About how to make an effective and inexpensive bait for fishing carp, crucian carp, bream, roach and other peaceful fish  (budget version of the working bait).

If for fishing with a spinning rod, the main share of the fishery’s expenses is the purchase of spinning lures, then for fishing with feeder (bottom), or float gear, the most significant “budget item” for fishing is lure.

Significant savings on bait and baits can be achieved by fully or partially preparing them at home from the available components.

“Why pay more if the result is the same ?!”  - from an advertisement for washing powder. That's right, bait of your own preparation can work no worse than the "branded", and in some cases better, for much less money.

We’ll take some ready-made “universal” bait or fodder mix from the counter, read its composition (if it is already indicated), and we will see that more than 95% of its components are cheap products of processing agricultural products, food industry and cooking (bran, crackers and etc.), as well as in a small amount, the proportion of which can be neglected - “secret” ingredients - attractants (proteins, proteins and flavorings).

If we ourselves purchase all the components of such a feed, and mix them in the right proportion, then the price of our bait will be an order of magnitude, or even several orders of magnitude lower, i.e. for example, not 200 rubles per kilogram, but 20, or even 5.

For the components for our bait and the grain mixture for fishing for example carp, you will need to go not to some store of the distribution network, but to the market or agricultural fair where they sell feed for poultry and livestock. Here, almost everything is for bait, and - "cheap and cheerful."

The active components of the bait (attractants) will have to stock up at grocery stores, or buy concentrated ones in fishing, in any case, as a result, we will save a lot. For fishing on the "payers", without them you can do at all.

Bran, oilcakes and grains, here are measured in buckets and banks. A bucket of bran will cost about 40 rubles, oilcake - 50. A liter can of peas, corn, pellets (granular feed), grain, or cereals will cost an average of 20 rubles. Here, it will also be possible to find ground cracker - processed at combines that did not sell bread and cookies on time.

Consider pricing  plain carp bait according to the "popular" recipe.

Simple carp bait

The composition of dry raw materials (in weight parts per 10 kg of bait):

Wheat bran: 3 parts ~ 30 rub
  Crushed corn (groats with fractions): 2 parts ~ 50 rubles
  Ground cracker: 2 parts ~ 90 rub
  Wheat: 1 part ~ 20 rub
  Oats: 1 part ~ 20 rub
  Meat and bone meal: - 1 part ~ 40 rubles

Total for 10 kg of such bait: 250 rubles.

This recipe for bait on carp and carp is not taken from the head, it is really working and tested in different reservoirs.

Note that the components can be replaced, added, or removed, but whatever you say, the price of such a feed mixture for carp will be at the level of 25 rubles per kilogram. Steamed peas, corn and cereal grains reduce the cost of food, and the addition of attractants makes it more effective but somewhat more expensive.

To catch fish such as bream, roach, rudd, rudd, and the like, you can use the following set of components to create the basis of bait.

Another budget bait recipe for fishing:

Simple universal bait

Ground cracker - 30%
Wheat bran - 20%
Sunflower meal - 10%
Hercules - 10%
Powdered milk, egg powder - 5%
Boiled millet, pearl barley - 25%

We presented compositions of simple but working baits for bottom fishing and float gear. You can change them, vary the proportion of components, introduce new ones or remove the recommended ones. All this is a great scope for creativity and practical experiments on the pond. What can not be done is to mix the components and store the bait in this form for a long time.

How to make bait?

All dry bait components are mixed immediately before fishing and it is better to do this right on the pond, wetting the dry mixture to the desired consistency with water from this pond.

When fishing with a fishing rod on the course, it is better to weight bait balls with soil or sand, even in the process of mixing dry ingredients.

Before throwing bait balls, check how they behave when they fall into the water near the shore, and, if necessary, make adjustments to the density.

Remember that, for example, sand loosens bait, and clay or some kind of sticky component (flour) binds.

The binding components are eroded to varying degrees with water, and the bait must be eroded, otherwise it will lie at the bottom like a stone, for a long time and calmly ... without fish. The universal binder for bait is oatmeal (oat flour or ground hercules).

