Winter Particles and Ground Baits
10/03/2010
Many people think that seeds, particles and groundbaits are less effective in winter. They are making a BIG mistake! I will happily use as much groundbaits, etc. in winter as I do in summer and I have found that a particle-based approach is actually...
The Trinity – Nectarblend™ , PTX™ and Prosecto™
10/03/2010
When the first birdfood baits were discovered way back when Noah was a lad, Haiths was right there at the front when it came to sourcing ingredients. Of course, you all know about the discovery of Robin Red but I doubt as many of you have heard of such classics as...
The New "Reds"
10/03/2010
Following on from the amazing success of SuperRed, we have developed three more mixes in the same vein: NaturalRed™, MarineRed™ and HoneyRed™. Initially SuperRed was put together primarily as a Method Mix but further development has seen...
Robin Red®
10/03/2010
I am not 100% sure, but I think that the amazing properties of our unique carp attractor, Robin Red®, was first discovered and then used to astonishing effect by the late Ian Booker, one of the most successful carp anglers of all time. For many years Ian’s captures of...
Red Factor™ and Ready Mix™ Colour Food
10/03/2010
This month I would like to show you one of the simplest, cheapest yet most effective birdfood mixes going, namely an 80%/20% blend of two splendid ingredients: Haiths Red Factor™ and their Ready Mix™ Colour Food. We have looked at Red Factor™ a couple...
Using a Pressure Cooker to Prepare Particles
10/03/2010
If, like me you fish more long sessions of a week or more than you do day or weekend sessions, then you may like to try this tip for preparing particles at the lakeside. Though some folks think that a particle such as maize, for instance...
Crafty Tricks with Hemp Seed
18/03/2010
Hemp Seed is our number one best selling seed bait in our catalogue, and with good reason…there’s simply not a freshwater fish that swims that can resist it! However, believe it or not it is possible to boost the immense attraction given off by...
Mealworm Crumble
18/03/2010
Lately I have been experimenting with a few new products, the first of which is Mealworm Crumble.The clue to its effectiveness is in the title as it has a very high proportion of whole dried mealworms included in the overall blend...
Method Mix
18/03/2010
Here at Supercatch we have got everything you need to create the very best solutions for catching crafty carp, and one of the best ways to fool them it to use The Method...
Red Factor™
18/03/2010
Red Factor is one of those ingredients that lend itself to a myriad of carp fishing applications. Some see it as a seed blend and, yes, Red Factor does contain seeds: some use it as a paste bait, and, yes, it is ideal as such...
Winter Particles
18/03/2010
Though the water temperatures are certainly dropping fast and the nights drawing in, carp can be very active at this time of the year and many experts agree that particle baits, seed blends and even nut baits are very effective during the early winter months of November and December...
Red Band®
18/03/2010
Arguably out most popular seed blend, Red Band is "top of the pops" when it comes to attracting carp, tench and bream. It contains a selection of mini particles with the addition of aniseed oil as well as some very attractive mini pellets for added attraction...
Condition Seed
19/03/2010
Haith’s Condition Seed is a blend of micro seeds intended as a canary feed, but it is also an excellent bait for carp, barbel and tench. The blend contains a mixture of very tiny seeds that are high-energy foodstuffs that have the added advantage of being quite dark in colour...
Chick Peas
19/03/2010
This round yellow pea has been around in the carp world for nearly three decades and is a firm favourite with particle lovers. It is usually one of the first change baits after sweetcorn starts to slow down and along with black eyed beans...
Groats
19/03/2010
In my opinion, groats are on a par with hempseed when it comes to pulling down carp onto a bait carpet. It absolutely staggered me to watch them feed and I have never seen preoccupied feeding like it. As I watched I witnessed dozens of carp really...
Tiger Nuts
26/03/2010
Arguably the most popular particle, tiger nuts can bring instant success. However, we advise strongly against over baiting as this can have a detrimental effect on your fishing. Also, please be aware that if they are used to excess, tiger nuts can be dangerous to carp...
Easisoak
26/03/2010
The name on the bag declares, “For People Who Like Birds”. It should also read, “For Anglers Who Fish For Carp!” As the name suggests, this blend of micro seeds is very simple to prepare: soak for 24 hours and away you go...
