DT Bait Developments 2010 Products

DT Bait was established in 1988 by co-founders Dave Thorpe and Chris Nicolaov, with the vision of creating the highest quality specimen carp baits available on the commercial market. In 1997, DT Baits acquired Cotswold Baits (the original company - not Cotswold Bait Creations who are another company today) to help improve its market share in Europe.
Health reasons meant that both DT Bait and Cotswold Baits were sold by its owner in 2003 to the current owners and dedicated carp anglers; Simon Hammersley and James Willsmer.

DT Baits pride themselves on supplying quality; sourcing only the finest ingredients available with taste and digestion being the primary objective. In any of the DT Bait products, the smell of any of the prepared baits are identical as the description on the label. All baits are freshly rolled in-house by DT Baits giving total control over the quality of all of the products.

With a vast range of products from fresh frozen ready made's to base mixes, flavours and additives, UKMA are certain that there is something for everyone. We have looked at a selection of the new products for 2010, and you can find our thoughts below.

DT Bait Coldwater Chocolate Cream

When we opened the box that the baits were sent to the UKMA office, the first thing that immediately hit us was the irresistable smell of this product.

Upon taking the bright yellow packaged baits out of the box, it was obvious instantly that this bait was a top quality product. Based upon the Coldwater base mix - that has a reputation in carp angling circles as being a winner in low temperatures - we knew that this was something special indeed.

The fine mix contains a dedicated blend of ingredients that are proven to be critical in stimulating carp into feeding when water temperatures are cold. The Coldwater mix itself has been used by anglers in the know for a while and combined with the awesome "Green Beast" flavouring, but this bait has an aroma all of it's own.

When DT Bait say that their products smell exactly as described on the label - they are not wrong! Even when doing a blind smell test on the other half and her daughter, they both immediately exclaimed "CHOCOLATE!" (typical women!). As I usually do with baits that I smell good to me, I popped one in my mouth and had a chew (defrosted obviously!). All I could taste for a while was a blend of Swiss milk chocolate and cream, with no bitter after taste.

Usually with synthetic bait flavours, there is a chemical type after-taste, but I was pleasantly surprised that this bait did not have this! The same was found with the bait dip as well which did surprise me.

In the parcel along with the freezer baits and dip, was a tub of 15mm pop-ups. Most of us are fully aware that most off the shelf pop-ups do not retain adequate bouyancy after a while in the water, with some not able to hold a chod rig up at all straight from the tub (hence why my first choice of hookbait is usually a corkball pop-up).

I was very surprised to find that during the testing on the bank on a 48 hour session, that a bait that had been out for 40+ hours was still holding a chod rig up as effectively as it did when first put on!

They say that you cannot buy confidence, but with this in mind, DT have done something that others have failed on - which means that you can pop one of these on and be confident that the presentation is as good as can be when others would have turned into bottom baits.

The Coldwater Chocolate Cream baits are available in 1 Kilo bags and are supplied as freezer baits.

DT Bait X-Treme Repro Baits

DT have also launched a range of shelf life baits that the company claim are the same as the freezer bait for the given recipe. Most anglers will be aware that shelf life baits are generally a bit harder straight from the bag than defrosted freezer baits of the same recipe/flavour. When the bags were opened, a quick squeeze test proved that the baits were still soft enough to be crushed between thumb and forefinger with around the same pressure as a freezer bait. UKMA can see a lot of benefits in this range especially those anglers that like to leave some bait in the car just in case they might need it or if they are going on holiday somewhere where freezer facilities are not available. Even after 3 weeks of the bags being opened, there is no sign of any mould growth and the baits are still as soft as they were when packaged. This is something that I feel is very important in not having to worry about an opened bag being left in the bottom of a carryall or rucksack.

UKMA were sent two of the range to look at - Green Beast and Oily Chicken. The "Green Beast" is well known to anglers as being an awesome bait in itself and most anglers will not need any explaining to how effective this bait is, but there will still be some that are not aware of them. The Green Beast flavour itself is a fruity smell and taste that I personally feel is based on apple (but could be wrong). The "Oily Chicken" is exactly what is says it is, and has a distinct chicken aroma that smells exactly like a kitchen on a Sunday in most households!

Both of the X-Treme Repro baits UKMA were sent are based upon the reknowned Pukka Fish basemix. The Pukka Fish basemix contains high grade LT94 fishmeal, soluble milk proteins and original Haith's Robin Red. The addition of the Robin Red gives a very carpy reddish-brown colour to the bait which will appeal to a lot of anglers. Both of the baits sent are identical other than the flavour label, so could be used easily in conjunction with each other or as an alternative hookbait to the free offerings without being blatant - important in my opionion on some very pressured waters. Both baits also contain pure Red Salmon Oil which in itself is a reknowned fish catcher.

The X-Treme Repro bait range also includes other hghly successful baits in Fish'n'Blood with Fresh Orange, R1 and also Pukka Fish with Peach n Sour Cream. There is a bait in this range to suit any angler who wants a superb food bait in a shelf life form.

Final Thoughts

I could not find anything wrong with the baits sent up by DT Bait for use to look at. I would be confident in taking any of the range onto a venue and using them. With the hand selected consultants that DT have onboard, you know that these baits will catch fish from any water that contains carp. We suggest that if you haven't already tried the DT range of baits, give them a go and you will be pleasantly surprised.

For more information about these baits and the rest of the DT Bait range, please click the image below to visit the DT Bait website.