There are some days when everything you do works. The fish are swallowing anything that lands in front of them and you end up with a truckload of fish…

…these are the best days…but they don’t happen often.

 ….So what do you do the rest of the time, when the fish are real “picky”  and won’t take anything…or maybe there’s no fish there?

These are the days when you have to work a bit smarter…and think like a fish!

So how do you do this?

Easy….just appeal to their natural instincts…

All fish really want to do is eat, rest and make baby fish!

…and the best part of all is that their most primary need is to EAT.

You can take advantage of this by letting them know you have food. I call this “advertising” ! You are telling them food is here, “come and get it”….and when they do they will find your bait.

So the basics of this “advertising” is berley. It’s known around the world by different names, “groundbait”, “chum”, “scoff”, etc. but it is all the same thing. It is a recipe combining food traces and interesting smells thrown into the water to attract the fish.

In countries like Japan, China, throughout Europe and many other parts of the world it is common fishing practice to throw stuff into the water…to get fish out of the water!

So…how do you get berley and how do you use it?

 It’s pretty easy really!

To get berley you can buy it from you tackle store or you can make it. Tackle stores carry packets of berley pellets, pre mixed powders and some even stock small bottles of liquid additives and scents.

These are all do the job of attracting fish.

You can also make it yourself.

This can be as simple as using the scraps of fish left over after you prepare them for a meal or using some of your old bait, that’s no good for the hook but will still attract the fish.

…but then you can get a lot more sophisticated and mix a pantry full of scents, spices and additives into a real “cocktail” berley….

…this is widely practiced in the UK and you have to see it to believe just what they use.

So, rather than over kill the exercise let’s look at what you can put together very simply and bring more fish to your bait.

The base ingredient is bread crumb, plain and simple. Buy it from the supermarket and have it in your tackle bag on every outing.

If you get to a river, lake or the beach and you don’t have bread you can use dirt or sand. All you need is something to help bind together the other ingredients you will be using.

Next, use some of your bait as an additive. The more baits you use the better as this sends more smells into the water and adds more attraction.

If you use worms, shrimp, yabbies, live fish bait or any other living bait then sacrifice some of those, cut them into small pieces and put them in the mix.

Finally, raid the pantry at home for any spices like garlic, or jelly crystals (especially strawberry) and add a little of these to your berley mix.

The main thing is to just add a little scent to the berley…to spike interest in the fish. This can trigger a real feeding urge.

OK, so once you’ve mixed your berley you need to get  it to where you are fishing. Don’t just throw it around you in the water…

…target the spot you’re fishing and throw it there.

Add just enough water to your mix so you can mould it into balls that hold together enough to throw them…and sink without breaking up. This will put a layer of food scraps on the bottom…right where you are fishing.

If you are in the surf, it is best to throw some of the berley to where you are fishing and some just near the shore line so the surf can wash over it and take it out.

If you are in a boat, you can drop it immediately next to the boat….or if there is a current, suspend it in a bag tied to the boat to let is wash into the current and draw the fish back to your boat…and bait.

Don’t be scared that adding bait to the water will feed off the fish so they won’t take your bait. It’s been proven time and time again that berleying a fishing spot will attract fish…not repel them!