The Corn Ball was not meant to be :(

[banjojohn]

Hi All ,

The beginning of the Week I had this Brainwave 

The Lake I fish on has an high taste for Corn , But feeding it on the hook seem to get Bream and I'm looking just for the fat margin Carp , So I googled boilies or baits with corn ... Idea being that I make and present a Corn bait in the size of a Boilie to stop smaller mouths , I watched a youtube video on a corn ball and hence I began My magic bait adventure ,

It looked great before and straight after boiling but less than 24 Hours My bait had cracked on the drying towel and the little baits were solid , A great white couldnt have smashed it 

The ingredients were these : 

half a cup of grounded cornflakes , 

1 cup of corn flour ,

3 slices of bread put in blender ,

quarter cup of poppy seeds , 

1 tin of sweetcorn blended ,

quart cup of sugar ,

2 medium size eggs , 

added bread crumb , cornflakes , corn flour and poppy seeds to bowl , thoroughly mix , added mushed up blended sweetcorn , mix with fork , Add sugar , Mix with hands and leave to rest for 4 Hours ,

Get bowl , add eggs , 2 TSP of corn oil , Mix Together , 

After 4 Hours ... Add half the egg to dry Mix , knead and add the rest of the egg , 

This is where it went a bit wonky , after the first half egg ... the mix was still wet and I had to add an hand full of corn flour and some cornflakes , 

All I wanted was a really corny bait ... should I have added the dry to the eggs or are the dry measurements out in some way , This isnt My recipe ... its One I tried off youtube , all measurements are correct and I never missed anything out ,

Is there a cornier corn bait and is it easy to make ? I know I could go the " real " boilie way but I honestly get lost after 50 / 50 semolina / soya 

P.s. I boiled for 1 Minute on cork ball and around 2 Minutes on boilies or when at least half were floating ,

 

[crusian]

" You  just keep thinking Butch ( Banjo ) that's what you 're good at " 😄.

I guess Hutch and others like him are busy at the moment ; I' m sure they'll be able to sort you out when they come along  .

🙂

[banjojohn]

I guess its due to crappy ingredients and measuring 

[crusian]

Well hopefully the Homemade Boilie lads will be along soon to put your mind at rest , they can't all be busy ? .

[hutch]

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. 

[banjojohn]

I dont really have much apart from 20kg of baileys number 1 ,breadcrumb ,and trout pellets , plus boilies and hook baits ... but happy to spend if it will make a ball bait , Thanks Hutch   

[banjojohn]

4kg of dog biscuit too 

[hutch]

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)

[banjojohn]

11 minutes ago, hutch said:

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)

Thank you so much Hutch , This looks an easy recipe to get Me delving in the Bait thingy , Will this be more of a fishy boilie and silly question ... do I boil as usual , 

Again I really appreciate your help Hutch  

[banjojohn]

Has bread and birdfood got elements that are the same or is it just a filler ? Thanks

[hutch]

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.  

[banjojohn]

2 hours ago, hutch said:

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.  

Thanks for that Hutch , It seems very complicated but I'm going to buy some ingredients for sure , can you recommend a reliable online store please ?

I was looking at this place : http://www.spottedfin.com/index.php , they seemed pretty good , Thanks again Hutch 

[hutch]

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

[bigtrev]

Polenta is made from maize.  You can buy blocks of polenta from the supermarket. cut it into cubes and then if you wish roll it into balls and boil.

[banjojohn]

On 11/09/2017 at 12:12, hutch said:

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

I would still need to buy semolina and soya , forgot to mention I dont even have the basics  , Thanks for the links too ... really appreciate it  

20 hours ago, Big Common said:

If you do a separate 1 egg mix for your cork ball pop ups, it will allow you to add some egg white powder, 1 sachet per egg is usually enough (Dr Oetken , any supermarket, approx. £1 for 5 sachets in the baking section). You should sieve the amount of base mix first. The finer mix and the instant hardening with added egg white, will help stop them cracking, they only need about 30 seconds in the boiling water as it's just a 2mm skin, and not a whole boilie that needs to harden. Any left over paste can be frozen and re used........

