I use Baitworks religiously, in the shelf-life because it suits me.

I decided to wash out a few kilo, duration being 2 days by this point, using bottled water (work perk).

They are very soft but I have to say they kinda smell foul, I dont think they are but is there a chance they have gone rancid?

Just wondering what thoughts people have?

In reply to Post #1
not a problem at all - just starting to turn & will probably be at their most effective. pretty certain no bait will be rancid after a couple of days. especially with bottled water

No it is a problem Jamie. They will float within a few hours once they start stinking mate.

24 hours maximum OP. They will be at their best from hours 12-24. Do your bait the night before. First at home, then on the bank during your trip. Always start again the next evening.

Even though they are readymades, once put into water they will still go off. This does not happen in the lake itself anywhere near as fast, as there is no air to turn the bait like in your bucket. Try to put the right amount of water into the bucket to fill the baits with none left over. Don't wash them out. Just fill them with water.

Water from the tap is no problem whatsoever.

In reply to Post #3
Cheers Mark. I binned the lot as when I next went to the bucket, the lid was pushed up and they smelled horrid.

Tbh not gonna wash baits out anymore, didn't realise they can turn so quick.

Thanks for the advice

In reply to Post #4
IMO washing baits out is pointless. Wash liquids in instead. They'll look the same and be packed full of attraction instead of having hardly any left.

Saying that I don't go as far as making them look days old. I just soak in a blend of things the night before to boost their attraction.

Pretty much what Mark said.

I've never had them turn, but I only put them in warm water the night before I go, and only just enough, not in a full soak.

That said, I'm not putting them in water to 'wash them out' I'm doing so to get them 'active' so to speak.

I think Mark wrote about this a while back, I don't remember the exact science behind it, but basically for them to become at their most effective the outer crust of the boilie needs to break down (or something along them lines, I don't remember exactly) to release the most attraction.

Since following this method my catch rate has improved and not only that I've hit a bigger stamp of fish, surely not just coincidence, as much as I'd like to think of myself as a seriously good angler, I'm pretty sure that's not true

In reply to Post #3
I've been using various readymades over the last few years - dynamite, cc more, DT baits, decathlon (LOL) (never baitworks though) & never had them turn or float up.

I have never been a fan of using them straight from the bag & always soak them before fishing - in some cases for weeks beforehand - they go in with my particle water & have left them in airtight buckets to ferment / stew as I want microorganisms working on them as much as possible. Some of them smell awful but I've always assumed it was the ingredients fermenting with the bacteria in the water (different smells for different bacteria) & it's never made a difference to my catch rates - when the fish get on my bait, they completely clear me out.

recognise that I am fishing for different fish than you guys (possibly not as fussy) & it could be the particle water with established bacteria that is making the difference????

In reply to Post #7
So are we:

Washing out baits to make them look old and wash the attractors out so they seem “safe”
Washing out baits to make them look old, but washing in more attractors to boost attraction
Washing in more attractors
Soaking them to get them to start “reacting”
Or just getting the baits pre soaked in a bit of water so the attractors can start leaking out straight away, rather than waiting for the bait to absorb water in the lake before they can start working properly?

In reply to Post #8
Or just getting the baits pre soaked in a bit of water so the attractors can start leaking out straight away, rather than waiting for the bait to absorb water in the lake before they can start working properly?

This one for me.

I don't believe it's the 'washing out' that provokes a bite, I think it's the ingredients leaking, so therefore 'washing out' baits doesn't appeal to me.

As for how much water, that's a personal preference, I opt for just enough for the amount of boilies I'm using and most certainly not fully soaked. I can't prove either or work better, that's just my own personal choice.

I prefer simply waterlogged baits as yes they will leach attraction but imho it makes them so much more digestible. Pretty much everything that carp eats is 80+% water which will help with enzyme activity in the digestive tract so if your baits aren't wet through there's less water available for digestion. That is of course assuming that carp don't actively "drink water"

In reply to Post #7
There are far (far) better anglers and certainly far better bait makers than me on this thread, for sure.

I've been washing my baits out recently, with the main purpose of: free safe food.

I use frozen boilies, and in my head it makes sense that as someone else has written, the bait is waterlogged.

I also break them down slightly in my hand.

For me there is enough attraction in baits even after washing out for over a week or two.

I've been on a lake recently with very very few bites for all anglers on there. I used frozens that had been washed out over around 10 days several times in rain water, then finally the lakes water.

I wont use tap water.

I think this thread is an interesting example of the polar opposite in approach, and that one statement is not the be all and end all, as it can appear to be...

I do often think the question in the korda thread is utterly relevant - is it because of or in spite of. Obviously our biggest task as anglers is to swing the balance to 'because of' - but I think in general there is more 'in spite of'.

And ultimately it is getting in the right spot and confidence...

In reply to Post #11
RE: For me there is enough attraction in baits even after washing out for over a week or two

Surely those baits must be going well past their best, and going off.
Most fresh egg/home made baits would be smelling slightly rank after 3 to 5 days onwards.
Just my findings in a water jar at home, that is.

In reply to Post #12
Sure, I get that, I freeze in between washes.

In reply to Post #11
Agree below - any bait that is still usable after 10 days in water probably isn't worth using in the first place....

In reply to Post #13
I think you are overthinking things. And constantly freezing/washing/refreezing won't do the bait any favours either.

Are you catching loads on them?