| There are a variety and additives, ingredients and | | | | green lipped mussels, crayfish and weed. |
| mixes available to make or enhance your bait. | | | | Another source of amino acids is worms. As this is a |
| Dry ingredients | | | | vital part of carp diets, worms are very effective as |
| Making boilies at home is similar to making a cake. | | | | bait. There are two schools of thought as to why |
| The most effective dry ingredients contain materials | | | | worms are so attractive to carp. Some anglers think |
| that carp need to survive. Fishmeal, poultry meal and | | | | that worms attract carp because of their squirming |
| wheat germ supply essential amino acids needed for | | | | motion. Others believe that worms naturally give off |
| growth and weight maintenance. There are many | | | | a powerful amino acid scent that carp can easily |
| other basic food ingredients for making boilies, these | | | | detect in the water. In 2006, SBS developed Liquid |
| are; milk & egg powders, soya, fishmeal and | | | | Lobworm. You can add the liquid to pastes, |
| meat make up the bulk of base mix powders | | | | groundbaits, and particles. It can be added to any |
| available. Good powders for making boilies are dense | | | | base mix. Julian Grattidge has even added it to dog |
| with nutrients and are good for carp. | | | | biscuits and landed a number of carp! |
| Carbohydrates are found in sugar and can be used | | | | Powdered & liquid attractors |
| by carp as a source of energy, albeit in small | | | | Some ingredients are added to bait as coloured |
| quantities. They also include cellulose (fibre) for | | | | attractors. Spirulina, krill and paprika are used to |
| roughage in assisting the movement of food through | | | | create orange-coloured bait. Saffron produces yellow. |
| the carp's gut. A carp's main energy is provided | | | | There is also Shellfish Plum liquid attractor, which |
| through oils, thus the leakage of oil from bait can be | | | | produces pinkish-red boilies. |
| very attractive to carp. | | | | One very powerful liquid attractor is SBS Corn Steep |
| A typical two kilogram recipe for boilies includes: | | | | Liquor (CSL). It has additional betaine, essential amino |
| - 6-10 eggs | | | | acids, and vitamins and minerals, making it a highly |
| - 500g maize flour | | | | appealing food source for carp. SBS also makes CSL |
| - 500g corn semolina (panzani) | | | | pellets, which dissolve in the water and rapidly release |
| - 500g pre-cooked Soya flour (bio flour) | | | | appealing food signals. |
| - 400g powder milk 1/2 (Lovelait) | | | | Imitation Baits |
| - 100g sugar (fine mixed) | | | | Carp will also eat flavoured imitation baits. When |
| As with many types of mix, you can make | | | | boilies fail to attract them, artificial corn will usually |
| substitutions. You can add crushed bird seed to the | | | | work. Zoom Carp Snacks have been used |
| base mix in a ratio of one part seed to 3 parts of | | | | successfully by many anglers. The snacks come in |
| mix. You can also substitute different types of flour, | | | | honey, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavours. |
| such as cabbage, rice, cinnamon and wheat. Other | | | | Zoom also makes a range of Jointed Snacks. These |
| dry ingredients include kelp, belachan block, hot chilli | | | | are made of multiple pieces of artificial corn joined |
| powder, spices, and Tiger Nuts (must be soaked | | | | together with a latex hair. Push your hook through a |
| overnight and then boiled for 30 minutes). Dean | | | | notch on the hair and pull the hair around the back of |
| Towey has developed his own recipe for attractive | | | | the shank. Julian Grattidge recommends using two |
| bait. It includes white fishmeal, full fat soya flour (the | | | | pieces of fake corn on a hair fished over a little |
| binder), lactalbumin, rennet casein, robin red and | | | | hemp, particle mix, or real corn/maize as feed bait. |
| seaweed extract. | | | | Enterprise Tackle makes an excellent range of |
| Once you have created your unique bait, try some | | | | imitation baits. |
| tactics on how to introduce a new bait into a lake. | | | | Glugs & Flavourings |
| Liquid ingredients (Nutritional & Attraction | | | | These flavoured, water soluble solutions make |
| properties) | | | | everything more attractive to carp. Resistance |
| To your dry mix, you will need to add liquid | | | | Tackle makes glugs in a variety of flavours, including |
| ingredients. Again, you will want to use ingredients | | | | strawberry, anise, tigernut, pineapple, pineapple and |
| which are attractive to carp. Lipids (fish or vegetable | | | | banana, clam and blueberry, scopex and banana. |
| oils, especially red salmon oil) are a source of energy. | | | | You can blend other flavours and additives to your |
| They are also utilized in the formation of cell | | | | mix, including almond essence, anchovy concentrate, |
| membranes and are carriers of the fat-soluble | | | | squid, octopus, peach and pepper flavours, and fruit. |
| vitamins A, D, E and K. Other liquids include corn | | | | These are particularly effective additives. Mike |
| steep liquor, many different fish oils, liquid liver, | | | | Willmott of Essential Baits recommends that "(not) |
| minamino, multimino and molasses. | | | | adding more additional additives, flavours, extracts |
| Powdered additives & stimulatory additives | | | | etc, than those recommended, simply because they |
| Carp tend to go after bait which they recognize as a | | | | could end up acting as a repellent as opposed to an |
| beneficial food source. Essential Baits makes Shellfish | | | | attractant. Stick to the levels and guidelines |
| B5 base mix. It contains betaine, five different marine | | | | suggested and you shouldn't go far wrong - all you |
| extracts, low temperature fishmeals, soluble fish | | | | have to do now is put it in the right place!" Mike also |
| enzymes, and milk proteins. Baits containing liver, | | | | favours using quality food as bait. Once the flavours |
| lobster, robin red, seaweed, and brewers yeast are | | | | and other additives dissolve away, there will be |
| also very attractive to the fish. While peanuts contain | | | | something there for the carp to eat. If you don't use |
| lipids, sugars and amino acids, they are not as | | | | quality food, once the coatings and additives are |
| appealing as the actual elements carp prefer, such as | | | | gone there is nothing left to attract the carp. |