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