Hookbaits

When discussing particular successful hookbaits used on the St. Lawrence, there is always the chance of opening doors to a firestorm of controversy.  There are literally hundreds of boilie manufacturers, as well as colors, flavors and shapes.  The following suggestions are simply that.  However, these observations are based on several years of guiding scores of carp anglers as well as my own personal experiences.  I qualify these statements by informing you that I do not have a bait sponsorship and have no personal ties to any bait manufacturers.  The specific brand name boilies, if referenced in this article, are there because of one reason only; they have been proven to catch carp on the St. Lawrence River.  Nutrabaits, Mainline, Richworth and Mistral baits (in order of preference) are among the top producers used by our venue.  Each has performed well and they continue to produce quality baits. 

Coloration:  One of the most important considerations in bait presentation on the St. Lawrence is color.  The river clarity in recent years has increased a viewable depth of 40 feet.  This is due to the rapid increase in the population of Zebra Mussels.  Carp feed vigorously on the zebras, most heavily when they are in their juvenile state.  At this time these small round clams appear yellowish at depth.  Therefore a yellowish presentation is always warranted and works well even when the carp are being selective.  I generally prebait for several days with tempered sweet corn.  This also contributes to the carp’s preference for yellow colored bait.  Sweet corn used as a hookbait on its own also works very well.  I have found that one or two kernels works much better than several stranded together.  It appears more natural and consistently produces larger fish.   

Flavors:  My preference in flavors varies with the season. specifically water temperature.  Pineapple and Scopex seem to work best in all water temperatures.  A combination of these two flavors on a double hookbait can produce amazing numbers of fish.  It should be noted that I have never had notable results with fish flavored baits.  With the recent acquisition of an underwater camera, the reason was made perfectly clear to me.  These baits attract a host of unwanted guests to the swim.  Most detrimental to fishing success is the presence of American eels.  A school of eels moving into the swim will always push the carp away.  Carp are naturally programmed to avoid eels, as another species present in the river, the ‘lamprey’, is parasitic and targets all fish species, especially carp.  They can produce a gruesome wound that is often fatal to the host fish. 

Shape and Sizes:  The most commonly used baits at our venue are round baits in 17mm size.  We do occasionally use smaller boilies during the fall as they can imitate the spawn of other fish species in the river.  Chinook salmon roe is highly targeted by carp at this time of year.  Very small round boilies give the impression of salmon presence and are a good bet when used alone as a hookbait.

PH Levels:  There has been much discussion in recent years as to the productivity of identical baits with varying PH levels.  All of us have had similar experiences fishing with or near someone using the same size, shape and flavor, but not the same results.  I have found that the discriminating factor in this scenario is PH.  The baits that seem to produce the best are generally within 1 point of the PH level of the waters you are fishing in. 

This past fall, after all of my clients had left for the year, I had the opportunity to test this theory. The biggest obstacle was how to change the boilies without compromising the integrity of the bait itself.  In the end, it proved to be a relatively easy process.  To make bait more alkaline, I used one teaspoon of lime in a pint of water and soaked the boilies for one hour.  This resulted in a drop of 2 PH points and did not affect the coloration or flavor of the bait.  I then (using new boilies) added one teaspoon of muriatic acid in a pint of water and soaked them for one hour.  This resulted in a 2 point increase of PH levels again without affecting color or flavor. Armed with this simple knowledge of chemistry, it is easy to transform your favorite boilie into a more productive bait.  I now keep two small jars in my rucksack each time I fish, one alkaline and one acidic.  If the carp are reluctant to pick up the bait, a subtle PH change can trigger big results.   

Good luck, keep the wind in your face.  Jerry