How much/How often to chum? (5 day trip)

I'm going to be spending 5 days at Emma Long later this month. I plan on bringing range cubes and deer corn to chum. Unsure about how much to bring and when to put it out. There seems to be a lot mixed reviews on how this is done (even when discussing the topic in the same season and body of water)

If it were you, how much would you bring to put out and how often would you do so?

Thanks!

First things first - I like to use a lot of bait so don't take my way as the only way. When I got there I'd dump a full bag of range cubes and a 5 gallon bucket of boiled deer corn using my kayak. Then every 12 hours after that (except on the last day) I'd top it up with roughly a 5 gallon bucket of cubes and roughly half a 5 gallon bucket of boiled deer corn. So for a 5 day trip this would total up to around 5 bags of cubes and 5 buckets of boiled deer corn.

I actually have a 5 day trip coming up soon myself and this is exactly what I plan to do!

Remember, the water is getting colder. They may not feed as much. Just don't fill them up with chum so that they do not feel like feeding on anything else.

Emma Long has been a great fall and winter producer, especially for big buffs. I got my PB buff there in November a few years ago..

Glad I asked! I was starting to think the 2 bags of RC I bought might be too much food in the water. Sounds like I'll be headed back to the feed store.

Chumming like this, is it better match the forage with the hook-bait by using corn, or do you prefer using baits that would stand out (color and/or size) from the chum?

I may not catch any fish, but they should all be fatter after I leave

I think TXMS is planning on fishing behind me on Day 6

Yes, I read about carp (as most fish) not feeding as much in the Winter, but being new to TX, I'm wondering if/when Winter actually starts? It's 73* in Houston right now. I have no idea how water temperature actually fluctuates out there. I'm thinking over the course of 5 days, I should have most of the fish in the river swimming around my campsite. That said, if I realize that a cold snap hits right around the time of my trip, I'll probably be inclined to back off on the amount of chum I put out.

I've never fished for (or caught) a buff. It's definitely on my "hope to catch" list while on the trip. Truthfully, I'd like to target them but haven't found much difference in the baits during my research other than reading that the buffs prefer spicy over sweet, and will often play with the bait instead of just making hard runs like commons/grassers. Any tips on how to target the buffs would be greatly appreciated!

I do not use spicy when fishing for buffs. I go with sweet, in particular, strawberry, vanilla, or strawberry vanilla mix. I like to get a can of garbanzo beans and drain them. Then I get packets of strawberry kool aid and make a strong mixture of the kool aid. I use 1 packet in a a cup of water and then I soak the beans overnight in the mixture. They are the size of small boillies. Vanilla extract may be mixed in. A can of beans makes for quite a few bait ups. I store them mixture and all in small canning jars. They last a long time in the jars. This has worked well for me for carp and buffs. Much easier than having to boil and prepare deer corn.

You can experiment with all kinds of kool aid flavors if interested.

Thanks Curt! That sounds A LOT easier than making boilies!

Chumming works great in the winter. When I get to the lake, I throw out a few handfuls of range cubes and start fishing. If I am catching, I don’t chum. When fishing slows, I throw out a few more handfuls. I throw out a two gallon paint bucket of cubes in the evening to prime the next day. Then I just repeat the process. Two bags of cubes would last me five days. I also throw out floating dog food to see if there is top water action. If there is fish working the top then I pull out the fly rod.

I've been found out!

Now I will mention - the first and only time I've been to Emma was just a short one day stop after fishing the Austin Team Championship with my dad. When we got there we put out 30lbs of cubes and then just tossed in the rest of the bag a little at a time throughout the day. We caught very well for such a short time, tons of Grass Carp which we found out don't fight at all, 3 buffs over 30lbs and even a 34lb 4oz Carp! I guess sometimes you don't need a truckload of bait, lol

Keeping an area baited as long as you guys are going to do is likely to set up an epic fish catching adventure. Likely some very nice buffs will hit the mats.

That's what I'm hoping for!

I hope for you guys to do great!
two range cube bags should last the 5 days depending how the fish are they do feed slow in winter but if you get them in and start catching make sure you chum and continue to chum once theyve moved in corn willl keep them in.

Tx multi emma is funky like that sometimes it produces some great quality fish other times it skunks anyone out ive been their with more around 20+ anglers in a meet and greet and we only caught 4-5 fish in between us. lots of grassers though.
before and after ATC is usually good as there are people that are out there for a week after all that chumming they move in it makes it great to fish after.
that was a awesome fish you caught. tx



GOOD LUCK GUYS!!!!!!!

Just wanted to follow up on this thread after returning from my trip. Report found HERE

Day 1: 2pm (50# bag of Range Cubes)
Runs: 1
Fish Landed: 1

Day 2: 8:30am (1/2 bag of RC, 2.5 gallons corn)
4:30pm (1/2 bag of RC, 2..5 gallons corn)
Runs: 7
Fish Landed: 7

Day 3: 7:45am (1/2 bag of RC, 2.5 gallons corn)
5:00pm (1/2 bag of RC, 2.5 gallons corn)
Runs: 8
Fish Landed: 4

Day 4: 10am (2.5 gallons corn)
Runs: 7
Fish Landed: 6

great results

ground bait is a good option as it will pull fish in but not fill them up. It can be done fairly cheap, but takes more prep work.