Is L030 the best liquid ever?

Dear Gary, what is this fish protein liquid I keep hearing people rave about? I've also heard someone call it L030. What's so special about it; is it good in the winter and where can I buy it? Nick Doyle, via e-mail

Hi Nick,there is a few different versions of fish protein extracts about, mostly they are simply waste products from fish processing plants which usually go back into the animal feed industry after being stabilised, some are better than others but I do think the best is the LO30. L030 Protein Extract does seem to be a very special extract but in my experience it can stop working if it's overused by enough anglers on a water. I knew about it a few years ago but first found out how good it could be from Lee Birch, one of our consultants who together with some of his fishing mates pretty much slayed Bluebell Lakes on it, glugging all their baits up till they dripped LO30, far out-fishing most of the other anglers fishing there at the time. 

I've used it in all the seasons except the dead of winter so can't really say if it's a good winter additive. I know Lee used it as a dip/soak and that is the only way I have used it. Another Lee, Lee Copping who is the manager here at the bait factory uses it a lot and has baits soaked in it nearly all the time, sometimes for that long he has a job to get a needle into the baits to Hair rig them on. I know he had fish to over 50lbs and a string of other big fish and did catch some February fish on it but from memory it wasn't such a cold winter as we are having the last two years. 

I've never really had the success that others seem to have on the LO30 using it neat as a glug, but I do use it a lot blended with other products such as our food dips, Liquid Liver Extract and if you thin it out with water, some of the oily type dip products such as Crustacean Extract. To be honest, I never have much faith in any one product compared to a nice recipe. Recipes always seem to have a longer fishing life and the LO30, as good as it can be, will never have the life of a good blend of attractive dip products.

My current favourite dip recipe features LO30 and has caught me a few fish from a few waters the last two seasons. I pre-prepare the LO30 to thin it out with 50% LO30, 25% each Nashbait Liquid Betaine and Liquid Liver. I then 50/50 this with the Nashbait Food Dip that corresponds to the boilie I am using at the time, sometimes adding just a little drizzle of the actual flavours that make the boilie. Sounds a bit complicated I know but it works for me and it's easier now we make the Top Rod Formulas which is the actual flavours for the boilies (less bottles of flavours in the fridge). I usually have a tub of pop-ups and a tub of bottom baits glugged up all the time and add a bit of salt and sometimes the Squid Extract or GLM depending on what I am using. This makes a very good hookbait but because my dip is easily sucked into the pop-ups it does tend to sink them in the end. 

I've made a few baits up with LO30 in them for some of our field-testers in the past and they have caught well but I really think it was the blend with the other ingredients that made the bait work. I'm sure if I had dropped the LO30 out it wouldn't have affected the bait much, whereas if you drop a product such as liver out of a bait it makes a massive difference.

Well, that's my thoughts on LO30, I'm sure you never heard me rave about it but as you said in your question, some people do, both the Lee's I mention do for sure. It is a good product and I'm sure it's available through the fishing trade if you check the internet, most things are. We don't sell it, not because it isn't good but because we try to be more exclusive and work as independent as possible on the bait side, we don't sell corn steep liquor, tiger nut syrup, molasses and several other liquids either for the same reason but which are also very good additives but seems to be out of fashion these days.

From what I have seen and heard if you think there is hardly anyone using LO30 on your waters it's well worth a go but if everyone is on it, blend it with other liquids, it will work better.

This article was taken from Issue 83 (February 2011) of CARPology magazine. Be the first to read CARPology's articles in print before they're posted on-line, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing on-line.