| How to prepare your spod mixesSunday, 4 April 2010 Spod Mixes
Spring is on the way, time to pick up some early rewards
Now the water temperatures are on the up, the fish will be starting to stir from their semi dormant phase. Now is the time the fish will be starting to look for food to give them an energy boost to kick start their immune systems and get them ready for spawning once the summer arrives. The Spring is the perfect time to use the spod to create a carpet of tiny paticles attracting the fish into your swim where, they will then encounter your hookbait and free offerings.
At this time of year you do not want to overload the swim with big beds of baits that will quickly fill the fish up so, keep the spod mix as light as possible. Incorporate loads of water soluble attractors available from www.carpfishingpellets.co.uk, like L030 fish protein liquid, Hydrolysed Salmon Protein, Liquid Molasses, Minamino, Milk Powders, Betaine HCL etc. All the high grade liquid fish proteins will create a massive trail of amino acid rich attraction pulling the fish in from far and wide, this is what makes this type of mix work so well. All the fish encounter is a bed of tiny particles and loads of liquid attraction to really get them grubbing around for a suitable sized meal. Present your hookbait either in the middle of the baited area or to one side and it will stand a very good chance of a take.
Another good method at this time of year is to use the zig rig with the spod mix. For those new to the zig rig it is a way of presenting a buoyant bait higher in the water to catch a fish swimming mid water. By using your spod mix with various food items like crushed hemp, crushed particles etc you can create a cloud of attraction which some pieces will gradually fall to the lake bed, others will hang around mid water and some will float. This will attract the carp to the higher water levels to feed on the tiny bait particles. Place a small bait on a long fluorocarbon hook length so it settles up in the higher water level and it will stand a good chance of being eaten while the carp frantically pick off the small bait items.
Many hookbaits are suitable for this approach ranging from small pop-ups, plastic corn to small pieces of foam cut into various shapes. As the fish become pre-occupied on the small particles falling through the water they appear to loose suspicion and eat anything that is in the falling cloud of carp goodies. The key is to present the hookbait at the correct depth, where the fish are feeding most confidently. This level will vary so a little experimenting may be needed. Fish can be caught just below the surface and on other occasions in mid water.
The zig rig can, on its day be a deadly method which will land you some good fish when all other methods seam to fail.
The ingredients which go into a spod mix can vary quite considerably depending on time of year and target fish. The idea being, you want to put a nice bed of tiny particles out with varying densities and loads of water soluble attraction liquids. Crushed particles like hemp, maize, corn, wheat, oats, tigernuts, maples etc make perfect spod mix ingredients. Soaked in lake water and liquid fish protein, salt and betaine will really give you a great spod mix. You can add spices like chilli powder, turmeric, fenugreek and chilli flakes along with black pepper essential oil or the ever successful Robin Red additive. If you like sweet mixes then try soaking rolled oats and crushed tigernuts in lake water with a couple of table spoons of milk powder and some Talin and Tigernut extract and molasses.
Various combinations can be used and on any theme, kelp and ground hemp, micro carp pellets mixed with Robin Red, breadcrumbs, tinned tuna in brine and some sea salt for example.
A typical spod mix, including ground hemp and robin red. | 
Ingredients after going through the grinding mill. A mass of tiny particles ready to be soaked. | 
A selection of water soluble liquid additives: L030 Fish Protein, Minamino, Salmon Extract Liquid. | 
Liquids added to the spod mix | 
Poor on boiled water and leave to soak. | 
Spod mix now ready to go. Packed full of lovely carp attracting goodies and water soluble additives. |
Various ready made spod mixes are available to buy which are very handy, just add boiled water and some liquid additives the night before and away you go, get spodding.
Take a look at the spod mixes section on the website for some great mixes supplied with liquid attractor pack. Click here for more info. By Phil Stockwell
CW Baits
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