Preparing Chickpeas for Carp Fishing 

save your money rich, they work superbly well on their own, adding additional flavours is a bit like peeing your money away😁😂

thanks paul, definitely no brand pushing on this channel👍😀

Your videos have been a Great help to my 13 Yr old Grandson. 👌👌👌

@@paulloom9876 that's great, i always try and keep the cost down and highlight alternative ways of catching that don't involve following the crowd (read brands!)👍

thanks bryan👍 old school fishing baits might not be as popular as the latest catchey named fashionable boilie but they are timeless and they always work👍😊

thanks rune, very kind of you to say that but i always struggle with my story telling, i start off with a great idea for a video but by time i've finished it's usually nothing like my original idea, my videos tend to take on a life of their own once i've started😁😂

@@MarkCarp hahaha. Although, as a listener/spectator, you really catch my attention. No doubt :D

@@runerune-_-9727 i'll stick with the same formula then, my channel is growing slowly so i must be doing something right?, more of the same it is then, thanks rune👍😁

thanks franz, yes it's a minefield but it doesn't have to be, keep it simple mate, catching carp is all about location, just focus on finding the fish and fishing where they are with a simple rig, if you can do that then you'll do well👍

i never realised chick peas were so popular until i made this video👍😀

thanks chris👍😀

that's a great result phil, just goes to show you don't need expensive boilies to catch carp👍😁

@@MarkCarp I have had many a good days fishing with a bit of bread or cheese

@@Offcut55 cheese is on my list of baits to cover phil👍

@@MarkCarp I did have a great day with bread and soft cheese spread mixed into a dough. Both were the cheapest I could buy.

@@Offcut55 cheap works for me phil, i'm not one for lining the pockets of bait companies with my hard earned😂

no mate they won't survive a cast like that. i have used them at range but only as a snowman hookbait with a fake chickpea on top, the fake chick pea helps absorb the cast. just a chickpea or two normal chick peas wouldn't be very good for range though.😉

Thanks Eddie, much appreciated👍🙂

that's an interesting one joe, I've never heard of anyone using robinson's before joe?, thanks for sharing👍

Do you leave the water in the bucket.

two reasons i don't use a tin robert, first you get a lot more for your money if you buy them dried like this and second, because they are in a tin of water for so long the tinned ones are exceptionally soft, i've had a few fly off the hair on the cast and they are easily nibbled off a hair rig so i don't trust them, i've sat there a few times and wound in with no bait on😂🤔

they've always worked well for me too brad, I look on at the modern carp scene with disbelief, Ronnie rigs and washed out pink popups, no wonder peoples catch returns are so poor, carp just won't stand for the same trick over and over again. Funny you should mention black eyed beans, that video is currently in the planning stage👍😁

I do use the Ronnie rig sometimes but I don’t use them religiously I prefer the line aligner rig with a balanced tiger nut or particles and there a good bait black eyed beans mark.

@@brad5308yeah I've used the black eyes before brad but not recently, there may have been changes in fashion over the years but a good bait will always be a good bait and if its overlooked all the better👍

thanks hombre, i'm amazed you can understand me, apparently i have quite a heavy and localised scouse accent (liverpool) 😂

@@MarkCarp we have a few guys living here from your part of the world ...some i can understand clearly and some talk and i just nod my head agreeing with them wondering what the hell was said ... lmao ! by the way iI was able to get 4 commons today on this cold winter day using small pva bags and plastic corn hook baits . went small after watching one of your videos , worked out good .Thanks to your tips !

