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It is ironic that given the huge range of designer carp baits that have materialized in the past few years, perhaps the world's number one carp bait is among the cheapest, easiest to obtain and simplest to prepare: maize. And while maize does not exactly 'grow on trees' it does grow on plants and it is readily available worldwide at very low cost. 
| Seeds, pulses and beans have always been excellent carp baits, simply because they are cheap and instant. Bearing in mind that carp are designed to exploit dense concentrations of natural food items such as water snails, bloodworm etc., particle style baits, when fed in dense concentrations, come the closest to reproducing natural food sources. And because particle baits can be fed in dense concentrations, they keep fish rooting and searching for food for extended periods of time. | Maize Balanced... |
The success of maize as a carp bait is not difficult to understand. It is bright in colour and therefore easily found by fish; it is a tough-skinned bait that smaller, nuisance species have difficulty in breaking down and yet carp, with their powerful pharyngeal teeth find easy to deal with; it contains natural sugars and is rich in energy-giving carbohydrate and as such fulfils certain dietary requirements. 
| Regardless of the why's and wherefore's of maize as a bait, carp anglers need to understand just one thing; carp love it! For virgin carp that receive scant or no angling pressure, it is instantly accepted by carp and will probably produce fish more instantly than any other bait. A bed of maize is perhaps the greatest fish-stopper of them all: cruising fish rarely ignore it. Even educated carp have a liking for maize and in the UK, where carp are perhaps more heavily fished for than anywhere in the world, some of the biggest and most prolific carp waters are being 'taken apart' by anglers fishing beds of hemp and maize. | Maize Pop-up |
Even on venues where carp have been caught on maize numerous times, they still seem to have a fatal attraction to the bait and it has a terrific lifespan. Just last week, I was catching carp from Horseshoe Lake in Lechlade on maize and hemp.Where do I get it?
Maize is very easy to obtain. Specialist retailers sell unprepared and prepared maize in bulk quantities. Indeed, one retailer is also selling a variant of the bait known as 'popcorn maize' which, though similar in appearance to normal maize, is smaller, rounder and more vividly coloured. Seed merchants also sell maize and it is readily available in sacks throughout the world. How do I prepare it?
Maize is a tough-skinned bait and no amount of preparation or boiling will fully soften it. It does need to be soaked and boilied, however. Like may particles, un-prepared maize can pose health risks to carp because if it is ingested it will swell in the carp's gut, causing major digestive problems and a risk of death. Maize is best prepared by soaking for twenty-four hours followed by intense boiling for around half an hour. This softens the bait slightly, causes it to swell and releases some of the fish-attracting natural sugars. There is no point in fishing with un-prepared maize because prepared maize is more effective anyhow. I keep a large boiling pot at home and I use this to prepare bulk particles like hemp and maize. Another good investment is a small boiler - these were once used to boil babies nappies but they are becoming more scarce and you'll have to scour the bric-a-brac shops if you want to buy one. Additives
Maize does not absorb additives easily, but if you soak the bait in flavour or sweetener and then add additional liquids while the bait is cooling, you will achieve some success. Sugar is a good additive and I usually add several tablespoons to maize before and after preparation. How Long Does it Keep?
Prepared maize will not last indefinitely and it does begin to ferment after a couple of days in the sun. Actually, some anglers, myself included, believe that fermenting maize is more effective than the fresh stuff. This is probably because as the maize begins to ferment it releases large amounts of natural sugars. You can always tell when maize is starting to ferment - it has a distinctive smell and it goes very sticky. Certainly, I am happy to use several-days-old maize, but when it starts to smell 'musty' rather than fermented, I prepare a fresh batch. Maize - Combining it with Other Baits
Maize fishes very well in combination with other baits. Where nuisance fish such as bream are a problem, try introducing some boilies over a bed of maize and fishing with boilies on the hook. Maize and tiger nuts are a great combination that certainly takes some beating - don't overdo it, though; a couple of large catapults of bait is enough to stop opportunist or cruising fish. When you want to pit out a lot of bait, combine maize with hemp and really go for it - this is one of the greatest 'big hit' combinations of them all.
Maize Hook Baits
Maize specialists pay great attention to hook baits. We skim off the best, roundest grains for use on the hook. Sorthing through a bucket of prepared maize, twenty or thirty 'prime' hook baits are selected and these are stored in a small airtight tub or pot along with a favourite additive. I soak my maize hook baits in Hinders Betalin, a thick sickly-sweet substance that certainly enhances the attraction of the hook bait. I have grains of maize in my rucksack that have been soaking in Betalin for three years! Maize hook baits can be made even more attractive to carp if they are critically balanced, especially on weedy or silty waters. Critically balanced baits sink very slowly to settle on top of the weed or silt and because they are neutrally buoyant, find their way easily into the mouth of a feeding carp. Blancing the maize is easy - just hair-rig a single grain and include a small piece of yellow rig foam on the hair to balance it. Start by using quite a large lump of foam and then chisel away at it with a pair of sharp, fine scissors until when you immerse the hook bait in water, it sinks very' very slowly. Alternatively, try using the new rubber sweetcorn baits that are becoming available. Carp accept these readily and because they are buoyant, they can be 'popped-up' off the bottom by placing a small shot a few inches from the hook. Should I use it?
You bet! maize is a fantastic carp bait regardless of whether you are fishing for virgin or educated carp. On big, weedy gravel pits, it is supreme when fished with hemp and if you are looking for a bait to target carp on completely un-fished venues, look no further. If you don't catch them on maize, they ain't there!
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