Ken Townley's winter bait thoughts

So now I'll take you through a step-by-step guide to making a great winter bait that has the emphasis on attraction with a capital A!
 



Take 150g of Red Factor and reduce it to a fine powder using a coffee grinder. (on the right in this photo)
 
Now grind down 150g of Haith's CLO. (In the centre.)


 
Weight out 150g of Polenta, a fine maize meal. (If you cannot find Polenta, fine semolina will do.) That completes the bulk of the base mix.
 
Weigh out 25g of Brocacel yeast culture…
 
…and the same of Robin Red.



That completes the base mix recipe so to summarise:

150g Fine ground Red Factor
150g Fine Ground CLO
150g Polenta
25g Brocacel
25g Robin Red

Now for the attractors all of which are proven in cold water temperatures. They are as follows:
 
25g Full Fat Greenshell Lipped Mussel Compound (the best available in my opinion).
 
10g Winter Amino Compound.
 
25g Liver Extract Powder.
 
Place 450g of base mix in a polyethene or strong paper bag
 
Now add the other dry powder ingredients to the bag. Form a neck in the mouth and blow air into the bag, then seal the mouth of the bag by folding it over on itself several times. Now shake the bag vigorously to blend the dry ingredients together.
 
Now for the liquids. To a mixing bowl add 2ml of Richworth Tutti Frutti.
 
25ml of Liquid Wheat Hydro and 25ml of Liquid Goose Liver hydrolysate.
 
25ml of Liquid Oyster Extract (Not oyster sauce which is nothing like as effective).
 
20ml Tescos' Good Oil (hemp oil).
 
Now add to the bowl half a pint of tap water (you can use bottled if you like but I don't think it makes any difference).
 
Mix the fluid content together with a whisk and add the dry powders. If you have measured everything out correctly you should find that the liquids accommodate all the dry powder with none left over.
 
The paste is now ready for the next step. At this point you can either label it and pop it in the freezer, or why not create your very own ultra-high attract water-based paste balls along the lines detailed here:

No look at winter baits would be complete without looking at the whys and wherefores. Why this ingredient and not that one: why this attractor and not that one…You get the picture. So I'll go through the recipe in detail now.

At this time of the year more than any other you need a reliable bait, one in which you have confidence and one that oozes attraction. The emphasis should be more on attraction than nutrition though you should not ignore that aspect. In really cold weather all fish, not just carp, need fats and carbohydrates to use as an source of energy. Protein metabolism slows down in winter, whereas fats (and carbs to a lesser extent) are metabolised much easier and quicker and have a more pronounced effect on the well being of the fish.

1. CLO, Red Factor and Polenta are high fat, high carbohydrate ingredients that carp find easy to utilise in the colder months. They are a great source of energy which contributes to the overall well being of the fish through the depths of winter.
2. Robin Red…Say no more!
3. Brocacel is a cultured yeast compound that aids the digestion specifically of carbs and also of fats. It enables the carp to obtain maximum benefit from the bait, at the same time being a very good source of high quality protein and amino acids.
4. Full Fat Greenshell Lipped Mussel Compound from Feed Stimulants is quite simply the best of its kind currently available.
5. Winter Amino Compound is used to boost the free amino content of the bait and this blend has been put together specifically for use in very cold water temperatures.
6. Liquid Wheat Hydro is on a par with Corn Steep Liquor…only it is better.
7. Goose Liver Hydrolysate is rich in amino acids and is highly water-soluble thus creating a cloud of attraction over your bait, releasing attractors that give off nutritional signals and which will disperse freely to attract fish.
8. Liquid Oyster Extract (not oyster sauce which is nothing like as effective). This stuff is simply the best, a thick gooey liquid that simply screams 'carp' at you.
9. Tescos Good Oil (hemp oil) is rich in omega -3 and -6 fatty acids, in themselves a powerful energy source with a strong protein-sparing effect.
 
So that's the whys and wherefores. There are 101 ways of using paste in the winter and the paste balls detailed in the link above is one idea you might like to try. Alternatively take the paste to the lake in its polythene bag and simply roll it into your preferred size of paste balls. These can be fired a long way out of a catapult and will start to break down slowly on the lake bed.
 
You can create a hookbait using paste by wrapping it in a section of ladies' stockings or tights, or a purpose-designed meshing products such as Fox Arma Mesh.
 
This photo shows Arma Mesh in use. The paste is wrapped in a section of the mesh and then tied just as you would tie PVA mesh parcels. Pull the hair through the meshed paste and secure it with a boilie stop.
 
Now go out there and catch some carp!
 
I am really looking forward to next year and am already preparing my bait for my first trip to France of the winter.

In the meantime can I and my fellow Bloggers wish you all a Very Happy Christmas!

Cheers!