hutch

Old wives tail mate, they will still eat fishmeal in the winter the problems you can get is becuase the water is colder and there metabolic rate has slowed down, if they chow down on a heavy protein bait it basically can take them alot longer to digest so they wont be as inclined to eat again for several days maybe longer, also combine that with there requirements change when the water is colder so they are looking for fast hits of more energy based/easy digestable baits like a Manilla or Live system rather than a complete food source.

If your going to be using some of Dean's (Dean Towey) gear you might want to listen to some of his podcasts on the subject https://www.youtube.com/@CarpChronicles

Loving the effort and enthusiasm on this thread Carpbell3 your going to enjoy that first fish rolling over the net cord

From looking at the ing spec. there doesnt appear to be much difference other than the NOR 70 seems a touch more soluble so would probably require slightly less CSCP 90 in the mix, so i dont think it would make a great deal of difference to the attractivness of the mix

Wouldnt be pricking then you could end up with a pot of bright bottom baits, pricking them will cause them to take on water faster hence making them heavy, you looking at doing multi liquid combinations with them ? , just add your required liquids to a pot and let them soak in, be careful not to over do it as heavy liquids can also cause an undesired effect

Depends on your interests within our great past time mate, some people have no interest in bait and how it works so if your that way then the above is a good solution, but some people like to know why certain things attarct carp and then create there own bait around what they have learnt

And the tool in question in this thread is designed for making cork ball pop ups, so the OP might benefit from by a small rolling table (like the gardener ones) for rolling cork dust baits

Whats the flavoured powder in question at guess its something from the body builder market so whey based ? The CC Moore Hard hookbait mix looks like its designed to be used straight out of the tub to make up hookbaits so depending on what the above is based on might be causing issues with the binding elelements Cant see it being the liquids but what are the liquids in question hydro's/oil/flavour some especially hydro's can be quite thirsty so if your just using 1 egg to 100g depending on egg size might also be an issue.

They will both work, cream based flavours can work really well in a fishmeal, Im sure JB doesnt recommend mixing TM1 with other flavours due to its complex make up, my preference is low level (1ml/1.5ml per kilo) of both these in a fishmeal food bait. Yes, I use it in conjunction with Nut Hydro and Special K in my particles

Doesnt have to be used with a fruit flavour, the beauty of making your own bait is it can contain whatever you want it to, I have used it with S&O with plum and Liver/Special K hydro combo for last 3 seasons plus

Nope, but doing that might give you some decent wafters, for pop ups just use the pop up mix of your choice.

Never used the Mainline Flavours, but i would glass test one of them as the colour is coming from the flavour it will likely wash out when in the water so that lovely pale washed out pink may not stay that way for very long.

So as far as I am aware carp can not detect oils they have no receptors for it, what they can detect is the lipids and any micro nutrients that are dispersed into the water as the oil rises off what ever its attached to. Which oil is best ?, well can depend on the time of year when the water is colder i would stay away from fish oils as the congeal in the cold water and will leave a fatty residue all over what you have coated or soaked in them, best test is take your oil of choice and put a little bit in the fridge and see what happens to it. I have also listened to something recently that suggest it doesnt really what which oil you choose as they all have a good lipid content and its the other things oil can bring like being a converyor for other items that you have mixed it with like lifting particles into the water column. You dont need to pay carp tax for a good oil, the supermarkets crry plenty Good Hemp Oil and Toasted Seasame Seed Oil are 2 that I use. Some of the other liquids are Hydroylsates and shouldnt be confused with Oils as they are very different but they can be mixed together to create a good effect for drawing fish to bait. Cloudy liquids, just find a combination of liquids you like and get some condensed milk from the supermarket and mix then together will cloud th water up a treat. If you use the Cap Oil make sure you wash your hands before going to the toilet 😉😆

Seeing as the original Trop recipe that was released on HMBB contain BAF tropical Fruit which is in the same vein as Fruit Bomb I would suggest they would be a good companion.I would would recommend keeping the levels on the low side though for a feed bait as JB Flavours are generally very concentrated.

There is no money to be saved in making your own these days cost of ingredients + delivery + waste/leftover as recipes nearly always have some left overs, so does making your own still have a place of course it does but do it because you get a buzz from learning and putting something together yourself that catches fish. And yes I do still make my own.