Marukyu Baits are probably the world oldest bait manufacturers and celebrated the company's 100th birthday in 2010, but a lot of anglers will not have heard much about them in the UK. With the massive array of boilies available already in the tackle shops, Marukyu looked further into the bait structure to provide a bait range that is not the same as others, but offers genuine advantages to both the fish and the angler alike.
Anglers don't seem to realise the scientific input that Marukyu use to develop their baits for the target country's market. It is without any shadow of a doubt that most readers will know that the Japanese place a lot of money into their Cyprinid industry be it for sport or for keeping as pets like they do with their Koi, that run into several thousands of pounds for a perfect specimen. Obviously what the fish are fed is very important to the fishkeepers and anglers so that the fish get beneficial nutrients from what is put into the water as well as keeping the fish feeding on them all year round without doing the fish detriment or over-feeding the fish on products that are not right for the species in question.
With all this in mind, Marukyu have spent a lot of money on research and development, and are owners of their own Chromo Gas and Mass Spectographer machine (usually seen in TV forensic lab programmes such as CSI) to give a perfect breakdown down to the lowest level of ingredients and amounts. The use of this type of machinery in angling bait manufacture is unheard of until now!
Who are we as anglers to argue with fishery management experts such as Roy Marlow and Dr Bruno Broughton?
Marukyu A.B.R Boilies
Marukyu have a five ranges of their A.B.R Boilies in the range for the UK market which they have developed to cater for all eventualities that the angler will experience with regards to the way the fish feed, water temperature and also species specific for the angler that is not just targetting Carp.
Marukyu have a brief summary of the development brief that the company works to, which reads;
"Many of the baits and boilies sold in the UK have been developed and refined from a limited number of templates.
Many share similar characteristics and, sometimes, the same ingredients. This can prove to be a problem when they are used because - especially on pressurised venues - fish learn to associate their characteristics with danger. This can be a smell, a taste, a colour or a consistency, but the outcome is the same - fish will avoid or ignore. Marukyu has worked long and hard to develop a range of baits that are both nutritionally of value to the fish, and trigger them to feed.
The result is a complete range of baits that have instant fish appeal, and, due to their complex ingredients, can be used time and time again without triggering the fear factor in fish."
The A.B.R Ranges
The five baits that Marukyu have launched in the UK have, as already mentioned, been developed to cater for all conditions that the angler may find themselves in when on the bank. All of the boilies have been developed to offer quick release of attractors, amino acids and flavours into the water over roughly a 12 hour period in which over 50% of the active flavours and attractors have leaked out of the boilies giving an impression of a washed out bait. For wary hard to catch fish, this can be a massive advantage as the fish are generally less shy of a bait that looks as if it has been in the water for substantially longer periods than it actually has been.
As every bait has been developed around scientific research and tested thoroughly before being put out to the market, all of the boilies in the A.B.R range are highly digestible to the fish even at low water temperatures.
To help with this, Marukyu have made a brief video that explains the main points of the A.B.R Boilies, which can be watched below;
A.B.R 1110,1115,1120 Nori Boilies
The Nori boilies have been developed to target all species of fish, especially Carp, Tench and Bream. This edge is garnered with the inclusion of Amino Acids that have been scientifically proven to be most attractive to the species mentioned. The Nori baits contain an attractor profile of 11 main ingredients that includes seaweed blends and other marine extracts. The deep green colour of the baits can also give the angler an edge as if fished over weed, the fish is hunting around to find the baits and this can really stir up a feeding frenzy which in turn makes the fish less wary.
The Nori boilies are available in 10mm, 15mm and 20mm sizes.
A.B.R 1215 Kani Boilies
The Kani boilies have been developed to target mainly Carp, but are attractive to all Cyprinid species. Kani have been made up with 13 main ingredients, many exclusive to Marukyu inluding Marine and Crab extracts as well as specific Amino Acids to attract all cyprinids, specifically the larger specimens. Kani has been formulated to work in all water temperatures, but has best leakage of attractors and flavours at the higher end of the temperature range. The dark brown colouration of the Kani mean that fish that spook over large beds of lighter coloured baits, will be less wary when they come across a spread of these.