@@texashombre yeah small can be good at times, specially when it's cold. i wonder what some people round here are saying, some people talk so fast they should come with subtitles😂

that wasn't a coincidence mate, they are a great bait👍

cheers paul, I predict you'll catch well with them👍

@@MarkCarp Cheers Mark will be getting some tomorrow!

good luck mate, i'm sure he'll catch a few with the chickpeas, they are a great bait👍

hi john, thanks for the kind words, yes you can do tares in a flask, just follow the hemp video, the prep is the same👍

cheers bickie👍

you're welcome dave👍😎

thanks for the sub paul and welcome back to fishing, the chickpeas will do well for you mate, all you have to do is put them in the right place👍🎣😁

thanks brian👍

nice one Stephen, cinnamon is a classic, I remember the late rod Hutchinson recommending that one but I haven't tried it myself. I have used bergamot oil though, that's a cracker and another classic👍

cheers john, you make vids yourself so you know what goes into them, I ruined half of this one when my dslr focused on the fence behind me and I got blurred, I had to re-shoot it😁😁😁lol

nice one lewis, well done mate, they are a cracking bait, one of the best particle baits out there for sure👍🎣😎

@@MarkCarp I've been playing around with making some of my own ground baits, do you have any recipes. I've been using cooked rice, bread crumbs, bird seed mix and some paprika for a bit of colour. Trying to go back to the basics

@@lewismartin8950 I wouldn't bother trying to make your own lewis, there are two things that are really good as groundbait, one is original vitalin dog food in the yellow sacks, it's about £16 for a 15k sack, the other is a horse feed called baileys no1 cooked cereal meal, it's £12-£14 for a 20 kilo sack, cheap as chips both of them mate👍

@@lewismartin8950 you can also get a 20k sack of bran for just over the £10 mark👍

@@MarkCarp I'll have a look into it getting some. Thanks 😊🍻

they are on my list of particles to cover along with a few others paul👍

@@MarkCarp Nice1 mate I might make kidney bean boilie I've got my own range of baits which I sell so I may do some testing all the years I used them and with the old chickpeas and maize we hammered carp out even at the start of the 80s was a good secret we were like that then tell no one approach lol.I will say one thing if you use alot of method mix bang spirilina kelp yeast in catch rate goes right up I don't know anyone doing it.

cheers dave, I've used them on and off for many years, every time I go back to them I wonder why I changed?, sometimes it's due to ravenous bream and tench but sometimes it's just change for change sake😁 lol

excellent news mate, sometimes you just need a little change to turn things in your favour👍🎣😎

me too Richard, I don't understand why nobody bothers with them any more, they're such a good bait👍

hi terry, that's superb, a brace of 20's in january is not something anyone achieves often!, well done mate, you've had a right result there👍👏👏

@@MarkCarp Thank you Mark. After watching your How to tie a rig for beginners, if there is any one thing to take away from that, as I will, is the finger test. I’ve checked my previously tied rigs and not surprisingly, 60% failed that test! They are in the bin. Thanks so much for how you teach that old style we learnt as kids. Great!!

@@terrybridgeman1920 thanks terry, i think a lot of lessons from the old days are lost today, anglers just seem to use whatever is popular regardless of how well it might or might not work, personally i've always lived by the motto if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it👍😀

@@MarkCarp There is just one other method I use, albeit you have not mentioned but good for winter. I watch my barometer and look for low pressure coupled with rising temperature. Doesn’t happen too often but if you are going out on a coldish day then it may be worth the wait. Just my opinion! It did after all give me that brace of common that I mentioned before.

@@terrybridgeman1920 i follow the same kind of thing terry, low pressure generally brings milder temps with warm air from the south and west, it's a good one to watch that and a lot of my winter results have come when there's a low pressure system over us👍

always worth picking a bag up when you do the weekly shop gareth👍

I've given up soaking baits maff, i'm not convinced it works and i'm tighter than a ducks arse when it comes to spending my hard earned...lol...you'll like the chickpeas, they are a very good bait, good luck with your session mate👍

it's absolutely true isn't it, have you noticed how they keep pushing the ronnie rig, they've been doing it for years now, it's not because its the bestest rig in the world, it's because you need £40 of bits to start tying it instead of half that for a normal rig, it's not advice to catch more carp, it's advice to lift coin from your wallet👍

@@MarkCarp absolutely mate and now the bring out the balancing weights for it it’s non stop. I keep it basic

@@RMinkjunkie i've never even used a ronnie rig so i won't be buying the balancing weights either😂

