MAKING HOMEMADE CARP FISHING / CATFISHING BAITS - Choosing 'Cool Ingredients & 'Binders!' (60+

* An introduction to making your own homemadeUsually you will require a binding material to hold
carp fishing and catfishing baits; choosing coolthe protein food together in the bait. This may
ingredients: *require using dry binding ingredients like semolina,
'Homemade' can mean 'simple or basic', but whenwheat gluten, wheat flour, soya flour etc for up
applied to making carp or catfish bait, the subjectto 50 % of the mix, necessary for many types
certainly deserves far more explanation forof coarse bird food meals, shellfish meals, meat
optimum results and catches!to begin with, yourand fish meals. Different bait materials will alter
bait really has just one main function; to get thethis approximate ratio, but use the ratio that rolls
fishing hook into the carp's or catfish's mouth, sofirst! and increase the protein content from there
giving the opportunity for it to be hooked! To(Using eggs / egg powder to bind your bait, adds
achieve this, the bait needs either:a great nutritional added profile as a complete
• To emit a recognizable carp foodprotein food.)
signal, or stimulate carp curiosity.Examples of binders:
• Be representative of, or a mimic of a• Hen's eggs.
natural food source.• Egg powder / extracts.
Carp are curious and will examine any new• Whey gel.
potential food item they come across. Whether• Bread crumbs.
paste / dough or boilies, it needs to be resilient• Full fat 'yellow' semolina.
enough to be put on the hook or 'hair', for it to• Maize meal.
withstand the fishes' attention and enter the• Corn starch / meal / syrup.
mouth.• Potato starch.
'Boilie' baits are the more scientifically proven kind• White ground rice flour.
that have evolved from the days of the 'Specials'• Wheat flour.
baits. In the UK these were often based on• Wheat gluten.
ground - up dog, cat, fish foods and farm animal• Potato gluten.
foods in pellet, biscuit and tinned form. They were• Full fat soya flour.
bound together with eggs, and fished as pastes.• Ground seeds.
In the 1950 to the early 1970's these were often• Ground 'Sluis CLO.'
fished 'free lined' with big hooks, with no weight,• Ground 'EMP.'
and individual baits could be the size of an orange,• Ground 'CeDe.'
in order to deter bait-whittling smaller fish!• Ground 'Red band' pigeon seed mix.
Other common 'kitchen' type ingredients were• Beef gelatin based binding products.
also incorporated to enhance paste effectiveness• Chemical / 'Jelly style' foods.
like minced tinned fish, curry powder, bottledSome of the most effective attraction of your
condiment sources, yeast powders, milk powders,bait comes from the water soluble fraction of
grated cheese, salt and pepper, herbs, yeastparticular ingredients used. Ingredients with this
extract, cake baking flavours, whole - wheat flour,characteristic content could constitute 10 % up to
corn flour, bird foods, ground fish meal pellets, and30 % of the mix. Making a resilient practical boilie
animal / pet food pellets, beans, peas, seeds, andmix may require the addition or reduction of only
many food oils have been used; many of whichone ingredient. Some of the best baits you will
have proved themselves. Many, in original orever discover are made by this trial and error
extract form, are still used in baits today.process. The solubility of ingredients is especially
Baits were originally boiled to allow them to berecommended if an ingredient has high protein
thrown much further out into the water, as carpvalue, such as sodium and calcium caseinates, calf
moved out in response to increased anglingmilk replacers, whole milk powder, yeast powder,
pressure and tackle improvements. The fact thathydrolyzed fish and shellfish proteins etc...
nearly every other fish that swims with carp canSome are used at much lower levels, e.g. 0.2 %
eat boilies, has shown that the 'hard skinned boilieto 6 % ; e.g., hydrolyzed fish protein, hydrolyzed
idea didn't really work. In fact many species, likespirulina extract, squid extract, anchovy extract,
big roach, tench, bream, catfish etc, seem to usegreen crab / lobster / scallop / shrimp / oyster /
boilies as part of their staple diets and theirbaby clam extracts, green lip mussel extract etc.
improved growth rates can attest to this fact.These are also effective as most are extremely
The ideal 'average' size established for boilies usedquickly and efficiently digested with immediate
to be a recommended 15 millimeters in diameter,benefits that the carp can feel.
although today highly pressured waters often seeI prefer to fresh freeze baits, or 'air dry' them
better results on much smaller sizes and some donaturally, or preserve them in a flavour / amino
very well on even 35 millimeter ones as haveacid / supplement compound, rather than using a
done in the UK and France.chemical preservative in the bait like ascorbic acid.
