pop ups versus bottom baits in winter

[CarponlineEditor]

I placed this post on another forum but then thought that I would add it here as well to see what you lot thought.

I wondered what views there may be out there about the use of bottom baits or pop ups in the colder months. I can see the logic in using pop ups to try to avoid the rubbish which accumulates on the bottom of the lake in the colder months. Near enough every time you reel in there is some rotten leaf or the like attached to the hook. I have been trying a pop up on one rod each session but all of my fish have been caught using bottom baits where i cast out with a piece of that dissolving packing chip type thingy on the hook so that it sits down on the leaves. Even though saying that a chap caught one the other day using a bright white pop up but thats the only one ive seen come out on a pop up since i started on there in september. What do others think about this??

[Mustard]

Personally I don't like pop ups, I know that they obviously work because so many people fish with them. I don't know why this is but i always use bottom baits. A bit of the solar foam is a god send when fishing on top of debris. You just need to be careful and not pull back once you've cast as it can cause you to catch a leaf on the hook.
Also has anyone ever caught a fish with the hook covered in crap? Cause I was wondering just how much of a problem a leaf is on a hook because the lake i fish has a lot of debris in it and I have still caught on bottom baits.
Tight Lines
Merry Christmas to you all.

[Rivercarper]

I usually fish with crap round the hook it's called my bait.Recent results prove this theory true.

[Derby_Neil]

I fished yesterday and the 2 takes I had came to pop ups on the hinged stiff rig. I had a pop on 1 rod and bottom baits (1 glugged, 1 not) on the other and had nothing on the bottom baits.
As long as your hook isn't fouled by leaves etc. I'm quite happy to use bottom baits, but I'd say I've probably had more success overall fishing single pop ups with no freebies in winter.

[StanG]

Pop ups for me every time and big bright fluoresent (sp?) ones like Frank Warick recommends - they have worked for me on a number of waters and have outfished my other rod with darker baits of the same mix nearly every time.

[alex]

This is one of them tricky questions its a bit like the pop up or bottom bait over silt question. Pop ups have to be the best in my opinion as I have proved to myself for the past couple of weeks I have had takes on a pop up twice where as a bottom bait got nowhere but I fish a single Solar perfect pop up I don't like having bait around it.It ruins the presentation so to make up for the lost attraction I dip the hook bait for a week and change it every cast. For cold months I recomend Solar perfect pop ups in solar club mix flavour.

[scorpio]

I don't know too much about Carping but I would imagine the difference between pop ups and bottom baits is the location you are fishing, if you know the venue well and know you are in a silt free or mulch free zone bottom baits would probably outweigh pop ups but if it is silty then visa versa.... if you are not sure about the location your bait is in I would use one of each and then see which produced, make a note of the swim and then use pop ups only.

Tony

[Dan]

a treble hook!!??!!??

u r joking??

[Derby_Neil]

Tommo,
I seriously hope you are taking the [censored word].
Even if that's just a comment to wind people up you should'nt be posting it.
If you're serious then you are quite simply a barbaric fool.

Neil

[scorpio]

The post about treble hooks has been deleted as it was not a wanted comment on this site.

Tony

[Smarts]

So that's where I'm going wrong!

Smarts

[scorpio]

Pop ups work well for chub (popped up cheese paste) over hemp, I wouldn't know about the carp though.

Tony