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Neil Spooner making the most of opportunities! Posted by Neil Spooner

Neil Spooner explains to you how to make the most out of your session regardless of the length of time you have!

Whatever the length of my session I generally treat the first couple of hours of the trip with the same attitude and approach – trying to get a fish on the bank as quickly as possible, and these types of quick-bite opportunities are certainly on the cards as this time of year! During the daylight hours carp can often be found milling about near the surface, visiting shallower areas or holding near large weedbeds – the largest visible weedbed you can see is often the biggest carp magnet.

So, as soon as I hit the bank I’m normally on my toes walking about the lake looking for signs of active carp, but… to grasp any chances I may find, which could be a good distance from the motor, I’ll also have a small amount of kit in tow. Nine times out of ten this will be my lightweight floater rod and small reel, along with a utility bucket or bag containing mixers, maybe some pellets and a few boilies, plus a few items of end tackle. Not forgetting the all-important net and mat of course. This way I can fire out a few surface baits should I find carp in the upper layers to try and promote some interest or place a little bait in likely looking stalking spots in the edge. Although fundamentally and ideally, I’m looking for carp that look interested in feeding and providing that early opportunity.

It is therefore paramount that you match your tactics with baits designed to promote that instant response. Pellets and boilies already contain a good level of food-source attraction, mixers perhaps less so, but regardless all these baits can be super boosted with the addition of a liquid additive. This can be such an edge when it comes to your baits I literally use loads of different liquids to boost either my hookbait or feed. Hemp Oil and Fosoil are great additives to a spod mix, pellets or particles for example. Oils with the added bonus of sending small oil particles to the flatten the surface when fish are investigating. More recently I have been using the Smart Liquids from Mainline. Now these liquids are something else, the way they react in water is so unique and perfect for coated any bait you can think of – boilies, pellets, floaters and spod or bag mixes. All meaning you have a huge food signal to pull fish to the hookbait with the minimum of feed – exactly what I’m looking for!

So where possible, don’t be too quick to secure a swim and set-up home, because trust me a quick look around with a small amount of kit can bring huge results!

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