Hi guys,

Me again with my dumb question. I have a mixture of Sluis clo, Niger seed and coarse kelp. Today I dropped a bait in a glass of water and after a few hours both baits had 'exploded' parts in the outer shell under which I think big particles of kelp have swollen so much, that this had come out of the outer shell of the baits.

Never had this with clo alone. Could this indeed be the kelp?

In reply to Post #1
Sounds perfect to me We all aim to produce a fast break down bait like that...maybe just make some hookbaits without (or with less) kelp in

What % of kelp do you have in the mix and where did you buy it? I have used kelp from CC Moore at up to 8% with no exploding baits.

In reply to Post #2
It's probably a batch that is 1-2mm too big
I had a test sample that was the same last year
As stated below, an active bait that breaks down is a good thing most of the time unless of course you need your bait to stay whole and tougher to avoid other species

In reply to Post #3
Same pal. BAF's last batch were a lot longer, AA baits version was a lot more finely cut. Still haven't had to many issues/ fast break downs until going above 25% soluble.

In reply to Post #4
I've had the baf kelp but wasn't keen onit. The size doesn't lend itself to even distribution when mixing. Prefer the spotted fin one.

In reply to Post #5
We get it from source half a ton per time and have no issues, nice and small. I love kelp in my baits

In reply to Post #2
Hi Peter and Phil,

It all started with my wish to give my baits (containing 20 % Sluis CL0) more colored flecks. So i asked here about Kelp vs Ground hemp and it turned out, most of you guys preferred kelp. I had a bag of finely ground kelp laying around and chucked that in with the CLO. After a few test batches, i wasn't impressed with the extra flecks, so i thought that the kelp should be coarse. And i added niger seed (as you see that often in baits aswell).

The ratio was:

5 kilo Sluis CLO
1 kilo fine kelp
1 kilo of coarse kelp
1 kilo of niger seed.

So 8 parts and i used 20 % of this mixture in my bait, so this turned out in the baits as:

12,5 % Sluis CLO
2,5 % fine kelp
2,5 % coarse kelp
2,5 % niger seed.

I liked this coarseness of the total mix, up until i saw the baits slowly 'exploding' during soaking in a glass of water.

I have made pictures of the coarse kelp i used next to a AAA battery, for size comparison.

Coarsness comparison

I know i have been dumb by mixing it all together, but i was confident the kelp wasn't causing problems like this.

I have sieved the total mixture now, and this is what i have left:

Sieved CLO mixture

I am happy with this mixture, but too bad i have none of the coarsed particles of the CLO left. But throwing it all away, is a bit of a waste.

This last picture you can see how coarse the coarsest particles of this mixture actually was:

Coarse waste

I now doubt whether i should keep in the kelp, as this can cause such problems. It (fine kelp) adds some nice vitamins and nutrients, but does not give the flecks i wanted in my bait.

I see what you mean by a fast break down bait, but i actually need my baits to be resilient for other species and some crayfish.

Oh and my baits are around 33 percent solubles.

That's high for soluble and will effect the break down time. My last bait runs around 25% soluble and is fairly course. 20% Clo and 10% SG60 and I use mix of fenugreek powder and seeds. That has a 18-24hr break down time at room temp.

I think running course Ingrediants and being so soluble is brilliant if you can get it useable 👍🏻

In reply to Post #8
Yes, I can actually. If I use this mix with 5 % percent egg albumin and 5 % egg powder, I can fish with these baits 48 hours and they still are whole and round. Plus they leak very well.the fishmeal only needs about 3 % egg albumin and 7 % egg powder.

I am testing with blood plasma now too.

In reply to Post #7
That course kelp looks very course, I haven't got any to hand right now but it's much smaller than that so I think that is your problem. Only trial and error will get you there. I normally make 550gram test mixes before going to any quantity to save any high scrap costs.

I to fish a water with crays. My baits are large and just about survive the night and then I have to rebait but I'm happy to do that. I assume the crays eat some of my freebies but not all and they will leave enough for the carp when they come along.

In reply to Post #9
Maybe if you soak the kelp/coarse bit in your egg/liquids overnight before adding the rest of the dry mix they may not expand while in the boilie.

In reply to Post #11
Hi Sturla and Peter,

Thanks for the replies again.

Soaking before putting it in the mix could very well be a solution, but I would like to keep the 'hassle' to a minimum. Plus, in my eyes, such big particles stay a 'hazard' for swelling or exploding my baits in the future. I want a bait that keeps pretty well in shape, it just gives me more confidence, while I know the carp don't really mind. Thing is, it is very hard for me to make decisions and I doubt a lot. My goal is to make a bait I have utmost confidence in,so bait is one less factor I have to worry about.

I am now between the 2 thoughts: leave kelp in but use fine ground kelp or just not using it at all. I don't know it makes a difference in the quality of the bait.

In reply to Post #12
I would just use finely ground kelp, at the same levels of inclusion.
No doubts, just better rolling and a tighter finished bait and skin.

In reply to Post #13
what he said

In reply to Post #14
I will follow your guidance, guys. Many thanks!