GAZ TALKS US THROUGH HIS PERFECTLY CRUSTY KRILL MIX!
GAZ TALKS US THROUGH HIS PERFECTLY CRUSTY KRILL MIX!
From April to November, it is all about the Krill for me – I have absolute faith in it, beyond question. I have used it on a massive variety of waters, from highly pressured UK day ticket lakes, right through to big wild European rivers and southern barrages where the carp live on a natural diet.
Over the years I have prepped it in a few ways, and have a lot of faith in the ‘heat treatment’ method of washing it out for 12-24 hours before a trip and steeping it in GLM and some salt, and sometimes a bit of the pure Tuna liquid or LO30. I believe that is an almost unbeatable way of preparing it in the UK where you are angling as much against the other anglers and a highly developed ‘pressure cycle’ as anything, but out in Europe, the angler pressure is significantly less and trying to trick the carp into believing your bait has already been in there for 48 hours isn’t necessary, or helpful at times where nuisance species are more prevalent and crays and other things can play havoc with very soft baits. For the European trips we have switched to prepping our Krill in a different way, it is quicker, doesn’t require the overnight soak and has worked incredibly well for us everywhere we’ve been.
I love the fact I don’t have to even think about bait anymore, my confidence is that solid in the Krill that it is just simply a prerequisite that I have it with me through the warmer months, it isn’t even a consideration, just a staple of my approach. It is a great bait straight out of the bag, but to make it stand out, I add a few special additions.
Essentially what you are doing is creating a thick crust of powdered Krill, GLM, and salt by applying a light glaze of a thick liquid and building up the layers. By only using a light glaze of liquid, and letting the crust ‘weld’ itself to the baits, all the powders actually get to the lakebed and break down slowly, pinging up through the layers as the dry powders release in an active manner as opposed to a wetter coat that just washes off on the way down. The Krill powder is especially useful as it is a relatively buoyant powder so works beautifully with the method. Through the spring and early summer salt is an incredibly effective carp attractor, and the GLM is an all-time favourite of mine – it’s a simple, quick way to super charge your boilies and with the ingredients required being dry and non-perishable it is something you can do whenever, and wherever you are without any waste or prep required.
FOLLOW GAZ'S 10 STEP GUIDE TO CREATING YOUR OWN CRUSTY KRILL MIX!
FOLLOW GAZ'S 10 STEP GUIDE TO CREATING YOUR OWN CRUSTY KRILL MIX!
We often use big 20-24mm baits out in Europe; however, in the UK I use 12mm or 16mm which works just as well.
Pop the desired amount of boilies into a bucket and give it a very light coating of the Pure Tuna Liquid to glaze the baits.
It is important to ensure the boilies are not too wet, they won’t crust up properly. You only need a light glaze of the liquid.
Next, add a really healthy pinch of sea salt, or finely ground Pink Himalayan salt. In Spring I slightly up the salt levels.
Add a couple of tablespoons of GLM powder. It is pure, smells almost creamily sweet despite being a mussel. It is an incredible big carp attractor!
Add a good handful of Pure Krill Powder, this is the ‘bulk’ powder for the mix. If you want to add any extras, you could use Liver Powder and Betaine to success.
Pop the bucket lid on and give it a good shake. The powders should thickly and evenly coat the baits.
You can now use them as they are, or give it an hour or so to ‘weld’ itself on and then repeat the process to build up a thicker crust. Keep the bucket lid on your mix so it doesn’t dry out.
EVERYWHERE I HAVE BEEN, IT HAS ALWAYS PRODUCED THE GOODS, PRETTY MUCH WITHOUT FAIL!
I use a similar process to prep my hookbaits when fishing with this tactic. Instead of the thicker Pure Tuna liquid I use the Fish Sauce, which is very salty, and the ‘thin’ liquid penetrates the hookbaits far better than the thicker amino and hydroslate type liquids.
I still add a tiny amount of the Pure Tuna Liquid as the stickiness is handy and helps the powders bind. Again, I keep the liquid levels minimal, partly to aid the ‘welding’ process of getting the powders to gel to the baits, but also to avoid affecting the buoyancy.
FOLLOW GAZ'S 10 STEP GUIDE TO CREATING YOUR OWN SUPERCHARGED HOOKBAITS
The 16mm Pop-Ups and 20mm Tuff Ones are our go-to combination for big European hookbaits.
I start with just a very thin glaze of the Fish Sauce.
Only use just enough to cover the baits, but not so much that they are swimming in it.
To that, I add half a capful of Pure Tuna liquid. Don’t add too much liquid to ensure the hookbaits coat up nicely.
Next, add a big pinch of salt and the same amount of GLM. These products will leach into the baits surface as well as providing a coating.
Allow them to dry with the lid on and then the process can be repeated to build up the crust into a thick, but nicely welded coating.
