Sometimes, some simple methods work better than anything else that you’ve tried. That may be the case when it comes to carp fishing with bread. If you’re a beginner and haven’t gone beyond using corn as bait, it is time for you to explore fluffier alternatives like plain old white bread!
Corn and boilies are indeed great baits to use when carp fishing. But what should you use when you want to switch up your bait but don’t want to go for anything too complicated? Use bread, of course!
Bread may seem like an uninspiring choice to beginners. However, there’s a reason why so many experienced anglers swear by it.
So, want to know if bread is a good carp fishing bait or not? Let’s find out.
Is Bread A Good Bait For Carp?
Yes, bread is one of the most effective baits for when you go on a carp fishing expedition. If used correctly, it’ll help you reel in quite a few carp.
But what makes bread so great as bait? Let’s find out.
It is Economical
It doesn’t matter where you live. Bread is always an extremely cheap option for bait. Many anglers use it to catch various carp without spending money on expensive dips and boilies combined with its effectiveness.
Fishing gear can get very expensive. If you don’t have a lot of money to burn, you can save by using bread as bait.
It is Readily Available
Have your fishing expedition all planned out but forgot to buy bait? You have no reason to worry. Just get yourself a loaf of bread, and you’re good to go.
If you’re going for the simplest bread bait, just stick some rolled-up bread onto a size eight circle hook. While it may not stay hooked for very long, it’ll still help you attract carp to the general area and give you a chance at hooking into one.
It is Highly Visible
The bright white colour of bread is one of the reasons that make it an excellent bait. Anglers typically find carp in murky, shadowy waters. In such waters, visibility is low, so the bait will need to be a colour that they can easily spot.
Carp can easily see white baits even in darker surroundings because it tends to stand out.
Excellent Bait for Surface Fishing
Surface fishing is a great technique to catch carp in the summer months. Just attach the bread bait directly to your hook if you’re not going to cast it very far away.
However, ensure that your line isn’t too visible. A visible line can spook away the carp as carp are well-known for rejecting bait that looks dangerous.
Carp Adore Bread
Now that’s something you probably didn’t know. Much like ducks, fish such as carp are also huge fans of bread. Their sharp sense of smell helps them zero in on the bread pieces. Many anglers see them gobble bread up in front of their very eyes.
So, if you’re having a slow day on the water, just toss a few bread balls into the water to spice things up a bit and see if you can attract any hungry carp to the surface.
Easily Customizable
Want softer textures? Use soaked bread. Want compact balls as bait? Add some breadcrumbs to the soaked bread mixture.
There are various ways to customize your bread bait according to the water, the fish, and the season.
For instance, to improve visibility even more, you can add bright colours to the mixture. To aid the carp’s smell, add some dips to the bread mixture to make a bait that the fish simply cannot resist.
Bread Bait can Help you Hook Carp
With plastic baits, many anglers face a problem. It is that the fish spit the bait out when they find it lacking in taste. This act often causes them to be hooked loosely or not at all.
With bread, fish tend to savor them for more extended periods. This time allows the hook to set just right for you to reel in some good catches.
Many Bread Bait Techniques
Have you heard of John Bennet’s Mushroom bread bait technique? Or using liquidizers to make your bread uniform? Every day, more and more anglers come up with creative ways to make their bread bait more effective than before.
This variety leaves beginners with a great variety of methods to choose from when using bread as bait.
It’s impossible not to convince yourself to give bread bait a try after reading all the reasons why it’s such a great addition to your bait choices.
Fishing With Bread On The Surface
Surface fishing is prevalent among anglers in the summer months. This popularity comes from the fact that, depending on the circumstances, surface fishing can be a very easy or complicated technique to succeed with.
However, if you see carp swimming close to the surface from where you stand, you can hook your bread balls directly to the hook and cast them. The great thing about using bread as bait is that its lightweight causes it to land on the water’s surface calmly.
This calm landing doesn’t scare the fish away as boilies or corn do sometimes do. While surface fishing, you can use this to your advantage by casting the bread close to where you see the fish swimming. The fish will come closer to investigate or even bite the bait, and voilà! You’ve caught yourself some carp.
Take care to ensure that while surface fishing, fishing equipment, and clothing are not very prominent, which can scare away the fish.
You should also remember that you will need to add some weighted assistance to your hook if you plan on casting your bread bait a little farther away. Bread is extremely light and it will struggle to strip line from your reel.
Using Bread For Baiting Swims
Another great thing about bread, as discussed above, is its versatility. Whether you use it as bread balls, after running it through a food processor, or after loading it in a spod or a spomb, you get great results each time.
So, what are some methods for baiting swims with bread? Let’s see.
