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Jon 'Shoes' Jones Posted by Jon Jones

Jon Jones points you in the right direction when thinking about Zigs!

It’s at this time of year when the carp start to wake up and on many lakes around the country, they will spend many hours lying in the warmer levels in the water. Presenting baits on the deck in the traditional manner can often be very unproductive, as the carp won’t be there. So, presenting a bait where you think the carp are is your next step. This is when a Zig Rig comes into play. Zigs during the spring make up the majority of captures when fished correctly so I am sure if you follow my simple bait tips you too will bank a few extra Zigged fish this year.

Hookbait choices are entirely up to you, but most tend to use foam. As good as unflavoured foam can be you can’t ignore giving it some extra pulling power with a liquid dip but, if you want the best of both worlds then a Supa Sweet Zigger would be my first choice Zig bait. These ultra-buoyant hookbaits are perfectly made to target active carp within any level of the water column. If you want to add an extra boost this can also work wonders. I like to use the Supa Sweet Zig Liquid, sweet flavours seem to work the best for some reason so a bottle of this is paramount.

The only other thing you have to consider is what type of venue are you going to fish? Is it highly stocked or ultra-low stocked? The reason I ask is carp behave differently on highly stocked waters than in ultra-low stocked ones. On the highly stocked waters the carp are more aggressive and will attack a hookbait quicker and before its mate gets it, so you need to work out how to get the carp feeding aggressively in your swim. Again, the best attraction is a cloudy groundbait and one I’ve had great success on is the Souper Zig Mix, which has been designed to create a suspended cloud of attraction in the upper layers and throughout the water column ideally suited for Zigging. Mixing it sloppy and Spombing it over your Zig hookbaits can bring big hits on highly stocked waters.

I hope this has pointed you in the right direction when thinking about Zig baits. Just give them ago this spring you’ll never look back. All the best - Shoes.

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