# Chumming, prebaiting, whatever you call it...



## cwcarper (Apr 5, 2004)

I've been fishing a lot of short sessions these days, and it seems the only way I have confidence anymore is if I can prebait the area a day or two in advance (unless it's a place where I know for sure carp are holding and feeding). I've not really done much of this so I had a few questions about it.

1. How do you prefer to get the bait out there? Catapult, spod, boat??
2. How much do you need to throw out for it to be effective and how large of an area do you cover?
3. What sort of structure, depth, etc. do you look for if baiting a new spot or lake?
4. Other than corn, what are some of the better/easier baits to use?

Anyone have an input on this??


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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

I am no expert at all 
I know what has worked for me in 4 areas and the same did not work in two others...
I boil field corn and let it set in an old cooler till it ferments if I do not have that kind of time I add several bottles of imitation vanilla extract, the dollar store variety works...
I always used a hand held scoop to toss out the chum and now I use a plastic yellow bat that I cut the end off of... Someone else posted about that technique and it works great even though it covers an area larger then I like...
I like to chum the mouths of bays but into the bay not out in the main lake because, why I remember I have no idea, but I once saw an illiustration on In-Fishermen TV that showed carp travel patterns and that was one of them...
I look for a weedy bottom and fish beyond the weeds even though my chum is in the weeds. I like water near deeper parts of the lake and chum in water several feet deep to 10-12... I can always tell if my chum is getting hit because when the carp feed there are air bubbles reaching the surface over my chum area or they tend to porpoise over the area... I fish beyond the chum pile because I think that I catch more fish feeding towards the pile then on it and they also tend to scatter when I toss out more chum as I fish...
I toss out 1/2 a cooler the day before I fish and another 1/2 before I start fishing.. I of course always have enough corn to fill my cooler before each trip thus I still have 1/2 cooler full left to chum a scoop or bat full after ever fish is caught or strike missed...
Not yet this year but last year there were times I could not use two poles and could only use one at a time, due to using regular tackle and not Euro rods... Hard to control the fish on smaller gear


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## steelhead1 (May 14, 2004)

I rarely have time to pre chum. The areas I fish, I for the most part know where the carp are holding, so when I get there I tend to put a fair amount out and most often does the trick.

I really like the Spod. This is my first year really using it, but I also use the catapult as well.


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## Tornichio (Apr 14, 2004)

clyde do you notice a difference in the size of the fish? What I am getting at is the size of the fish smaller on average when you put out a lot of chum and really get them feeding. I am planning on chumming some areas this year pretty regular. 
Marc


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

I realy have to give you guys credit, you put alot of effort into your sport!


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## GMR_Guy (Apr 10, 2004)

I to wrestle with this question. On my most recent carp trip where I landed 9 in 4 hours, I used 4 lbs of sweetcorn. Every 15 to 20 minutes there was sweetcorn going into the water. I'd cast my lines a short distance of 20 feet and then try and shoot my sweetcorn around it with a slingshot.

The bad thing about chumming/prebaiting is that it works, thus when you fish without prebaiting you tend to be not as confident. 

In my local gravel pit, I like to chum with soaked field corn and bread balls. Fortunately where I live there is a thrift bakery shop where unsold bread from grocery stores is sold. Oftentimes I can get loaves of bread for 30 to 50 cents apiece.


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## ohioiceman (Jul 19, 2004)

I think the water ya fish is most important for short sessions or i should say the creation of short session water. At least 3 days a week i have to stay close to work and home so I looked for water that was within 15 minutes from me that had carp in it. Then I look for weeds,moss,reeds,lilly pads,cabbages etc.. I love weeds,they give food and shelter. Carp will be in weeds shallow or deep pretty much anytime of the year. No weeds, get out a sinker and start searching the bottom, look for transition areas mud to sand,gravel etc.. then throw on a slip float and look for depressions and troughs. Overhangs rock during the summer,trees and bushes going from the bank into the water are just awesome. ok I'll stop babbling on about features. Chum will help to build your short session area,toss some in whenever you can. I toss about a gallon each day(3) half on my way to work and half on my way home if I don't fish.If I do fish I do half on my way to work then use the other half while fishing and before I leave. I have used this method for 5 weeks now and have created an area where i went from hoping to catch one in an hour or two to knowing I would get a few. Baits I like are corn,bread,chick peas and boiles. I mix all of them into my chum and use them all as hook baits.I also use cornbread stuffing as pack,get the fine not the cube and dip your hand in the water with it and walla instant pack that attracts and breaks down into a real nice bed even in cold water. I have short session gear 2 two pc MH seven foot Ugly Sticks with 3500B's,mat, net and small backpack for gear,baits and my frog togs  ok I'll shut up know,oh yeah creeks and rivers are different than lakes,but only structure and area and Erie is a whole chapter in itself


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## ohioiceman (Jul 19, 2004)

I use a catapult,unless the feature I'm fishing is more than 20 yards out then I use a pocket rocket. Oh yeah you'll need to adjust your chum amounts dependent on the size of the area your fishing. but try to find some sort of feature and concentrate on that.


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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

> clyde do you notice a difference in the size of the fish?


I do not notice any diff in the size fish I take and it does depend on the lake like Ladue which has many carp in the teens I catch allot in the teens but the at pymi I catch them in all sizes and we have caught some pushing 20 there if not more...

ohioiceman I don't think we have met... I am from the Cleveland area... You?
I like fishing near weeds or plant matter but not in them...
Nice post THANKS


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