Innovation

I have been making carp bait since 1984 and right from the start it was not enough to catch on a bait but i wanted to know why. Every week I would change one ingredient in the mix and worked out which ingredients were the best. Times have changed now and anybody can source good ingredients and the internet is now a major factor in sourcing products worldwide and currently I purchase components from 8 different countries.
I have no interest in copying other baits that are successful and want to push the boundaries of bait design as far as they can go. The new product "the inbetweeners" is a prime example of this. These hookbaits are actually 2 baits in 1 package. By using 2 base mixes in 1 bait it is possible to get two completely different leakages and reactions simultaneously, nothing remotely like this has ever been available to the angler.It is all very well making pretty baits and the swirly pop-ups i have been doing for 2 seasons are now produced by most of the companies but these are something else. It is now possible to fish with 2 baits at the same time. Even when the outer core is washed out the middle of the bait will still be sending a fresh signal. I have gone into partnership with Dave from Eclipse on these and will be promoting the whole range as well as just the A Bait variations. Look out for the adverts in all the carp mags in the coming weeks.

The new NB2 bait has been absolutely amazing and it will just get better and better. Unlike many of the new fad of black baits it will never blow as all the ingredients are natural and although it is extremely pungent the aroma does not really come from the liquid. You can see that the airball pop-ups smell very different from the food baits. The colouring is also natural and leaves no chemical traces on the bait that will easily identify it. Also a very importantly this bait is absolutely instant and there is no need for pre baiting to get it working.

The Banoffee Excel is bases on a system of light yeast and sugars and is designed to be a very active bait even for a shelf life. The base mix is a blend of oats, wheat and barley mixed with birdfoods and milks. In the next week I will be doing a 10mm version with no birdfood and no liquid. This is something I used on my last trip with good effect. The bait is 2 shades darker and is very active, expanding in the water and even giving off tiny bubbles. The idea of this is that it will be great as a particle feed on waters that are dominated by seeds and nuts. The taste enhancers will work in the bait with no chemical flavours and it will just blend into a particle feed. It is just another option and can be used with the regular baits to add another edge.

2012 season range

NB2 Believe the hype!
Actually there is no need for any hype as I have really struggled to keep any stock in my garage at all which can only be the sign of a good bait.I have been caught out by the demand for the NB2 but increased stock ordering should mean that by the second week of April the bait will be in stock all the time.The bait has proved itself to be instant and that it will work even in the coldest water possible.The old myth that fishmeals do not work in winter is total nonesense as a feeding fish will pick up anything that stimulates it.
If you look at the situation going into November and the falling temperatures it is fair to assume that the fish will need less food as they become more inactive and most people cut down their free offerings. The problem really starts when anglers stop putting in any feed. It is not uncommon to see a magazine article promoting the use of single high attract pop-ups and carp talk will be full of captures on bright pineapple pop-ups.When three quarters of the lake are using them you will get a situation where every boilie is attached to a hook and every fish that gets caught will probably "sulk" the rest of the winter out with no food to replace energy. I don't really want to talk to much about the winter as it has gone now but you also have to remember that the fish can come back to life slowly as well. I love spicy indian food but have never gone out for a massive naan bread blow out just after waking up! A few of you may already know of my theory of shrinking gut syndrome. This is where the intestine of the fish clses up when it is acustomed to eating small items. I believe this is why certain fish that eat naturals do not get caught on boilies and fish become pre occupied on particals. I think we also make life difficult for ourselves by using loads of small pellets.
Anyway back to the NB2, whilst I would not say it is my most scientific bait I would say that it is purfectly balanced blend of natural attractors that complement the original A Bait pH additives. Even the dye is a natural semi soluble product that adds no chemical traces to the end product. It will only get better and there is nothing in it that will spook the fish or clearly identify it as a hazard. White colour is a prime example of this, the carp actually like the taste of titanium oxide and white baits can murder a water but the label is so strong they can stop working overnight.
Banoffee Excel - this is one of my most scientific creations! The base mis is a group of ingredients that are all very useful to carp and also not used by other companies. The yeast blend is set up to be very active in the bait with the sugars and milk and it contains no less than 3 different palatants.So far it has played second fiddle to the NB2 but i can see this changing as the bait becomes more popular. I think this is the sort of bait that the fish will eat a lot of without filling them up and the feeding triggers in the bait are already very familiar to them.It is designed to be a softish bait but it can easily be air dryed for a bit of firmness. After a few hours in the water it becomes very active as the water reaches the softer middle of the bait. I am also playing around with a version that is darker in colour and more active having an increased barley and wheat content.
Plum Zing - The plum has sold more this month than ever before and this is on a bait that is now 4 years old. It is an incredibly consistant bait that seems to work nearly everywhere.
Spice UPX - I value all the feedback I get and I listen to the customers. I have gone back to the original formular for this bait after loads of requests to do so. Put simply it is an outstanding food bait with hardly any liquids. It is a very pure product enabling fish to taste the pH powders for attraction. I have lost track of the big fish this bait has caught and it is great on hard waters and those under heavy pressure. When it is baited in large quantities it can dominate waters like no other.
Shelf lifes - It still makes me laugh that very well known and respected anglers still comment on shelf life baits as being over flavoured and too hard. Why should they be any different at all! it is simply the best bait that I can make with no restrictions at all! The only difference is that it will not go off in storage. Once in the water the A Baits are just the same as fresh bait.

