WE RUN THROUGH THE VERY BEST WAYS TO MAKE YOUR HOOKBAITS STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD!
WE RUN THROUGH THE VERY BEST WAYS TO MAKE YOUR HOOKBAITS STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD!
A hookbait is one of the most important aspects of angling, behind obviously putting it in the right area to begin with. As underwater footage has proven over the years, different colours, and indeed smells can coax carp into taking your hookbait, often before they eat anything else! This ultimately results in far more fruitful sessions and can be the thin dividing line between success and failure.
Our range of hookbaits contain a great selection of colours and flavour combinations, each one with a proven track record from some of the toughest venues around. But with the ever increasing take up of angling, and more and more anglers lining the banks, is there a way to make your hookbaits standout that little bit more?
The answer is of course you can! However, each hookbait type, be they a pop-up, wafter or bottom bait has to be treated a little differently. Below we have explained why and how we go about pimping our hookbaits:
POP-UPS
Pop-ups are the most delicate of all hookbaits; if you add too much liquid or powder, they will no longer be ‘pop-ups’. If you want to use heavy liquids such as matching glugs, it is best to dip the hookbait in the glug just before casting out, to avoid the liquid being absorbed. For virtually care-free customisation, our Krill or Manilla Hookbait Kits are the only way to go. As once the paste has been carefully wrapped around a cork ball, you simply won’t be able to sink it, even with the heaviest liquids on the market. As such, liquids like L-Zero 30T and Liquid Liver are perfect for adding to any home-rolled, cork ball hookbait.
POP-UPS
Pop-ups are the most delicate of all hookbaits; if you add too much liquid or powder, they will no longer be ‘pop-ups’. If you want to use heavy liquids such as matching glugs, it is best to dip the hookbait in the glug just before casting out, to avoid the liquid being absorbed. For virtually care-free customisation, our Krill or Manilla Hookbait Kits are the only way to go. As once the paste has been carefully wrapped around a cork ball, you simply won’t be able to sink it, even with the heaviest liquids on the market. As such, liquids like L-Zero 30T and Liquid Liver are perfect for adding to any home-rolled, cork ball hookbait.
When it comes to standard, off the shelf pop-ups lighter liquids are a much better option. Matching bait sprays are perfect for the job, with just a few squirts every few days being enough to give your hookbaits a great boost. Additionally, a sprinkle of a lightweight powdered additive can be usen, but again in small amounts. Pure Natural Betaine powder is great year round feed stimulant and lends itself perfectly to light use with both fluoro and food bait pop-ups alike. Powders such as GLM or Liver powder tend to taint the colour of fluoro hookbaits, and so are best used on match the hatch pop-ups, but again, in small quantities.
WAFTERS
Wafters come with a little more freedom in terms of customisation, as their inherent buoyancy is far less important than a pop-up. As such small quantities of heavy liquids such as matching glugs can be used along with more powders. This can be taken even further if you use a Hookbait Kit and some small cork balls or cork dust to make your own wafters, as the cork element won’t take on liquid and therefore the effect on buoyancy will be limited.
WAFTERS
Wafters come with a little more freedom in terms of customisation, as their inherent buoyancy is far less important than a pop-up. As such small quantities of heavy liquids such as matching glugs can be used along with more powders. This can be taken even further if you use a Hookbait Kit and some small cork balls or cork dust to make your own wafters, as the cork element won’t take on liquid and therefore the effect on buoyancy will be limited.
An edge that not many people try is making your own wafters, and no, this doesn’t mean rolling your own! Simply take a tub of your favourite pop-ups, and spray with bait spray every few days. You can be very generous here, as the idea is you want to saturate the hookbaits and make them less buoyant to suit a wafter presentation. It is a seriously underrated method, but a highly successful one for the anglers who make the effort.
BOTTOM BAITS
The humble bottom bait has been forgotten about in recent years, but this is where you can let your creative juices flow freely! All the heavy liquids and powders that have to be used carefully with buoyant baits are on the table with bottom baits, which opens up a whole new world of options. To make life easier, we recommend using our Tuff Ones or Dumbell hookbaits for this, as their robust nature means they will stand up to the task.
BOTTOM BAITS
The humble bottom bait has been forgotten about in recent years, but this is where you can let your creative juices flow freely! All the heavy liquids and powders that have to be used carefully with buoyant baits are on the table with bottom baits, which opens up a whole new world of options. To make life easier, we recommend using our Tuff Ones or Dumbell hookbaits for this, as their robust nature means they will stand up to the task.
Simply pouring a healthy amount of matching glug into a tub with a handful of hookbaits is perfect. Over time the bottom baits will soak up the liquid and become supersaturated in the potent attractant. You could also mix a few of your favourite liquids together, producing a delayed and prolonged release of attractors, the options really are endless.
Finally, you could also add a crust of powdered attraction around your hookbaits. By alternating between a helping of matching glug and then Active Mix you can build up layers of super soluble paste around your hookbait. Mix in a Pure Natural Powder of your choice and you can almost guarantee your bait will stand out from the crowd!
Whatever your choice of hookbait, there’s a way of giving it a personal feel, whether you roll it yourself or just use a pot of ready-made baits. Making the bait on your rig stand out will help you get more bites and hopefully, covert your opportunities even faster than before!
