that would improve your chances on your next winter fishing trip.
1. Bread
It’s hard to go wrong if you use a piece of bread in cold winter rivers since most of the fish love flaky baits, especially chub and roach.
Since you don’t want to feed the fish a lot, it’s better to use smaller pieces of a white loaf which has been broken up a little bit. The fish don’t like the crust from the bread, so it’s better to remove it before mixing it.
You can also add a kernel of rubber corn, as another (hopefully) attractive element to the bait.
2. Corn
Using corn is also an excellent way to lure the fish in cold waters since the bright yellow color is very visible and attractive to the fish.
You can use a single grain of corn on a smaller hook, or even better few grains on a bigger hook if the fish are of a size to take it.
3. Moth larvae
If you want to catch a carp in cold waters, using maggots it’s the right bait for you.
The best way to use maggots as bait is to mix them with rubber grubs with hair and on a maggot clip or mixed in a mesh PVA bag.
As larvae is a light food for Carp that they can digest easily, you can often cast so that you create a feeding area in the waters.
4. Paste
You can use a paste mix in many different ways when fishing, and they have a proven success rate when it comes to fishing in cold waters.
The best way is to use these is as a plug, you can use them to wrap any bait or bomb, or even make small balls and put them on PVA stringers.
This way the paste leaks flavors longer, and it becomes much more attractive to the fish, and that’s a good thing.
You can mix the paste with water if you want it to break down faster, or with eggs if not.
5. Cooking salt
If you want to have a big impact on luring fish in a small area, adding salt to your regular bait could be a great option. Adding salt as an attractor is always a good thing, but it’s particularly effective in cold waters.
The best salts for fishing are sea and rock salt, and you can add them with a piece of bread, or you can sprinkle them on pellets, hemp, casters or corn, or you can add a small PVA bags of salt next to another bait on the hook.
6. Spices
This trend comes from the Asian fishermen that have perfected the spice mixtures for baits.
There are no limits when using spices as an addition to your baits. You have a lot of choices, such as coriander, turmeric, chili, garlic powder and many others in combination with maggots, bread, ground bait, meat, etc.
7. Pepperoni
Another way to have a huge impact on a smaller area in cold waters is to use PVA bags. Instead of filling them with solid baits you can add liquid with different flavors, which will have a big explosion in the waters and attract many fishes, and you don’t have to use baits to lure them.
To have a greater effect you can also mix with different liquids and mixes.
8. Liquid flavors
Many of the baits that are based on oil and fish meal tend to lose their potency when used in cold temperatures.
If you don’t want the flavors stuck inside the bait, you can add granules of lecithin to ground baits and pastes.
You can get even more effect if you mix the paste with alcohol, especially if you use odorless alcohol, but you can also try different alcoholic beverages, such as gin or even whiskey.
9. Alcohol and lecithin
Many of the baits that are based on oil and fish meal tend to lose their potency when used in cold temperatures.
If you don’t want the flavors stuck inside the bait, you can add granules of lecithin to ground baits and pastes.
You can get even more effect if you mix the paste with alcohol, especially if you use odorless alcohol, but you can also try different alcoholic beverages, such as gin or even whiskey.
10. Chocolate syrup
Adding different flavors to a bait needs to be judged, it doesn’t alway work how you want it to so experience is key here, but adding a chocolate malt to a fish bait is often a great idea and can have an awsome effect.
Take a fluoro-white pop-up mix, add 0.7oz of chocolate liquid and one egg, mix them together and create small pop-up boilies.
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