| Making your own secret catfish or carp baits | | | | commercial baits that the majority of anglers |
| is exciting and fun! It can result in catches | | | | slavishly use predominantly these days; doing |
| you only ever dreamt of! | | | | this is well worthwhile; how many carp don't |
| | | | see perfectly round shaped boilies these days |
| But many fishermen resist making their own | | | | and don't know how to avoid the hook where |
| baits. Unfortunately, they give up before | | | | these are used most frequently? |
| they have even started. This is due to having | | | | |
| been given the false impression that it's to | | | | Never forget that we anglers are training the |
| complicated, and that it's only for expert | | | | carp to danger when we really need to keep |
| fishermen, when the reverse is true! | | | | re-educating them into thinking what we are |
| | | | offering them is safe! Well at least until |
| In fact, when you make good homemade baits, | | | | they've been hooked!) |
| you can catch loads more fish than other | | | | |
| anglers of your experience level. Now you can | | | | Prepared paste will ideally feel like a |
| learn so much more, faster, because of your | | | | moldable bread dough without being sticky, |
| improved catch rate that you soon become 'an | | | | this is very quick and easy to make boilies |
| expert' yourself! | | | | with minimum trouble, mess and time! |
| | | | |
| The discouraged anglers are often doomed to a | | | | Try placing sausages into an empty, very |
| lifetime of missing out on many extraordinary | | | | clean mastic gun with the end nozzle cut to a |
| catches and peak fishing experiences, because | | | | diameter of e.g. 15 millimeters, and extrude |
| they rigidly stick to shop baits that are | | | | smaller sausages to put onto a bait rolling |
| already known to catch fish. They do not | | | | table (a dual half round grooved device that |
| fully appreciate that bait's main advantage | | | | chops and rolls simultaneously producing many |
| is that it has not been used yet, and has not | | | | round baits very fast! |
| hooked all the big fish in advance of the | | | | |
| majority using it. | | | | I like to roll out sausages of various |
| | | | diameter and boil these, chopping them up |
| Using a particular shop bought baits is like | | | | when dry. I also make molded hook baits |
| entering a race, where you generally only get | | | | between thumb and forefinger, some with |
| the best from them, when they are used for | | | | specially added cork granules to make them |
| the first time on a water and where the fish | | | | buoyant. |
| do not associate them with danger yet. | | | | |
| | | | Put on a large pan of boiling water (when |
| After they have been used for a while | | | | boiling I add sweeteners like molasses, |
| successfully, results become standard for | | | | honey, brown sugar, black treacle, and |
| everyone using them again, and only the very | | | | liquorice extract and sea salt. This really |
| most talented anglers will still achieve | | | | gives your boiled baits 'different' extra |
| outstanding catches on them, as they will | | | | attraction despite having the usual firm |
| again have lost that competitive edge of | | | | skin). |
| being new and different. | | | | |
| | | | I will often spike my hook baits or cut |
| There is also that unique sense of joy and | | | | pieces off them to ensure their surface |
| satisfaction at catching a personal best fish | | | | releases attractors much faster and can also |
| or perhaps lake record fish, on a bait you | | | | absorb bait soaks more efficient. This really |
| personally have designed and made yourself. | | | | produces noticeably faster too at times. I've |
| This is something that makes for some very | | | | even caught fish to mid twenty pounds 'on the |
| special moments in your personal archive of | | | | drop' straight after casting the bait in the |
| special fishing memories! | | | | water. |
| | | | |
| Making and mixing dry dough baits and | | | | Put some bait into a sieve or chip fryer, and |
| boilies: | | | | boil the baits for up to an average time of |
| | | | 90 seconds. (The less the better to retain |
| (There's more great information for more | | | | the nutritional qualities of your bait.) |
| experienced anglers later in this article, so | | | | Don't forget that with using alcohol based |
| please bear this in mind!) | | | | flavors, these are boiling away into the air |
| | | | as vapors with every second! |
| To make things much easier for everyone, | | | | |
| let's start by using a 'standardized starting | | | | Milk proteins should have the minimum |
| measure'. Often it's easiest to bring a | | | | boiling, or you'll reduce their nutritional |
| combination of dry flours, meals and ground | | | | attraction and benefits, by damaging various |
| materials together, to form one dry powder | | | | amino acids in the proteins, (some much more |
| mixture. You can then add this to eggs or | | | | than others!) |
| water, to make dough bait, paste bait, or | | | | |
| so-called 'boilie' baits. | | | | Smaller baits can take less time than e.g. 18 |
| | | | millimeter ones. Whatever you do, remove them |
| Boiled baits are most often small round dough | | | | from the boiling water the moment they start |
| bait balls, with eggs included. When these | | | | floating. |
| dough baits are dropped into boiling water | | | | |
| for a minute or two, then a tough resistant | | | | Lay the skinned baits to dry on cloths on |
