Specimen Baits to look out for in 2009 |
When you talk to your average angler, a boilie is a boilie, or so they think. Those that have taken the time to investigate the building blocks of a nutritional boilie or food source to a fish will understand the complex nature that makes up a bait that is both attractive to the fish as well as being nutritionally beneficial with regards to digestibility, proteins, fats, etc so that the fish will benefit from eating them rather than just being caught on them. Read on to find out what my thoughts are on some baits from the leading bait manufacturers at this present time. Mainline CellEssex bait manufacturers, Mainline Baits, are once again at the forefront with regards to carp fishing baits. Going against the usual fishmeal, milk protein or birdfood base, the guys at Mainline have developed “The Cell”. This is not the first venture into a non-standard based bait as arguably Mainline’s most successful ever bait, Activ-8, was also developed upon the same principle of bucking the trend, and going on real angling results rather than advertising or sponsored anglers “plugs”, Mainline have done it again with “The Cell”. Those that have read my bait articles in the past will know that I like to get down & dirty with regards to nutritional breakdown of the baits and why they are so successful, but I am not even going to even start to try to break “The Cell” down, as I know I would not get a list of the ingredients from either Steve Morgan or Kev Knight at Mainline – and it would be a complete injustice to even guess what is included! The first thing that you notice when you pick up a bag of “The Cell”, is the addictive, sweet, “coconutty” smell of the bait. Not too overpowering, but more than enough to give you the confidence in the bait before you even cast it into the venue! The aroma of “The Cell” reminds me of Nice biscuits (the ones that your Grandmother always used to have with mid-morning coffee) and I knew straight away that the bait was going to be one of the main staple baits that I will keep always in my armoury. I shouldn’t really say this or recommend it to anyone (for allergy reasons amongst other things), but I actually chewed and ate one of the freezer baits (defrosted!), and it tasted exactly as it smelt which in all honesty is a dangerous thing with me as you will probably see me dunking them into my coffee on the bankside (so if you are using them and I am fishing the same water, HIDE THEM if I stop for a chat!). As per usual, Mainline have developed a full range of “The Cell” products to accompany the boilies. As well as being available as freezer baits in 10mm, 14mm & 20mm sizes, along with 12mm x 18mm frozen “dumbbells”, matching Response pellets, bait dip, frozen paste (for preparing your own corkball pop-ups) and also tubs of shelf-life pop-ups & hooker “dumbbells”. There is something in the range to cater for all eventualities that the modern specimen angler will encounter. For those that prefer to roll their own bait, Mainline also have made “The Cell” base mix available which only requires the addition of eggs and the dedicated “Cell” liquid additive. More Details? www.mainline-baits.com
Heathrow BaitsTo the dedicated specimen angler, Heathrow Baits need no introduction. But to the general angler who goes by glossy adverts and plugs in articles by their favourite anglers, Heathrow Baits may be a company that are overlooked. Heathrow Baits started out as a custom hookbait making service, and has steadily grown over the years to become one of the leading bait manufacturers in angling today. Ian Russell, the man behind Heathrow Baits, has built the companies reputation on quality rather than quantity, and with limited expansion, held back by Ian himself rather than market demand, all of Heathrow Baits products have been tested thoroughly and tweaked to be as effective as possible to the angler, rather than just being a “nice smell”. New for 2009, H.B.S have released another winner to the range in “Super Roosta”. A dark red bait containing pre-digested fishmeals, green lipped mussel extract and robin red amongst other ingredients, “Super Roosta” has a distinctive rich chicken aroma, that not only makes the fish hungry but also a simple whiff of it to me makes me want to sit down for a traditional roast dinner! To accompany “Super Roosta”, H.B.S have also released their secret weapon – 6mm baby boilies. Only available in 3 of the 8 baits in the range, the baby boilies are something that anglers who have rolled their own baits have been using for a number of years. In doing so, these anglers have had