If you were an average carp angler, fishing inCarp require oils (essential fatty acids) but only in
around 1980 in the UK, then you were most likelysmall amounts e.g., up to 5 % of your total dry
still experimenting with many of these ingredients,mix. Oily fish meals and shellfish meals are already
to give you an 'edge' over those pesky carp!rich in these, as are flax seed, hemp seed,
However, there were an advanced minority, whosesame seeds, salmon oil, cod liver oil, crustacean
kept the latest bait and rig secret developmentsoil, etc. To meet minimum carp dietary
private among themselves, and pockets of carprequirements try adding perhaps around 1 milliliter
anglers developed different edges and formulasto 3 milliliters of a good quality nutritional oil per
which could totally out - fish the old 'specials'.egg, (maximum,) depending on oil level in the dry
This was because they were based upon, andmix.
maximized, scientifically proven data, on the carpAt times of year when water temperatures drop
dietary preference mechanism! Understanding thebelow 55 Fahrenheit / 13 Degrees Celsius, it's
scientifically proven carp data, on the carp'ssensible to drop the oil levels used or use
dietary preference mechanism and baits designedemulsified oil. It also pays to reduce some of your
on this basis, resulted in more highly nutritionally'whole protein food' content and substitute it with
balanced baits. So giving carp the maximume.g., 3 ounces of wheat germ; this is a proven
energy and dietary requirements, for the leastmethod of improving the biological conversion of
cost in effort!your bait inside the carp by making your bait
The real missing ingredient, for very many carpmore 'carp digestible'
anglers, even today, is in understanding why aCarp love to crunch food and in doing so send out
carp eats any of these carp boilie foods at all! Andall kinds of feeding signals to other carp, allowing
why carp can actually prefer some baits to theattractive food particles to pass out of the gills.
exclusion of all the rest!Nutritional ingredients can be used for this effect,
This is an important area I feel, that has beene.g. bird foods - 'Robin Red', 'Red
neglected, leaving many modern carp anglers withFactor','Nectarblend', Ground 'Red Band' pigeon
less understanding of the baits available to himfood, prepared ground mixed nuts and seeds;
and how best to choose how and when to useprepared tiger nuts and hempseed, millet, egg -
them, because this can be a very important 'edge'biscuit myna - bird rearing food, niger seeds,
in itself! Also I feel it is as important to really'RRR', ground birdseeds 'Ce De', 'PTX', ground
understand why your shop-bought bait catchesinsects, dried larvae, coarse kelp meal etc.
and doesn't catch in different circumstances,Also used are crushed oyster shell and eggshell.
seasonal and weather conditions, and different atThese also allow bait to release attractors faster,
types of waters.putting more out to attract carp quicker and
Of course it is not vital to know, or understandmore effectively, especially in lower water
these things to catch carp. But only the mosttemperatures. They also help the fish to eat
exceptional outstanding anglers catch big carpmore bait by helping them pass it through their
consistently, using a normal number of fishingsystems faster.
hours to achieve this. Compared to the 'average'Test each individually because their properties
majority, who are usually those having taken upvary. Use, e.g., 0.5 ounces per pound for shell
carp fishing in the last 5 to 15 years or so andthrough to e.g., 2 ounces per pound of course
often to struggle to maintain big fish catcheskelp meal, to e.g., 3 ounces per pound of 'Robin
consistency all year round unlike much moreRed', ground birdseed e.g., 6 ounces per pound, up
experienced and 'bait wise' anglers.to 8 ounces per pound of 'Nectar Blend'.
So I feel it is important to help explain how toHere are some examples of recognized 'nutritional'
become more satisfied and consistent in yourbird food ingredients:
carp fishing, because these days it can be a large• 'PTX.'
sacrifice, both in time and money, to pursue this• 'Robin Red.'
sport. I believe, especially newer carp anglers,• 'Red Factor.'
need impartial guidance when it comes to the• 'Nectar Blend.'
importance of bait (often a complete• 'RRR' Spanish peppers.
afterthought!), when frequently thousands of• 'Prosecto Insectivorous.'
pounds have been spent on carp fishing tackle!• 'Sluis' CLO.
