Ultimate Pre baiting for Carp Tips

Pre-baiting for Carp is an underused tactic that can increase your catch rates significantly. Using our pre-baiting for carp tips will give you that edge over other anglers, so what are you waiting for! 

Choosing the pre-baiting for carp location

Choosing the best locations for pre-baiting for carp is paramount for success. 

I will look for several spots to pre-bait, usually around 3 to 4 different locations. Having several pre-baited spots will give you options when you start to fish. Perhaps another angler is fishing in the swim, the conditions do not suit a certain pre-baited area or you cannot see signs of any carp in the swim. If you only pre-bait a single area you are lowering your chances of success.

The first of these locations will include a low weed area that is perfect with pre-baiting for carp. The reason low weed is so good with pre-baiting for carp is it indicates other anglers have not fished on this spot before. Many anglers will use a marker rod and look for a clear spot and load this up with many kilos of carp bait along with their carp rigs, which is a perfectly good approach, but we want to do something different which I find more often than not will catch you carp. By pre-baiting for carp over low weed the carp will naturally clear this area as they rummage for food leaving the perfect spot to fish over, a spot that has not been fished in this manner before!

I will also always pre-bait for carp in the margins which is something that many anglers overlook, this seems crazy to me as it is so simple to do. Look for natural areas that seem untouched and I am confident carp will be patrolling these areas. 

If the venue permits and you have full confidence, you can get a great vantage point from climbing trees. I find a different vantage point gives you a totally new perspective over the lake and often highlights perfect spots for pre-baiting for carp. With a pair of polarised sunglasses, you may find areas of light weed or signs of the carp that could point out a perfect area to focus your pre-baiting for carp efforts.

We have all seen big carp in the margin, so take advantage of this and get a couple of margin areas pre-baited. 

Carp Baiting Strategies

My main carp baiting strategy when pre-baiting is to keep topping up these areas, which I believe is key to pre-baiting for carp and will take some effort, but I guarantee this effort will pay off when you land that big carp.

More often than not, I will simply top up the baited areas will a few handfuls of carp bait which I think is plenty when following this approach. The carp will feed on this free carp bait and their confidence will build and by continuing to add free carp bait over several days the carp will keep coming back for more, eventually, you will get a carp rig on that spot and should land a carp or two. 

How long to pre bait for carp

Whenever I am pre-baiting for carp I like to get down to the venue at least 3 or 4 times before my session. This will give me confidence that the carp can feed on my spots without caution and when I am ready to fish should give me a few bites. Of course, that can be easier said than done with various commitments we all have but try and get down to the venue a few times before your session with a day rest in between and see what results you get. Adjust this with each of your sessions and see what works well for that particular carp venue.  

Keep it low key

Keeping your pre-baiting low key can be difficult as many lakes are very busy. But try to be mindful of other anglers when pre-baiting. Try to get down to the venue at times when it is not as busy and also try your best to be discreet. You don't really want to put in all of this effort to find another angler reap all of the rewards by fishing on your pre-baited spots. If the venue is too busy, simply don't put in any more carp bait and hold off until another time.  

Keep track of your pre-baiting for carp key points

Keeping track of your pre-baiting activities is useful and can help with future fishing. I like to keep track of the following:

• Which spots you are pre-baiting
• Which times you are adding carp bait
• Which carp bait you are using 
• Did you catch any carp on these spots

All of this information is priceless and will give you guidance for future sessions 

Which bait with pre-baiting for carp

I like to pre-bait using as many different shapes and sizes as possible. This will ensure the carp will rummage around the pre-baited spot and leave a perfectly clear area to fish on. I will use the following carp bait when pre-baiting:

• whole, chopped and crushed boilies which I will also use as a hook bait when fishing. I use the excellent Korda Krusha for crushing my boilies
• prebaiting with hemp which really gets the carp digging around and clears the spot on the lake bottom
• oils to add more attractions to the pre-bait and get as many carp in the area as possible. 
• a variety of different size Mainline pellets
• pre-baiting with particles is another great option as it is much cheaper than boilies and can bulk up your pre-bait without costing a fortune.

Accuracy is a must

I believe you need to be as accurate as possible when pre-baiting for carp. What is the point of scattering bait over large areas, you are simply feeding the carp in the lake and cannot possibly target a location to place your rigs.

By pre-baiting for carp over tight spots, you know that area will be clear and can fish a carp rig on just off that spot and have confidence the carp have been feeding without caution for several days or weeks, depending on how long you have been pre-baiting. 

How to fish 

When you arrive at the lake you obviously want to check out your pre-baited spots and check for any signs of carp. If you see fish in your area and there are no other anglers fishing the swim, your confidence will go through the roof, I know it does for me!

I like to start fishing with Mainline single hook baits or Korda small PVA bags which allow me to keep the disturbance to a minimum and hopefully land a carp that has been feeding freely over my baited area.

You don't need to worry about trying to get carp into the swim, one, they should already be present and two, the carp have been feeding over these pre-baited spots for several day or weeks and so they are in the habit of feeding over your area. It should simply be a matter of time until you get a bite.

I find putting in the effort to pre-bait several areas prior to fishing nearly always pays off and increase my chances of landing a carp or two. So get yourself down to the venue and get pre-baiting for carp!

Hope you enjoyed this and land a big carp or two. Hard work pays off.