| rp anglers need to economise on their bait because | | | | bait substances. The result is that you find corn baits |
| though it is an essential item the costs really add up. | | | | are well short of maximum potential success |
| One proven method to get great catches, | | | | — just like the old semolina and soya type |
| economise on bait costs and personalise your bait to | | | | baits! |
| catch even more fish is to bulk out readymade boilie | | | | Anyway, you can find all kinds of readymade boilie |
| mixes and ground baits. Read on now to cut your | | | | base mixes and ground baits you can use to begin |
| costs in half and race through the bait making | | | | making your own homemade baits as a basis to start |
| process by cutting many corners to make your own | | | | to create your own unique creations. Genuine quality |
| very competitive effective baits that are totally | | | | carp ground baits contain many additives and |
| different to standard baits! | | | | ingredients that are used in boilie production and the |
| Carp anglers are mostly a lazy bunch so we are | | | | lines can get blurred in this respect as quite a number |
| drawn towards cutting corners which is a big mistake | | | | of carp ground baits make effective boilies too. |
| for the majority which tend to copy other anglers | | | | Many boilie base mixes are more expensive than |
| corner-cutting and merely end up with average | | | | others usually due to a large degree to the cost of |
| results to show for it! Using readymade baits is so | | | | the expensive protein ingredients they contain. But |
| prevalent today that the arts of personalising your | | | | although proteins and amino acid sources and peptide |
| baits to make them more effective in many diverse | | | | sources form part of the reasons why carp baits can |
| ways has largely been lost to the majority of carp | | | | be very successful, other elements can also attribute |
| anglers. | | | | to success. Some factors in bait do not even need |
| But get this: The rewards of mastering homemade or | | | | to have anything directly to do with nutritional |
| home-adapted baits can be genuinely shocking | | | | attraction at all and this is a very important fact in a |
| despite what even some higher profile anglers might | | | | world where baits are competing for the attention of |
| say about their usually prematurely ended pitiful | | | | carp. |
| attempts at making baits for themselves. Many | | | | Many anglers would like to make their own boilies and |
| anglers even justify their laziness by saying it takes | | | | the ranges of choice of them has much expanded as |
| too much time or effort to make their own baits so | | | | have the variously differing formulations. I will not |
| they use readymade baits missing out on all the | | | | push you one way or another in terms of choosing |
| benefits and vital competitive advantages they were | | | | base mixes because over the decades I have found |
| so close to having! | | | | that it turns out almost any old rubbish can be made |
| I will make a big statement here which will underline | | | | into a paste and steamed or boiled to make baits of |
| how wrong the dominant perception of making baits | | | | some degree of success. I have occasionally bought |
| is: You can make extremely successful baits without | | | | up old stocks of base mixes from fishing shops and |
| spending hours making baits that look or feel | | | | bulked them up and adapted them with great |
| anything like commercial readymade baits. This fact is | | | | success. Just ensure the powders are still freely |
| one of homemade baits biggest competitive | | | | running in the bags and you have not evidence of |
| advantages over readymade baits that most | | | | holes, splits or other contamination and excessive |
| pressured carp are masters of avoiding and have | | | | aging of the contents! |
| been practicing dealing with for 24 hours a day for | | | | Much of the time you can bulk out expensive |
| years and years! | | | | readymade mixes with cheaper ones although this is |
| What I consider to be another gigantic advantage of | | | | a hit and miss method, your results will soon tell you |
| making your own baits is that getting into bait | | | | when you have found a combination that is really |
| actually helps you sort out the readymade baits that | | | | good and a very good price! Mixing boilie base mixes |
| are the most ideally suited for various specific fishing | | | | within a range or from different companies may |
| situations, thus clearing up all that unnecessary | | | | frighten both the bait designers and some bait |
| confusion so many carp anglers have about bait. But | | | | makers, but I find carp do not read the same books |
| not just this, getting into bait enables you to | | | | and instructional labels as us any often respond very |
| understand bait enough that you can determine how | | | | well even if only because the bait is so unusual! |
| to take advantage of other anglers application of | | | | But there are other ways of cutting your costs too. |
| popular readymade baits — and top them! | | | | You can mix a boilie mix with a cheaper ground bait |
| Many anglers get the incorrect impression that | | | | mix, or mix a costlier base mix with some very well |
| making bait involves loads of equipment and is a | | | | chosen ingredients. I find that bulking out boilie base |
| messy long drawn out process that takes hours, but | | | | mixes to reduce costs is very effective, but you |
| this is a completely out-dated impression! Bait making | | | | need to take care you know what kind of effects |
| fashions change and the ways to make baits are | | | | doing this will not only have on the effect of the |
| various and exclude steps that people used to take | | | | formulation of the mix and impact on the impact of |