The density and viscosity of the bait is selected empirically, taking into account the conditions of fishing - the depth and strength of the current.

Experiment with bait composition and ratio. Check the work of bait by throwing the ball into the water under the legs, near the shore.

No tail, no scales!

1. Roach (description of the species, characteristics, habitats and feeding).

2. Roach baits (common bait and roach baits in summer and winter).

3. Fishing tackle and roach fishing (types of tackle used in roach fishing).

4. Methods of roach fishing (tips, tactics of roach fishing in rivers and lakes).

5. Roach fishing in winter (fishing tips and winter fishing for roach).

  Description of the roach.

There is also no roach in Ireland and in Scotland. Besides fresh watercan live in the mouths of large rivers flowing into the sea. Roach is currently of little economic importance. With an increase in living standards, interest in the consumption of white fish decreased, so if roaches are added to fish ponds, then only so that its young can become food for a predator. The importance of roach for sport fishing lies in the fact that it is abundant in almost all water bodies and rivers, and also in the fact that you can catch it with greater or lesser success year-round.

The length of the roach reaches 40 cm, and the weight can exceed 1 kg. Of course, only under favorable conditions for development. Most often roach is caught between 10 and 20 cm. The body of a roach is longer than, for example, a bream and begins to grow in height with age. This occurs when the roach reaches 15-20 cm in length. The body is laterally compressed, with large and beautiful silver scales and a clear side line. The back is gray-green, green, brown-green. Depends on age and living conditions.

The dorsal and caudal fins are usually gray-green. The lower double fins are reddish and the anal fin is orange-red with a dark tip. With age, the red color of the fins increases. It is because of the color of the fins that roach is sometimes confused with rudd. The head of the fish is relatively small, the muzzle is round and ordinary. The mouth is medium, intended for feeding small insects and algae. Roaches have orange-red eyes with a pronounced red spot in the upper part. This is one of the surest signs that distinguish it from another rare species of roach, in which the eyes are yellow.

  Roach is able to adapt to various conditions - it lives in rivers with a medium and slow flow, near dams, in canals, streams and river deltas, even in brackish water of estuaries and estuaries. He prefers to live in places where there is vegetation, but not directly in it, like a rudd, but around it. This is a fish with exceptional adaptability to conditions that often do not seem to be suitable for this species. In the absence of predators, as a rule, roach organizes a large flock.

It reproduces very often, maybe several times in the summer, reaches puberty in the second or third year of life. Spawns in April and May, often in the presence of other cyprinids. For spawning grounds, it selects river tributaries and shallow elders, overgrown with vegetation. Roach roe can be fertilized by males of some other species, so hybrid offspring appears.
   Prefers middle and lower layers of water, bottom with sand, clay, but not too muddy. It feeds on insects, larvae, worms, and in summer and filamentous algae.

  Catching roaches.

  Where to look for and catch roach.

Despite the large number of perch, which mercilessly exterminates the fry, it is still found in sufficient numbers and in large schools. Often when fishing, the first fish caught is roach. The reason is that especially small individuals often stay close to the shore. Roach is a typical flocking fish. If at least one roach is caught in a fishing rod, it means that there will be a whole flock nearby, which can interfere with the approach and fishing of large fish, destroying your bait in the blink of an eye.

Nevertheless, the choice of a place specifically for roach fishing has its own characteristics. The main condition is the existence of depth, the proximity of the reeds, a strip of algae and, mainly, a sandy or loamy bottom with gravel. Roach is caught all year round, with the exception of the period of severe frosts and during melting snow, when there is an increase in the acidity of water. During the summer heat, you need to look for roach mainly below the dams, at tributaries and near currents, but not too strong.

In swamps and peat bogs, roach begins to be caught already in early spring.
   During the summer heat, its activity, and accordingly the bite, is much weaker. In late summer, its activity is growing again. Roach is active mainly in the daytime, in the warm season, and in the evening until dusk. Roach is rarely caught at night, this is more likely an exception. In late autumn and winter, roach begins to take best from noon until the evening.

