Published: 2024. July 29. | Source: Energofish | Articles

Who knows me knows that from this year, I have the honor to fish under the colors of the Energofish team, which offers the opportunity to be the first to test and try out the products they distribute. You should know that before a product reaches the store shelves, it goes through numerous tests, and this is true for almost everything: groundbaits, lures, rods, reels… I have mostly encountered Benzar Mix products in this way so far. Allow me to share with you the experiences from three fishing trips regarding the new Benzar Mix Ready Carp groundbaits.

The Ready Carp Family

First of all, I would like to say that I am not a fan of mixing groundbaits with a drill or using pre-mixed groundbaits. I like to see that every grain is moistened, feel with my own hands that my groundbait has the right texture, and decide for myself if it needs more water.

On June 8th, a friend and I visited the Dunakeszi gravel pit lake. That day greeted us with sultry heat and a slight breeze. Despite the heat, there was barely any space on the side of the lake where the national championship qualifiers are held, although it is not the shady side. In the morning, we exchanged a few words with the warden, who didn’t encourage us much: fish weren’t biting much, they were in mid-water, barely eating, etc.

We brought our equipment to the spots where we could both comfortably fit and were closest to the parking lot. Eventually, we set up next to a local angler, and when the warden checked him, I overheard him complaining about the lack of fish too. If the local doesn’t catch fish, who will?

Around 9:30 AM, we started fishing. Since Hungarian waters are unfortunately quite full of pellets, I mixed 2-4 mm Uni-Classic pellets in equal parts for this session. By the way! I don’t know if you know, but Uni, Classic, and Start pellets are also available in the Benzar Mix range in 800-gram packages at very favorable prices!

At this lake, I usually don’t put in a base feed; I start fishing right away and try to fish until a bite, but if 25 minutes pass without anything happening, I refresh the bait. That day, about two and a half to three hours passed with only two crucians caught. Meanwhile, anglers kept leaving around us, even praising the two crucians we caught. The local angler had gone home by then.

I had the Benzar Mix Ready Carp groundbait with me for the first time, in Scopex flavor. I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to try a groundbait for the first time in such conditions, but I thought, why not, I have nothing to lose.

I think it was around noon when I opened the bag and started fishing with this mix. About the groundbait and its usage, I will write in detail at the end of the article. What is important about this fishing trip is that by changing only the groundbait, I managed to catch 7-8 kilograms of crucian (averaging 25-30 dkg) in the remaining three hours, and at the end of the day, I also caught a 1.5 kg carp. My friend, who stuck with me throughout, also caught two similarly sized carp at the end of the day with the same groundbait.

The following Friday, June 14th, the 21st National Police and 15th Invitational Law Enforcement Fishing Team Competition was held at the Maconka Reservoir. I love the Maconka Reservoir; I started my "competitive career" here. I have many fond memories of this lake and look forward to this competition every year. This year, 39 teams of 3 entered, totaling 117 determined – and often armed – sports anglers competing against each other or rather the lake that day. The organizers – the organization is always excellent – don't complicate the sector allocation. Usually, three sectors are designated, and each team member fishes in one sector. In this case, 39 anglers sat in each sector, which can be quite competitive if one team member doesn't perform well. This year, two sectors were on the dam section, and one was on the new competition track, where the Method OB finals will be held. I was drawn to the shallow water part of the dam competition track.

The weather was perfect again that day, with the sun shining almost all the time and only occasional light breezes creating ripples on the water's surface.

If it’s Maconka, I usually use Aqua pellets and some fishy groundbait. Recently, I’ve been using the Concourse Sweet Green groundbait for topping the Aqua pellets, which the carp love. However, considering the experience from the Dunakeszi fishing, I also had a pack of Benzar Mix Ready Carp groundbait with me just in case.

It was clear from the beginning of the competition that carp would not dominate the section where I was fishing – in the middle of the sector. Only the colleagues sitting in the deeper parts or those casting in front of the so-called "eco-islands" managed to catch carp. The top four places in the sector came from these spots.