| for granted that they thought they must do | | | | finished baits but also how it will most probably |
| — like rolling baits! I have not used a bait gun | | | | impact upon the performance of the bait when in |
| or bait extruder or bait rolling table since about 1991 | | | | water and in contact with fish senses and while being |
| since I reached the age of reason! | | | | digested, plus other variables that can be altered. |
| Before that time much of my fishing was done over | | | | Happily carp are generally able to give you pretty |
| crumbled boilies with very open textures to release | | | | immediate feedback to tell you if your test mixtures |
| stimulation and attraction very quickly over a wide | | | | are real winners or merely average catchers! |
| area so it did not take too much exertion of the old | | | | I mention test batches because it really makes sense |
| grey cells to figure out that making round boilies only | | | | to field test small cost-effective batches first before |
| to crush them was a total waste of time and effort! | | | | committing to larger volumes of bait as this way you |
| Thinking out of the box by ignoring characteristics of | | | | can really sort out some winning combinations at a |
| very standard readymade and homemade baits really | | | | much cheaper price and know with absolute |
| improved my results. I cut out loads of steps thus | | | | confidence your budget bait is an outright winner |
| enabling me to make my bait like lightening and I | | | | — even against the original base mixes it might |
| have caught loads of fish on these different format | | | | be fished against! |
| homemade baits and I have never looked back since! | | | | Like I said a bit earlier, there are endless things you |
| In fact I avoid making round baits completely and I | | | | can use to bulk out your base mixes with and they |
| apply in this grouping barrel shaped and pellet shaped | | | | can very between extremes of being more |
| baits because I believe in most lakes the shape | | | | expensive and really pack an immediate punch for |
| advantage they may initially have had over round | | | | instance, or be very cheap and act more as liquid |
| baits is long gone! Have you ever noticed just how | | | | carriers and binding materials. Just a few examples of |
| frequently fish will roll over freshly introduced | | | | ingredients I like to use to bulk up base mixes include |
| perfectly round readymade baits and avoid hook | | | | brewers yeast, lactose coated linseeds, CLO, |
| baits more than you would like. Of course looking at | | | | skimmed milk powder, whole wheat flour, oats, |
| the big picture, because so many anglers are fishing it | | | | crushed low oil economy carp pellets, and various |
| looks like round baits or barrel shapes are winners but | | | | other ideas that would surprise most people but |
| they are definitely not the most competitive shapes | | | | which are very effective indeed because they |
| not bait formats in all situations. | | | | provide very significant effects in carp that they |
| The same loss of competitive edge with standard | | | | really find attractive! |
| shaped baits has long ago occurred with large sized | | | | Exploring substances that seriously impact on carp |
| marine or halibut pellets. On the fishing pressured carp | | | | senses and provide noticeable beneficial internally |
| waters of today it does not take long for the | | | | effects within carp is the area of bait that gets me |
| popularised mass use of standard barrel and pellet | | | | most excited because there is more to carp baits |
| bait shapes and formats to reproduce the kind of | | | | and their formulation than has been accepted by |
| fish caution you would expect with readymade round | | | | most people over the last 50 years. Winter may not |
| baits. | | | | seem like a good time to test baits yet I find that |
| So why not think about things a little more deeply | | | | more and more anglers are fishing short sessions |
| and you will soon see ways to achieve edges over | | | | today to fit fishing into a busy life style and testing |
| fish caution and many are simple, quick, easy | | | | new baits in winter is very quickly rewarded — |
| — and totally free! Are you doing things and | | | | sometimes instantly and I say this from long personal |
| using things just for the sake of it because it worked | | | | experience of testing totally new homemade baits in |
| 3 years ago and because you have become attached | | | | winter. |
| to it? Is what you are doing even more effective | | | | To say there is nothing new in carp baits is |
| now than 3 years ago — because that really | | | | staggering ignorance. Just in the last decade new |
| should be your aim simply because this really is | | | | research and new patents and newer processes and |
| possible. To Mr Carp the only time that matters is | | | | product applications plus new products are being |
| right now because that is where he has evolved to, | | | | made available outside of the fishing and aquaculture |
| but he has experienced and associated with many | | | | industries for example. Today totally new applications |
| baits and methods and substances a lot along the | | | | and sources of potentially great bait substances are |
| way that programme his caution so it is good for us | | | | appearing offering genuine competitive advantages in |
| anglers to keep adapting too! | | | | fishing! |
| Although many carp anglers will consider designing | | | | For example, has a successful mouldable fibrous |
| their own homemade baits or adapting readymade | | | | paste been made available in times gone by? Just |
| baits and base mixes for many different personal | | | | how many new hydrolysed protein products have |
| reasons, many do not do very well for a very | | | | been made available and then applied to carp fishing |
