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Use caution when dealing with snapping turtles.
Ever hear of finger foods...for this beast, it could be YOUR finger! |
I am a big fan of prebaiting an area most of the time before I fish it. However, in the dead of summer, sometimes it is not a good thing. It seems that in the summertime, prebaiting can actually be an invitation to every pest around a spot to come on in and feast. Take yesterday, for instance. I had prebaited a good spot in early afternoon and went back in the evening to fish for carp. Almost immediately, I hooked into a turtle the size of a manhole cover. A half hour later, I landed another beast about the same size I was also getting tapped constantly by dace as I caught some of them also. No doubt these warm water pests were attracted to the easy pickings and took up residence in the spot. There may have been some carp around but the more aggressive dace and turtles seemed get to my bait first. Last week we had a fish-in and the same thing happened. I prebaited the area. It was an invitation to horned pout to come in and feast. Once again, we landed horned pout but no carp.
So, I have come to believe that prebaiting seems to lose a lot of its advantages in the dead of summer, especially in the daytime hours. However, in areas where there are few pests (can't think of too many), prebating still offers a good shot at luring carp to your fishing spot. In areas where lots of pests exist, plan on catching a lot of things you don't want if you prebait.
