Better Bait

Hemp When you cook hemp yourself, freeze the left over water from the pan, the next time you go fishing you can use the hemp water to mix with your groundbait to add instant flavour.
You can also use the flavoured water if you make your own boilies or pastes.
If using hemp in your groundbait, try a tare on the hook to sort out the bigger fish.


Maggots the most popular bait of all - maggots never seem to loose their attraction to fish and will always catch even on the hardest waters.
There are numerous types of maggots, all available in different colours from your local tackle shop.
Maggots - the larvae of the bluebottle fly.
Pinkies - the larvae of the greenbottle fly.
Squats - the larvae of the common house fly.
The smaller pinkies and squats make fine free-bait when fishing with bluebottle maggot on the hook. They are also popular in winter when the fish do not feed as much.
When fishing with pinkie on the hook, try a small piece of red pole elastic instead of a pinkie. You can catch loads of fish on one bit without having to rebait!
Keep catapulting in freebies - to get the fish competing with each other for free offerings.

Try floating maggot: Put some water into the bottom of a clean bait box (enough just to cover the base of the box) add a handful of maggots and leave for about 15 minutes. The maggots gulp in air which makes them float, making them ideal to balance the weight of a hook for on-the-drop fishing.

Dead maggots: Put some maggots in a plastic bag and expel the air, fasten the bag well and pop it in the freezer overnight, and you have dead maggots. Great for mixing with groundbait as they don't crawl away or bury themselves in the silt.

To prevent line twist when fishing double maggot, hook them top and tail.

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