hutch

Apologies that link appears to be broken unless you copy and paste it directly into a new tab or browser window and it is to late to edit the post. If anyone does want the pdf i can send them a direct link

As one angler I doubt you would cause fish to go belly up so you would never see an issue, the issues highlighted are based around the long term use of preserved shelf life's on the aquatic environment of a water and also long term effects on the fish that are constantly exposed to preserved food. Alot of the big companies process for making ready mades has altered, I think Nash reduce the amount of the ingredients that cause the bait to go off then put them through some form of advanced drying process to achieve the shelf life status. But alot of places are still going down the Potassium Sorbate based route using excess quantities to preserve longer. Th other question about shelf life's, is down to the place you buy them from, how long has that bag been sat on the shelf, there are people that have known boilies to be sat in tackle shops for years, for me even a shelf life has a shelf life if you see what i mean

I will leave these here, a link for the German paper that was done in 2008 if anyone is interested and the views from a very well known angler that has spent many years in and around the bait industry Acute toxicity of preservative chemicals in organic baits used in carp, Cyprinus carpio, recreational fishing Also knowing one of Nick's previous places of employment that handle several large bait firms contracts im sure he has seen some of the processes first hand. As for me I don't trust anyone of the big players in the bait making industry the big boys are constantly coming up with gimmicks to extract our money

Pigeon Conditioner, probably the most uk wide outlet i could find Pigeon Conditioner I would say nearly every basemix out there has soya and semo at some level in it as they have function soya fats/oil and veg protein content and semo for its properties to bind doesn't offer anything nutritional really but has a function, the lines are very blurred these days as to what is an out and out mix of 1 variety or another, I would ignore the pigeon holing and look for a balanced solution, my main mix currently contains elements of all 3. No hard or fast rules here just the limits of your imagination, for example liver works brilliant in a birdfood bait but works in a fishmeal equally as well. Fruit flavours have been used in fishmeals for years and so on. Hope that clears a few things up for you.

Pet shop or farm shop should sell pigeon conditioner The baileys can be a very good digestive aid so not all bad Bait and seasons most of it is old wives tales mate, balance is the key to any recipe when wanting to use it all year round, what you have there will catch all year round in IMO, they will still eat fishmeal even during the coldest temperatures the problem is during the periods when the water is colder there metabolism slows right down which means if they eat a lot of fishmeal type products it takes them a lot longer to digest. Mr Hearn suggested as long as 2 weeks when he experimented with his pond fish. Also there diet seems to switch it more carbs/fats based due to the fact they get a faster energy hit from this type of ingredient. So using your recipe if your really worried reduce the trout pellet content by 10-15% and use a combination of the soya, semo and baileys in equal measures to replace it and you have a winterised version :).

I was just trying to make a mix out of what you already had, If you have any questions about making a proper base mix feel free to ask there are others on here not just me that will be able to help. Spotted Fin, CC Moore, Haiths, British Aqua Feeds (my current main supplier), Feed Stimulants in Holland are all sources of good quality ingredients. Outside of that good asain supermarkets or farm supply stores are good places to source ingredients

Boil as usual, 1.5minutes will probably get them firm enough, less if you want them softer longer if you want them harder. Some birdfoods/CLO (my preference) does have breadcrumb as part of its make up as well as seeds etc ..., birdfoods have added benefit through there natural oil content, veg protein that some of them contain plus it helps with binding as well as giving your bait a bit of texture.

This is a very rough guide, which won't have you spending a lot of money to get you started. 40% Blitzed Trout pellets (down to a Powder) 10% Micronized Wheat (Baileys Number 1) 20% Soya Flour 20% Semolina 10% Blitzed Bread or Birdfood if you can get some. Use eggs then add the liquidised corn until you get a bound ball, I'm a bit unsure of the inclusion rate of liquidised sweetcorn as I have never used it and other people I have asked have used either corn syrup or Nash sweet corn extract. Might be worth draining some of water off the liquidised corn you will probably get somewhere around 50ml - 100ml of it in (pure guess work)

From a quick look the mix is to dry and course and lacks binding properties by the look of it, forget the cornflakes, sugar, half the poppy seeds (if you must use them). What other sources have you got for ingredients be that bait firm, farm shop, supermarket etc.

Ive heard good things about the Korum Digitals Korum Digital Scales More matchman tax than carp tax

All Fluorocarbons are desgined to be used for stiff or semi stiff rigs the more supple ones are designed to be used if the bottom is a not quite clean as due to fluoros natural stiffness it can sit up on uneven bottoms, its a selling feature that fluorocarbons are invisible in water but that only applies in the more clearer waters as its the light penetrating it that makes it invisible, if your lake has choddy or silty bottom then it collects debris an becomes slightly more visible. For bottom bait rigs it works best IMO with conventual D style rigs rather than a conventional hair style type of rig.

My personal preferred method but not what the OP was asking so I didn't mention it.

This any use to you http://www.carpology.net/articles/rigs/tie-a-soft-hair-to-a-stiff-section-of-hooklink

I have been using size 8 fox zig/floater hooks recently with the zig alingas, other people may vary some prefer small hooks others don't

Carp spend most of there time somewhere in the water column depending on weather conditions, zigs allow you to try and fish for them in areas other than the surface or the bottom. Pop ups will work as will foam, with foam it is more likely what it is made up of that makes them take it unflavoured (try listening to the first Frank Warwick carp cast), personally I have had success soaking foam in CC Moore;s Natural Blend (not available any more ), I think Nige soaks his in Essentials Thaumatin-B and I have friends that use Betalin (Both are similar sweet based products) as well with good success rates.

Best thing i can say is read Nige's post in this thread https://www.carp.com/topic/22982-zig-masters/?tab=comments#comment-298559

Was that his 90's rave name Thats what i was getting at, you have given an example where its just the hook section that will reset, for me as long as the hookbait presentation is reset your still fishing, so not all rigs have to fully straighten out to be effective.

Does it need to be kicked out dead straight to be effective still ? ... would depend largely on the rig of course.

This any use to you, same rig different flavour Gardner Ultra D Rig

The best thing you can do if you have a sonik stockist nearby is pop down there and have a look at one, the one thing that crops up on rod recommendation threads is rods feel different to each person so if you can go and have a look one i would advise it.

Another vote for sks spod rod here for the amount of spodding i do it fits the bill perfectly

You can pick up a set of ATT's for just over £200 at total fishing tackle at the minute. Just to add that as an option for you

If its any help to you, I use 1 of the Drennan red reels coupled with a forcemaster 11ft feeder rod for my lad when we go fishing, he's had Bream to just shy of 8lbs and tench to over 5lbs and it is a really nice setup to play them on

I've just acquired one of these https://www.mercatorgear.com/index.php/hikashop-menu-for-categories-listing/product/41-kovea-spider-basic, small lightweight and kicks some serious heat out, don't let the small burner head deceive you. Agree with the pre heat loop if your using it in colder weather, also the above lets you invert the canister so it will run as a liquid feed stove.