Birdfood Baits
26/03/2010
Boiled baits based upon birdfoods are usually almost instantly successful with no need for extensive pre-baiting campaigns. Most of the birdfoods feeds used in modern carp baits are in fact blends of various crushed or ground seeds such as hempseed together with...
Robin Red® 2
26/03/2010
Though the famous “red stuff” is more commonly (and rightly) known as an ingredient that is added to boiled bait recipes, in fact Robin Red has far more applications that that! Here are just a couple of ideas to get you going, the rest is up to your imagination...
SuperRed™ tricks
26/03/2010
One of the best selling products in the Supercatch range is the amazingly versatile SuperRed. Developed for us by Ken Townley, and based upon the ultimate carp and coarse fish attractor Robin Red, SuperRed is without doubt...
Carpticle™
26/03/2010
Carpticle is a blend of mini and micro seeds and cereals (including millet, rapeseed, milo, groats, hempseed, and aniseed oil) specially blended and formulated to allow fermentation to take place...
Customised Trout Pellets
26/03/2010
Supercatch can offer you a wide range of pellets, from mini to jumbo, including the pellets from the Dynamite baits stable. However, did you know that you can customise pellets to your own unique formula to give them even greater pulling power? Here’s how to...
More Red Factor™ Tricks
26/03/2010
Red Factor is an ingredient that has for many years long been used by bait companies in their boilie mixes. It is similar to Nectarblend in that it is based upon egg biscuit, a first class softbill food for feeding and rearing canaries. It can also be used at 100% concentrations to create a...
Latest Bird Food Bait Tips.
26/03/2010
Continuing this short expose of some of the best-kept birdfood secrets in the carp, I would like to concentrate again on the blend we discussed last month (Red Factor + Ready-Mixed), along with another widely used but often woefully misused birdfood, Haiths ™...
Top 10 Particle Baits - part 1
29/03/2010
Hi there, and welcome to my look at what I consider to be some of the best particle baits around. In this article I will give you 1-5, and next month 6-10. Let’s kick off with my top five particle baits with tips on how to prepare them and fish them...
Top 10 Particle Baits Part - 2
29/03/2010
Last month I looked at my choice of the top five particle baits, so lets round of this article by looking at numbers 6-10...
Preoccupation Part 1
29/03/2010
If you were around the carp scene way back in the early 70s you will recall the fledgling particle bait scene. Until a certain Mr Hutchinson came along particle baits were not really considered until they were popularised by Rod who wrote what was then the definitive series of articles on...
Preoccupation Part 2.
05/05/2010
As I said last week my own preference is for small waters with a relative lack of angling pressure and I am sure that would be your choice too in an ideal world, so lets start by looking at a water that I fish close to my home in Cornwall, describing...
Preoccupation Part 3
17/05/2010
By now you have either seen the bait being eaten by the carp themselves or you have possibly created a dinner plate effect on the lakebed, where carp that have been feeding on your bait have swept the area clean of silt and weed. This should give you...
Peanuts
29/06/2010
Peanuts can be infected with a fungus, which produces a poisonous carcinogen called aflatoxin. Since there is no clear scientific evidence of what is a safe level for wild birds, Haiths buy only 'nil detectable aflatoxin' - the safest standard there is. Haiths are founder members of the...
Groundbaiting
02/08/2010
The use of a carpet of ‘soft’ groundbait has become increasingly popular of late. However, it is not something new in the carp world. I first wrote about the technique of groundbaiting for carp way back in 1985. At the time my article fell on deaf ears but that’s all changed now; these days...
A Cheap Yet Nutritious Boilie Recipe
31/08/2010
I am often asked to recommend a recipe for a cheap yet nutritious and long lived boiled bait. Well to be honest that is asking the impossible. You see, the words cheap and nutritious don’t sit well in a sentence, and if you add long lasting as well it becomes even less...
Robin Red® and the Great Carophyll Red™ Myth
28/09/2010
Since it was ‘discovered’ by a certain carp angler in Kent way back in the late 60s Robin Red has probably been the most widely used, most talked about, and most copied carp bait ingredient in the history of carp fishing. This astonishing little product is now...
Grandad Ted's Poultry Spice
28/10/2010
What a super name! Hats off to Grandad Ted! Why? Because this new blend from Haith’s fits superbly into the Supercatch range of bait related products alongside...