| skin is created around each bait, and this | | | | wooden fruit boxes or cardboard boxes or |
| helps them last much longer on the hook, or | | | | bread trays and keep turning them over to dry |
| on the specialist carp 'hair rig'. | | | | and cool evenly. Leave them to dry, usually |
| | | | from a few hours in warm room temperatures to |
| This is a short line loop (attached to your | | | | 3 days or more depending how hard or dry you |
| hook) of perhaps half an inch in length. A | | | | want them! |
| boilie bait is slid onto this loop, using a | | | | |
| special baiting needle. The bait is held in | | | | As they dry, your finished boiles will shrink |
| place using a small piece of grooved plastic | | | | and harden and absorb any strong smells or |
| or rubber to hold it in place. Such baits can | | | | odors nearby, so ensure you dry them in a |
| effectively last on this rig for over 24 | | | | clean environment away from chemicals, paint, |
| hours in the water, if necessary. | | | | cleaning products etc that may be left around |
| | | | inadvertently and may taint your baits with |
| A typical homemade 'dry ingredients base | | | | fish repellent fumes! |
| mixture', is usually divided into 1 pound | | | | |
| weights or 16 ounces. (Approximately 500 | | | | To preserve your baits there are many |
| grammes.) By doing this you can design your | | | | preservatives to mix with your dry bait mix |
| bait by listing it's ingredients in | | | | before mixing, many are great for winter |
| individual ounces. You can use your fishing | | | | baits as they replace eggs which could affect |
| scales and a plastic bag to help you do this! | | | | results in colder water temperatures. |
| | | | |
| You may prefer to use kilograms, as your | | | | Put, for example, a pound of finished boilies |
| 'reference weight' if you are making very | | | | into individually marked freezer bags, with |
| large amounts of bait. Either way, this makes | | | | the date and mix and attractors or flavors |
| everything else easy, because you always know | | | | clearly written. Or carry on drying them |
| how much water, or eggs, or actual | | | | until they're 95 % plus dry, and store them |
| ingredients of which type you have put into | | | | in air-drying net bags, paper potato bags or |
| your mix. | | | | similar, somewhere dry, away from rodents! |
| | | | |
| It is very important to make notes of each | | | | I like to put about 30 to 60 milliliters of |
| ingredient and the amounts used in your bait | | | | natural attractors additives and amino acid |
| base mixes. Also any liquid attractors like | | | | compound with boilies into freezer bags |
| flavours, amounts of eggs used too, as this | | | | before freezing and shake the baits to |
| will save you much head scratching, and | | | | distribute them. This can more than double |
| unnecessary mistakes later. Making detailed | | | | your catch rate! For winter, try adding a |
| records is the key to successful bait making | | | | favorite 'raw' undiluted flavour, like "Tutti |
| and makes everything easy! | | | | Fruitti," "Scopex," and "Megaspice" etc. |
| | | | |
| A simple but effective beginner's dry 'base | | | | For waters with excessive bait robbing fish |
| mix' for example, is the following: | | | | or crayfish for example, use higher levels of |
| | | | casein in your dedicated hook bait mix, and |
| * 6 ounces of ground-up trout or salmon | | | | after boiling and drying, leave your baits in |
| pellets or fish meal powder. | | | | a sealed container full of sugar. This is a |
| | | | very effective way to harden your baits and |
| * 5 ounces of Semolina or ground rice flour. | | | | make them effectively last much longer! |
| | | | |
| * 5 ounces of ground-up soya beans (or | | | | To calculate the finished weight of prepared |
| flour.) | | | | boilies from eggs and dry mix in advance of |
| | | | production, the eggs, (usually large hen's |
| Start by placing your dry ingredients into a | | | | eggs) are 30 to 40 % (average) the weight of |
| big strong polythene bag; it may be quicker | | | | the finished bait per pound. |
| and easier to mix up perhaps 6 to 10 pounds | | | | |
| of powders at a time. (3 to 5 kilograms). | | | | To make my baits different from many shop - |
| Blow some air into the bag and tie up the top | | | | bought, uniform shaped, machine rolled boiled |
| securely. Shake the contents very well until | | | | baits, I boil my baits over a various range |
| the powders flow and have mixed thoroughly | | | | of times, e.g. short 10 to 90 seconds (with |
| and the mixture is an even color. | | | | nutritional baits) up to 5 minutes with |
| | | | carbohydrate baits with overloaded |
| You can weigh out 1 pound or 1 kilogram | | | | attractors. |
| batches of powders, and put these into sealed | | | | |
| labelled individual bags for storage, for | | | | For a useful quick bait tip for short range |
| later use. It's a good idea to weigh out a 1 | | | | hand thrown or catapulted baits for example, |
| pound of powders and put this into a | | | | or in a bait delivery 'spod' cast out at |
| container that holds approximately this | | | | range, use dough rolled flat and chopped |
| amount. | | | | finely into bait pieces. I even leave |
| | | | portions of this procedure un-boiled as paste |
| This means that from now on every time you | | | | pieces, to be used as free baits, and in |
| make bait you can quickly just fill that can | | | | water soluble polyvinyl alcohol ('P.V.A.') |
