Groundbait is key to getting the fish into your swim, and keeping them there. An attractive shower of tasty groundbait should lead the fish straight to your hookbait. But whilst it is common practice to continuously feed the fish to hold their interest, it is possible to feed them too much. So what is the answer? We would like to recommend the art of suggestion.
Let’s say your venue shines when you are fishing tutti frutti boilies. All good. Except what do you introduce to the swim to keep the fish turned on to that bait? Throwing out handfuls of boilies might work at the beginning, but there’s only so many boilies a carp can eat. The good news is you can still keep their interest. By making the very same hookbait into very fine groundbait, you can create a scent cloud that will galvanise the fish into feeding on bigger, similar flavoured offerings. How is this achieved? Why, a bait chopper of course!
Above all else a bait chopper must perform the task for which it was designed, that is, making big bait into smaller bait, regardless of what the bait is. It must be easy to use, and removing your chopped bait should be quick and simple. A big plus point which might go unnoticed is ease of cleaning. After a few sessions the last thing you want is a funky chopper.
We’ve provided some decent recommendations, that should satisfy all of the above. Let’s cut to the chase:
Best Bait Choppers
Hand powered perfection: KUUK Mini Pull Chopper Food Processor
Best alternative brand
- Purely hand powered
- Dishwasher safe
- Power free, no batteries
Ok, so we know this isn’t a fishing brand, but so what? It does the job, and it does it well. If you look very closely, you might see that it bears more than a passing resemblance to the Garbolino bait chopper. One pull of the chord causes the blades to chop 16 times. It will go through; boilies, worms, pellets, corn, you name it! Depending on your pulling power and bait you could even make a flavour rich paste. This isn’t the smallest piece of kit so it’s up to you whether you want to take it all the way down to the bank, or do your bait prep at home before you head out. The good news is you can put the entire thing in the dishwasher, keeping it sparkly and fresh.
Designed for fishing: Multi Bait Grinder System by NGT
Best for casual use
- Hand cranked
- Easy Clean
- custom designed
NGT is fast becoming a popular name when it comes to gadgets. This bait chopper doesn’t have a huge capacity, but it’s smaller size means you might just find room in your box for a bit of chopping on the peg. Strong enough to handle pellets and boilies, the chopper will reduce your bait to bits in seconds. The action of this device is more akin to crushing than chopping, so your bait won’t be quite as fine.
Mike has over 30 years of fishing experience in carp fishing and general coarse fishing. He is always looking for the latest fishing kit to try out and talk about and needs a bigger shed due to all the fishing tackle he owns. You can read more about him here.