some success over the other anglers that hedge all their bets on feeding pellets as it is something that the fish are not used to. Because of the additional work, and that the mix has to be 100% perfect in consistency so that the baits do not split during the rolling process, only the die hard’s have set out to use home made 6mm baits. Now, thanks to Heathrow Bait Serviced, they are available to all. I am sure that these will literally fly off the shelves. I know that I will be using them this year (but keep that to yourself!). The baby boilies are available in the following 3 mixes only; Super Stench, Red Indians and Super Roosta. Another superb idea to come from the H.B.S stable is the hardened hookbaits (in the same 3 mixes as the baby boilies at this present time). Made from the same mixes that are in the freezer range, additional hardeners are added to the mix so that the breakdown time is increased as well as stopping silver fish from breaking down the baits by pecking at them. The hardened hookbaits are also ideal for fishing in waters that hold crayfish, and if the hardened baits are not hard enough to keep the crays at bay, then they can be wrapped in the H.B.S “Flak Jacket” shrink tubing to make them virtually indestructible! H.B.S are also continuing to do their superb pop-ups to match the full range of freezer baits, as well as other flavours for that change of hookbait. Keep an eye out in 2009 for H.B.S baits as the fish are going to be seeing a lot of them if my thoughts are correct! More Details: www.heathrowbaitservices.com
Richworth StreamselectRichworth were the first company to launch a commercial range of boilies, and are still going strong after 25 years in the industry! I cannot think of any angler that has not used or heard of Richworth, and their range of baits still continue to catch some of the biggest fish in Mainland Europe and the UK after all these years. That is a great testament to how good the baits are from Richworth. Also making a return after a long absence is the frozen Salmon Supreme boilie. This bait has caught a LOT of fish over the years, and production had to be ceased due to a few key ingredients becoming very difficult to obtain, but that has now changed.The return of the “Supreme” will onlybolster the existing range of baits and will be catching a lot of Carpin the coming season and for as long as it is available. Let’s not forget about some of Richworth’s existing mixes and baits as these willstill catch lots of fish on waters where other baits may not tempt a sniff. Richworth’s range of Airo Pop-Ups will certainly be in my bait bags this coming year. Available in all of the companies specimen flavours, including the old favourites and some that are a little less known, these pop-ups are ultra buoyant to boot , and will remain buoyant for many hours after submerging in water. Produced in fluoro colours so to stand out in murky water as single hookbaits, or as “target” baits when used in conjunction with a larger bottom bait of the same flavour, the baits are available in both 14mm & 18mm sizes, as well as in a single sized dumbbell/pellet shape. The dumbbell pop-ups are available in Tutti Frutti (orange),Pineapple Hawaiian (yellow), Squid and Octopus (pink) and K-G-1 (brown). More Details www.richworth.com
NutrabaitsNutrabaits need no introduction to the specialist angler, as they are well known for their ultra successful ready made baits as well as their base mixes and ingredients. New for 2009, Bill Cottam and Richard Skidmore, have launched the “G-Force” range of baits and base mix. The highly digestible G-Force recipe contains no milk proteins and no run of the mill fishmeal ingredients, making it ultimately different to everything else that is out there and absolutely ideal for use on even the most pressured of venues.
G-Force boasts a highly balanced nutritional profile and is absolutely packed with a whole host of natural attractors including spirolina, human food grade scallop, kelp and seaweed, spice and marine extracts and natural emulsifiers, which ensure that it is suitable for both long and short term applications 12 months of the year. To compliement the ready made baits (12mm, 14mm & 18mm), Nutrabaits have also put together Bait Soak Complex, Liquid Food, pop-ups and the standard base mix , so all anglers will be able to utilise G-Force in one aspect or another into their angling. I am certainly looking forward to putting G-Force through it’s paces on my target waters this year as I am sure it will produce the goods (as Nutrabaits have done for me in the past). More info: www.nutrabaits.net |