Spod or Spomb
There are two ways to go about this. You can load these up with plain bread crumbs to create an attractive cloud of bait for carp to come closer to, or you can make a spod mix with bread as an ingredient.
To make a spod mix, all you need to do is fire up your food processor and mash-up your bread into a fine mixture. Then add some different ingredients according to your liking. These ingredients can be anything from condensed milk, corn, and hempseeds to crushed pellets. Mix these in a tub, then let it sit for a little while. After that, load up your spod or spomb with the mixture for a bait that you can cast off into quite the distance.
PVA bags
PVA bags are growing in popularity among anglers because of their easy usage and great results. So, how can you incorporate bread into the mix? By making breadsticks, of course.
You can liquidize your bread in a food processor and add some additives such as maggots, crushed pellets, or liquidized boilies to it. Load up in a PVA bag, and you’ve found a great way to utilize your bread.
Add some colouring if you want to add a little more attraction to your PVA bread bags.
Bread Pack Bait
Bread is also a great ingredient in pack baits which is a lot more prominent across the pond in the US. A basic recipe for a pack bait includes:
- Blended bread.
- Some jelly mix in your choice’s flavour.
- A firming ingredient such as wheat bran.
Some other ingredients that you can include bird seeds or crushed pellets.
The methods mentioned above should give you an idea about how you can bait your swims with bread.
Using Bread For Fishing At The Bottom
Whether it is surface fishing or fishing at the bottom, bread emerges as excellent bait for all carp fishing techniques. Why is that? It is because bread is something that anglers can process in a hundred different ways to get the results they want.
So, how can you hook some bottom-feeding carp with the help of bread? Let’s find out.
Anglers can fish bread balls in much the same way as boilies. All you need to do is roll the bread into small, round balls. If you feel like the balls are too loose, you can also add a firming mixture such as brown bread crumbs. This addition helps them stay on more firmly.
Bread balls initially float when you cast them. They gradually absorb water, get heavier, and rest near the bottom, where carp are scavenging for food.
When To Use Bread
A good angler judges which bait to use according to the water, the weather, and the fish they wish to catch. Bread is also a suitable bait in certain circumstances. So, which are they? Let’s discuss them.
Fish Close to the Surface
Surface fishing is very effective with bread as bait. Just cast your bait close by and wait for the carp to come close to the delicious bread waiting for them.
When the Carp Need a Change of Pace
In commercial fisheries and busy spots like that, it is essential to switch up your bait once in a while. This change of pace is necessary because fish can judge a bait as dangerous if cast repeatedly in the same spot.
Since most anglers do not use bread very often, it is an excellent idea for fishing trips in which the carp do not seem interested in standard baits such as boilies or corn.
In Quiet Waters
Bread is an excellent bait for quiet waters as well. This suitability is because there are no rushing waters or current to wash away the bread elsewhere.
Well, these are some of the instances in which you’ll be thankful you brought some loaves of bread on your fishing trip.
When Not To Use Bread
Like all baits, there are instances when bread isn’t such a good idea. An experienced angler does not rely on just one bait for all conditions. It is essential to know when carp fishing with bread may not be as successful as other conditions.
So, when does bread make a lousy bait? Let’s see.
In Fast-moving Waters
A light bait like bread can’t stay where you cast it in fast-moving waters such as rivers. The bread detaches from the hook very often, and the angler is not even aware of it. That is usually why bread is only a good bait for still waters.
When the Water has a Duck or Goose Population
We all know ducks and geese love bread. In areas where people feed the waterfowl, it is impossible to bait the fish without attracting a flock of those birds.
These birds cause such a disturbance that the carp get spooked and move away. The waterfowl also eat the bread bait.
In Places Where Using White Bread is Banned
Some UK places have banned anglers from using white bread as bait as it is considered unhealthy for the carp. In places like these, it is essential to respect the rules and use other baits in place of white bread.
Well, that’s all on where you shouldn’t use bread as bait.
What Bread To Use In Each Scenario
If we’ve convinced you that bread is an excellent idea for carp fishing, you need to know which bread works best in which circumstances.
Some things to remember when using bread as bait are:
- Breadcrumbs are good firming ingredients. Anglers can use them to pack baits, fill PVA bags with, and fill up spods or spombs.
- For surface fishing, use bread balls with some crust in them as the crust is durable and helps the bait stay afloat for longer without breaking apart.
- White bread is a suitable bait for almost all conditions.
- Brown bread is a good alternative in places where white bread is banned.
That’s All!
Carp fishing with bread is gratifying when done right. An angler needs to know everything there is to know about the various types of baits they can make with bread and all the conditions they can use that bait to be successful at catching carp.
So, if you’ve learned any useful tricks from this article, it’s time to give carp fishing with bread a try!
