Swans: how to use them to your advantage?
image from Quest Baits
This is a guest post from Connor Beard.
Swans … The white devils that can ruin a session in a blink of an eye .
They gorge on all that precisely placed bait that you layed to outwit those elusive carp . They also find it impossible to swim past your rods without having a massive flap about with your lines , the alarm screams , the boobin flys and the clutch clicks… all for a swan !!!
This article is all about how you as the angler can use swan activity to help you out on the banks . I know it may seem near on impossible but , there really is a way you can use their activities to put the odds slightly more in your favour against those carp …
Feeding of swans cause untold problems when they all rush from every corner of the lake to grab those small morsels of food the public bring for there benefit without noticing your lines . As I said above , the alarm goes , the bobbins jump and hey presto … another swan related set up required .
But what if I told you that this scene could be the most valuable your going to encounter on your session ? OK , so you would no doubt tell me where to go in words not suitable for this site right ? Well , let me explain the reasoning behind my bold statement …
Firstly , the most simple of all questions …
What do the public feed those swans ? BREAD … what do carp eat ? BREAD
Simple enough ? The public feed the wildlife bread , the bread that is not eaten descends down the lake until it reaches the bottom . The bread is then quite easily noticed by the carp due to its bright properties , the carp approach the bread and wham … its gone in an instant .
So say this event happens around 5 times when a family feed the swans . So that’s 5 times in one sitting . So what happens if 5 family’s come to the lake to feed the swans ( this is easily done in the summer ) . The same things happen on these occasions , some bread falls through the water to rest on the lake bed . Now were talking about 25 pieces of bread in the lake waiting to be eaten by the carp . So that’s around 25 pieces of bread a day , times that by say 5 days a week and your on 125 bits of bread … a lot considering that joe public feed the swans all year round .
But still , no one uses bread , whether it be fake or real . Why ? Because boilies rule in today’s world of carp fishing . OK , so even if you don’t want to use bread , why not use a white pop up ? Its white and buoyant , kinda like bread . Or maybe your hell bent on using boilies , then why not use mashed bread in a pva stick or bag ? Or maybe be that bit special and use real bread in some Fox ARMA MESH … food for thought , pardon the pun !!The image above shows a family feeding the swans on a wooded platform , this is an easy to access site so lends its self to regular visitors that feed the swans .
Now you will remember in the text above I mentioned the likely amount of bread being put in that the carp can feed on . If there is a regular site that the public feed the swans then your in a really good position . So now we have regular bait going in on most days , all year round , all in the same area !!!
Pre-baiting at its best, and its free. Use the public to your advantage, there Prebaiting for you, all you have to do if you wish, is to add a few of your chosen hook baits to that area , and then reap the rewards .
It may also be worth noting the average time family’s feed the swans, this will give you a general idea of when the bait is going in.
I don’t know if anyone knows him but Dave Magalhaes from Gerry of Wimbledon once made a very bold statement , he basicly said that when wildlife suddenly spooks he reckons its due to fish under or near them doing the spooking . Now Dave is a man who knows what he is talking about, he has had some fantastic results on some very short session . I took what Dave said and decided to see how much truth was in the statement . I underwent a little research project , I set about laying a bed of ground bait to get some fish in the area . I then had the idea of putting some bread in to entice the wildlife to come along . Now it took around 3 weeks to get it all to happen , but happen it did . The ground bait was put in , then the bread . The swans came along and were happy feeding on bread , I then noticed a dark shadow in the water that was a carp around 15lb , as soon as the carp got near the swan the inevitable happened … the swan shot off in a massive hurry .
Now whether you choose to act on this information is up to you but , any time I see some ducks or swans shoot off , a rig is in that same area minutes later .
So guys , for all the faults of those little white devils , a little bit of thought could see you land that big PB from a bread baited area , a baited area that was free to bait … everything is better when its free !!!
This Page Ranks on Google For:
- how to get rid of swans
- armamesh bread
- best arma mesh for bread on river
- problem swans carp fishing
|
 |