...... The blitzed sweetcorn you mentioned is a great attractor and can be spooned into the margins to draw fish in, where hopefully, your hook bait is the one main food item.

 

 

I like the idea of the separate egg mix but not got the main boiled bait correct yet and I only have 10 cork balls , ( maybe thats all you can use on a 1 egg mix , )

Would you use any binder with the blitzed corn as that stuff would stick to your hand I think ,

Thanks  

19 hours ago, bigtrev said:

Polenta is made from maize.  You can buy blocks of polenta from the supermarket. cut it into cubes and then if you wish roll it into balls and boil.

I didnt know that  and its available in the supermarkets ? sounds great ... Thanks  

 

[salokcinnodrog]

On 11 September 2017 at 09:32, hutch said:

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.  

If you mould them around a corkball for pop-ups don't boil them for any more than 45 seconds. The base mix will expand and then leave a gap between corkball and boilie skin. You can air dry them for as long as you want, but don't over cook.

In the ratios Hutch has recommended try

Ground Trout pellet

Baileys Number One

Semolina

Soya Flour

Finely Ground Pigeon Conditioner

 

I guarantee it works as that is the bait a mate of mine was using for a few years very successfully.

 

[banjojohn]

On 12/09/2017 at 20:39, Big Common said:

You will get a lot more than 10 corkball pop ups from 1 egg mix, more like 80/ 100 odd depending on size.... I always roll my hook baits separately to my "feed" baits...... So , from a 1 egg mix, I will roll some bottom bait hookers and some different size cork ball pop ups. If there is any paste left over, you can either freeze it or use it in you fishing, ie wrap some on your lead or around a hook bait or even plop a few small pieces in and around your spot. As it's raw paste, it will dissolve and leak off any attractors in your bait into the water column.....

..... If you blitz a tin of sweet corn, it's surpisingly stiff. I'm happy to either use a baiting spoon in the edge, or a spomb to get it out further...... You can mix it with anything or use it neat (with a baiting spoon). I like to stir a tin of blitzed corn into a hemp/maple pea mix, just to boost the attraction...... A cheap alternative is to use layers pellets and soak them in the blitzed corn, give them a good stir up. They will break down very quickly and leave a corn flavoured carpet feed on the deck. Best mixed on the bank just before putting them out, as mentioned they break down to a mush very quickly.

I'll probably buy an 100 pack of corkballs then , cheap enough , Thanks so much for the ideas too , I guess if My blitzed corn is too sticky to use with a spoon I could

always add a little filler like crumb or cornflour but not too much as I want it to dissolve and break up , 

Again many Thanks BC  

[banjojohn]

On 12/09/2017 at 21:11, salokcinnodrog said:

If you mould them around a corkball for pop-ups don't boil them for any more than 45 seconds. The base mix will expand and then leave a gap between corkball and boilie skin. You can air dry them for as long as you want, but don't over cook.

In the ratios Hutch has recommended try

Ground Trout pellet

Baileys Number One

Semolina

Soya Flour

Finely Ground Pigeon Conditioner

 

I guarantee it works as that is the bait a mate of mine was using for a few years very successfully.

 

I can get most of that but no idea where to get pigeon conditioner ... thats why I bought this baileys number 1 but then found out it wasnt the same ,

Is this also an Autumn and Winter bait as its fishy ? , I'm trying to learn that " Seasonal " flavour concept , or maybe I got the wrong end of the stick ... is it true that most use fishmeal , birdfood , milk base etc for different seasons ? ,

As always Thanks so much Salok  

[hutch]

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 :).

 

 

[banjojohn]

14 hours ago, hutch said:

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 :).

 

 

Really appreciate all the Info Hutch , So using this recipe ... 

1. Ground Trout pellet
2. Baileys Number One
3. Semolina
4. Soya Flour
5. Finely Ground Pigeon Conditioner 

• would be classed as a fishmeal boilie due to the trout pellet ? , Also I've been searching for Pigeon Conditioner and a lot of brands come up ... do you have any brand names please
• Thanks Hutch

[banjojohn]

13 hours ago, Big Common said:

Hi John, I've found best results on cork ball popups is not to boil them , but simmer them for about 1min, no more.... A rolling boil could cause the coating to boil away, if you get what I mean. As long as you add some egg white powder, the skins will harden before they get a chance to deteriorate in the hot water.