An introduction to the boilie ingredients: Boilies are• 'Sluis'Universal.
usually made using dry mixture ingredients of• 'Sluis' Mynhah bird food.
either 500 grammes or 1 pound. Using a• 'CeDe.'
combination of natural and synthetic materials, bait• 'EMP.'
may be bound together usually with eggs, to• 'Red Venom' carophyll red liquid
form dough balls or shapes. The most effectivepigment attractor.
size and dimensions vary depending upon your• Ground-up wild bird food.
fishing situation, and could be 8 to 30 millimetersOther ingredients are used to change resilience,
plus. (Never underestimate how fish preferencestexture, attractor leak-off,e.g., milk powders,
alter over time and even at different times duringwhole milk, 'Vitamealo' at, e.g., 4 ounces per
a session!)pound),or in a very soluble bait to bind it 'tighter'
It pays to make different sizes, shapes, ande.g., whey gel at 3 ounces per pound, or make it
densities boilies: this helps take away a 'danger'harder, e.g. blood powder at e.g. 4 ounces per
reference point, i.e., it stops the fish recognizing itpound, egg albumin at e.g., 2 ounces per pound,
and fools the carp into eating the hook bait withwhole egg powder at, e.g., 3 ounces per pound, or
the hook (which is the point, isn't it?!)whey gel, e.g., 1 ounce per pound.
Boilies have conventionally been and are oftenTo avoid silt / to make baits more buoyant,
labeled in terms of the food group which formsinclude ingredients like sodium caseinate, e.g. 5
the majority percentage of the bait, i.e.:ounces per pound, or shrimp meal, e.g. 3 ounces
Milk protein (whole milk and it's derivatives)per pound or krill meal at e.g., 3 ounces per pound.
Carrier carbohydrate (soya flour / semolina)Try raising your flavours levels too!
Bird foods (seed mixes, rearing foods andVitamins and minerals are great attractors too,
extracts, etc)being essential for carp health and growth. Many
Fishmeal (ground trout pellets, oily fish meals,of the above extracts supply these, but they
crustacean meals, seafood extracts, etc)leach out of bait very fast. Adding black strap
Meat meals (beef, poultry, pork flakes, hydrolyzedmolasses, betaine hydrochloride to the mix and as
feather meal, etc)liquid soak really help.
And so on…Other ingredients can be added in very low levels
Of course, these labels are misleading to someto enhance your bait, or give it an 'extra special
folks these days because baits have becomeattractive note' e.g., 1 teaspoon per pound, of
more complex. The benefits of mixing thepowdered taste enhancer, sea salt, or
nutrients of different food groups in the samesweeteners like sodium saccharin and fishing
bait mix, means there may be no single foodcompany proprietary brands liquid and powdered
group in any given bait!sweeteners with no 'chemical back taste'.
So how do you choose which ingredients to use,When you mix new ingredients together always
which ratios of these to use and why? The firsttest your mixture first. Try using one egg as a
step is commonly practicality; can you put thesebinder, to see if you have your ratios right for
things together into a dough or paste, to producepractical binding and rolling purposes. Always
a boilie mix that will bind together and roll well?prepare your wet ingredients first and add dry
To produce a boilie from various ingredientsingredients to the wet ones gradually as you
without instructions on ratios of each ingredientbecome accustomed to the ingredients you're
takes some preliminary testing. So it is wise tousing, this part will become simple!
start by using one large hen's egg (or similar),You can refine your bait's 'nutritional profile'
mixed with a small amount of any liquidcontent, attraction properties and additional
ingredients, to confirm that your test drypractical physical properties, as you become more
ingredients when mixed actually bind and roll wellfamiliar with getting a practical bait together; that
into balls to make boiled baits. If not, add moreworks right for you and catches carp consistently!
egg, a small amount of vegetable oil or 'binding(Big ones preferably! You will soon find it's very
material'.easy to make all kinds of baits, and your secret
Ideally start by putting the carp's dietary needsbait armory will fill you with confidence and your
first when making bait, and begin with the bulkphotograph albums with big carp! (Warning this
'whole protein food' content of ingredients at 25article is under copyright; only reprinting with a link
% to 50 % of your preliminary 100 % dryis OK.)
mixture. Such examples used could beBy Tim Richardson. 'The 'thinking angler's bait
combinations of some of the following: caseins,making expert.
lactalbumin, fish meals, meat meals, whey protein.