On the forum we’re often asked “what’s the best boilie?” The simple answer is…there is NO best boilie! But there are lots of different ones out there, so I’m going to try to simplify things a bit to give you an idea of what to choose, and when.
Attractor Baits These are typically the ‘high attract pop-up’ style of boilies, but some companies do specialist bottom baits now.
High attract boilies for when trying to catch a fish off guard
Most people use them as a single hook bait, ie, no free bait around it, you’re just putting it in a spot where you think fish are and hoping it’s attractive enough to get a fish to take it even though its not really feeding. Putting free bait around it would actually be detrimental as they are normally low food value baits, and just rely on smell/liquid attractors. It’s worth casting these baits to rolling fish, and re-casting every 30 mins or so if you don’t get a take.
I also like using a small 10mm boilie when Method fishing or using PVA bags. The other use is as an ‘alternative’ hookbait – fish one over a bed of your normal bait, and if the fish are a bit wary of the bed of bait, a different pop-up over the top can work well. You can make your own baits ‘high attract’ by boosting hookbaits with a little neat flavour, or by soaking hookbaits in fish oil, liquid liver, corn steep liquor – almost anything in fact!
Shelf-life Boilies ‘Shelf lifes’ normally mean the preserved, brightly coloured, strong smelling baits, that don’t need keeping in a freezer. They used to be referred to as ‘crap baits’, but when you think of the number of fish that have been caught on Tutti Frutti’s over the years, they are anything but crap! They were called this as they used to be a simple mixture of Soya flour and Semolina and relied purely on smell/taste to attract the fish. After eating a few the fish could get bored (that’s what I’ll call it, don’t want to get into the nutritional arguments here!) of them, so you were always having to change flavours to keep one step ahead. These days the baits are much better, incorporating milk powders, bird foods, etc, and better attractors, but there are still some older baits ‘doing the business’ that the fish must simply like eating (like Tutti’s!).
Shelf-life baits, for if you’re an occasional carper, or tend to fish lots of different waters for short periods of time, or as an alternative to your normal bait
When using them, I don’t like to use too many around the hook; maybe a stringer or a few crushed baits in a PVA bag over pellets, as you don’t want to spread the attraction away from your hookbait. Some people say that the preservatives that many of the baits have in them can put the fish off as some have a slightly bitter taste. Broadly speaking they aren’t going to be as good as a decent freezer bait, but during the winter, when doing a one-off trip to a lake or when fishing ‘for bites’ they are a useful addition, and I now normally have some hiding at the bottom of my rucksack! The six and 10mm baits are my favourite if you can put up with the pest double figure bream and tench, and I especially like the ‘pellet’ type of boilie that the likes of Richworth and Nash do, just that little bit different to the norm.
Freezer Baits These are now probably the most widely used on most lakes. They are so popular a number of companies that specialise in rolling bait have sprung up. Normally dull or natural in colour, they normally have little or no smell apart from the natural additives in them, although there are some (like Solar’s ‘Top Banana’ pictured) that combine high attract and good nutrition – true ‘carp sweets!’ They are the highest quality baits, with milk proteins, low temperature fishmeals, birdfoods, extracts and additives like Robin Red and Green Lipped Mussel. They are usually made with fresh eggs and have to be frozen to stop the bait rotting. They are also the most expensive, but my number one choice for a lake that I am going to be fishing for any amount of time.
Freezer baits, the first choice of most carp anglers and best for long term baiting campaigns
Because of the subtle smells and complex mix, it takes longer for a bait to ‘blow’, and sometimes some baits just go on and on working. Premier Baits ‘Aminos’ and Hutchies ‘Superfish and Liver’ mix have been around 10-plus years, Nutrabaits ‘Big Fish Mix’, Nash’s ‘Monster Pursuit’ and ‘Squid Mix’, Mainlines ‘Grange’ and ‘Activ-8’, Solar’s ‘Club Mix’ and Essential’s ‘Shellfish B5’ have all caught literally thousands of fish, and go on catching because the fish like the taste and they are good food sources – everything the fish needs to survive.
If you are fishing a water where there is little bait going in, or mainly shelf-life’s, you can absolutely dominate it by trickling in decent food baits as the fish will come to accept it as a food source, and can sometimes actively look for it. It’s also handy if you have a couple of friends that can also use the same bait as it keeps the cost down! But I don’t think you need to put in as much as some people recommend. 5kg a week? £ 50 a week more like! A handful of baits in the right spots are much better than a kilo in the wrong ones – you just need to find those spots! The thing to remember is to stick with your chosen bait, don’t just chop and change the bait as you won’t get the best from it – it’s rarely the baits fault if you don’t catch or aren’t catching as many as other people.
To sum up High attract when trying to catch a fish off guard.
Shelf life’s if you’re an occasional carper, tend to fish lots of different waters for short periods of time, or as an alternative to your normal bait.
Freezer baits for long term baiting campaigns.
Don’t forget, if you’re going to a lake you’ve never fished before, it’s always worth ringing the owner or bailiff to see what they’re coming out on. They want you to catch, because they want you to come back. And don’t be afraid to jump on a bait bandwagon if they are catching more than you! Remember also that there are definitely times when boilies aren’t the best bait……..