Hey BC ,

Am I right in thinking that dr oetker egg white powder would work as I just bought some of that , and thanks for the tip on simmering ,

also seens as this is a fishy boilie ... can I leave it soaking in Krill without the skin coming off the cork ball boilie , or is there a time limit on soaking boilies in liquid ?

Many Thanks BC

[banjojohn]

Also ... if your doing a fishmeal , birdfood or milk protein boilie , Do you have to change the semolina / soya base mix to a different base mix ,

The other confusing thing for Me is what type of flavour do you add to the different style of boilie ... its really confusing , And this is before I've even made any  

I've searched the internet for info which gets confusing sometimes ... it comes up a lot with suppliers , can anyone recommend a good supplier with a good selection and rep please ?

Many Thanks  

Edited September 30, 2017 by banjojohn

[hutch]

Pigeon Conditioner, probably the most uk wide outlet i could find

Pigeon Conditioner

Quote

Also ... if your doing a fishmeal , birdfood or milk protein boilie , Do you have to change the semolina / soya base mix to a different base mix

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. 

Quote

The other confusing thing for Me is what type of flavour do you add to the different style of boilie ... its really confusing , And this is before I've even made any  

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.

[Watty5657]

Hi I'm new to making boilie did a Bach the other day with 40 40 10 10Bailey no1 maze flour and powered milk kelp power is this a good bookie mix an why did my mix go Moldy after 24 hours can any body help me out here 

[geoffwga1]

(

On 09/09/2017 at 06:42, banjojohn said:

Hi All ,

The beginning of the Week I had this Brainwave 

The Lake I fish on has an high taste for Corn , But feeding it on the hook seem to get Bream and I'm looking just for the fat margin Carp , So I googled boilies or baits with corn ... Idea being that I make and present a Corn bait in the size of a Boilie to stop smaller mouths , I watched a youtube video on a corn ball and hence I began My magic bait adventure ,

It looked great before and straight after boiling but less than 24 Hours My bait had cracked on the drying towel and the little baits were solid , A great white couldnt have smashed it 

The ingredients were these : 

half a cup of grounded cornflakes , 

1 cup of corn flour ,

3 slices of bread put in blender ,

quarter cup of poppy seeds , 

1 tin of sweetcorn blended ,

quart cup of sugar ,

2 medium size eggs , 

added bread crumb , cornflakes , corn flour and poppy seeds to bowl , thoroughly mix , added mushed up blended sweetcorn , mix with fork , Add sugar , Mix with hands and leave to rest for 4 Hours ,

Get bowl , add eggs , 2 TSP of corn oil , Mix Together , 

After 4 Hours ... Add half the egg to dry Mix , knead and add the rest of the egg , 

This is where it went a bit wonky , after the first half egg ... the mix was still wet and I had to add an hand full of corn flour and some cornflakes , 

All I wanted was a really corny bait ... should I have added the dry to the eggs or are the dry measurements out in some way , This isnt My recipe ... its One I tried off youtube , all measurements are correct and I never missed anything out ,

Is there a cornier corn bait and is it easy to make ? I know I could go the " real " boilie way but I honestly get lost after 50 / 50 semolina / soya 

P.s. I boiled for 1 Minute on cork ball and around 2 Minutes on boilies or when at least half were floating ,

 

Get some feed corn,sold as deer corn at Wallyworld, get the wifes blender,or better still coffee grinder and reduce it to fine meal.Put two or three cups of said meal in a bowl and put in a cup or two of dried milk,add one egg and your favourite flavour,flavor, today was garlic powder.Mix h until you have a nice firm sticky paste.Take a lump and roll it out into a long sausage about 1/2 an inch thick then cut it into pieces that will make the size of boilie you want,roll the pieces into little balls,I do it between finger and thumb, then drop them in boiling water for 10 or 15 mins.Remove and leave to dry out a bit before freezing.Thaw before using.