@@MarkCarp 🤣

yeah they are a good belt tightener matt, I've already covered maize on this channel and that's probably the best belt tightener of all😁😁

they work really well paul, good luck mate👍

cheers colin, interesting way of doing them, the shaved tiger is a good idea too, sometimes I find myself in need of a 'small fish' resistant hookbait, thanks for sharing that one and yes, power to the pea-ple👍😁

cheers adie, the north face is/was great for fishing, it was a 3 in 1 and excellent on the bank. i didn't buy it for fishing though, after quite a few years use i replaced it and relegated it to a fishing coat. i'll never buy a branded fishing coat, i like the 3 in 1's, they keep you warm and dry when needed and they are very flexible so i always re-purpose once it's seen a few years use. my current fishing coat is a 3 in 1 goretex berghaus which was even more expensive, again it's been relegated to fishing having been worn for quite a few years👍

nice one tom, good luck mate, they will catch you bream and tench as well mate👍

Oh rite so I can be using them on the local stretch then? I’ve been told tench are thriving nearby

cheers smiff, funnily enough i'm just soaking some of these for an after work session on wednesday, definitely one of my favourite baits these👍🎣😎

cheers Michael, I hope you find it useful mate👍

no danny, it's very straight forward, a few seconds to put them on soak and maybe half an hour in the kitchen the next day and that's for the whole process, they really are a brilliant bait too👍

thanks mate , cheap bait = more fishing👍

i think we've all been there jevon, we buy this stuff and end up not using it, that's carp fishing for you, there are so many variables it's quite easy for companies to convince you to buy stuff you don't really need. Experience eventually teaches us not to fall for it, well it teaches some of us, some people will still fall for the advertising no matter what. Funny you should mention beans, i'll be covering some of them in the near future👍

thanks mate, i'm glad you found it useful👍

cheers mark, yes I know of the stretch, I haven't lure fished on the dee for many years but I do intend to go back there in the future, duly noted about the perch, they are right through the river and the new estate looks like it might be worth a look too👍

thanks matt👍

sorry mr fd, only just found this comment, it wasn't the chick peas mate, sometimes places just don't fish well, don't give up on them, your change bait didn't produce either so give the chicks another crack👍

very good😂

thanks john👍

yeah they are great baits barry, similar to you, one of my mates puts chilli powder in his👍 if I change them it's usually some salt in the water at the beginning of the soaking stage but that's not very often👍

nice one mal, I do still use boilies myself but not that often, it very much depends on how much angling pressure there is, if it's busy then I go onto particles and leave the boilie lads to it, if there's no angling pressure then I take the lazy option and use readymades. I have used black eyed beans and they will be added to the series but not quite yet, apart from the fact that we can't go fishing at the moment, I've already bought in two particle baits that will both be covered ahead of black eyes. it will probably be next year before I get to them but I promise I will👍🎣 Geoff kemp was very influential on my early carp fishing, i'm currently debating if I should release a video I've made recently, he gets a mention in it but I don't particularly like the way the video has turned out so it may not see the light of day😁 lol

@@MarkCarp Hi Mark, Thanks for the reply. It's so true what you say, that carp anglers (Including me), get drawn into the 'must have' baits, rigs, carp gear, plugged by top brand companies. It refreshing and interesting to know, that like you say, it is still possible to catch carp on basic rigs and bait, while at the same time, saving loads of cash. I still have a couple of large containers, of the original Jeoff Kemps bait flavour, from the 80's, 'Evaporated milk and ice cream' I would not use it in baits now, but great to open them and get high on that dairy smell, from the past. Back then, I met Jeoff, when he came to a very small carp meet, in a pub function room, over in kent. He gave us a talk, about how he applied his knowledge, gained from his 'A' level chemistry, to develop his range of bait mixes and flavours. Interestingly, he also squashed the rumours, that his bait mixes had chalk in them!!! Looks like on Google, he moved on to be in the Koi carp scene. I have subscribed to your channel and will look out for future video's. Cheers...… Mal

