november-2026-free-line-part-2 - Flipbook - Page 129
FREE LINE / FIELD JOURNAL
KRIS FORD
FIELD NOTES
In a run of the mill situation, do the natural labels constantly tell the fish
what we are up to, or to put it another way, does the chemoreception
of the ingredients remove or see through (detect) the mask of any
other flavours/signals?
On the technical (deep) side, much is made of the L (Laevorotatory)
property of some ingredients. I know that a lot of bait formulation is
based around these elements and recipes constructed assuming this
denotation. Only very recently, as far as I can recall, was I made aware
of L- Laevorotatory and D- Dextrorotary properties of sugars. (My son
John reminds me that this was referred to in Kevin Maddocks excellent
Carp Fever . So that s where the book disappeared to.) This was prior
to my acquisition of Tim s book in a lengthy conversation with Mike
Wilson who himself is no mean player in the world of carp baits. One
thing Mike did tell me in confidence, with specific reference to one
particular bait, was that by overting L to D gave the bait an extremely
good success rate an opening of a door perhaps? On a slightly different
note, little reference has been made to MSG. We all know its reputation
in the realms of human food, but I have heard next to nothing of its
application in the carp bait world. More secrets?
My conclusions on bait remain unchanged if enhanced somewhat with
additional logic and knowledge. I just might have some fun playing
around with my established recipes, and it will be fun. What won t
change are my basic principles of trying to offer something new or
different certainly different to whatever is trending on the lakes that I
fish. All of my bait is air dried and kept that way in airflow bags or boxes.
I shy away from preservatives, but if a particular batch of bait starts to
show signs of deterioration, I will stick it in the freezer. The advantage
of dried baits is that they can be rehydrated by soaking in some form
of additive prior to use. Alternatively, I believe by just using them as
they are, the act of rehydrating in the lake actually helps the signals and
tastes leach out to do their work. Whatever the carp like works for me.
Oh yes
FREE LINE
by the way, if you have read this far, you should get Tim s book.
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