to rake or not to rake?

[al84]

i dont know if to rake my swim in me canal or not.dont know if it will be better or it will be less intresting for the carp and they may never come round again some comments on this will be a help thank you lol

[fishypaul]

i would rake every time,if you can get down there the evening before and do it so much the better

[NICK R]

does it get a lot of boat traffic ?

if so the bottom will be getting raked by the passing of the boats ,

if not give it a try , leave it a day or two , then get some particles on it ,, a couple of kg at a time .Pigeon conditioner is cheap /mix some corn /hemp into it do this for a week then fish it

[fullcreel]

I would suggest raking, but try an experiment, rake an area, and not another, preferably close enough together to keep an eye on both. Then see if you can spot any extra activity in one or the other, such as clouds of silt or bubbling.
Good luck

[al84]

cheers na we dont get any boats coming along.i will rake it 2moro after work then throw some bait out there as i got wed off and want to fish then.hopefully off to manor fisherys on sat see how it is there looks nice

[blackwater]

I would do what fullcreel has suggested, its really trial and error.

[fullcreel]

Are you fishing the Royal military canal??

[al84]

its not part of tht one no well iv been told it aint but i aint far from tht.u know it then?

[alec]

Rake and then feed I have found best. I mkae clear patches on my lakes by putting out small particles baits!
And I get fish back in the area! Might be differant on the canal though.

[carp-catcha]

If you think you can find space enough to present your bait don't bother raking. Depending on your method of fishing you can always put pva foam around the hook so it falls into a nicely presented area before the foam dissolves and doesn't catch on the weeds and debris.