At Maconka, I always feed at the end of the riprap, about 4-6 meters out. Not for carp, but hoping for good-sized bream. During the feeding time, I did the same, casting eight double-filled method feeders to a distance of 90 meters as baiting. I started fishing at the inside distance, where almost every cast resulted in a bite within a minute after the splash. Almost without exception, it was a bream pulling the feeder filled with Aqua pellets, but I hoped for an occasional carp, so I continued fishing this way.

Casting to this distance with the Concourse Method Feeder 420 rod and a 45-gram XL size feeder wasn’t challenging. In my opinion, because my line hadn’t fully settled and tightened when the bites came, I couldn’t strike properly, so I lost many fish.

When it became clear that I needed to catch many bream for speed, I tried to catch bream at the "foot-long" fed spot for speed, but I wasn’t successful, and this also wasted some time from the competition. In this competition, mobile phone use is allowed. During the day, my teammate Józsi Sisa called to check how we were doing. After I explained the situation, he immediately scolded me, saying there were no bream at the end of the riprap in the dam section where I was fishing, and suggested trying further in. After this, I set up a feed at 20 meters, then started fishing at a one-minute, then two-minute, then three-minute rhythm, but still got no bites. Finally, I cast one that stayed until something pulled it. The rig was in for about 9 minutes when I managed to catch a bream. I decided to stick with the 90-meter bream fishing, even if it meant losing many fish.

Of course, you try everything you can to catch carp or bigger fish. Therefore, I opened a pack of Benzar Mix Ready Carp groundbait, but this time the Sweet corn flavor instead of the Scopex. I loaded and cast it to the 90-meter distance. After the first cast, it was already suspicious that my line had settled and tightened nicely. At 6 minutes, a bite, a strike, and a roughly 1 kg crucian was on the hook, which went into the net. After that, I had two casts without fish, so the Aqua pellet went back in, and the bream reacted well to it again.

After this, I cast the method feeder filled with Ready Carp groundbait four more times until the end of the competition, which always yielded a better crucian on the first cast, but the next or next two casts either yielded no results or bream, but more slowly.

In the end, I managed to secure 5th place in the 39-angler sector with a catch between 13-14 kg, which I was completely satisfied with. It was evident from the results that the Maconka Reservoir wasn’t showing its usual face that day; every bite had to be fought for.

 

At the end of the competition, it was clear that it was worth bringing the Benzar Mix Ready Carp groundbait.

A True Cavalcade of Colors!

In the team competition, we managed to secure an impressive 6th place overall with a total of 34 placement points, with 5th, 6th, and 23rd places in the sectors.

 

Based on my previous fishing experiences, I took a day off on June 19th and, with two others, visited the Fishing & Hunting Lake, bringing two packs of Benzar Mix Ready Carp groundbait.

My two favorites, the Sweetcorn and the Scopex.

I must note that I planned a “distance” fishing of 90 meters for this day. It is well-known that I am not very good at or fond of casting long distances, so I needed the practice. Fortunately, I ran into Bence and Ricsi in the parking lot in the morning, who came to the lake to film a “foot-long” fishing session. I say fortunately because Bence immediately offered me to try the new Concorurse Light Feeder rod. Well, what can I say? After taking this rod in hand, it didn’t take much convincing to decide where to fish that day, and at the end of the day, I was reluctant to give the rod back to Bence. You will surely hear more about this rod family, and if it evokes the same feeling in you as it did in me, it won’t stay on store shelves for long, as they will be quickly snapped up.

 

Finally, I decided on short-distance fishing at 6-8 meters instead of practicing long-distance casting. The fishing started around 09:00, and I didn’t have any particle feed, grain feed, or pellets with me, only two packs of Ready Carp groundbait, one Scopex and one Sweet Corn flavored. I only opened the Sweet Corn, as it was enough for the whole day. 

Perfect consistency right after opening the bag.

At the beginning of the session, I cast a few times without clipping the line to the reel, using only a 30-gram size L feeder filled with groundbait to the hanging distance. Then I started casting rhythmically, first every two minutes, then every three minutes. The first 30-40 minutes passed without any events, but then the carp arrived, and the group of carp was in front of us, almost all day long.