The Kani boilies are available in 15mm size only.
A.B.R 1315 Ichigo Boilies
Ichigo has been designed to be highly effective in all temperature ranges, but has proved to be highly effective at low temperatures. The extremely fast water-soluble unique attractants in Ichigo, make this the best all round boilie in the A.B.R range according to Marukyu. Twelve main ingredients go into the make-up of the Ichigo along with several other secret ingredients that are proven to stimulate a feeding response in cold water. Ichigo has a flavour profile of strawberry and milk and the pale pink colour gives the impression of a washed out red bait (red is a firm favourite of a lot of anglers).
The Ichigo boilies are available in 15mm size only.
A.B.R 1415 Shiso Boilies
The Shiso boilies are very similar to Ichigo but include a combination of ingredients that Marukyu say UK fish have definitely not seen before.Shiso is oriental fruti flavoured which has proven to be very effective on well stocked waters where anglers are all using different baits. The Shiso boilies are made up of 13 main ingredients which are all proven winners in low water temperatures, but are also still effective in warmer water. The yellow colour is known to be a very good visual attractor of Carp in clear water conditions.
The Shisho boilies are available in 15mm size only.
A.B.R 1515 Sanagi Boilies
The Sanagi boilies have used all of Marukyu's scientific expertise to develop a selective bait that has an attractor profile that targets the bigger fish in the water. The exclusive unique ingredients that Marukyu have included in to the Sanagi mix have been lab tested many times before being included in this bait. The twelve ingredients used in the Sanagi, including Silkworm Chrysalis, are at the most effective in the summer where the water temperatures are higher and Marukyu's own anglers in the UK have been catching fish from some waters where other anglers have been struggling.
The Sanagi boilies are available in 15mm size only.
First Impressions
When we first heard about Marukyu coming to the UK with a range of scientifically formulated baits, we couldn't wait to get our hands on them to take a good look first hand. All of the baits have a subtle aroma to them that is not over powering and each of the attractor packages is smoothed off nicely within the bait. Anglers are a strange breed that tend to stick with tried and tested products, but it will be these anglers that will be missing out on a big advantage to their angling. We have tank tested the range of Marukyu boilies with some carp that are kept in a tank, and the fish were certainly interested in the areas where the crumbed baits had been placed and true to their words, the warmer water temperatures in the tank showed that the Sanagi and Nori baits to be the most attractive to the fish, as these were the first patches that the fish went to. We are not saying that anglers should just ditch the bait that they are currently using in favour of the Marukyu baits, but we do suggest highly that you give them a try as each angler that we have spoken to that has used them, has caught fish on the boilies without massive baiting campaigns.
We did want to give the Shiso and Ichigo boilies a good run out over the winter period, but due to the adverse conditions leading to every water in the country having several inches of ice on top of them, we were unable to do so, but on the short sessions that we have been able to get out on since the thaw, preliminary results show that the Ichigo stands firm alongside other winter favourites as coldwater carp catchers.
We have also received samples of some of the forthcoming pop-ups that Marukyu are due to release soon (pictured right), and tests show that they are very bouyant and a 15mm bait will hold up a standard Chod rig with no problems for at least 24 hours, and also have the same leakage properties as the bottom baits.
The sample pop-ups can be used either by piercing with a needle or tied on with bait floss, without effecting the bouyancy levels. The pop-ups are also hard enough to resist small silver fish as well as clawed critters such as crayfish. The pop-ups are still going through testing at Marukyu and should be available to accompany the boilies very soon.
All in all, we cannot find any detrimental properties to the Marukyu boilies, and would be more than confident in using them on any of the waters that we frequent.
Marukyu SDP Pellets
To accompany the range of boilies, Marukyu have also developed pellets to compliment the situation that you may experience on the venue of your choice. The SDP range or Scientifically Developed Pellet to give it the full title, has been developed to both be atractive to the target species as well good for the aquatic environment. The SDP range have been developed with angling in mind and instead of being put through a heat treatment process after extruding, the SDP range have been cold processed which gives a faster release of attraction as well as a controlled breakdown.
