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In reply to Post #1
Depending on time of year. Nearly always pellets mix with hemp maize n tigers. May till sept the more boiles for September October November bigger 18mm or 20 mm December until April wafters bags small pellets. Boilies easy DNA SLK mixed with S7
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In reply to Post #10
I agree re particles but more and more lakes going 'pellet & boilie only' because fish suppliers are telling lake owners to do that to help fish grow in weight.
Back to boilies. I like to have two baits mixed together that I use all year - currently they are both from baitworks (Creamino and Atlantic Heat). It's a tactic that works really well for me. Currently can't get a bite on creamino hookbaits but Atlantic Heat does me fish pretty much every session.
However when it comes to pop ups/wafters... I've got loads but focusing down slowly to five or six options. I think I'm doing pretty well here!
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For me I have found an absolute inner peace with my wafter and pop up obsession and after a decent winter and spring will not be changing - in my head the ones I buy are magic beans and as they have caught from the handful of different waters I have tried them I have removed a lot of the self doubt.
I use a very good boilie that I trust and on one rod will have an out the bag tipped as a wafter the other rod / rods will have a magic pop up on, so can can roam with smaller amounts of baits as freebies.
I have said it before but when considering the next super hookbait I consider:
If they do more than 10 flavours I wouldn’t go near them if they can’t narrow it down then how can the user? All the little complementary ingredients can’t be different in a huge range, so synthetic badges are used.
If it says limited edition don’t ever cast one out - what if it works?
If it needs juice, goo or whatever then why waste money on the ‘glass ball blanks’ in the first place.
For me pop ups and wafters trick fish - this is my day session plan.
Out the bag is a confidence led approach but not overly suited to my type of short session fishing. A good boilie to get them looking and a hookbait as the irresistible cherry. I would happily change the boilie from the same firm that I trust, but the hookbait has currently done me 28 of my last 33 bites. Without saying too much - you want the hookbait to be eaten not tested get a good one, drop the goos and over flavouring and build confidence is my 2 penneth.
The only thing that will make me change is the boredom we all suffer I honestly think that if it’s decent then alongside absolute confidence then it is the holy grail - so hopefully I won’t be sniffing any pots of the latest thing anytime soon…
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In reply to Post #1
Save yourself money and headaches and just stick to one boilie. Chopping and changing bait will just fill your head with doubts about whether it works.
I also use fermented particle, which IMO is better than any boilie on the planet when used in the right situation.
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Now they have spawned I will be on pellet,hemp,corn/maize on 2 rods and tigers on the 3rd. I will use that till later in the year and go over to boilie then. Try and keep the corn/maize/hemp going in for as long as I can as though as I think it keeps them eating longer. But I dont have the drive I had when i was younger.
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I use trent bait shrimp and mix with matching pellet and tigers.
I have in the past bought their randoms misfits in 5kg bags and done well too
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I normally use a mix of bug,S7 and Slk all way through but cut down on Slk when it gets colder
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In reply to Post #2
I do have some shb baits, and will be getting a couple more.
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| | | Belch | | Posts: 4085 |  | | MODERATOR | |
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In reply to Post #1
I usually stick to one boilie for most of the season but pre-bagged (vac sealed 1kg bags) and in multiple sizes (12/15/18mm) . . . sometimes switch to a non-fishmeal if I bother to venture out in winter.
Hookbaits I have periodical purges (blitz old ones for day ticket fizz mixes) and either use SH S2 & GPB / Handcraft Deep C / Northern Specials. Prefer White & Pink . . .cba with any other colours these days. Only use 'proper' pop-ups in early spring or if conditions require them - again usually white or pink. Have a pot of NS1 Minis for winter that have lasted an age . . .
However my new fetish is pellets - I'm obsessed with micro pellets and mix anything available in 2-3mm using 2x bags of CCMoore Mini Ultramix as a base . . .then add CCM Pacific Tuna / Squid . . Sticky Bloodworm / Krill . . .Nash Shrimp topped with a good dose of CCM Salmon Micro feed . . .its an expensive mix but it does give me confidence for reasons I've no idea. Goes in mesh bags / solid bags / spombs / lining bait boat hoppers / lining the bait boat spreader . . .don't chuck out these days without some sort of micro pellet application as a base!
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Funnily enough, I'm in the process of selling off every pot of popup or wafter I've used 1 or 2 of and then put in the shed.
I've found that matching popup or washed out pink of the same flavour catches about 95% of my carp so the odds against all the others is pointless.
The only exception is that I'm giving the fizz from Mark a go on one rod and so far 2 fish in 3 trips which is a pretty decent return for me 👍.
Due to buoyancy and lack of scaffolding in my rigs, I have dropped down to 12/13mm and can't say my average catch rate has changed
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I make my own bait , and cork-ball pop-ups to match - that's all I normally use. I say normally because I have given in to temptation and ordered a tub each of GPB1 and GPB2 from Specialised Hook Baits , as I feel that they (especially the GPB1's) will be a good match for my own stuff
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In reply to Post #1
Think it depends on the situation really and also your style of fishing. I've always been a boilie angler as opposed to a particle angler, but over the last few years, I've also started to use boilies in conjunction with "dedicated" hookbaits from companies who just sell hookbaits, e.g. UB, HH, SHB, etc.
Right now I'm fishing a new water, so I'm trying 3 different hookbaits until I get a feel for what they prefer. And then can start to narrow it down to 1 or 2 hookbaits.
I think this approach has certainly improved my catch rate - before I was using match the hatch out of the bag or pop ups. The only downside to using "dedicated" hookbaits is that you do tend to become a bit of a sucker really for buying tubs of hookbaits, I have one of them 4 draw plastic cupboard jobbies from Home Bargains rammed full of the bloody things.
Having said all that, I still probably believe that any reasonable hookbait in the right place will catch. But then also, if carp are as clever as some people will have you think, then a choice of different baits (hookbaits and freebies) will definitely keep them guessing.
Sorry, not really answered your question, but this is my thoughts on it.
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"its getting expensive having to buy hookbaits, wafters, pop ups for multiple baits."
Get yourself a couple of pots of SHB's and save yourself a few quid 
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I usually use a proven bait and try a new one alongside it for comparison. I also use 3 different sizes. I'm currently needing to order bait for a few sessions I have planned. Its getting expensive having to buy hookbaits, wafters, pop ups for multiple baits. Also I'm wondering if giving the fish a choice is a good or bad idea.
So what's people's views on giving them one bait and no choice, or trying to keep them guessing by using two or three baits. After all most spod mixes are made of many different types of food items.
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