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Poor things are starving lol. They'll eat anything.

I think it is down to the lake and what the fish are used too, i'm pretty sure on waters that mainly see top HNV baits using shelfies or instant attract baits gets very little interest in fact they might even do the off due to other fish constantly checking and rejecting what you have put out, where as on a proper match runs water the same shelfies are fine to use?

I certainly don't cover my time rolling baits (and I just do a few for myself). What I do get though, is the freshest bait possible, using ingredients I know are the best I can buy. For me it's like the difference between, for example, bread in a bag, or freshly baked from the oven. I know what I think smells and tastes better, and what's likely to be eaten first. This was certainly the case last year when I was catching loads on my own boilies. I don't think I can put a price on that For me it's home rolled all the way.

Thank you not to far away mate haha

Yes I do mate 👍

Not right now. Until I see the fish start to move I'm on bags at the most.

Sort of, I live just outside Leamington Spa. I used to spend quite a lot of time over in Northamptonshire walking around the sailing lakes trying to find "unfished" lakes to poach.

Made the decision to go with the Inception 6000’s. They arrived today and first impressions are very positive. They are light, compact with a smooth clutch and balance the Sportex rods nicely. Bargain too; £130 for 3, free delivery and a bulk spool of mono which I’ll use as backing. It’ll be nice to have a dedicated set up for each of the 2 waters I’ll be fishing, without having to swop reels between the big water rods and the lighter set-up👍

I completely agree Nick. Obviously a bright smelly single will always have a chance of getting picked up but real genuine quality bait is so widely available/used nowadays that attractor/shelfies cannot compete imo.

I think if you're seriously tight on time then it's almost certainly not viable. Firstly, you obviously need time to roll the bait but you'll also need time to satisfy your urge to tinker with your recipe. Everybody I've ever known who started making their own bait developed a bit of an obsession with trying different ingredients etc which takes more time ONTOP of rolling your standard recipe bait. It's surprisingly addictive once you get into it.

I think if you're taking time off work to roll bait then you should factor in £ p/hr. If you're doing it in the spare time, it's clearly better than sitting watching the TV doing nothing productive. I think if you frame your life in terms of your time equalling your work pay then it's not cost effective. In fact, everything you do in your spare time besides more paid work isn't cost effective in that sense. Personally, I would say to try it but not because you want to save money. Do it because you want to explore the bait making experience. Do it because it's unknown to you and it's unnerving. Do it because learning about bait construction may give you key information which will help with many other things in life. Do it because it adds a further sense of adventure to your fishing. Do it because you clearly are intrigued by it and you'll be able to definitively answer the question of "What if?". Surely that's more important than saving a few quid? I certainly think it is! Imagine the laughs you're going to have, the elation the first time your bait catches a fish, the misery that comes from failures, and the joy of learning. Marvellous!