A lot of nuts are banned on carp fisheries nowadays. That doesn’t mean that using nuts in a butter form is. Today we are going to look at whether carp like peanut butter and we will see if it can help improve your carp fishing.
Answer: Yes, carp do like peanuts but there is much debate about whether the use of it is good for the fish’s health.
Apparently, carp love peanuts and can become addicted to peanuts and it’s bad for their health. We will talk more about that in this article below.
Contents
What’s so bad about peanuts in general?
Carp find it really hard to digest any type of nuts and that is the reason they are banned on a lot of waters. There is talk about them being linked to the deaths of certain well-known carp over the years usually one of the main rules at most fisheries is “no nuts”.
But isn’t peanut butter different to using whole peanuts?
Peanut butter has been processed, but we are unsure if it’s actually better or worse for the fish’s digestive system than whole nuts. I am going to guess here (as I am no expert) but I imagine it’s not as bad as a buttery mix is surely going to be easier for the fish to break up than a whole solid nut.
Do Carp Like Peanut Butter Sandwiches?
This is just for a bit of fun. I have seen it mentioned on carp fishing forums where fishermen have used a small piece of bread, then put peanut butter on it, then topped it off with another small piece of bread. They say it’s caught fish, and I have no doubt it has. For me though, it just seems a bit more hassle than it’s worth.
Check With The Fishery Owner
It’s a controversial one. If nuts are banned, then does that mean that nuts in a paste form are banned? For this reason, we think it’s best to check with the fishery before you go ahead and possibly break any rules or upset other fishermen.
So What Can Peanut Butter Be Mixed With?
It’s going to be a messy bait to use, but if we were going to use it (and the fishery allowed) then these are some carp bait recipes that we think will work well with peanut butter.
Mixed with 2mm pellets
My advice would be to make the peanut butter a little thinner by adding some water to it first and giving it a stir. Then, after that, add it to the pellets and make sure it’s soaked through.
Add To Groundbait
This is another option but my only issue is that it would make the mix become lumpy and might not go through a riddle very well.
Mix With Breadcrumbs
This is one of the more homemade bait recipes. Mixing it with breadcrumbs could be something good to try. With it being so sticky my advice might be to add it into a mug with a bit of boiling water just to slightly loosen it. It could then be made into a paste which could possibly be moulded around the hook or thrown in down the margins as a sort of homemade groundbait.
Dip Big Pellets In It
This would probably be my preferred use of peanut butter. It would be used more like a glug and stick to the pellet really well. If you use it this way and it works, please let me know.
It won’t work in PVA bags
It’s just a thought but these won’t work in a PVA bag as it’s going to go through it.
Should people just stick to traditional baits?
I was reading on a forum where some people who go carp fishing were getting very angry about the use of non-traditional baits, They argued that we should stick to bread, groundbait, meat, sweetcorn and pellets. I would argue this and say that people probably said that about the first people that tried sweetcorn or meat. You have to try these new things, but make sure that they are not going to do the carp or environment any damage.
What’s going to be worse? A boilie full of chemicals, or some peanut butter? I know what my answer is, but I am not a scientist and I will let you make your own mind up. However, I do not believe its the best bait to use with all the options that we have available to use nowadays.
Final Thoughts
Peanut butter is not a bait that I would use for catching carp. There are far more options to use for homemade baits than to mess around with a sticky bait that might not be allowed on the lake you are fishing.
However, as anglers, we are funny creatures and we all love to try to improve and catch carp.
If you try it, please let me know how you get on in the comments below and if it improved your carp fishing?
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.