CARP- method/packbait/groundbait...difference?

[mike rousseau]

just getting geared up for spring carp fishing and was wondering about baiting with something other than boilies and corn...

 

i was wondering what the difference was between method mix... packbait... and groundbait...

 

from what i can tell you use it the same... but the style of ingredients changes a bit between the types of bait...

 

so is there a difference?

 

what is it?

 

how do you decide wich to use if there is a difference?

[hammercarp]

Mike yes there is a difference between the three.

Ground bait- ground bait is put into the water by throwing it in. You can pitch it by hand like a baseball or use any of a number of devices to get it out there. A ground bait ball breaks down and covers the ground/bottom in the area you are fishing. It is meant to draw and hold fish in your swim.

 

Method - method is cast in along with you hook bait. It is secured to your line by a method feeder or feeder weight. Method usually stays together on you feeder and gets the fish to put it's head closer to your baited hook. The method mix usually falls off when you are playing a fish or reeling your line back in.

 

Pack bait- pack bait is packed around your baited hook and cast in. It is meant to break down shortly after it hits the bottom. It serves to draw and hold the fish and get them to put their heads close to your baited hook. Pack bait recipes should be followed closely because they need the mechanical strength to stay on your line while casting and they need to break down shortly there after. Some one who is good with pack bait can tell you when their pack will break within 10 seconds after hitting the bottom.

 

As you can see they all have different purposes and techniques for their use.

 

You can also pre-bait or chum the area you are going to fish. This done to get the fish used to feeding in your swim. This is usually done with particles/seeds like field corn or wild bird seed. You do this by putting the prepared chum/bait into the area/swim you are going to fish every day at the same time for a few days before you fish. Usually three days to a week is a good length of time. There are various devices used to accomplish this.

 

Field corn should be soaked and boiled and wild bird seed should be soaked before you use them.

Edited March 2, 2011 by hammercarp

[Victor]

I believe that method mix and groundbait is essentially the same thing. They're usually composed of particles of different sizes which you can chum into the water as a ball or pack around your method feeder/sinker to attract the fish. They're meant to stay in tact till it reaches the bottom of the swim and from then on it slowly breaks down.

 

Packbait on the other hand is something you pack around your hookbait. The types of ingredients that's used is probably similar but packbait's suppsoed to be designed to break down much faster than groundbait/method mix. So your hookbait can be exposed with a small ring of particles around it once it hits bottom.

 

I could be wrong though, I'm sure other more experienced carpers are gonna chime in later.

[Victor]

Uh Lorne you already got to it before I finished typing.

 

learned something new today. I do use my "groundbait" and "method mix" interchangably though haha.

[Beans]

Uh Lorne you already got to it before I finished typing.

 

learned something new today. I do use my "groundbait" and "method mix" interchangably though haha.

 

I'm with you Victor...I use my groundbait/method mix as one and the same and am now thinking of using it as "packbait " around my hookbait when the current is rolling my spring feeder around too much...I usually switch to a flatened sinker (bell or egg) and have packed groundbait around that sinker but may try packing some around my hookbait instead...

 

Couldn't find any "boilies last year but had some success with "Monster Maize" (Pineapple and Tutti Frutti flavors) Tried the Mintzilla flavor with little success...

 

Ahhh to be sitting in the shade of a tree on a bank to get away from the heat of the sun waiting for an alarm to go off signalling a "run"...

 

 

 

[hammercarp]

I like to use the store bought " lifting ground bait" It has particles in it that suspend in the water column and drift in the current. This way you can draw carp into your swim no matter where they are in water, on top, suspended or on the bottom.

I would not use method as pack bait. The mechanical properties of method are too unpredictable and unreliable. You may get frustrated with it flying off on a cast or sitting on the bottom like a lump of concrete.

Edited March 2, 2011 by hammercarp

[Victor]

man all this talk is making me go crazy lol.

 

Nothing like wearing a tshirt, sitting under the shade and the adrenline rush when hearing the "beeps" from a screaming run.

[mike rousseau]

Thanks hammercarp... I'm looking to bait with it so u guess I need some ground bait...