Chickpeas for carp?

[MC4TT]

i was fishing today at a local lake and a man came over and gave me some homemade chickpeas in a orangey liquid, he wouldn't tell me how he made them though. i was catching carp on these all day and the biggest was a nice 6lb. does anyone know some good flavourings and colourings to put in chickpeas and also how long to soak them for to make them a good bait for carp?

[barbelblanker]

Safest bet is to buy canned ready cooked chick peas and spice them up. dried ones are a potential death ttrap for carp if they are not cooked properly as they are very much like peanuts so PLEASE make sure they are cooked thoroughly. The beauty of chick peas is that accept flavours really well.

[NICK R]

get them dried from a health shop ,, Fantastic bait , be different

Dried Chicks need to be soaked for a full 24 hours and then boiled for about 3/4 of an hour. They will never go soft, but you should be able to crush the chick pea with your fingers once boiled.

Chick Peas take on colours and flavours very well. You can add the colour at the initial soaking stage, or after they are boiled. I've found it best to add flavour after they are boiled and then left to stand overnight. Add between 10 to 20ml per kilo of dried chicks. When adding colour it's best to use powdered dyes, as the liquid ones from supermarkets do not give a very good depth of colour.

Hope this helps
I colour mine red and use a fruit flavour

[Shotto]

Sorry to bump an old thread.... I was talking to an old guy recently who doesnt boil the chick peas, just soaks them... is this dangerous too?

[headless]

As long as the peas are soft enough to squeeze with your finger they will be ok, the problems come from baits that will expand in the gut, If the Carp has a gut full of part cooked/soaked baits and the baits then swell up another 20% or so the gut may not be able to take it which, potentially killing the fish

Darrell

[Baz T]

I am currently preparing chickpeas (soaking them at present, before boiling them). Does anyone know their shelf life expectancy? I will probably freeze them, but not a lot of room in the freezer, so I wondered how long they would last in a sealed container stored in a cool place.

[NICK R]

in this heat you may get a week , chicks turn easy

[Baz T]

Thanks Nick, wasnt sure, will freeze this lot..can just manage them in the freezer, and will prepare them a day or so before I go next time, so no need to freeze.

[NICK R]

I normally prepare a couple of days before i go

[Noel]

I've found with particles you *know* when they start to get a bit iffy. That stale/musty smell is a dead giveaway. Stuff like maize that is fermenting a bit is ok but trust your instincts.