Tom Maker reveals his go to mix for targeting big hits of carp from venues that employ a boilie and pellet only rule.
Tom Maker reveals his go to mix for targeting big hits of carp from venues that employ a boilie and pellet only rule.
The list of rules imposed by every fishery is important, even more so on day ticket lakes when everyone from a first-time angler to a seasoned big carp man can turn up and pay their money. One of the most common restraints is to limit anglers to using pellets and boilies only. This serves two purposes; it stops uneducated anglers turning up with unprepared and dangerous particles and secondly, the higher energy food sources increase the growth rate of the carp themselves. It’s a win win for many fishery owners, however, it does somewhat limit your approach and you must be a bit more creative to make your bait stand out from the crowd.
I know from experience that the vast majority of anglers don’t even bother using the other 50% of bait they are allowed to on these venues. Boilies offer such an easy way of fishing and the thought of being able to catapult a load of boilies in and sit back with a beer is far more inviting than slogging away with a spod rod. This already gives you an advantage if you are prepared to put a bit of extra effort in and use pellets as well. Such is the quality of pellets nowadays, carp find them so attractive, you would be a fool not to use them. Not only that but they give you the carpet effect, laying down a bed of small baits with different breakdown times to boilies. Yet again this just stacks more odds in your favour if you go to the efforts of including them in your mix.
More often than not, venues which have a boilie and pellet only rule will respond best to fishmeal baits. Some waters might be different, but in my experience, it seems to be the case and as such my boilie of choice has always been The Krill, but more recently, I have been using The Krill Active, which adds a whole new dimension to your baited spot. On venues where the use of other baits are limited, the unique coating on the Krill Active almost acts a separate element on your spot. It helps to cloud up the water and helps to build up a competitive feeding response.
The Krill Active is the ultimate rendition of a fishmeal-based bait with a combination of both liquid and powdered marine protein sources used in perfect harmony.
The Krill Active is the ultimate rendition of a fishmeal-based bait with a combination of both liquid and powdered marine protein sources used in perfect harmony.
I normally add two different pellets to the mix, namely Bloodworm and the matching Krill pellets. These two pellets have different breakdown times and different tastes to them, which helps diversify a simple mix into something a bit more unique. The final step and one which helps to further ramp up the attraction in my mix compared to the chap next door is the addition of super soluble liquids. With me using the Krill Active, I have to use a very thick liquid so as to not dislodge the coating before it enters the water. For this process, I have found no better than the L-Zero-30T, it’s so rich and salty as well as having the perfect viscosity to help it get down to the bottom.
TOM MAKER'S SMALL BAIT MIXSTEP-BY-STEP
STEP 1
Start with some 12mm Krill Active in your bucket.
STEP 2
Then, add some 4mm Krill Pellets.
STEP 3
Add the same amount of 4mm Bloodworm Pellets.
STEP 4
Pour a good helping of Pure Calanus Liquid.
STEP 5
Followed by a liberal dose of L-Zero-30-T Glug.
STEP 6
Give the ingredients a good stir and you are left with a potent big fish mix.
STEP 1
Start with some 12mm Krill Active in your bucket.
STEP 3
Add the same amount of 4mm Bloodworm Pellets.
STEP 4
Pour a good helping of Pure Calanus Liquid.
STEP 5
Followed by a liberal dose of L-Zero-30-T Glug.
STEP 6
Give the ingredients a good stir to be left with a potent big fish mix.
When it comes to applying the bait and everything else, I don’t over complicate things. During a recent visit to Q Lake up in Yorkshire, which carries the rule in question, I fished separate spots on all three rods due to the huge swim I had on offer and abundance of features. As such, I baited each with the Spomb and found clean enough ground to present wafter hookbaits on D-Rigs over the top. I tend to use match the hatch hookbaits a lot over this mix, but if bites are hard to come by I switch to something like a Mulbz pop-up, to make it stand out as much as possible.
My short session was made with the capture of a lovely 20-pounder the morning after getting the rods out. It was in fact one the most if not the most northern carp I have ever caught which was a nice result in the end. It clearly loved the bait too, as after a short time in the retainer before the photos were taken, it was clear it had munched its way through a fair bit.
I never let the rules get the better of me, of course you have to stick to them but there’s always a way to work within them yet still give yourself the best chance of success. The biggest take home I would suggest would be to make the effort to use a mix rather than just boilies out of the bag, trust me, it’s something they won’t have seen very often!
Q Lake’s unique design allows anglers to fish from the central island. This design ensures that swim conflict is non-existent, as anglers are fishing away from each other rather than towards, as found on other lakes.
The lake was built is 2008 and was stocked with handpicked carp, taken from the original Old Coarse Lake, these stunning carp were bred at Pool Bridge Farm in 1990, the exact strain of the 8 original brood stock is unknown. An additional stocking of 50 C5 VS carp was added in 2012. These carp have also managed to go on to breed some exceptional looking Q lake carp, some of which are now over 20lb. These home grown carp make it impossible to know the exact stocking of the lake. As of spring 2020 there are at least 5 30’s and over 100 20lb+ carp, with quite a few of these pushing the 30lb mark.
