Glow in the dark baits.

 

It was an Instagram post of Adam Penning that got the old rusty cogs in the brain turning once more and slowly the memories emerged from the fog in my brain and into the clear.

Adam had posted about glow in the dark baits mentioning an article he had once read and that he had caught on a glow in the dark zig in the past. Frank Warwick had answered. Now it is rather rare for me, but I commented and ended up in a mini chat on-line with Frank.

I had been prompted to answer, as I had Frank to thank for sending me some prototype glow in the dark artificial boilies which actually lead onto the capture of my first U.K. 40 early this century. I just thought I would remind him again and thank him again. I am like that, I rarely forget when someone has helped or done me a favour.

He had sent them as he knew I already had experience with using betalights/Isotopes as bait, so knew I would take what was a new thing (to many), seriously enough to use and give honest feedback. Let’s delve back a little further though and tell a few stories.

My usage of glow in the dark baits started way back in late September 1984 (crikey 40 plus years ago). It was an after-work session down my local ‘Fletchers Pond’. Those carp loved a floating bait, but by September each year, they were really spooky of them, I did find though that after dark was a totally different scenario and with the night’s drawing in, I would take advantage of this. It had its problems, as could be imagined. It was way before bolt machines or similar, in fact anglers weren’t generally using bolt rigs in this area back then anyway. I had a few fish simply keeping ultra stealthy with a short line and basically waiting until I heard a cloop (don’t hear many of those these days) then a panicked swirl as they spooked. Most times they would have spat the bait, but every so often, one would be hooked. Particularly if soft breadcrust had been used as hook bait.

Once one had spooked, the fish would drift out and continue to feed. It seemed an obvious thing to do, but I’d not seen anyone else do it. I made a surface controller with a Isotope/betalight in it.

First trip with it and the carp kept trying to take controller, they were so obviously attracted to that tiny light source, or as has occurred to me in hindsight, perhaps that tiny light source was attracting some sort of fly, moth or whatever. Whatever the situation, that first trip the carp kept trying to take the light. The next evening, I was back with a betalight held on the hook with small float rubbers and a mini Polypop (mini soft polystyrene ball) either side to keep it afloat.
Ooh, it was like cheating, just waiting for the light to go out and strike!

That remained an edge for what seemed like forever. In fact, I don’t recall seeing anyone else do it or mention it. No doubt loads of others will now claim to have invented the method though.

Skip forward to the late 80’s and I was by then a member of the Patshull Church Pool syndicate, home of those amazing commons that would appear in the weeklies most weeks. It gave a false impression though as it could be a real tough water.

A lot of the summer fishing involved chest waders and wading your hook baits into place. Those carp loved the shallow margins. The beauty of this type of angling was the fact that I could creep out and look at the free bait scenario after a capture and it didn’t take many captures from a spot to find the best place to put the hook bait. All interesting stuff with lots to learn if you allowed yourself to learn.

The big problem when particle fishing has always been keeping the hook bait small enough and light enough, just to be sucked in with the other grains. I decided to do away with bait on the hook and simply counterbalance it, so it just sank. The mini polypop I used I figured at a push might just resemble a large lump of hemp inner. I wasn’t too bothered as most of the takes were coming in the dark anyway. Then the penny dropped. Memories of those surface fish I had on the mini lights. What would happen if I had a Betalight/isotope shining on the edge of a baited patch, like an unmissable glow worm?

The answer was, in that gin clear water, the carp grabbed it. In fact, it appeared they grabbed it before feeding on the free bait as most of the freebies (mostly seeds and small particles) would still be there after a capture.

It was a method I simply stopped using, as it was rather expensive when you lost a hook bait. At the time I was playing around with all sorts of different things, so I guess I simply got sidetracked, catching enough for me not to need to reach back for the tricks up the sleeve.

A decade plus passed by and I was on the Mangrove. Frank Warwick had joined and we were having the chin wag. I started working in the angling trade in 1980 and have never had a job outside of angling, so all day every day, I have spoken to anglers. It must be said that there are few that have actually dared go down their own route trying things that were far from proven, to find another edge. So many rely upon someone else coming up with something first. Yes, some of these then move it to the next level, but the actual original thinkers out there are so few and far between. Frank, I have always seen as an original thinker by a long way. Out paths don’t cross all that often, but when they do, the old grey matter gets a little extra exercise and we seem to find some interesting thing to discuss.

Anyway, the use of artificials as hook bait visual aids and to deter un-wanted species, (most aren’t as daft as carp) was still very low key. The chat with Frank made me open up to him some of the things I had used and still used. The artificial corn was out but I was still utilising the bits I had used for quite some time. Various bits from the fly-tying side of the shop I worked at, as well as some of the beads from the sea angling side. The most successful thing I had used though were actually small round pole floats!

I’d opened up and Frank did too, telling me some of the things that Enterprise Tackle were about to release to compliment their range that was already out there and also mentioned glow in the dark artificial boilies, promising to get some prototypes to me.

Well, the pack arrived as promised. You know what it is like when you are catching fish anyway, it can be difficult to switch what you are doing and at this stage I was catching quite a lot.

Skip forward just a few weeks and I was on a small, low stock, gin clear pit in Essex and had been wiped out of bait a couple of times. All that was left was the hook bait. The final night, I reached for a glow in the dark boilie, cut it in half and mounted it glow side up with half a boilie under it. The sink rate appeared like that of the freebies.

Well, it had only been dark for a short while when that hook bait was taken and the rig did its job. Because of the absolute tap water clarity of the water, it was the most obscure scenario where it looked like this tiny light was ripping line off me and feeling so very heavy. I won’t go into every twist and turn of the fight, but it went on for a bit and under the rod top it just looked so bizarre playing a tiny light bulb.

Eventually the fish was netted, weighed, retained (because the owner had asked me to) and the very next job was to send Frank a thank you text. I explained I had just landed my first U.K. 40 on one of the prototypes he had arranged for me to receive. I always try and give credit, where credit is due.

Now for total clarity, like so many things in angling, the glow in the dark scenario isn’t the be all and end all. I have fished waters where the carp don’t appear to be attracted by them, but there are also the waters where they are. Find the ones where they are and you will have a massive edge. From what I have seen, not many use them. All these years on and you could be the first.

Best wishes as always
Shaun Harrison