Food for roaches is mainly zooplankton and small aquatic animals, but in principle it is omnivorous. Roach searches for food mainly in the upper layers during the day, and towards evening it moves to the lower half of the water column. Large individuals of roach eat more at the bottom, and juveniles near the surface. Look for a flock of roaches in the lower and middle sections of the stream. Most often dwells on the border of a moderate current and standing water, or near various bottom faults.

In swamps, roach prefers darker places, likes to be near aquatic plants. Flocks of large roach most often live at a greater depth, farther from the coast. Therefore, large roaches are best caught from a boat. Often she comes across on-line fishing rods when fishing for bream. In winter, roach goes to deeper, quieter places, away from the coast, which complicates its fishing.  When searching for large roaches, one does not need to be afraid of great depths. As a rule, with a large accumulation of roach, there will certainly be nearby predators: pike, zander, perch.

Roach prefers hard bottom, if possible gravel or stone, but there may also be clay or sand. Silt and bottom accumulations for roach are not so characteristic, it cannot dig in it like fish with retractable snouts (carp, bream, tench). She prefers food that lies on the surface (snails, caddis flies, and various other aquatic and flying creatures) or floating in water (hatched insects, plankton). In the evening on the lakes you can see flocks of roaches collecting insects from the surface of the reservoir.

  When to catch roach.

Roach lives in all kinds of waters, but in some areas it is difficult to find where, in theory, it should be, although large flocks of roaches can be found nearby. If you want to focus on catching large roach, the easiest way to look for it in large and deep ponds. Large rivers and lakes have their own balance, which keeps the abundance of all types of fish at a reasonable level, and therefore fish can grow to large sizes. Therefore, it is not so much about the capacity of the region, but how many fish live in it.

Example: take two equally large and deep ponds, but one in the cold highlands and the other in the warm lowlands. In the first we will find little roach and a lot of pike, and in the other warmer, there will be large flocks of roach, and even a large number of predators will not affect the roach population. Roaches usually gather in large schools of similar size fish. Throughout the year, you will find her in different places. As a rule, in the spring, schools of roach go upstream, from the dam, to the tributaries of small rivers and streams.

There is roach and spawning. At this time, you can catch large roach (over 35 cm). If you look at the catch statistics of large specimens of this species, it is noticeable that the main time for catching large roach will be from March to May. Later this season, in order to catch a large roach, you need to look for specific habitats and feeding the fish. Usually these are large depths of a lake or river, with swings and edges. In summer, large roaches must be sought at depths of about 10 meters. Target catches at such a depth are technically difficult, usually fishing should be done from a boat.

In preparing the feeding of roaches, one important thing to keep in mind. Successful feeding of these fish, that is, bait, should always be dark and look like the color of the bottom where we catch. The reason is simple - roach is a small fish and should, of course, protect itself from predators, which helps the dark coloring of the back. Roach is careful where it spends all its time, because it is constantly in danger of attack by predators. Therefore, if you offer her a light bait, she will simply ignore her, because she will have to be on a light background, where she will be too noticeable for predators.

   Feeding roaches is a must. Most often, just throw five or six large bowls of crushed bread, or mix several varieties of cereal. More often, the aroma does not matter. Ready-made special packed baits attract roaches well, and the fish quickly reacts to their presence in the water.

Bait branded manufacturers, for the selected location for fishing roaches, you need to throw in small portions. If the bottom is not overgrown with grass, the effect of feeding is manifested very quickly. Bait may include boiled corn, various cereals, maggot, and chopped dung worms. Usually at first, after complementary feeding, several carpentries appear. But soon a large flock arrives, they begin to feast, periodically falling on the hook to the angler.

Fishing roaches on a fishing rod remains the most preferred fishing method. Special   tackle for roach fishing is not needed, just a simple telescope at 4-5 meters is enough. If fishing takes place from the shore, it is advisable to use fishing rods longer, 5-6 meters, for better casting of the bait. A fishing rod with a reel can be significantly shorter if you are fishing with a sliding float.

