chick peas

[Mark]

I have tried chick peas for carp but have never had any luck. It could be that I don't give them long enough before I swap them for something I am more confident with. Good luck Smallscale, I would like to know your results.

[StalkingLuke]

I've also had some success with chickpeas, but an even better use is in this recipe it's delicious -

http://www.waitrose.com/content/waitros ... _stew.html

[St.John]

Shhhhhhhhh every Bugger'll start using them! Try soaking them in (dare I say it!) Scopex. They take flavours very well.

[Julian]

Not tried them properly - maybe a cast for half an hour or so a couple of times with no luck.
However I have tried kidney beans - a whole kidney bean on the hook with just a couple of swan shot pinched on a foot or so from the hook. I tried this on my 'Mr Crabtree pool' that I used to fish, back in 2007 and first attempt caught roach around the 1lb+ mark, and having caught about three roach my rod was then nearly pulled out of my hands when a carp took the bait. The result - an old mirror carp of about 13.5 lbs.
Since then I 've fished kidney beans using the sliding float method on the farm pool I currently fish, and although small rudd tried to 'peck' at the bait it stayed on the hook well enough until the farm pool carp took the bait (around 5-6 lbs at the time).
Must admit I haven't tried kidney beans or chick peas for a few years - time to try them again.

[Julian]

The kidney beans I used were straight out of the tin

[Vole]

They work very well in chick-pea flavour, worry not.

[Vole]

Last spring, I got into a routine of keeping a carp set rigged and ready to go; as soon as I sat down, out would go a handful of chick-peas along the margins, followed, as soon as I'd set up a landing-net, buy one or two chick-peas on a hair-rig. Free-spool on, lay the rod down, wind back just shy of tight, then loosen off two inches, so the line near the lead was lying flat; then start setting up my float rod.
For a spell in May and June, I'd have a carp take before I had got the float set-up ready rather more than half the time.

[GarryProcter]

Like DrBleep et al. I have used chick peas a lot for carp. I find they are an excellent bait, and usually flavour them using either strawberry or Scopex - both at very low levels (particularly Scopex for which 'more' can definitely not be better), often with a bit of sweetener (maple syrup or golden syrup) and colouring (yellow food dye). Soaked & cooked just like Dr Bleep. They also freeze very nicely, so I would usually make as big a batch as I had space for in the freezer, and freeze in bags of 8 oz. You don't need a lot for a morning/day/evening. Though 'non-traditional' (could chick peas ever be regarded as traditional?), one advantage of flavouring them is that I'm not tempted to eat them myself (I love chick peas!).

[GarryProcter]

DrBleep - when I lived in the US we fished a local river (the Merrimack) for carp, and chick peas were excellent for holding the large, roving shoals of carp. Maize was also good (prepared more or less in the same way as chick peas). You simply couldn't put in too much bait - those river carp are very greedy. And great fun when a shoal turned up. Arm aching stuff!