A Particle Approach To Winter
08/12/2010
There are many contradictory opinions about particles in winter, with some pundits saying they are a big no-no and others telling you they are better by far than a boiled-baits approach! In fact both are effective and while boilies may rule the roost on one water, particles may be...
Micro Baits
23/12/2010
While we sit on our hands through the dark days of winter, with a ‘roof’ of ice covering our favourite lakes, now is the time to think about the warmer days ahead; specifically about catching carp using what I call mass baits, namely mini boilies, seeds and seed blends, boilie crumb, chops and groundbait. You see...
Understanding Birdfood Baits
01/02/2011
A long time ago when modern boiled baits were being developed in the UK the very first specialised base mixes were all formed using ingredients intended for feeding caged and wild birds. These came to be known as birdfood mixes and they are still one of the most popular carp baits in current use. They have...
Spring - Part 1
02/03/2011
March 1st already! Spring is just around the corner and the carp are starting to wake up after their torpid existence through the winter. As the sun climbs higher in the sky with each passing day so...
Spring - Part 2
04/04/2011
At this time of the years carp are busy feeding up on just about anything they can get their teeth around in order to replace lost salts, vitamins and minerals that have become depleted during the long winter months. Their prime requirement at this time is energy to recharge the batteries and protein to help...
Spring - Part 3
04/05/2011
This can be a funny time of the year weather-wise…I remember the first time I took Carole to France…
It was early-May and naturally I thought the weather would be fine and kind to her, but it...
Fine Ground 'Reds' - Part 1
20/06/2011
Recently I was playing about with a sack of SuperRed and was trying to reduce the original fairly coarse product into a very fine mesh powder to use as a base mix. This gave rise to the idea that maybe Haiths could do a much better job of producing a fine-ground product that I ever could. A phone call to the...
Fine Ground 'Reds' - Part 2
07/07/2011
I guess it is no secret that I am getting on a bit! In fact, I started carping in 1963 – albeit, VERY badly! Logically I guess that it follows that not many of you Supercatch fans were around back in the days when birdfoods first became popular, but if you...
Fine Ground 'Reds' - Part 3
03/08/2011
Just to round off this look at the various applications available to us after creating a fine powder out of our top groundbait mixes (namely SuperRed, MarineRed, HoneyRed and NaturalRed), we’ll close by looking at...
Particle Baits – Fresh, Fermented or Rotting!
05/09/2011
How do you like your particle? Fresh or fermented? The answer to that question depends entirely on the bait in question. The perceived wisdom is that ALL particles should be left to stand until they start to...
Seeds, Pulses, Nuts and Other
27/10/2011
Way back in the annuls of carp fishing history a certain Rod Hutchinson started experimenting with particle baits and his exciting and revolutionary work broke new ground. His articles on the subject are still regarded as...
Winter Tricks 2011
01/12/2011
Now before anybody starts, I know I have written previously about winter carping for these pages, but from what I can tell from reading posts on the various carping forums and by reading the latest magazines, carp anglers cannot have enough info about winter carping, especially when it comes to bait...
The Ultimate SuperRed Article 1
04/01/2012
I have mentioned SuperRed and her ‘Red stable mates’ many times in these pages, but I still get letters, Carp Forum PMs and emails asking ‘can SuperRed be used for this’? or ‘how do I make a such-and-such with SuperRed?’ so I thought over the next two month I’d write what I hope will be the answer to every SuperRed question you guys are likely to ask.
The Ultimate SuperRed Article 2
02/02/2012
Last month I looked at how SuperRed and its stable mates can be used as groundbait, but there is so much more to them than that. I designed the ‘Reds’ to be the ultimate in versatility so let’s look now at other ways you can use these amazing products.
"WHAT’S REALLY IN YOUR BASE MIX?" asks Ken Townley.
05/03/2012
For years now carp anglers have questioned the recipes and ingredients of the better base mixes on the market. Are they justified in doing so? Well yes, they are. If you bought a car you would want to be told the full specifications of the product as well as knowing how it performs. So it is...
Have you heard about the trinity?