@@Malcarper thanks mal, welcome aboard👍😁 yes evapourated milk and ice cream is one I remember along with the zings, specially green zing, by time I was making my own baits, which was 1990 onwards, we had nutrabaits and they were my 'go to' for flavours but Geoff's writings on flavour bases/solvents were highly influential on my bait making and fishing, he was miles ahead of the pack back then, I never met him but his opinions and findings were a massive help to me back then😉 the koi carp scenes gain has been our loss for sure😉

thanks simon👍

indeed they do👍

hi alam gul, the chickpeas work really well, good luck👍

@@MarkCarp ok sir

thanks andy, i think a lot of fish claimed on company baits have fallen to particles, specially tiger nuts, people will do anything for a bag of bait or even a crappy discount. i went to one of franks slide shows once and he was dying his chick peas different colours and feeding certain colours into certain areas of the lake to try and work out where they fed but the carp crapped out all the colours and not just one😁 not just bait that's gone mad mate, what about those gas bills!, that will send everything up badly, i'll be doing some money saving vids this year for sure👍

Look forward to seeing them Andy

@@andyg9784 thanks mate👍

no doubt they will work for you gaz, a word of caution though mate bream and tench love chickpeas too😁😁😁

Don’t mind tench just hate snotty bream

@@GazEdwards8690 try them and see how you go then gaz, they are only £1 or so for a bag and if you get breamed you can leave them alone👍

hi andy, i'm not a fan of adding anything to chick peas, use them as they are and save your money mate. only when they stop catching for you should you think about adding anything to change them. if you get to that stage i'd add just one thing from your suggestions, they'll all work but salt would be my first choice, it might be worth dyeing them a different colour too but only do these things if they stop catching, keep it simple and just do the bare minimum👍

yes absolutely mate, dry weight of bait is a lot lighter, after prep its much higher, I've never actually weighed the end result but I will weigh this weeks and reply with how much it is👍 I've never understood putting additives in particles, we use them to be different and perhaps cheaper than boilies then go and add boilie type additives and at considerable expense, it's a complete waste of time and money but carpers are easily swayed👍

no mate, no bass here in the uk, we do have pike and perch though👍

@@MarkCarp im thinking you might be joking? no bass?? and noone ever though of introducing bass into uk? same you uk introduced those nasty garbage vacuming, mud kicking, poop machines carp to the usa.?

We have had carp here for longer than the USA has existed! they where introduced here by monks in the 15th century.

hi nascar, yes mate, crossing lines can be an issue, mainly when playing a carp close in because they'll quite often go through your other line. we get round it by dropping the rod tip of the other rod so the line on it sinks to the bottom, once it's out of the way it's quite straight forward from there👍

great price that baz, the tesco bag in this video is £1.15 for half a kilo now, still cheap but your find is better👍

i haven't made my own boilies in years mate, i used to 30 years ago when i was between jobs and skint but there's better ways to spend your time than slaving over a rolling table, i'd take the chick peas or tiger nuts any day👍😁

ha ha, staff discount on your £1 a bag bait then phil👍🎣😁😁😁lol

yeah you can ben, they work well out of the tin as well but you don't get anywhere near as many, the bag is much better value for money👍

hi bob, you can use chick peas straight out of the tin with no preparation required, it's only the dried peas that need to be soaked and boiled. you can use them in a pack bait, try mixing the water from the chick peas with porridge oats👍

@@MarkCarp Thank you Sir. I did not expect such a prompt response. I found your video to be both delightful and informative. I did subscribe and will look for additional ones. Sad to say, California seems hell bent on eliminating Carp. California authorities are short sighted in many ways. Back when I worked, I commuted to the Manchester area (Woodford) rather frequently for British Aerospace. Wish I had been tuned into Carp then. I settled on a not too distant day fishing trout pond when I had some free time.

