Mike Bridges – Profiling

28 juin, 2017 | Carpe | Conseils | Articles | Actualités

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In order to constantly develop as an angler you have to be critical of yourself and recognise that there is always room for improvement, regardless of age and experience.  This is something I really found myself doing last year with regards to my ‘particle approach’. There is a saying, that if you do the same as everybody else, then you should expect the same results. With my fishing restricted to overnighters that approach simply doesn’t work for me.

We have all read about creating spod mixes containing numerous food items and that it is ‘best practice’ to create the night before etc.  Well everyone was kind of doing that on a certain lake I was fishing, with little results to show for it. This is when I really thought about it and decided to put an emphasis on oils and what they could offer.

Carp are water pigs there is no question about that! When natural food is sparse, give them something they can’t resist and they will devour everything in sight.  You just have to ensure that you give them something that stands out from the angler on your left, right and in front of you.  Going back to my overnight angling approach, my military commitments, family life and everything else life throws at me dictate that I only have 2-3 nights a week if I’m lucky, therefore I need to remain flexible and rely on creating areas and spots that the carp will continue to patrol even in my absence – hence where my idea for ‘Profiling’ originated.

The lake I was fishing had extremely deep silt spots, even with a 5oz lead you felt nothing significant transmitting back through the rod blank (the donk) upon touch down which was music to my ears.  I became so tuned in with my spots that I could cast out, close my eyes and if it didn’t feel right I’d reel back in as I knew a bite would be highly unlikely.  In and around the spots I would feel a lovely soft sensation through the blank which 99.9% I would be content with knowing I could sit back having done everything in my power.  The soft sensation I am relating to took some getting used to as if you didn’t fully concentrate then you would most certainly miss it. I’m not talking about that thud or cushion sensation here, it was something very different that you might associate with casting into weed. I wonder how many reading this would fall into that category, remember what I said earlier – be different!

The silt spots were deep and had an aroma that would put most anglers off by a country mile, however I have never ignored these kinds of spots, ultimately because everyone else does.  Again how many anglers have been in this situation where they reeled in, smelt their lead and thought good grief that is foul, yes it might be to us however to carp it’s a completely different story. My intent going forward was to create something that would create a ‘barrier’ over the silt for want of a better word, that would continue to leak off and kick out different signals through the water column for a sustained and prolonged period of time.  With the range of liquids available from Dynamite it was simply about finding the right combination that would work. I didn’t want just any ordinary ‘Spod Mix’ I wanted to give my boilies (which is what I mainly use) a completely different ‘profile’ that would stand out on the lake bed compared to anything else that was going in.

For a liquid to permeate effectively into a freezer boilie you have to ensure it is air dried completely. I tend to use freezer bait and for the last 18 months my preferred choice has been Dynamite Red-Amo or Monster Tiger Nut. This process works just as effectively with shelf life boilies also. Bait and climate dependent the air drying process (Stage 1) takes time, and to just stick your boilies into an air dry bag and hope for the best won’t cut it. I realised very quickly that for the ‘Profiling Mix’ to work to its maximum effect, I would need to use an over compensated air dry bag and  would also need to keep moving the boilies around, taking in excess of 48 hours for me to be content. As you can see we are potentially 72 hours in already on the profiling preparation.

The first liquid I use is Hemp Oil (Stage 2), it’s an oil I’m confident of using all year round, my all-time favourite and carp seem to absolutely adore the stuff. I apply it liberally to my boilies via a bucket and let them soak for 24 hours. I have mentioned shelf life boilies already and as part of my mix I just can’t ignore the 10mm, these go in to the mix at this early stage. The boilies will absorb all the hemp oil deep to the core after being air dried for so long, ensuring they become less penetrable than a standard boilie in the lake and certainly over the silt as previously mentioned.

The next step is to add hempseed to my mix (Stage 3), my preferred choice is Dynamite Chilli Hemp, however normal hempseed will be just as effective I just like a bit of spice in my life. I’ve used the Chilli Hemp for many years now to great effect – I add half a jar including the liquid to a 5kg bucket. The intent is not to make the carp too pre-occupied with all the smaller food items, however give them just enough in order to create a heads down tails up scenario.  This is then left for around 12 hours, as all I want to achieve is for the boilies to take on further liquids.

The next step is to add yet another liquid (Stage 4) which for me is the Red-Amo or Monster Tiger Nut re-hydration liquid, about half a bottle to a 5kg bucket is more than ample. This re-hydration liquid is slightly thicker than any of the other oil content that’s been added to the boilies so far, again giving the profiling mix a whole new dimension.

This is for a very good reason, as the next stage is to add Dynamite Crushed Hemp (Stage 5), this is something I don’t see used so much these days, however never ignore what it can bring.  I add a full bag of this to my mix, place the lid on the bucket and give it all a good shake and leave for a further 24 hours.

