Budget Carp fishing bait from the Pet shop

Are you fed up of spending all your hard earned money on expensive carp fishing bait? Why not look at supplementing your carp bait with some low cost alternative baits from the local pet shop. Many different types of bait can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of conventional baits such as bollies from the tackle and bait suppliers. All the products below make excellent carp baits when prepared correctly and used in the right way.

1. Vitalin - Original

Vitalin is actually dog food but also makes an excellent maize ground bait too. Scold your mix with boiled lake or rain water and leave to soak. Make sure you check the consistency as it is a little like making porridge and can just turn into a sticky mess if you do not add enough liquid. I also recommend you use Vitalin - Original as your base and combine it with some other free offerings such as chopped bollies, other particles, hemp, conditioner, tuna etc… with a bit of Molasses for good measure. A 15kg sack should cost you around £12.

2. Pigeon Conditioner

This is excellent particle bait for around £18 there is no better value bulk particles that this. Includes: Red Dari, Wheat, White Dari, Linseed, naked Oats, Safflorseed, Black Rapeseed, Mung Beans, White Rice, Buckwheat and Aniseed Flavouring. To prepare it scold it with boiling lake or rain water and leave it in a sealed bucket for minimum of 24hrs. I usually leave mine to soak for 72 hours in a warm place, this encourages a little fermentation and the mix to go slightly off. I then finish the mix with a desert spoon of chilli flakes and a bit of sea salt.

3. Cat meat

I am sure lots of the cat meats on sale will work very well. I go for chunky Coshida Red or Blue cat meat available at Lidl as a recommended variety. This is very smelly and a bit tricky to get the correct hook bait presentation, but can give amazing result for only 25 pence.

4. Hemp

I don’t really feel the need to say anything about Hemp seed the king of all partials in my opinion. If you have not used Hemp then you should be. Available very cheaply in large quantities you just need to soak the seed for a minimum of 24hrs, then give it a quick boil until the kernels split open. Carp love Hemp used in small or large quantities it can be devastatingly effective. A 20kg sack should cost you some where between £15 - £20.

5. Pedigree Chum Mixers

Chum mixers are probably the most widely used bait when surface fishing for carp. The chum mixer is a great hookbait size and can be catapulted a remarkably long way. Carp love chum mixers and if you can get one or two fish feeding well you will be sure to have some success fishing on the top. No preparation need just hair rig or glue to the hook and you are ready to start. A 9kg bag will set you back around £12.

6. Maize

Whole Maize is not just a chicken and bird food but also an all time classic carp bait. Fished on the bottom or popped up Maize catches loads of carp on all waters. To prepare whole Maize soak it for a minimum of 24hrs and the boil for 30 minutes. For an extra tip after boiling pick out 20-30 choice kernels for hook baits and mix them with a little Betaline for extra attraction. Some carp anglers also choose to leave their Maize for a few days to go slightly off before using it. If kept in a warm place the Maize will start to ferment a little and release its natural sugars inside. You can pick up 20kg bag of whole Maize for around £15.

In Conclusion

If you shop around you are able to buy very large quantities of bait for a fraction of the cost of bulk buying conventional baits such as bollies. This makes bulk baiting or pre-baiting campaigns a realistic option even for the average pocket. The above bait will only set you back around £75 for around 85kg of bait for around 88 pence per kg. What a bargain!