@@57tubeviewer it's a shame they want to get rid of them bob, as i understand it they were stocked for food but they never really caught on?. they are great sport fish, one of the hardest fighting you'll encounter, i hope i'm still catching them if i make it to 86!👍

@@MarkCarp Well, 86 is in the rear view mirror; and 87 approaching fast. Never expected to be still fishing; and very thankful. In fact I attribute my longevity to redescovering fishing at 60ish.

@@57tubeviewer nice one bob, it's great you're still going strong, it's healthy being out in the fresh air, the longer you can keep fishing the better you'll be for it and carp fishing fits the bill nicely because you get to sit down and relax once you've cast out😁

cheers mark, I always wondered what it was, I've always found myself having to back the gas off during boiling to make sure it doesn't spill over👍

hi alan, yes they are left to cool in the water, once back in the bucket they stay in the water they are in, they should never be drained mate, take them to the lake in the bucket and use them straight out of it, if you've any left at the end of the day just chuck them in and start afresh next time. good luck mate👍

@@MarkCarp thanks Mark.

they really are a top bait mate, you've no excuse for blanking now😁

they worked for me stephen, i used them on the river dee in chester and caught well with them👍

thanks mate, chick peas are brilliant, I've always got a few bags in the cupboard, if I don't use them for fishing they go in a casserole or a curry, a bit like peperami, you can always eat it yourself👍😁

they are good all year round, I caught in cold conditions and with a harsh easterly wind just doing this video👍

I've done the odd recce on cound mate but not really fished it, the carp stock is low, quite a few small commons in the 8-12lb range were put in a few years back and these make up the bulk of captures, there is a few very nice fish in there if you can wade through those stockies, its a hard water though, very deep and very weedy👍

thanks for replying mate when you say good fish do u think theres 30s in there

@@neilgilbert830 yes there are👍🎣

@@MarkCarp is carp tasty

@@tjeerdoosinga9932 I don't know mate, it's catch and release only here, we don't eat them, we put them back👍

yeah it's been mentioned, the tins cost more than buying dry peas so you get more for your money this way and the tinned ones are much softer as they are in water for months on end, i've found tinned ones don't stay on a rig as long because of this so i wouldn't recommend them👍

that doesn't surprise me terry, they are nice and soft and just about everything eats them, i've not had a 2lb roach on them, there aren't many in the waters i fish but i've had some decent bream and tench👍

hmmm, the alarm bells should be ringing there ade, check your rigs mate, something is very very wrong with your presentation and assuming your hooks are sharp i'd say you need to change your rigs?👍

@@MarkCarp I have mate I've been trying everything from hair rigs to ronnie rigs and chods rigs also different flourocarbon carbon and different types of braids even hooks I just think I'm going to unlucky spell at the moment hopefully I'll break the spell soon

@@adriancooper7225 time to go back to basics ade, keep it simple, go back to a bog standard hair rig, no chods or ronnies, just a bog standard carp rig with a knotless knot and a hook flipper or kicker if you need it, either braid or coated braid 8-10" with the last inch or two stripped behind the hook, you won't go wrong with that mate👍

@@MarkCarp that's exactly what I've been thinking just go back to basic and simple rigs and not over think it or complicate it which I probally have been doing 😁 I probably back to basics when Tuesday and Wednesday this week

@@adriancooper7225 yep, over thinking and over complicating, it's one of the biggest sins in carp fishing ade😁lol

sorry lucas, can't say mate, club has a publicity ban, i used to be able to film there as long as it wasn't mentioned but i'm not even allowed to do that anymore.

hi mate, yeah you can use them out of the tin if you want, you don't get anywhere near as many in a tin so they cost more and because they are stored in water for a long period of time they are a lot softer, this makes them a bit less 'small fish proof', I've also lost the odd tinned one on the cast when it's come off the hair but that generally only happens if you're fishing at range. fresh is always best in my book but yes they will work👍

no😂

no mike, not suitable for freezing, they are just too soft mate, the only particles i freeze are tiger nuts and hemp👍

@@MarkCarp ok mate, thanks for the reply. I'll do them in small batches then. They look epic.

thanks jeff👍 the short answer is no, i wouldn't fish for cats with b175's, they just aren't strong enough to deal with them, i've done all my cat fishing with a korda kurv shank mate👍

@@MarkCarp Thank you . I used to use Raptor hooks for cats . Think they were made by E.S.P.. Going to mke some carp rigs using the B175 . Will get some Korda curve for the cats . Cheers Tight lines ..

