Lee Kerry rates meat as one of the best baits to catch a big weight of fish. Here’s how he uses this often overlooked bait.
In recent years, commercial anglers have gone pellet mad. All too often I see anglers with nothing but pellets on their side tray. This means many of us have lost sight of the baits that we started with when targeting big catches, and one of the best is meat!
Luncheon meat has been an established fish catcher for many years, it has completely different properties to pellets, and as such brings a completely different response. I have had times when meat simply hasn’t worked, but on those days that it does, it is simply unbeatable.
First of all I want to talk a little about when meat works, I think when to open the meat tins is the most common conundrum that many match anglers face.
Basically, you can catch fish on meat all year round. In fact I have seen big carp catches taken in the middle of winter. But generally, meat is more effective when the water starts to warm up and then cool down.
From personal experience, when water temperatures start to rise coming out of winter, meat can be deadly. Is it because fish are looking for a high energy source? Or do they just fancy something they haven’t seen all winter? We don’t really know, but I know that from April to June, meat can definitely outscore other baits.
Often, I will carry the confidence I have gained on meat throughout the spring into the summer as well, and today you join me on Pollawyn Lake at White Acres, where not only carp, but all species just love meat!
It is a common misconception amongst anglers that meat is simply a carp only bait. Like most of you, I like catching a variety of species and meat gives me the perfect chance to do that.
Meat Rig!
With this in mind, I have set up two rigs for my session today. The first is my ‘catch everything’ rig, I use this on a variety of venues where I want to make the most of all the fish in front of me and catch everything that swims. I've chosen a
12 Dura Hollo through to a
Rolla Pulla kit for my elastic. This is soft enough to deal with big roach, skimmers and barbel, as well as any rogue carp that get in on the act. This has to be balanced with the right hooks and line.
0.15mm Reflo Power mainline, coupled with a 0.11mm hook length tied to a
16 PR 434 hook. The size of fish you can land on this tackle is amazing, it is a perfect balance and doesn’t put off those crucial weight building skimmers.
Lee rates 12 Dura Hollo as his number one meat elastic!
The float for today is a
0.6g PB Inter 2. This is the same on both rigs, but the second rig carries much heavier tackle.
0.19mm Reflo Power to a 0.15mm hook length and a
14 PR 456 hook. This stronger set up is also matched with a size
15 Hollo Elastic. This combination will still fool the odd skimmer and F1, but crucially when the carp turn up in numbers and decide to have a feed, often later in the day, I have the tackle to control and land the fish quickly, giving me the chance of that match winning weight.
Bait Choice
On my side tray today I have four baits. The first two are meat, in 6mm cubes, then in 8mm cubes. The 6mm is predominately for feeding. I have experimented with various sizes of meat and 6mm just seems a banker for a wide range of species and is usually my starting hook bait to see what I can catch straight away. Carp will not hesitate to eat it, but you don’t miss out on the mixed species that often dominate the peg early in the session. The 8mm cubes are mainly as a change of hook bait. I have heard it said many times that you should try to match your hook bait to your feed. I too have found this to be effective, but often the bigger bait gets picked out quicker, often by bigger fish. It is particularly useful when combined with the bagging rig for some lumps late on in the session.
Often the bigger bait gets picked out quicker, often by bigger fish!
The third bait on my side tray is hemp. Hemp and meat are a combination that has stood the test of time. It is no surprise really as hemp is a great bait for holding fish in your peg.
Lastly, I have half a pint of
4mm Fin Perfect feed pellets used only to kick off the swim.
Meat, Hemp and Pellets are Lee's bait choice
The Session
Today, I have kicked off the session by feeding a full big pot of Sonubaits
Natural Hemp at the bottom of the slope, with around 20 pieces of 6mm meat and some
4mm Fin Perfect feed pellets. This line is at 6m and although it may seem close, it is a natural holding place for all species and always my first choice for meat fishing. This early bed of bait is bound to draw and hold fish, and with just a taster of meat available, I have found it gives me a better chance of a fish picking out my hook bait that bit quicker.
The session is going well. I have already caught several skimmers, barbel and two big carp, all on the lighter
12 Dura Hollo rig. The best feeding so far has been to fill a medium
Soft Cad Pot with hemp and just 6-8 pieces of 6mm meat. However I am doing something slightly different by only feeding this bait once I have hooked a fish, this method seems to be working a treat as once a fish has been landed, the next few are already waiting for me!
Moving into the last hour and it is clear that now there are only carp in the swim. The ‘bagging’ rig is now in full swing and I have found an 8mm piece of meat is doing the damage. Interestingly, most bites are coming as the bait settles, with a nice trick being to slowly lift and lower the bait every 1-2 minutes, fooling some of the lakes more wary residents.
Make sure your ready for the last 'bagging' hour!
The Final Result
I have ended the session today with well over 100lb of prime Cornish fish and with only meat, hemp and a few pellets on my side tray. I would strongly advise on them joining your bait tubs this season!
Never underestimate the power of meat!
