| Pellets are great carp catchers. Period. Most anglers | | | | preoccupied confident feeding has always been |
| have used the usual trout, salmon halibut, betaine or | | | | popular over the years. There have been many |
| corn steep liquor pellets in the past, but there's far | | | | massive hauls of big carp over maize or sweetcorn all |
| more to pellets than meets the eye! | | | | over the world for generations. Where results begin to |
| The great boilie revolution in carp fishing meant that in | | | | reduce new colours, flavours and stimulants are used |
| Europe, carp became very used to being caught over | | | | to bring them back to life very effectively. |
| large beds of boilies as their use became almost | | | | You may wonder what easy way of making boilies |
| universally accepted. However, those who have been | | | | like particle baits. Best to make up your base mix |
| individual enough to do their own thing have always | | | | dough as usual, roll it flat and simply chop it up into tiny |
| had the edge over fishing boilies conventionally. | | | | pieces on a chopping board with a sharp knife. These |
| This may be down to a realisation that carp love to | | | | can be air dried and used as paste which is excellent, |
| feed intensively upon small food items which is what | | | | or boilied if you want longer lasting baits. These can |
| they do naturally so efficiently. The advantage of | | | | have extra attractor dips or soaks added and anything |
| providing a bed of smaller food items for carp is that | | | | from betaine to liquid liver, to beetroot juice works. |
| you get different type of feeding compared to using | | | | Carp can definitely relate danger with anything in their |
| normal 14 to 18 millimetre boilies. | | | | surrounding. So any way to break up this relationship |
| In fact most anglers who have fished over mini boilies, | | | | between baits and danger produces better results. I |
| or particle baits like baits have rally benefited in | | | | you have seen carp ignore sweetcorn due to angling |
| achieving better catches than just using boilies alone on | | | | pressure then you can see what you're up against on |
| many waters. For example when fishing boilie hook | | | | some waters. But this is not a problem. The nature of |
| baits over peanuts, hemp or chopped meats, or over | | | | a bait can be changed radically. For example |
| beds of ground bait or even crumbled boilies (or | | | | introducing liquidized sweetcorn in a slurry or slop type |
| combinations of these for example.) | | | | ground bait is extremely effective. |
| The idea of fishing over masses of paste baits never | | | | These days many carp anglers just don't bother with |
| seems to occur to most anglers these days either. | | | | trying different approaches and slavishly go to the |
| The idea of utilising dissolving attractor baits that usually | | | | fishing shop and buy conventional boilies or halibut |
| carry the same additives or flavour combination as the | | | | pellets off the shelf never realising the improved results |
| boilie fished over the top or them has produced many | | | | they're missing out on. Even though using a mixture of |
| great catches. This is especially on hard fished waters | | | | various pellets and boilies of different base mixes is an |
| and in winter where the advantage is plain to see. | | | | edge to confuse the fish. |
| After a period of time only the hook baits are left, the | | | | Using different baits in a swim in terms of protein |
| attractor baits having dissolved and leaving a great trail | | | | content, digestibility, permeability and porosity, oil, |
| of carp pulling particles and stimulants in the swim. The | | | | enzyme, vitamin and mineral contents have the edge |
| chances of hooking a fish where just your hook baits | | | | over just using the one type. Usually there are different |
| are available are the best of all. When you're fishing | | | | baits of various descriptions in a lake at one time, and |
| over 30 or 300 boilie baits your chances get much | | | | using a variety can tap into fish's preferences at any |
| lower especially with the risk that the fish will only eat | | | | period of time. Most carp anglers realise carp and |
| a few baits and possibly stop feeding. | | | | indeed individual carp can display bait preferences |
| The idea of fishing over bread based ground bait is | | | | which when exploited make them easier to catch, so |
| having a renaissance in the UK but its simply that | | | | why not improve your chances? |
| anglers' preferences and fashions that change not | | | | Next time you go buy bait try doing the opposite of |
| necessarily the effectiveness of the chumming | | | | what most anglers did last week on your water and |
| method. It is obvious that any method of pulling fish into | | | | see the difference, maybe using a mass chum bait |
| your swim in a feeding mood without arising undue | | | | with a different buoyancy and behaviour like stimulant |
| caution is beneficial to results. Many times anglers have | | | | soaked hemp flakes and corn flakes perhaps... |
| seen carp rolling over beds of boilies not to get a 'take.' | | | | The author has many more fishing and bait 'edges' up |
| But fish can and do avoid swims with big beds of | | | | his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact |
| boilies on many hard fished waters where masses of | | | | on catches. (Warning: This article is protected by |
| boilies are applied, even fleeing the area. | | | | copyright.) |
| Using particles instead of boilies to produce | | | | By Tim Richardson. |