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In reply to Post #1
I waa 100 % freezer bait for 30 years .
Would never dream of using a shelfie ..
But the last 5 years its all I use . Not noticed any difference in results ..
Gone are the days of the rock hard marble like shelfies ..
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
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In reply to Post #10
In the past I've done it with neat hydros that were thin enough to hopefully soak in. But to be honest this wasn't all that successful for what you might consider " instant " attraction. I mentioned in another thread that this could possibly be over doing the attraction or the actual bitterness of certain hydros. Others may well disagree. I suppose it depends on the type of water and stock levels etc. If you listen to Marcus Watts on his podcast, he recommends diluting down hydros by up to 90 %..I am now actually back to using homemade freezer baits with no MPG or preservatives except for a little citric acid which is mainly included as an attractor / digestive aid. This season , I will definitely be giving the watered down hydros a go on my freezer bait. So , if you going to be using stabilised baits which you deem to be somewhat dry or hard, give it a go. Obviously there are loads of liquids to experiment with but maybe there's truth in the old cliche of " less is more ". Happy tinkering, it's what keeps it interesting 👍.
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In reply to Post #9
What would be you advice on how to soak them?
I've been thinking of trying shelfs to free up freezer space, but I don't like the thought of dried out preservative stuffed boilies left sitting on the bottom of the lake
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In reply to Post #1
See if your bait supplier is happy to disclose exactly what preservatives are in the bait. In the past, preservatives such as potassium sorbate were used, which do inhibit spoilage but if used excessively can inhibit breakdown within the carp's gut, and also uneaten bait on the lake bed. Nowadays. mono propylene glycol is used as a partial water replacer. Baits still need to be further dried before storage but they no longer contain the anti microbial preservatives. Just rehydrate with a hot soak, and maybe a dash of hydro and you're good 👍
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For probably 15-20 years I used frozen baits as at the time shelf life was clearly inferior with talk of poorer ingredients and differences in taste due to the preservatives used. But things have moved on significantly in the last few years with many companies improving the quality of their shelf life's. I have used Sticky krill and krill active for many years and for the last two I have switched over to shelf life. My results have been just as good if not better and I cannot see me going back to frozen baits again. I particularly like the soft nature of the baits which I think helps flavours and enhancers seep out of the baits far easier than hard frozen boilies. And the other big advantage is I don't need a massive freezer and what I don't use comes back with me ready for next time.
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In reply to Post #1
I fished Nashbaits stabilised Scopex Squid 4g alongside their frozen version and honestly couldn't tell any difference in results, so dropped freezer baits altogether, until I started rolling my own again.
Jason's Abait is only available in shelf life and catches plenty as do offerings from DNA and Sticky. I'd have no qualms using shelfies again.
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I'm no expert at all but have used freezer and shelfs. Specifically Trent baits shelfs due to not having any freezer space. A couple of better anglers than myself on my lake have used both the freezer and Trent shelfs and actually think the shelfs have produced more bites for them.
They catch me fish so why change.
They do tend to go a bit hard after being opened for awhile but to be expected
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In reply to Post #4
Thanks for your opinions guys.
Main reasons are, I’m thinking about doing away with my bait fridge/freezer altogether, it’s in my kitchen taking up space, my wife is on my case a little to make the kitchen a bit nicer for the family and build a few units in the alcove where the freezer resides now, so ultimately I’ll have nowhere else to put my freezer baits if I buckle under her requests.
I’ve just have no confidence in ready mades. So need to find a good balance. The stabilised baits companies now produce do look like a decent middle ground. I’m a random bait hoarder, still have a few bags of the original freezer richworth tutties from donkeys years ago. That I use every now and then. Will probably use those up first before my tools are out.
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In reply to Post #1
The modern shelf-life baits that I have used over the last 6 years or so have been very effective for me, they have all been fairly soft & worked well over short sessions.
What's your reason for possibly changing?
Having said the above I will be rolling my own again this season coming.
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In reply to Post #1
I’ve been making my own bait the last 25years. Some 10y ago, I switched to the home made readymade version and never looked back.
I mainly fish short sessions or a single night.
Did it impact my catch rate? I can be short about that. No, I don’t have the feeling I catch less fish due to fishing readymade version of my bait.
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In reply to Post #1
I got back into carp fishing about 2 years ago after a break of about 10 years.
Before it had to be freezer baits, shelfies were awful. But since getting back into fishing it's only been shelfies for me.
DNA, Optimum, Handcraft, Baitworks, CCM have all had some of my money and all produced fish. Ironically the only one I wasn't impressed with was CCM Live system were like bullets so they got crumbed up.
I always have glugged and coated my baits because I believe this makes a bigger difference to short sessions than anything else.
Buy shelfies with confidence would be my suggestion
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Hi all,
I’ve been a freezer bait user since I started carp fishing and rightly or wrongly, I always held a certain snobbery about using a readymade shelf life bait.
However, I’m beginning to think looking at some of the selfies available now that they actually look pretty decent in their texture. Not the rock hard bullets of crap they once were.
I do personally think the defrosting of fresh freezer bait must be more attractive to the fish surely.
Would be interesting to hear of any long time freezer bait fishermen making the switch. Have you found any difference to your results. Especially the short session anglers of a few hours to maybe an overnight trip fishing the harder lakes/pits.
As usually you won’t be piling in bait on a spot and waiting for a bite. So you’ll need the bait in smaller free bait quantities to work a bit harder for you in pulling the fish in.
Thanks.
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