@@jeff1962-y the raptors you have should do for the cats jeff, unless you've been losing a few you might as well stick with them?, i did ok on the kurv when it came to the cats, i didn't lose any and they proved to be pretty good, they are certainly strong enough but i think most carp hooks are, the b175 are trout hooks so they aren't strong enough for an animal as strong as a cat.

@@MarkCarp Thank you .

@@jeff1962-y you're welcome jeff, good luck with those cats mate👍

thanks peter, it's a waste of money imho, carp love natural particles and it's definitely the best way to use them👍

hi trev, you can use tinned chickpeas, straight out of the tin, nothing more to add👍

use a big hook jay, go through both halves of the pea so it won't split apart and it should stay on. I've never used them for barbel or chub, there's no reason why they won't work but i think i'd probably still hair rig them👍

hi rob, you should be able to find them in tesco, they'll be with the seeds and pulses or possibly somewhere near the curry stuff, they tend to be in the very big stores only though. tinned ones do work, so you're ok there, you just don''t get as many but you don't have to do anything to them, just use them straight out of the tin. i like to find the carp first and fish where they are, if i can't find them then i'll set up somewhere i can see all or most of the lake and keep watch, when the carp do give themselves away i move onto them. location is massive, it's way more important than any bait or rig👍 thanks for the offer but i'm too far away and it's a work day👍 good luck mate, i hope you find them and catch one👍🎣

hi mate, i'm not sure you can make them bream proof, i'm sure i read somewhere you can fry them in oil and they go like bullets but i've never actually tried doing it and i'm not sure how long they'd stay rock hard once out in the lake?, i just change to tigers if there's too many bream/tench. long live the monkeys, best indicators ever🤣

@MarkCarp Thanks Mark - I'll give it a try when they get too bothersome and let you know how i get on. Yep - the monkeys take some beating - far more versatile system than swingers!

@@urbanaut100 people follow fashion mate, monkeys did come back in style for a while but they've gone again, for me they are so simple and pretty much unbreakable so as long as you don't lose them you'll never need to change them🤣 fried chick peas actually sound quite nice🤣

@MarkCarp Yeh absolutely - you couldnt get big chunky one's backbin the day so I had some heavyweights made at British Steel in early 80s out of 30mm tufnel by a Lathe Turner and used them ever since - they're brilliant and have gone the distance over the years and never failed me. The thing I like is if you're snag fishing you can put the rods at 2.5 feet high to give them a long drop - but then they hit the reels and game over!

@@urbanaut100 the days when you made stuff yourself, i was lucky my dad was an engineer working at a local firm, he made me banksticks and lead moulds back in the day. i miss those days👍

hi mate, tinned chick peas work just fine, no need to cook them, you can use them straight out of the tin👍

hi james, yes, you can mix them in with your groundbait, you can put them in whole, chop them up, put them through one of those ridge monkey grinder thingy's or even liquidise them...but you still have to prepare them first👍

@@MarkCarp thanks mark. Having sent that question i thought it was possibly a bit obvious what the answer would be. A better question would have been about ground bait in general - does it have to match our hook bait or can ground bait be anything and everything? If i send out lots of chick peas into the water, is it a bit daft to expect a bite if i'm using a boilie on the hook? Thanks mate 👍🎣

@@anglingoldskool hi james, groundbait can be anything mate, i've done quite well using a different hookbait over groundbait and particles, it plays on a carp's curiosity, a different bait over the top can often be first taken. it's the same kind of thing with popups, you fish a popup over a bed of bait and because it's popped up it stands out and is often taken first. i have no problems fishing a different bait over the freebies, a boilie over chickpeas, a chickpea or a maple pea over hemp or groats, the combinations are endless👍

@@MarkCarp fantastic mate. Fascinating stuff 👍 really appreciate you answering questions on older vids. Cheers, James.