If after this stage your mix is still relatively wet then you have overdone it with the liquids and need to add some more crushed hemp.  What you should ultimately have is a relatively dry mix, but enough to have ensured that the crushed hemp has been able to cling onto the boilies.

This leaves just one more liquid to add (Stage 6) to create my ‘Profiling Mix’ and that is Dynamite Corn Steep Liquor (CSL).  CSL has been around for a very long time, however I think it is overlooked by the majority of modern day carp anglers.  It’s predominantly used as an ‘activating’ liquid but I find it is a fantastic binder, with every other liquid that’s within the profiling mix.  The CSL is very sweet and sticky, it helps encapsulate all the liquids within the boilie and makes the crushed hemp become like concrete. I tend to use half a bottle to a 5kg bucket and normally leave everything for at least 12 hours to settle – yes this takes time, however effort equals rewards.

The end result is a mix that over time kicks off different signals through the water column, thus creating something exceptional that’s destined to draw carp in and down onto your area. I’ve placed this on a lakebed that’s devoid of fish and 24 hours later and it’s still slicking up – from a pre-baiting aspect it doesn’t get much better.

Back to my fishing, I started ‘Profiling’ on the park lake which was far from an ideal place to test this with 4-5 fish a year the norm for most anglers.  However immediately upon ‘Profiling’ I started catching 3-4 fish per night.  In fact I did 32 nights in total during 2016 on the same park lake and landed 29 different fish. I knew I had created something rather special with this mix when on numerous occasions I was having repeat captures of the same fish time and time again off the very same spots, what further proof do you need? Before I pulled off the lake and for my own inquisitiveness, I put a marker float back out to the spot I’d fished for a few months and was astonished to find it was now over 2ft deeper! I was on cloud nine at this point and was heading over to the fantastic RK Leisure Wraysbury Complex full of confidence for the Army Carp Championships.

The night before the match started a lot of the troops were fishing the South Lake, however only one or two had caught from around the lake with warm weather and high pressure being the culprit. I quickly said my hellos to the lads and with light fading fast, found a swim well away from everyone else and hastily got a full bucket of the ‘Profiling Mix’ out and my Multi Rigs in place (I prefer to always fish a low lying pop-up).  I didn’t sleep much that night and it wasn’t because of the planes taking off or landing from Heathrow Airport either! By first light I’d caught 26 carp and gone through three whole buckets of my ‘Profiling Mix’.  The action was so intense that at certain stages I was casting out, trying to settle my line over the weed and the line off my spools was just tearing off through my hands.  The lads who were behind me watching this unfold were gob smacked, especially as they had heard that not much else had come out that night around the lake.  With multiple rods going off I’d placed a few of Wraysbury’s gems in retainers to do some trophy shots in between the action.  When I peered into the slings the sight of the fish passing the mix was amazing and I knew right then that profiling was not just ‘another spod mix’.

I then returned back to Frimley Pit 4 which is not the kind of place where you associate filling it in as the carp are not only very tricky but a lead on their heads is enough to make them vacate an area in seconds. I had a rare 72 hour session in front of me at the beginning of October, I was feeling optimistic as the weather conditions were perfect, so decided to put two buckets of the ‘Profiling Mix’ out. I was coming to the end of my session with nothing seen and thought I had made a huge mistake, however just as I was about to reel in the middle rod, the bobbin slammed into the rod blank and a very angry carp was tearing line from the spool at a rapid rate of knots. Success on my 3^rd different venue with the mix put to bed any doubts I had previously had with the capture of the stunning ‘Bream Common’.

I wanted to test the profiling mix in the harshest of conditions and I mean when it’s so cold the only person considering going outdoors is Santa himself.  I tested this on a water with a reasonable stock level and boy did my results continue. Sleet, snow, hail, rain and ice cold water, I tried it all and always came away with multiple hits for my efforts. On average I was catching up to 20 carp in just a few hours of fishing in what can only be described as ridiculous fishing conditions.

In summary is ‘Profiling’ unique? Yes! Is ‘Profiling’ just another spod mix? No! In fact I don’t see it as a spod mix whatsoever. For me it’s a boilie mix and all about creating something different that will work anywhere you take it either for long or short sessions.  Yes it does take time and is tedious, however I believe you get out of life what you put in and therefore if you mix something different to the norm with your boilies then I am convinced that you will reap the rewards with your chosen quarry.

For me it’s an absolute must have for anyone seriously campaigning on a large gravel pit where from a pre baiting aspect you’re relying on something at some point drawing those fish in for when you return.  If you fall into that category then please give it a try.

And as always be lucky………….

Mike Bridges