| significant reason. That is that it seems to me that | | | | baits over the last 20 years?! In fact there are very |
| they usually get excited about recipes and ingredients | | | | many things you can do with your baits that can |
| choices first. But this is before they often even | | | | promote more confident or even more aggressive |
| consider the much more vitally important aspects of | | | | feeding between specimen fish. You just need to |
| bait design and bait application etc in regards to carp | | | | think out of the box and consider what carp feed |
| sensitivities and knowledge of carp internal workings. | | | | naturally on, how they feed on it, where they feed |
| This knowledge and understanding really are | | | | on it, when and why. The answers to any of these |
| extremely powerful things to have in staying ahead | | | | question and others can produce an edge in your bait |
| of your fish (and competing anglers!) Things like | | | | making and vitally, your bait application so that you |
| watercraft and casting skill, abilities to fine-tune rigs | | | | really maximise the potential of your baits. |
| and correctly apply bait in different situations are | | | | Having had the luxury of at times being able to use |
| things anyone can develop over time given practice | | | | not only my own homemade baits, but commercial |
| but what use is it all if you cannot understand why | | | | baits and substances in the testing stage or further |
| your readymade baits do not work despite your own | | | | adaptation stages, it is very noticeable that new baits |
| best efforts? | | | | really do catch fish successfully unawares because |
| Far too many carp anglers have pure blind faith in | | | | they are new - and therefore they offer a slightly |
| their baits and therefore miss out on much better | | | | different experience to wary carp! This might sound |
| catches due to ignorance of how to change how | | | | simple but it is so true! How many times do the |
| they use them, or how to boost or alter them to | | | | biggest fish in a lake get caught soon after a new |
| maximise various bait effects and bait application | | | | bait is used on a water?! |
| impacts of many kinds in pressured fish situations. | | | | Another example of applied thought about how the |
| The potent advantages of being able to do these | | | | various modes and ways and senses that carp use |
| things is that your bait really can become a serious | | | | to feed has been expressed in the present availability |
| leveller when fishing against very cautious fish that | | | | of luminescent flavoured bait dips. These attract sight |
| supposedly have seen everything before, and gives | | | | feeding carp. To thinking anglers it is very obvious |
| you loads of edges against anglers who maybe have | | | | that carp often feed in very low vision conditions in |
| more time or experience on a water or have other | | | | turbid clouded water on the bottom for much of the |
| competitive advantages! | | | | time. In most waters just having a carp root about |
| Here it is wise to once more remind stuck in a rut | | | | an area clouds up water around the head of a fish. |
| anglers that beginners luck in terms of new anglers | | | | Luminescent baits assist the location of hook baits in |
| on a water offering new baits and tactics etc most | | | | the night in the day in turbid conditions or at depths |
| usually produces so-called beginners luck in the form | | | | that little light penetrates to! I believe the idea for |
| of big fish fast! This beginners luck might simply come | | | | one particular light-emitting dip came from the |
| as a result of noticing things about the fish and their | | | | knowledge of light-emitting proteins (among other |
| responses to baits and adapting of baits and baiting | | | | substances) that fish and other organisms detect |
| that rusty regulars have over-looked because the | | | | within their aquatic environment. (Some of these |
| way they have been fishing created that fish | | | | things include proteins found in aquatic creatures that |
| response (or non-responsive) situation in the first | | | | are utilised for various purposes in a totally natural |
| place! | | | | light-emitting liquid crystal state for example.) Note |
| It is no coincidence that very many of the leading | | | | emission of light in nature is caused by many various |
| match anglers design and make their own secret | | | | substances and effects vary from short term bursts |
| ground baits and pastes and they in many ways | | | | to much longer durations. |
| have refined bait making just as highly as carp | | | | I recommend that you become much more of a |
| anglers. In the UK it seemed an inevitable | | | | student of carp than a purely habit-driven follow the |
| convergence that match fishing and carp fishing | | | | leader type fisherman. You will reap big rewards |
| would eventually meet of course just as in the | | | | especially when it comes to bait because this vital |
| States! | | | | aspect makes catching fish if not merely a lot easier, |
| In the States making homemade baits for winning | | | | but can avoid for you so many unnecessary and |
| carp matches is an extremely serious aspect of | | | | unwanted blank sessions (that all cost you invaluable |
| fishing yet still to this day the average carp angler in | | | | time and money!) |
| the States appears to think of a carp bait as a lump | | | | It just takes a little thought and understanding of |
| of corn dough. In answer to that, all you need do is | | | | carp themselves plus a willingness to apply your own |
| see how digestible corn flour or corn meal is and how | | | | creative bait ideas and be different to normal to |
| many vital reasons or non vital reasons carp have to | | | | achieve outstanding success! |
| pick up such baits and then compare these to other | | | | |