Can certain baits really single out the bigger fish?

Gary Bayes

“To work out what is and what isn’t a big fish bait, you need years of data to collaborate into hours fished, average weight caught, quality of control baits etc. and then you’re also relying on all waters being equal. 300 words isn’t enough to explain this but over the years it’s been blatantly obvious the Scopex Squid is a big fish catcher. 3ml Scopex No1, 5ml Red Liver Oil, 1ml Intense Sweetener per 4-egg mix with the S Mix Squid or the All Season Squid is the one.

“Two-Tone from Conningbrook was caught at least 10 times on it, all the Yateley fish, the Essex Manor fish and so on. Last week Lee from the bait factory fished a French water and all the big thirties came on Scopex Squid including Lee’s 53lber whereas the other fish came to tiger nuts, iC-1 and other baits, even variations of Scopex Squid with Peach oil added etc.

“Even when I used the Scopex Squid flavour recipe on a different base mix, the Amber Attract I had a lot of twenties on a water with not that many twenties in it (24-years-ago). The S Mix Squid base mix is designed as a mature carp food, the flavours attract big carp, so yes, there is such a thing as a big fish bait, and it’ll catch them several times but it still has to be fished well, where the big fish live and feed.

“As wonderful as it is though, like any bait they will become wary of it in time but if I’m fishing anywhere that sees a lot of different bait, which hasn’t been hammered on the Scopex Squid or that has had a season’s rest from Scopex Squid I will definitely be on it.”

Dave Moore

“This is a very difficult question to answer considering the large number of variables involved in successful carp fishing. I can only reflect on my own experience, which I’m sure will differ from other anglers. I have been very lucky over the years and have managed to catch quite a large number of big carp both at home and abroad and there is certainly one very strong common factor in most of my captures. Nearly all the big carp I’ve caught have all come to quality highly nutritional value baits.

“There are a few exceptions, for instance I once held the Norfolk record with a very fat carp from Kingfisher Lake, which I caught fishing a tiger nut over a bed of hemp. I’ve also banked a few big fish using methods that are not quite purely HNV applications, groundbaits etc. However, these instances are rare. I’ve never caught a big fish on floaters, but I once lost a known 50lb+, so I do actually fish other styles and baits. The danger in this sort of question is if you only fish one way and are successful then your opinion is going to be very fixed. One trick pony effect, I would like to think I’m not one of those anglers.

“When I say quality HNV baits, I mean baits that have been formulated with a high nutritional availability and not just protein levels. All the baits I have used over the last three decades have all been formulated to try and maximise this aspect. Do I think there is such a thing as a big fish bait? Yes. However, that’s my opinion based on my results and experiences. Opinion isn’t fact, but results are, back this up with a little experience and I don’t think I’m far from the truth. Quality HNV’s are big fish baits!”

Ian Poole

“I think the only way to make a true big fish bait is to increase the size of your hookbaits to such an extent that the smaller fish can’t actually pick them up. Moving up to larger baits such as 24mm or even 26mm boilies can definitely be more big fish selective, but when I have done this in the past I have always wondered whether I am actually cutting down my chances of a biggie at the same time.

“However, I do think there are other things you can do that, although won’t stop all of the little ones getting in on the act, will increase your chances with the bigger fish. On waters that see loads of spodding with baits like pellets and particles, switching over to a boilie-only approach is a simple but very good starting point. The amount of action you get is likely to go down, but the average size of the fish you catch will often go up. When I’ve gone down this route I’ve found that sticking to a good quality fishmeal boilie is best. Avoiding all types of bright hi-attract hookbaits has also worked well for me on a couple of waters. Some anglers I know would say that if you aim to catch as many carp as possible then the bigger ones will come along eventually. However, I’ve never subscribed to this theory and believe you can tailor your approach to a certain extent with a combination of bait and tactics.

“There are also some bait ingredients around that have got very good big fish track records, with Liver Powder and Green Lipped Mussel to name two. One of the very best big fish baits I ever used was Richworth’s Multiplex, and it’s no coincidence the base mix included both of these excellent ingredients.”