It's so easy isn't it? You pop down your local tackle emporium, pick up a few kilos of whatever carp bait you fancy and head off to your venue of choice carrying your bag with confidence. It's something I've done for many years but rolling my own carp bait is something I've always wanted to try and now that I am, I'm very happy I did! In this article, I want to cover the main benefits of rolling your own boilies.
Tailoring each batch
Like many anglers, I fish a range of waters. These include:
- Large rivers, in my case the Mayenne in North West France
- Large public lakes over 20 hectares (50 acres)
- Heavily silted estate lakes full of crayfish
- English style estate lakes
Each water has its unique challenges and needs to be approached as such. Therefore, having the ability to customise your carp bait to suit each venue is a huge benefit. Let's look at the challenges each type of venue presents from a bait stand point:
- Rivers: All rivers contain species other than carp. Here in France I find that bream can be a real headache. To combat them I want large baits that can withstand being picked up a few times but are too large to be eaten. My choice is 2 x 22mm bottom baits. Real hard core French river pros like Tony Davies-Patrick use 2 x 30mm donkey chokers! The river flow itself has to be contended with and too much current will see standard round baits rolling off downstream! To combat that, why not make the baits square! Pre-baiting is an important aspect of river fishing, so I don't want the bait too strong as I want the fish to find it, like it and want to come back for more.
- Large public lakes: Around my area, there are a number of large lakes that contain good sized carp. Unfortunately night fishing is mostly banned as is the use of any form of boat. Again I use large 22mm diameter carp bait as they are easier to stick out at range. On this type of venue my aim is to find some fish and fish for them. I travel quite light and will move a number of times to get on them. Bait wise, I'm looking for something more instant so that I can nick a few fish quickly. If I end up spending a lot of time on the water and move over to pre-baiting tactics, I can always drop the attractor level without changing the bait.
- Old, silty estate lake: There, crayfish can be a problem on many venues. One in particular that I've fished has what can only be described as an infestation! But with carp to 20kg they have to be tolerated. In this case bait hardness is key. Soft baits will draw the crayfish in and get them munching on the spot which in turn attracts the carp but without any hard baits there will be nothing left for the carp to eat so fishing a mix of hardness keeps everyone happy. Air drying bait takes time and space. I use the air dry trays for this as I've found that anything more than 2kg in a large air dry sack doesn't allow sufficient air circulation for the baits to harden properly and they will turn in a week!
- English estate type lakes: With no nuisance species to contend with, bait hardness is less of an issue. For me 24 - 48hrs of air dry time is perfect. Once they are done, I freeze them to hold them in this state until I am ready to fish. Attractor wise, less is more. I want the bait to be great all year round and for the fish to enjoy eating it time and time again. The base mix I use is an all season variety containing, milk protein, bird food, liver and fish meals which means that I don't need to change the bait during the year.
As you can see making your own enables you to tailor it exactly to meet the needs of different waters. Some anglers change base mixes completely, but for me choosing one mix that covers my range of needs but that can be tweaked a bit is the way forward. Confidence is everything with bait and you only build confidence by catching!
Quality control
Having total control over the quality of the bait that you make yourself is another major benefit. You may actually compromise bait roundness as it's difficult to produce baits as round as that of a machine by hand but what you get is a carp bait with the hardness you require and is as fresh as can be.
Saving money?
Many anglers that don't roll their own bait want to do so to save money. Whether or not you can make a saving depends on the mix that you choose and how you account for your time. You'll need to buy some gear and scrimping of equipment will very quickly discourage you from making bait! You'll be hard pushed to set yourself up for less than £300. If you're good with your hands then you can make some of the kit yourself but boilie guns, compressors, rolling tables and gas burners can't! Your own time is not free and can't be taken out of the equation. I've done the maths myself and before you embark on making your own bait so should you. I think you'll be shocked at what it actually costs to make your own bait and for me was not the major driving factor behind the decision!
Personal satisfaction
You can't beat the buzz that you get when you catch carp on bait that you've rolled yourself. If you love carp fishing and you don't make your own bait then you're missing out on a great piece of the carp catching jigsaw. Once you're confident with using ready mixed base mixes and liquids, to get an even bigger buzz you can start to tweak ingredients and even design your own bait. You can take it as far as you like and make it as complicated as you like! I'm very glad I made the change and if it's something that interests you then my advice would be to do your homework and go for it!
Matt Collins, carp angler, photographer and owner of Beausoleil, an exclusive fishing holiday venue in North West France. If you are interested in fishing for big carp and monster catfish in your own private 4 acre fishing lake, go to http://www.frenchcarpandcats.com where you will also find additional carp fishing tips.
If you want to see the Beausoleil lake and some of its big carp and catfish, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/user/frenchcarpandcats
http://www.youtube.com/user/frenchcarpandcats
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