   Choose floats depending on casting distance and fishing conditions. A simpler option is a movable float with a bottom mount. In strong winds, however, the float is more stable with a double pin - lower and in the middle. The main fishing line with a diameter of 0.14, and if necessary up to 0.10 and 0.08. The choice of hooks is complicated depending on the bait, which we will catch. For maggots, a hook with a thin straight fore-end, with an expressive sharp end — basically No. 14, but also No. 16 or No. 18 is well suited. However, if the roach is large, they take already No. 10-No. 12. When choosing boiled wheat, oats or peas, hooks with short forend No. 12 and No. 14.

  The float is best completely drowning in water, leaving a small portion of the antenna on the surface. It is possible to catch roach even without a float, especially in the summer on insects - small grasshoppers, caddis flies or mayflies. In addition, some special methods were formed to catch roaches on the surface of the reservoir. For example, in the summer, when the fish has risen to the upper layers, you can fish without a float and sinker. The bait in such cases is insects - grasshoppers, pupae of maggots or caddis flies. The goal is that baits go with the flow.

Usually this is enough to provoke the interest of the roach, and it will follow the bait and try to attack it. AT summer conditionsWhen the fish is close to the surface, you can fly fishing for fly fishing, often with diving bait. Good results can be obtained when fishing roaches from the bottom. In this case, the bait is placed 60-70 cm from the bottom. In clear water, the fish sees only the bait, it dulls its vigilance, and it decisively takes the bait.

Roach in winter, in the presence of ice cover, moves along the bottom, the most popular trails are at the lower level and not higher than 4 m. The depth of roach school is dependent on atmospheric pressure. With a pressure drop of 1020 to 1000, the fish sink deeper and deeper, regulating the pressure in the swimming bladder. This takes her longer than, for example, the pike. Because the roach has a closed bladder, while the pike has an open type, and the pike can equalize pressure faster.

This is the answer to the question why roaches and other white fish eat much better during pressure drops than when the pressure rises. In winter, it is best to catch roach, where there is already a cluster of fishermen on ice, but be careful - roaches do not like noise. After drilling several holes, you need to feed them and wait a while, so that the roach calms down and comes to the place of the bait that has been sprinkled. When fishing, bloodworms, maggots, processed cheese and sometimes worms are used. Raising and lowering the bait increases the number of bites. They catch roach in winter fishing, usually from the bottom, but sometimes roach is caught in the water floor not bad.

It is considered optimal to catch roaches 5-10 cm from the bottom. In the middle of winter, the accumulation of roach is mainly in the pits; fish feed on a plateau or near the edge. Since the beginning of February, roach is closer to the shore at a depth of about three meters, and sometimes even in reeds at a depth of 50 cm! In shallow areas it is necessary to behave very quietly and calmly. Closer to spring, roach is caught at a depth of 30 cm. At this time, the noise when drilling holes is very frightening to the fish.

For productive fishing, at least 5 holes located in a circle 3-4 meters apart are drilled. The bait is used for winter fishing, its fraction is very small, almost dust. Often roach is well caught on a rewinder, it is mormyshki without animal bait. The peak of roach fishing in winter is before an ice sunrise. In fishermen, this time is called the last ice. At this time, the roach is not legible to the bait, and grabs everything.

  Catching roaches - conclusions.

Fishing roaches is an excellent activity for anglers. The wide distribution of this fish allows you to almost always have a good catch. If we are not set up for more serious fishing, such as fishing for bream, carp or other large fish, fishing for roach can be very exciting for you. With the right approach to this type of fishing, you can always be with large catches. You can catch roach almost all year round, and in winter it is even preferable when another fish ignores any bait. However, best time for roach fishing, this is spring, the beginning of summer and autumn, when the roach eats and prepares for winter.

  Culinary qualities of roach.

The roach meat is white, slightly watery and soft. In summer, it is possible, even bitterness, because the fish eats a lot of algae. It is best to fry roach in cornmeal, it gives the fish a special crunch. The dried roach is very tasty, it is fatty and its meat is dense. It is good to cook fish soup from large roach, it will be rich and with a pronounced smell of fish. Fillet of large specimens of roach is well baked in charcoal foil. At a high baking temperature, all small bones melt, as it were, and we get baked roach fillet with almost no bones.  next →