I saw this in the Angling mail and thought it would be a good thread on here,i have added my own touches to it so it is not a compleat editorial out of there but one i think will be of a great use to anyone taking up carp fishing and boilie making...Boilies are with out doubt the most used bait in carp fishing today and one that can be traced back to the 1970s with the introduction of the then new skinned specials,what was used then was simple ingredients with ground trout pellets being one of the most commonly used in the making of the then new bait for carp fishing.
Many added there own touches to the boilies like essences used in baking,pet feed and even fishy smells like sardines was all used and some are still used today but with this new form of bait came another problem for the carp angler that being how do you keep the bait'in this case skinned paste balls'on the hook well it was almost impossible to do so but two guys came to the rescue with the perfect answer and one that would change the way we present bait for ever.
Lenny Middleton and Kevin Maddocks in the 80s came up with the now famous hair rig that allowed the paste ball to be presented off the hook and helped to create the bolt rig effect but the now well used boilies had changed in more ways than one,in the 70s the early paste balls had low flavouring relying more on vision of the carp with the idea being if you can smell your bait you was using to much flavour so very little was used but come the 80s and stronger flavours were now being used because peoples understanding of carp had moved on a great deal by then and they knew that carp had indeed a good sense of smell and strong flavours did not put them off but actually helped in the catch rate.
Early making of these skinned paste balls(as they were known as)was simple just roll it in to a ball in the palm of your hands or between your fingers,avery slow process but once again in the 80s came a break through in that when Gardner Tackle introduced the Rolaball boilie table that came in varying sizes and helped make many now called boilies in one go and they are still used today.
The making of boilies have changed a lot over the years with some of the old wifes tales being thrown out of the window,the way was to crack 4 eggs to 10oz of dry mix this has now changed a lot and more of both is added to make more infact large quantities of boilies,the very name of this bait tells you what you have to do to achieve the end product and that is boil now the time it takes to make a boilie differs because of size but if you are doing boilies that are 14/16mm in size then a time of just 60/90 seconds is all it takes but larger boilies can take up to 2 minutes in order to make the hard casing the boilie has but you must leave to dry out at room temperature overnight if possible this will allow the moisture to evaporate after boiling and will create the hard skin.
In making the boilie you can add what ever you like that you think will give you that all important edge over the carp but you most think about the season you are fishing is it winter or Summer because using the right boilie is important and that means ingredients,in winter you will find that fruit flavours do well why because the fruit flavours dilute more quickly in cold water than the more fishy tastes that can be used and those are more at home in the summer months mainly between April/October these are fish meal based boilies and there are many different sorts out there now but one still stands out more than most and that is Robin Red because of it's deep red colour,remember that acidic flavours are fruits and Alkaline are more fish based so it is simple to remember acidic in winter Alkaline in summer as a rule of thumb.
Fats and oils are very important ingredients not just for a good boilie but for fish welfare because these will help protect the fish(carp)and give it strength and energy and even help heal any wounds that the carp might have oils like salmon,mackerel and cod liver oil are all very good to use in boilies but remember to limit the amount used try around 15/20ml per 6 eggs used in the mix and dont for get the vegetable oils,they to can be used and oils are not just for the fish but will help in the rolling of the boilies as well so you see it makes sense to use oils in the mix.
Essential oils are used as well but in small amounts because they are so concentrated,these oils are aromatic with Aniseed and clove,nutmeg,cinnamon all being used and these also appeal to other species as well with Roach loving Aniseed but remember only very small amounts are needed to be used around 1/24th ml to six eggs that's how small it is so be very careful and don't over do it.
We have now covered the sent of the boilie more than the visual side and that does play a part with many still sticking to the old colours of dark brown or deep red and the more common now light brown colours but there are fluoro colours that once people thought would never catch a carp but are catching well why well just think like a carp,you see a dark colour food and straight away you think danger hook, now think of this bright colour yellow or pink strange thing you need to find out what it is so you take a nibble at it because it is not something you associate with danger and that's how it works,not rocket science is it but fish logic you could say and wile we are on logic the shape of your boilie can make a big difference as well,put a pea in your mouth and spit it out,it comes out easy well that is what happen when a carp ejects a boilie bait because it is round it can be ejected easy but if you try and spit something that is less round out it is not so easy so having a boilie that is more oblong and less round can make a lot of difference because it turns in the mouth and that means the hook will have more chance to set.
Size of boilies differ a great deal from small 10mm ones to a big 26mm if you make your own then the best size would be around 14/16mm or smaller as these tend to catch more than the bigger ones,i would always urge people to make there own boilies if they have the time and if you use some of the info i have given you here you can make your own to your own recipe and with time you could become a expert and save your self loads of money but more important than that you could land that carp of a life time...tight lines.
[sticky]
BOILIES THE HISTORY IN THE MAKING....from Anglers mail.
(3 posts) (2 voices)-
I know nothing yet know everything...learning is a life thing!Posted 2 years ago #
-
do you want to have a go at posting this to the main page of the site? let me know if you need some help..
its got some good info :)
Darren
Posted 2 years ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.