They're all showstoppers!
Looking for a complete carp-catching bait package for your early-summer blitz? Then say hello to Rod Hutchinson’s Gourmet collection
Rod Hutchinson is, granted, very good when it comes to bait. He pioneered carp foods in the 70s and flavours in the 80s. Chocolate Malt – recognise it? Monster Crab – got shouted at by the missus for stinking the house out? Secret Agent – remember it taking waters apart in the early 00s? Oh, and what about Mulberry Florentine – how sweet does that smell? All of those were developed and marketed by Rod. So yeah, we’ve got a lot to thank him for!
Now whilst Rod clearly has a nose for a decent flavour, he’s pretty damn sharp when it comes to combining it with a base mix and the result is the brand’s Gourmet Boilies – a dedicated range of foodbaits where absolute quality with no compromise has been guaranteed.
To be fair, such is the heritage, love and confidence for the Rod Hutchinson brand, they could give us any old shit and call it foie gras and we’d still lap it up, but that’s where the company wins – hands down – because all eight of the boilies within this range are bangers. They’ve caught thousands, if not millions of carp from around the world, and some of the recipes date back over 30 years!
When developing this range of baits, Rod’s main focus, aside from using only the finest ingredients he could source and just fresh eggs, was to find a critical balance of flours and liquids to obtain a boilie that can be compared to a natural food source; a bait the fish would readily accept from the off and would greatly benefit from eating.
The Gourmet collection of baits are effective in the short session as well as in the longest ones. They are rolled using the liquids, powders and flavours from their classic Legend range – that’s basically Rod’s brain in a bottle – into either 15 or 20mm round balls.
We could wax lyrical about how brilliant these baits are for the next 10 pages. In fact, we could fill the whole of this 180-page edition up with images of anglers with their prized catches. But we won’t. Instead we’ll just leave you with the knowledge that this collection of eight baits (Pineapple, Mango & Banana, Mulberry Florentine, Strawberry & Scopex, Monster Crab, Secret Agent, Squid & Octopus, Chocolate Malt and Megaspice) has been put together with 30+ years of around-the-world-big-fish captures, and to be honest, it doesn’t get much better than that.
“GIMME”: Shelf-life boilies in 15 or 20mm, £9.99 a kilo; Legend Dip, £8.99 for 100ml; Foodbait and Fluoro Pop-Ups in 15 or 20mm, £5.99
1. The Megaspice
It’s a birdfood mix with a high proportion of Rod Hutchinson aromatic flavouring and the sweet, spicy note make these boilies one of the most powerful spice-based boilies on the market. There is no similar product.
2. Chocolate Malt
This is the incredible Chocolate Malt with Regular Sense Appeal boilie, rolled on a very seed-rich birdfood mix. It’s a boiled food item which was considered a “superstar” in France’s ‘Roaring Nineties’ due to the incredible number of carp it has caught.
3. Squid & Octopus
With Amino Blend Swan Mussel, this is an exceptional new complex bait which has been designed to be strong even in the winter and instantly effective. It contains a good quantity of soluble animal extracts, along with the legendary squid flavouring.
4. Strawberry & Scopex
These wonderful baits are rolled on the brand’s Promix 50/50 with Strawberry Cream and Scopex, plus the right dosage of Intense Sweetener. Rod suggests to employ them in all virgin swims, and in waters where the fish love candy and fruity baits.
5. Pop-up Collection
Rod Hutchinson produces an amazing collection of eight different pop-ups, from their original Gourmet Foodbait Pop-Ups in 15 and 20mm size, to their new Fluoro Pop-Ups in the same sizes, they have something to cover everyone’s needs. “GIMME”: £5.99
6. Instant Attractor
Because top quality bait shouldn’t destroy your wallet! The Instant Attractor range has been created to offer the angler on a slightly tighter budget the best of both worlds: high attraction, but on a quality base mix which the fish will keep coming back for. There’s five flavours in the range: Mega Tutti Fruitti, Banana Supreme, Spicy Squid & Black Pepper, Swan Mussell & Crab and Red Salmon & Krill and a kilo bag will set you back just £6.99. Available in 14 and 20mm.