16/03/2012
When the first bird food baits were discovered Haiths® were right there at the front when it came to sourcing ingredients, and it’s remained there ever-since! Of course, you all know about the discovery of Robin Red® but I doubt as many of you have heard of such classics as
Bait Making
05/04/2012
Making your own baits is simple. Here's how you go about it. First of all you'll need a decent sized saucepan and a well fitting strainer; something like a chip pan and strainer will do nicely. You will need a...
Carp Bait
10/04/2012
Just about anything can be used as a bait with which to catch carp. Natural baits such as maggots, worms, mealworms, water snails and mussels all have their day, but generally speaking we tend to divide carp baits into
SuperRed and Groats
08/05/2012
This month I want to show you a very simple way of attracting large numbers of carp into your swim in the shortest time possible, all thanks to the pulling power of SuperRed, Groats and a dash of...
A Festival of Robin Red!
20/06/2012
I doubt if there is anyone reading this who has not heard of the famous Robin Red, arguably the finest carp attractor of all time. Discovered back in the late 60s, the red stuff continues to be...
Seeds - By Ken Townley
10/07/2012
There are many seed baits available and probably the best known is hempseed. Other well-known seed baits are Red Band, dari seed and sunflower seed. Seed baits are also generally known as mass baits because you get a lot of them to the kilo. They are used to achieve a level of feeding preoccupation hard to achieve with other...
The Wind and its Effects – 1.
08/08/2012
want to deviate slightly from my usually subject matter this month and next in order to deal with a subject that seems to crop up regularly on the carp fishing forums; namely, the effect that wind strength and direction is likely to have on the fishing. To be honest I don’t think that there is a single definitive solution as waters react very differently to...
The Wind And Its Effect –2
03/09/2012
There is a lot of talk in the magazines and other instructional; media these days about the importance of “following the wind”, but what does this mean in practice?
Autumn Baiting Strategies.
02/10/2012
The period from October through to Christmas is generally accepted as being the best time of the year to go carp fishing. The days grow shorter and the water temperature drops and carp recognise these seasonal time clocks as nature’s way of telling them that winter is coming; time to fatten up for the bleak times ahead. That said, don’t make the mistake of thinking that...
Nuts to boiled baits
08/11/2012
We have seen all manner of trends come and (sometimes) go in the bait business and the latest fad – or is it much more than that? – is boiled bait based on nut products. There has been a lot of talk in the press and on the forums about
Honey Red
15/11/2012
We have looked at the various ‘Reds’ previously in this series of articles and I have concentrated mainly on Super Red. However, there are three other variations on the theme and in this article I will be concentrating on Honey Red. All the ‘Reds’ are based on...
Chilling, Resting and Feeding
03/12/2012
Carp are frustrating beasts. Just when you think you have got the fish all worked out they go and break the rules and start playing hard to get. It’s strange but true; carp can be easier to catch in...
Opening the door to Aladdin's cave
18/12/2012
Here we are nearing the start of the twenty-teens and a mere 13 years since I first started working for John E. Haith of Cleethorpes, as it was then. Now it is simply Haiths Ltd and the old premises in Cleethorpes has been replaced by a modern corporate super-HQ and factory in Grimsby. Much has changed at the company, but one thing that has not changed is the...
Nutrabaits and Robin Red®.
14/01/2013
I first used Robin Red way back in the day when I was a member of a syndicate in Devon called Ockenham Lakes. My mate from up country was using it and had got onto it soon after the word got out and he told me it was the bee’s knees. Naturally I was keen to try it and used in not only in Devon but also on my Cornish venues and at...
The New Robins – Early Days.
01/03/2013
There has been considerable interest in the bait world over the announcement by Haith’s SuperCatch that three new ‘Robins’ would be added to the range of carp bait additives to supplement their flagship product ROBIN RED ® .
Robins plus Blue Oyster
04/04/2013
There has been considerable interest in the new Robins since their release, and one of the main queries we have been receiving relates to how they interact with proprietary base mixes that currently have ROBIN RED® in them.
River Fishing for Carp
02/05/2013
One of my great passions over the past sixteen or more years has been fishing for carp that live in flowing water. For me there is nothing quite like the challenge of getting to grips with a deep and mysterious river, unlocking its secrets and
Finding The Spot Part1
20/05/2013
This is the first of three articles on what I consider to be the most important aspect in carp fishing. I guess you could call it an offshoot of location but it is more than that. Location is more about finding where the carp are; what I am talking about is finding where they FEED.