Back to Sweet Corn

This common fell for a combo bait of sweet corn
and a white artificial corn fished on the hair rig.

 It's a new year, but the most effective bait is the same in the wintertime.  Sweet corn rules.  

I was out today in a new January location that I had not fished before.  I had one rod out with maize and a white artificial.  The other rod had sweet corn with a pale pink artificial.  First carp was on the sweet corn.  Second fish was on the sweet corn.  Ok, that was enough.  I got rid of the maize and went with sweet corn and the artificial on both outfits.  I landed one more carp. Not bad for a mid January afternoon.

Without question from now until the weather warms, sweet corn from the supermarket will be your best bait whether you fish it on the hair rig or just on a hook.  Sweet corn is always a top notch bait, but the pests of warm water (bluegills, turtles, suckers and horned pout) love this bait also and can easily take it off.  In this cold water, all those pests are dormant.  If you get a hit on your bait, it is pretty much going to be a carp. I always fish my sweet corn on a hair rig and usually combine it with one artificial pop up.

Sweet corn from the supermarket
is your best bait at this time of
the year.

We are in a funky January as far as weather. The ponds don't seem to know whether they want to freeze or thaw. In the last week or so, in many places a thin coating of ice seemed to form at night and then melted in the daytime especially when the sun was out. Afternoon, the warmest part of the day, will always be your best bet at this time of year.