Boilies are too expensive to bait up with… That’s the most common thing I hear from anglers who stick to fishing maize or other particles. That can be true, most of us don’t have hundreds of dollars to spend on kilos of boilies to bait with. Using a hybrid approach to your baiting methods can get carp hooked on boilies a lot quicker and hopefully pick up larger fish. 

I often get bored fishing the same venue over and over, so find myself travelling to other lakes and rivers both near and far. This doesn’t naturally help me with a boilie approach as baiting up and a bit of time is usually needed for the carp to gain an acceptance of boilies as a food source. What I needed was a way to speed this up, so that I could still fish boilies on new venues but also put bigger fish on the bank quickly as most of my fishing is day only trips with the very odd night mixed in. That’s where matching the pack comes into its own.

I will usually start off with spodding some mixed particles into my swim as a base to attract fish into the area, the amount tends to depend on how long I’m going to be fishing for. I think we all know how deadly pack bait can be. My pack bait starts off as a simple panko/oats base and I want to give mine a boost while also getting the fish familiar with the attractors within my hookbaits. Boilie crumb and pellet is a great way of doing this. I have seen time and time again carp work themselves into a frenzy over boilie crumb, this often results in quick hook ups on a boilie hook bait. 

I add a couple of handfuls to my pack, making sure to vary the size of the morsels. The smaller crumb releases my boilies attractors quickly while the bigger pieces give the carp something tangible to eat. All the time they are gaining confidence in my boilies without actually eating a whole one. 

Another option is to add pellets. I use the 6mm Manilla pellets in my pack, again adding a handful or two. These are basically mini boilies that break down quickly, I’m affectively baiting larger amounts of boilies every cast without the cost. The other reason I like to add bigger pieces to my pack is you can often have a shoal of small shad feeding on your pack, these veracious feeders can clean up a panko pack or fine boilie crumb in minutes but having these larger pieces in there will mean having bait out there for longer. 

The finishing touch is to add some cloudy Manilla liquid. This again matches my hookbait and adds smells and attractors through the water layers, drawing fish in quicker. Catapulting a few 20mm Manilla freebies into the area will also get them confident when it comes to picking up your hookbait. 

A quick spray of Manilla bait spray is also an option for those anglers wanting a little extra attraction to their bait. Catapulting a few 20mm Manilla freebies into the area will also get them confident when it comes to picking up your hookbait.

 

My choice on hookbait depends on the time of year, in colder temperatures I might go with a wafter or bright pop-up on a shorter rig. As the temperatures rise, I might go with a 16 or 20mm bottom bait tipped with some fake corn or when I know the carp are very active, I would go with a snowman approach, a 20mm bottom bait topped with a 16mm Manilla “Yellow one”.

This approach to my fishing has been very successful this past year, putting numerous quality fish on the bank, on new venues that haven’t seen large amounts of boilies in the past. You can tailor this approach to your own angling any way you want, the possibilities are endless. 

I hope it’s given you some food for thought as you plan future sessions. Tight lines and wet nets!! 

To check out the full range of Sticky baits I used via the links below from Big Carp Tackle

• Sticky Baits – 20mm Manilla Boilies
• Sticky Baits – 16mm Manilla pop-up
• Sticky Baits – Manilla bait spray
• Sticky Baits – cloudy Manilla liquid