Will chumming work in a lake with a strong current?

Chumming is a means of conditioning fish to accept a bait, by teasing them with its smell over a period of time, until they are willing to pick up a larger piece of that food, if they then find it, preferrably, hooked to the end of your line. Chum mixtures are widely varied, but most all of them use some aspects of the following: i) a flour, bran or oatmeal stiffener, in a moistened stale bread crust base. ii) small bits of the bait that you will be using on your hook, and iii) cod liver oil, fish fertilizer, anise seed oil, or any simlarly stinky, oily additive to really take it up a notch.

Forming the chum into balls, or, just using a large spoon, cast your chum out into the fishing area. In areas with current, the trick is to cast upstream of your intended fishing spot, so the chum floats back down over the site. Placing small rocks into the middle of the chum balls will sink them faster, and possibly more accurately. Most places will need the chum to be replenished every half-hour or so, after the initial batch, but in high current, re-chumming every ten or fifteen minutes or so is better. A chumming trick: There is some advantage to going out and chumming, without fishing, for a few evenings in a row. Then, go out and chum, and fish, too… your big bait, just lying there, after so long of the fish’s smelling the smell, with no substance to dig into, will be irresistible to the cats, and they will quickly grab your bait.

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