@@anglingoldskool you're welcome mate👍

hi and thanks steve, yes the monkey's are 30 years old now, i lost one last month but thankfully it was found and handed in and i got it back last week, but not before i'd bought a new set of esp bobbins, i'm torn now and plan to try and use both👍😁 you can freeze chickpeas but they'll go soft and come off the hair more easily so i wouldn't recommend it myself😉

@@MarkCarp ha ha my monkey climbers are probably as old as that along with a set of original Optonics, icetopes long since packed up. Love my sonics and Korda stows though. Great video

@@kghwanadoo cheers kev👍 i had optonics too but i upgraded to delks eventually, i can't seem to get away from the monkey climbers though, i always end up going back to them, my last purchase was esp barrel bobbins but they are in the draw somewhere and the monkeys are back on, no false bites when it's windy and they are so simple they'll never break, what's not to like?😁

hi john, yeah the tackle shop can have a mind boggling array of boilies😁 regarding budget rods, the chub outkasts (12ft 3lb) are good value for money and a good allrounder, for bigger waters and longer casting the shimano tx2 or tx3 will do nicely and won't break the bank, if it was me looking for a set of rods now i'd choose the tx3's (12ft 3.5lb), they are very highly regarded and a good casting rod for anyone on a budget👍

Brilliant thanks Mark 👍

leave it on mally, the pea will split in half very far too easily without it👍

@@MarkCarp cheers mate

yeah it's not an easy to get your head round is it?. i've always gone with the thought that it's not the hook they detect, it's more the bait being attached to your line. they can be finnicky feeders carp, they'll suck and blow at items on the bottom and they can literally kick your baits around before picking them up, i've even seen them waft baits around with their pectoral fins before picking them up, literally like they were testing them to work out which one was attached/dangerous. when the bait is in the mouth a bare hook gives the best chance of taking hold, if it was buried inside the bait they'd manage to eject it every time, with a bare hook we'll manage to win one now and again (they pick up our baits far more then anglers realise)👍

hi rob, they are a soft bait anyway and freezing makes them even softer, I only ever froze mine once and I wouldn't do it again after I wound in and found no bait on the hair, it's a fresh bag for me every time mate👍

hi mate, my preferred method is to scoop a few peas out and dry them on a towel, you should be able to get them dry enough to go in a pva bag or some mesh provided you're quick enough casting it out. You can also 'salt' them, particles mixed with sea salt won't melt pva👍

@@MarkCarp thanks sir Nice videos I follow you on RU-vid

@@Pescapesca8 you're welcome and thanks for the follow👍

Hi Jamie, no conclusive proof of the toxins, that seems to be a theory that's originating from the continent and its not an opinion I agree with, I've always kept and used chick peas in the water I've prepared them in, I even let them ferment in that water and they've always been a top notch bait, don't chuck the water mate, I never would👍

@@MarkCarp thanks mate

@@jamiebury1807 no worries👍

hi joe, i find tinned chick peas quite soft, they don't stay on the hook/hair as well but yes, you can certainly use them👍

in the old days anglers used to use tomato soup.

I've had them crapping chick peas loads of times glen, to be honest i'd rather deal with crapped out chick peas than say a fishmeal boilie👍🎣😁

sorry no link for the rod stand liath, it's 30 years old and the company that made them went out of business about 25 years ago, you can still find the odd used one for sale around the internet if you're patient, it's called a 'kjb rod pod' 👍

@@MarkCarp I've purchased couple of the Chinese made pods from Amazon, but unfortunately they were worthless. Will try to find some used kjb pods. Thanks for the info, Cheers

you're welcome mate, if you can't find one have a look at the pods from fox international, nash tackle or jag stainless, they seem to be the popular brands I see on the bank every week👍

hi david, leave the skins on mate, it helps stop the two halves of the pea from falling apart👍