It's perfect in a basket.

My friends, who do not participate in competitions but are very skilled anglers, fished with aqua pellets at a distance of 45 meters at first. When I don't go fishing alone, a small competition always arises among us, and this time was no different. At the beginning, there were times when my friends, the aqua pellet users, led by one or two fish at most, but by the end of the day, I managed to catch significantly more fish than they did. We stopped counting at 15-10, but by the end of the day, I managed to net at least 20 carp weighing 3-5 kg each. Fighting the strong carp there was a huge experience with the mentioned Concourse Light Feeder rod. Despite this, the rod not only coped with these fish but handled them effortlessly.

With new food comes a new rod! 

There was no chance for the carp!

From this day, I learned that if I didn't get a bite for a couple of casts, I would cast three or four times with a method feeder filled only with groundbait and not leave it in the water. After this, the fish catching would resume at a maximum two-minute rhythm.

Of course, I can't be sure that the fishing wouldn’t have been so successful without the Ready Carp groundbait, but my experience shows that they are good groundbaits. To my knowledge, no one has yet invented a groundbait that always works everywhere under all conditions, but I think this groundbait is worth trying.

A magnificent carp!

If you allow me, for those who have not yet heard of the Benzar Mix Ready Carp groundbait, I would like to share a few thoughts based on my personal experience. Let's start from the beginning when it's still in the package. The Benzar Mix products are characterized by their neat packaging, and through the bag, you can clearly see the color, grain size, and larger particles of the groundbait.

From advertisements and various platforms, I think many people know that this groundbait is pre-mixed and moistened in the bag. I believe one of its big advantages is that after opening, you don't need to moisten it or mix it with aroma, as it can be used immediately. Thanks to this, the preparation time is significantly shortened, leaving more time for fishing. This can be advantageous for anglers who don't have time for all-day fishing and can only spend a few hours by the water.

I think everyone wonders if it's necessary to re-moisten the bait during fishing. My experience is that all three times I used it, it was scorching hot. Although I put it under an umbrella, I didn't need to add a drop of water until the end of the day.

Returning to opening the bag, I used the Scopex and Sweet Corn flavors, and upon opening the bags, both had sweet or corn-like scents that matched their names. This groundbait family comes in various flavors, ensuring that every angler can find their preferred, well-proven taste.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, I like to mix the groundbait by hand to feel if it needs anything extra and to ensure every grain is moistened. For this reason, I admit, perhaps unnecessarily, I sifted the bait through a fine sieve before starting the fishing. When it comes to method fishing, it's always advisable to do this with powdery groundbaits, or maybe not always? Of course, the grains left in the sieve were put back into the groundbait. In the two flavors I used, I noticed that each pack contains two types of micro pellets. One is black, and the other varies by flavor. The sweet corn also contains crushed corn.

After sifting the groundbait and mixing it again with the larger grains, my first action was to throw a ball of groundbait from a method feeder into the water with slight pressure. Fortunately, the water in the Fishing & Hunting lake is clear enough to see everything I wanted. A few grains of the Sweet Corn bait lifted off the bottom after hitting the water, then separated and settled back to the bottom. Most of it started breaking down immediately on the lake bed. I think this is a striking phenomenon for the fish.

When I loaded the groundbait into the method feeder and placed it in the water, it took about a minute and a half to reach the desired consistency at the bottom, allowing the hooked bait to easily be drawn into the fish's mouth from the grains. Shameful or not, I admit, I tasted the corn bait. At first, it had a pleasant, biscuit-like taste with a hint of corn, followed by an interesting aftertaste that, based on my experience, is attractive to fish.

I forgot to mention that I used the Benzar Ready Carp groundbait exclusively in a method feeder, but based on my over 20 years of fishing experience, I believe it can be used excellently for ribbed feeder fishing or even float fishing as groundbait.

In conclusion, based on my experience, which is not just from one fishing trip, I can confidently recommend the Benzar Ready Carp grondbait family, whether for method fishing, ribbed feeder fishing, or float fishing. It's definitely worth a try!

I wonder who caught this?