Fishing with groats

Groats are one of the best micro particles going, the equal of hemp seed any day, in my book.

These tiny grains actively promote aggressive and competitive feeding and are ideal for drawing large number of fish - not just carp - into the baited area. Try blending together equal parts of flaked maize, oat groats and any of the mini seed-based blends. Simply add water and flavours and allow it to stand for 24 hours…It’s then ready!

You can take the standard mix on a step or two further by adding whatever takes your fancy. Here I have added a bit of SuperRed, some CSL pellets and a few old hookbaits.

Alternatively you might like to add some cooked hemp seed to the pot and maybe even some sweetcorn or maize. Adding SuperRed in quantity will stiffen the mix considerably, which may or may not be what you are after. Personally I like to leave the mix on the sloppy side as I feel the cloud effect when the bait is introduced adds still further to the overall. attraction.

The question of how much feed to introduce should be based on the number of fish you think may be in the lake. On a river where you are likely to encounter large shoals of primarily nomadic carp you may need to introduce a great deal of bait in order to hold the fish and keep their attention. Carp in big reservoirs or lakes can also be nomadic and behave in the same way. I recall a memorable session on a French lake when I caught 67 fish in a five-day session! It required over 25kg of SuperRed, 50kg groats, 20kg of maize and 15kg of boilies to keep the fish in the swim.

Written by Ken Townley