Hemp Seed

Without doubt hemp has to be one of the most attractive carp baits. But why do carp like it so much? It could be that they like the taste which they surely do. But the most appealing aspect of hemp seed is that, once cooked properly they resemble the pea mussel which is one of the carps natural food items.

It must also be noted that these seeds of the cannabis plant contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life. No other single plant source has the essential amino acids in such an easily digestible form.

You cannot however use them for recreational purposes as all hemp seed sold in the UK is heat treated which removes the possibility of us smoking it! Hemp is also used to this day to make yarn whi9ch can then be used to make various garments. When cooked the white inner kernel of the seed reveals itself from the seed husk.

In the water the seed looks very much like a natural pea mussel. Hemp seed is great for creating a small bed of bait over which you can fish your hookbait. The small size of the seed means that the carp have to work hard for their dinner and often you can create a feeding frenzy especially if more than one fish is present.

Ultimately, this is the feeding situation that we should all strive to achieve because a pre-occupied carp is far easier to catch than a carp who is feeding cautiously.

Years ago the seed was only ever used as an attractor over which you fished. These days however, we now have more options available to us with the introduction of plastic baits including fake hemp. It is now possible to build rigs which use hemp (or more accurately plastic hemp) as the hookbait.

Hemp introduction should be carefully monitored, large quantities can have a negative effect on your fishing as the carp become so pre-occupied to the exclusion of everything else. Its a fine balancing act and one you will learn to judge through experience. A couple of pound of hemp can keep fish returning to the area for days.

Preparation - Soak the hemp seed in a bucket of water for 24 hours. Place the soaked hemp seed and its water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. When its boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Top-up the water as required to insure all the hemp stays covered with water. The key stage is when the inner white shoots break out of the dark husk. When you see this happen remove from the heat and allow to cool. Place the hemp and water into a bucket fit the lid. Leave a small gap for the pressure to release and its good to go.

Now you can either use straight away or up to 5 days later. You can even freeze the hemp for later use. A little tactic is freezing the hemp in cling film balls. These balls if still frozen can then be used for extremely accurate bait placement.

If you prefer to buy the hemp already prepared for you the Dynamite Baits Frenzied Hemp is perhaps the best on the market. They produce standard, chilli and a garlic flavoured hempseed in both tins and 2.5 litre plastic jars.

The Frenzied cooking process helps retain all of the water-soluble attractants of hempseed that are normally lost in boiling, leaving high grade seeds coated in rich oil.