Monday Top 5 - Boilie Tips

This entry was posted on 26th March, 2018

Boilies are a deadly bait, especially when targeting larger specimens. They are massively effective straight out of the packet or freezer, but here are a few extra helpful tips to ensure you get the most out of your boilies:

Go Easy On Your Pockets 

Boilies are relatively expensive, with 1kg costing between £9-£12. To get the most from a bag, simply crush or chop your 1kg bag, and you will find that you increase the volume of bait you have. You can use chopped/crushed boilies to feed your swim, and then hold back a few whole boilies for trimmed down hookbaits. You will also get more for your money if you buy small baits, such as 10mm and 12mm boilies, when compared to 15mm and 20mm boilies. There’s more smaller bait per kilo, which means more chances to tempt those scaly beauties in to feed. Finally, another great way to ease the burden on your wallet is to buy your boilies in larger quantities, such as 5kg or 10kgs at a time.



Hydration

Using liquids to soak your boilies can be a real edge. For example, using hemp oil on your boilies the night before is deadly. It soaks into your baits, and, once out on the spot, releases a slick of attractant into the water when fish are feeding on them. In the opposite direction on very pressured weary fish, try washing out your baits in lake water, reducing the flavour and giving them a softer consistency. This can fool warier fish into thinking the baits have been on the bottom for longer and can be treated with less caution then a new pile of fresh, power packed boilies. Finally, any older popups or shelf life boilies that are now hardened and seem to be less scented can be brought back to life by the addition of liquids to rehydrate them. With so many liquids available, in my opinions I would match up, in terms of the liquid you use to the flavour of the boilie. Another great tip is to use the juice from your hemp and particle jars to rehydrate and soak your baits.



Crumb

Often over looked is the pulling power of boilie crumb. Simply blend your boilies up into a fine crumb. This unlocks all the flavour and scent from your baits when they are boiled. It forms a high attraction crumb for the carp that can pull them into an area with no real food value, which is perfect if you have a nice juicy hookbait in the area. It can be deadly spombed over zigs or shallow water, added to stick mixes or even balled in groundbait style, and mixed with other items such as particle.

Cork

The addition of a cork plug, simply burrowing a portion of your bottom bait away with a boilie drill and replacing it with cork, can be the edge between catching and not. Not only that but it can help increase the buoyancy of small pop up fished on rigs such as the hinged stiff rig or chod rig. It can negate the weight of your hook, meaning that, to the fish all the baits that they take are the same weight, and they have no idea a hook is attached to one

until it’s too late. A clever trick for your boilie hookbait that allows you to select and experiment with the buoyancy of your hookbait. Don’t forget to check it in the margins before you cast, and inspect the hook holds to see how effective the change in buoyancy has been.

Mix It Up

Don’t just fish the same size baits, or the same colour baits. Often a mix of sizes confuses the fish, and makes it harder for them to single out the hookbait; for example, a mixture of 10mm, 15mm and 18mm boilies, along with some dumbells, is a great spread to put out in your swim, and also gives you various hookbait options. The choice of a matching hookbait to the boilies you feed can often catch you fish in the summer; however, a bright hookbait over your feed boilies will bring bites in the winter and spring. It pays to experiment, but make sure you mix things up and you’ll find your buzzers will be screaming more often.



I hope the above tips help you think more about your approach to boilie fishing, and help you make the most of these awesome baits.