| with any new base mix powder and you know you | | | | bags, and dry these separately. |
| will have about a 1 pound dry mix to start | | | | |
| with; to add to your liquid ingredients and | | | | This gives baits of varied size, shape, |
| eggs, etc. | | | | consistency, texture and density, allowing |
| | | | for much greater attraction to carp, making |
| Mixing your bait: | | | | it very much more difficult to detect the |
| | | | hook bait. This is very worthwhile and many |
| Put some powders into a large bowl or pan, | | | | of my biggest fish have come through using |
| e.g. one pound of dry mix, crack 4 to 6 hen | | | | these types of techniques! |
| eggs into another large bowl and add your | | | | |
| other liquid ingredients to them. (Some may | | | | Floating or 'pop-up' boilies: |
| require accurate measuring using a | | | | |
| needle-less syringe.) | | | | As you are rolling all your paste into balls |
| | | | before boiling, put aside, e.g. 50, for |
| Examples of additives to put in at this stage | | | | buoyant hook baits. They can be great fished |
| might include sweeteners, liquid molasses, | | | | on their own over weed or silt, or as a |
| squid extract, sweet garlic oil, liquid amino | | | | 'snowman' when used on the hair or hook with |
| acid compound, liquid betaine, flavor | | | | a normal sinking boilie. |
| components, honey, yeast extract, anise | | | | |
| extract etc. | | | | You can incorporate cork or small balls of |
| | | | polystyrene into these or even use a high |
| Beat these very well until the consistency | | | | amount of cork granules in a dedicated base |
| and color are even. | | | | mix, to adjust the amount of buoyancy you |
| | | | want. These are available from the commercial |
| I tend to over flavour with an alcohol based | | | | companies. The advantage with these is that |
| flavour if I'm making baits to be fished as | | | | your hook baits are identical in nutritional |
| purely lone 'attractor baits' with no free | | | | make-up and signal leak - off to your 'free' |
| offerings being used. | | | | or ground baits. |
| | | | |
| Add the dry powders, small amounts at a time, | | | | Another method is to put a small number of |
| until the mixture forms a moldable dough. | | | | smaller, normal baits on a plate, and |
| (It's sometimes good to leave the mix in a | | | | microwave them in time increments of, e.g. 20 |
| sealed bag somewhere cool for 2 to 3 hours, | | | | seconds, removing them before they begin to |
| and even leave the 'soaking' paste dough in | | | | burn. These are soaked in attractors before |
| the fridge overnight. This allows the liquids | | | | use, to maximize attraction. |
| to penetrate into even the least soluble | | | | |
| ingredients and really helps bait performance | | | | Another method is to adjust the level of |
| by maximizing its water soluble liquid | | | | ingredients until you arrive at a floating |
| attraction!) | | | | test bait. I've also had this happen by |
| | | | accident, and not design while experimenting |
| By weighing any dry mix in a bowl, you can | | | | with more buoyant ingredients like sodium |
| find the weight of dry mix required for each | | | | caseinate, shrimp and krill meals, even some |
| further 4 to 6 egg mix. Please note that | | | | egg biscuit based bird foods, for example. |
| every base mix you design is different and | | | | |
| needs refining for the best mixing, rolling, | | | | I use casein as the base with sodium |
| digestibility, attraction, and water | | | | caseinate and then other ingredients, as this |
| solubility ratios and properties you require | | | | offers great nutritional signals, while being |
| for your particular fishing circumstances! | | | | a harder more resilient bait. You can buy |
| | | | 'pop-up' base mixes from many commercial |
| Roll the dough (like in bread making) to | | | | suppliers. These baits are best left to soak |
| release air. You have many choices at this | | | | in a mixture of natural attractive extracts |
| stage, like perhaps use a rolling pin to | | | | and flavours, with an added amino acid |
| flatten the dough on a bread board, and then | | | | compound for example, to harden and preserve |
| cut your dough into many odd shaped pieces. | | | | the baits and maximize their carp attraction |
| (A very quick bait making method, and a | | | | qualities. |
| proven one for excellent catches!) | | | | |
| | | | Such baits fished just on their own on hard |
| Or perhaps squeeze small pieces into dense | | | | fished waters can be very productive, |
| blobs, or roll dough into sausages and create | | | | especially casting immediately to carp seen |
| cylinder shaped pellets or flat cylinder | | | | bubbling or 'rolling, and 'head and |
| shapes, or flat discs. (Ideal for weed and | | | | shouldering'! |
| silt etc). Or chop dough into pieces and hand | | | | |
| roll them into balls of varied sizes. (And | | | | So, why not give bait making a go; you really |
| even chop these pieces in half for another | | | | can have your 'cake' and eat it this is the |
| alternative shape!) A little vegetable oil on | | | | tip of the ice-berg! |
| your palms will help if your baits are | | | | |
| sticky. | | | | The author has many more fishing and bait |
| | | | 'edges' up his sleeve. Every single one can |
| I aim to create baits that will really look, | | | | have a huge impact on catches... |
| act and feel different to the regimented | | | | |