UKMA were sent the Nori SDP2101 and SDP2103 pellets to look at which contain Marukyu's own unique Nori (seaweed) blend that has proven to be highly attractive to all species especially carp, bream and F1's. The SDP pellets are available in 4 different sizes per blend with the last number of the code being the size of the pellet in millimetres i.e. 2101 equals 1mm pellet size. We have found that Skimmers love the smaller pellets and that specimen carp readily take the larger pellets without needing prebaiting.
Another benefit to the SDP range is that they are denser than some other pellets on the market which means that they should catapult slightly further for their given size and be less affected by side winds, whilst still sinking through the water column without sinking into soft substrates.
Marukyu have also created an information video on the SDP pellets which can be viewed below.
Marukyu AFP Paste
When Marukyu have been at the shows demonstrating their products, the one product that stands out to anglers witnessing is the AFP Paste or Angler Friendly Paste. Any angler that has fished paste will know that mixing the paste correctly to be most effective is one of the hardest preperations of baits that there is, but by simply following the instructions to the letter on the AFP bags, any angler can mix up a paste that will catch fish on any commercial fishery.
UKMA were sent the AFP310 paste. The AFP310 paste mixes up the same way as the other paste in the range but it is heavier than the other and will obviously sink quicker, making it perfect for fishing on the deck with. The gluten strands in the mixed paste mean that the AFP pastes are more resiliant on the hook than other pastes, yet the hook can pull through the paste like a hot knife through butter still.
To mix up the AFP310 paste, it is as simple as taking 1 part dry mix and ading the exact same quantity of water, leaving for 3 minutes or so, then seperating with a damp hand and turning over.
The two videos below will show you how to make the most of the AFP range, and we had our eyes opened at UKMA with how easy to use the product is and how it reacts in the water.
Marukyu SDP Soft Pellet
The SDP Soft Hooker Pellet are the perfect hookbait to use over the Marukyu hard SDP pellet range.
The SDP Soft Pellets are more than just what the name mentions. They are literally unlike any other hook pellet that has been available previously. The SDP Soft Pellets are available in one size - 10mm - and if you split one open they resemble boilie paste, but Marukyu have told us that it is not a boilie paste at all. The Soft hooker baits can be made larger by breaking open and moulding two together if required and still be fully usable.
Obviously due to the single 10mm size that the Soft baits are supplied in they are ideally suited as big fish baits, but they have already opened a lot of anglers eyes to their uses.
The SDP2210 is a protein based soft hookbait, where as the SDP2310 is Nori based.
We recommend that you try both as they are something else indeed, especially if the water you fish has bigger than average fish present.
As before, Marukyu have created a short video to show the angler how to make the most from the SDP soft hookbaits.
Final Thoughts
Welcome to the mind bending world of Marukyu baits! Some of the team at UKMA are complete bait buffs but when they started looking into the baits that Marukyu sent to UKMA for review even they learnt some things! We have reviewed the groundbaits which we had been sent in a review on the Match section of the site (which can be found HERE) that could be used in stick, spod or method mixes to compliment the boilies or pellets that have been chosen.
Marukyu certainly have created a range of baits that gives the angler something to think about rather than just pick up whatever they fancy off the shelf at their local shop. The boilies are well priced in relation to other boilies on the shelves in the tackle shop, so there is no real excuse for not giving them a go, especially if other anglers on the venues are using the more popular baits, as the change may mean that you have a red letter day.
For more information on any of the products available from Marukyu, please click the logo below to visit the company's website.
A.B.R 1110,1115,1120 Nori Boilies
A.B.R 1215 Kani Boilies
A.B.R 1315 Ichigo Boilies
A.B.R 1415 Shiso Boilies
A.B.R 1515 Sanagi Boilies
We have also received samples of some of the forthcoming pop-ups that Marukyu are due to release soon (pictured right), and tests show that they are very bouyant and a 15mm bait will hold up a standard Chod rig with no problems for at least 24 hours, and also have the same leakage properties as the bottom baits. 
Marukyu AFP Paste
Marukyu SDP Soft Pellet