Ways To Increase Carp Attraction Using PVA Bags

Using PVA to attract bigger fish into your swim!

One method when using boilies in PVA bags is to add in a few crushed baits, however, make sure you use crushed pop-up boilies rather than bottom baits. The powdered pieces and particles from the crushed pop-ups will slowly rise upwards so any passing carp can home in on your hookbait. They will also rise at different times and speeds if you make sure that the particles are from different buoyancies and sizes of pop-up boilies. This PVA method will provide a nice attraction to any passing fish.

Another effective use of this PVA tactic is when fishing for huge carp in weed. A PVA bag can often drop into clumps of weed and become hidden from a passing carp’s sight. Finely crumbled pop-up boilie pieces float upwards and out of the weed which allows the fish to locate exactly where the food signal is coming from. A great way to pick up the huge carp feeding in the thick weed!

It’s also a better method to attract carp over the commonly used PVA liquid attractants because there are actual food particles that rise upwards. A liquid will simply disperse out after it leaves the bag and carp won’t always be able to pinpoint exactly where this food signal is coming from, especially if using liquids that don’t rise upwards but rather disperse outwards clinging on the lakebed.

Tips & Tricks When Using PVA Bag Methods:

Place a dissolving flavour tablet inside the bag before casting. Once the bag has dissolved, the tablet will continue to leak out flavour attraction for up to an hour, helping any passing carp to locate your hookbait.
Try using icing sugar to liberally cover damp baits such as sweetcorn, hemp or tares. This gives you an edge because other anglers won’t be able to place patches of these baits so close together. Plus, the sugar gives the bait an extra sweet taste that carp seem to love!
Place dry groundbait or chilli flakes inside the bag to create another form of carp attraction to your hookbait. The dry flakes will float upwards through the water layers once the bag has melted. In fact, use floating hempseed in the PVA bag as well for this same method. Just leave out some cooked seeds in the sun and leave to dry out!
When fishing for carp on top of weed beds, try leaving enough air in a PVA bag so the whole lot sinks slowly. This will help drop the rig and free baits on top of the weed gently so they don’t fall through the weed and become hidden from any passing fish.

If in the summer your bags are melting too quickly, try double-bagging the rigs so they get chance to fall through deeper water before the rig is exposed.
Place one piece of rig foam into the PVA bag before casting so you can time how long the bag takes to melt. The bag will sink onto the bottom and when the foam is released it immediately rises to the surface where it is clearly visible. This helps to estimate the melting time of the bag so you can make sure the bag is secure on the lakebed in deeper waters before it melts. Some bags will melt quickly, especially in the warmer summer months. You may not want a bag to melt half-way down in the deeper water as this could ruin your preferred bait presentation!
Using the foam also shows the exact position of the rig so you can whack out a few more baits for a loose scattering of feed around the hookbait. This can be a slightly different bait presentation over a normal PVA patch of bait.
If you run out of PVA string or tape, then use the actual bag to secure the contents. Cut a longer bag about halfway down both the seams. Fill the bag up to the cuts. Now tie these separate tag ends with 2 simple granny knots, and then trim off the loose ends before casting. This method is often more secure for long casts than using PVA tape!

PVA Bag Tactics to Catch Carp

Applying a New Carp Bait

Fishing for Carp in Rivers

Locating Big Carp in the Spring

Carp Location in the Summertime

Finding Large Carp in the Cold Winter

Location of Most Carp in Autumn

The Case for Quality Carp Bait

Fishing Tactics for Snags & Trees

Boilie Placement on the Hair rig

Different types of carp rigs to use

Attempting to Catch Wary Carp