The big fish hookbaits you need to try

I have been fishing Stoneacres for the last few seasons and it requires a completely different mind-set and approach. It is not like other lakes where you may re-cast each day; sometimes my baits are out in the pond for a couple of days at a time.

A mixed bag of cork balls will enable you to use varied sizes of hookbaits.

This means that they need to be ultra-durable and be able to withstand attention from both Tench and Birds to allow any chance of the carp seeking them out. The Krill is naturally a soft bait, which is how good bait should be, but when leaving it out in the pond for a while, you do need to mesh it to ensure it remains on the Hair. The easy option would be to use something like a tiger nut or some plastic, but these fish have got big through boilies and I know how much these carp love them.

Adam uses the Multi-rig to use in conjunction with his pop-ups.

When you feed a proper fishmeal ramped full of nutrition and attraction, carp will keep coming back for it. I have seen it time and time again, especially on this lake. It is the fourth season of it going in now and it still catches the vast majority of the fish.

I have seen others come on with a plan to heavily bait it, but it quite often just sits there until the birds eat it. On big fish lakes, cheap flour mixes get found out and this is certainly the case on here.

Big fish like boilies as this 44lb mirror shows.

I have made my own fishy hookbaits for years. It is more of a confidence thing and to try and seek some sort of edge over other anglers. I put a lot of effort in to my fishing and it would be really easy for someone to jump in behind my hard work and reap the rewards.

This is why I do something slightly different with both my freebies and my hookbaits. With the boat being accessible on the Stoneacres, I have learnt a hell of a lot. Some of the things that carp will do to spots is incredible, it really is.

I have learnt though, that to get bites over these spots you have a much better chance of getting a bite from fishing just in to the silt. Because of this, I favour a pop-up presentation.

Meshing the baits is a must, making them bird-proof.

The Multi-Rig is ideal for fishing over fine layers of silt and it requires a cork ball pop-up to make the presentation sits correctly for a long period of time. If I was fishing across the way on Christchurch or on one of the Linear Lakes, I would be more than happy to use one straight out the pot.

But on here, I like to use my own little mix that will keep my hookbaits fishing for days on end. The Krill hookbait kit is perfect, being the base mix to the Krill but with added egg albumen. This toughens the mix and makes them really durable and long lasting.

By using the boat, Adam has learnt from using the boat how much carp love boilies.

I start off by mixing an egg in to a pan or bowel. I then add a spoonful of the liquid, which is both provided in the kit. I then give that a mix around so that all of the liquid has distributed in to the egg. I then add a spoon of both Liver Powder and Betaine, before mixing it all together. It is then a case of simple adding some the base mix little and often until you find the right consistency. It should be like bread, being able to mould it easily and it not stick to your hands.

It is at this point that I break a small bit of paste off and put it to one side. I grab a few cork balls, which I vary from 8mm to 14mm. Each one will give me a different size of bait, which could suit different situations that I am in. I then add a good few mm of paste around the cork balls. I don’t like having just a skim of paste, I want there to be as much of that bait around the cork ball as I can get away with.

One of many big and beautiful carp Adam has caught using his little fishmeal pop-ups.

I can get away with using slightly more because of the rig that I am using. If I was using something like a Chod or a stiff link, I may be inclined to use slightly less paste.

I boil them for 90-seconds and then place them on a towel to dry out. I normally give them a couple of days to dry out, in the shade in a cool area. Once I have done this, I actually mesh every single bait I make. This just saves time when I do catch a fish, I can just tie a new bait on and away we go. Once this is done, I quite like adding some glugs to them. Not too much, just a coating of liquid.

I would love to really load my baits up on here, but the Tench would never leave me alone. I just add a light coating to add a bit of moisture back in and it makes the mesh almost disappear in to the bait.

How to make your own big fish hookbaits

1. You will need cork balls, an egg and some Hookbait Kit.

2. Crack the egg in to a bowl.

3. Give it a good whisk and make sure the yolk is mixed in.

4. Add a teaspoon measurement of the liquid (both supplied in the kit).

5. Give this a good mix and make sure it is evenly distributed.

6. Adam then adds a spoon full of liver powder.

7. The same amount of Betaine is then added.

8. The gradually add the hookbait mixture bit by bit.

9. Keep mixing it until you are left with a dough consistency.

10. Wrap the paste around the corkball.

11. Then roll around in your hand to make it nice and round.

12. Adam then sets the timer to 1 hour 30 minutes.

13. This is the time he leaves the baits in the boiling water.

14. Once done, leave them out on a dry towel.

15. After a few hours left to dry, Adam adds some glug, which will absorb in to the bait.

Making wafters

I like to make a mixture of wafters too. I mentioned about breaking some of the past away earlier and this is what its for. I flatten the paste down and lay it on a bucket lid. I then take some cork dust and try to put an equal amount next to it. Once this is done, I need the paste in to the cork.

When it is all mixed in, I mould some on a rig and test it in the edge. If it is too buoyant, I add some more paste. Not buoyant enough, more cork and so on. I just means that I can have baits the size and even shape that I like to suit the rig that I am fishing. Everyone has their own opinion as to the perfect buoyancy for a wafter to suit the rig they favour.

1. Mix 50:50, paste and cork dust.

2. Keep kneading it together.

3. Mould some round the Hair and check it in the edge, just to see if it is the right buoyancy.

4. Test your rig.