Best wishes
Jay
www.booksoncarp.co.uk

A Bait - the future

November saw the 50,000th visitor to the website http://www.booksoncarp.co.uk

On the graph it displays website visits from September 2008 to yesterday 3rd November. As you can see the graph shows a pretty much constant upward trend with the most visitors last month. Over the last 4 years I have tried to run the site as professionally as possible but this has not always been easy with a full time shift work job. However I do pride myself on good service and treat people like I would like to be treated. I think with the best intentions in the world you still need to offer a good product or there is no point.

I have always made my own baits because I want something that I cannot buy elsewhere, all the bait that is sold on my website is the bait they I actually use for my fishing. Over the last couple of years I have tinkered and changed the baits and I apologise if this has been frustrating at times and 2011 has been the biggest year for development yet. Up to now every A Bait has contained the original pH changing additives but this is to change a little in 2012. The baits on the site are the product range for next year and will not be changed for at least 12 months. I am not saying that there will not be more research and development but the baits are all now very different and efficient carp catchers in their own right.

The Plum Zing. In 2008 this bait went through many changes but has stayed the same for the last 3 seasons. The current mix , originally a winter blend, will once again stay the same. A high quality red fish mix which has been responsible for a whole list of 60lbs plus captures and is pretty consistent everywhere. Quite simply there is no reason to change it and it is the bait that I measure all others against!

UPX. A very nutritional bait with only natural attractors including the awesome oil based ultraspice flavour. This has been a very subtle bait that does not appeal to everybody but undeniably effective especially for those that bait it heavily. In 2010 I have removed the pH additives and replaced them with 3 new products. The first in Flavatex which is designed to improve the health of salmonoid fish and whilst a trout is not a carp the principal is the same. Flavatex is acidic and made from plant sterols and has actually increased the life span of the fish it has been fed to. The UPX now contains a creamy palatant at 10 grams that gives the bait a real identity. It smells a bit like skunk oil with slightly fruity notes that make this bait very individual now. Lastly I have included a German yeast powder that goes in one of the most successful baits currently on the market.

Excel. A lovely light beige colour and quite soft with a quick breakdown time. Quite simply this bait is carp food and it is something the fish will recognise very quickly. A great follow on from lakes that have been hammered on the more popular baits! The base mix contains, oats, barley, wheat, digestive biscuit meal, bird foods and milk proteins. 2 types of light yeast powder are combined with low levels of the creamy palatant and pH part 1 and 2. The flavour is another unique blend of Butterscotch, cream and banana oil. I will by the end of next week have hard hookers for this bait which will be 50% harder, 25% lighter in weight and 25% more flavoured.

NB2. A powerful blend of savoury products combined with a very unique flavour and the original pH additives. This bait is dyed black with a natural product with an intention to be bird friendly, and I definitely do not mean the wife! The NB1 was good and caught from the off but this is another dimension. This bait is so exciting and will be awesome next season. I have no doubt about this as it was incredible in field testing and literally tore up lakes from the off. I will have about 100 kilos up for grabs in the coming week and it will be on show in trial size bags at the Brentwood show.

I am in the process of rolling cork ball pop-ups for all the baits at the moment and whilst the cost is high they are undeniably the most buoyant pop-ups you can use. I will probably do these in small 20 bait size pots to keep the price affordable.

New carp book. It has taken me a whole year to compile the latest offering but it is nearly ready to go the the publishers. It is a mix of historical chapters, interviews and tips and tactics. This time around it focuses on mainly UK fishing and has an incredibly line up. The book will once more be priced below other books on the market and there will be a limited amount of leather bound books also. All profits will support angling charities.

Best wishes to all the people who have supported me over the last few years and best wishes to you all.

Jay

Autumn

Traditionally we are about to enter one of the best months for fishing of the whole year, a time when fishmeal baits are at their best in my opinion. Too many people are all to quick to look to a winter bait, especially considering that many lakes were frozen for long periods last year and fishing was hard to come by after December. Most of the A Bait range are ideal winter baits as only the Monster spice contains any significant amount of oils. It is also worth considering that all the baits contain additives to increase the digestion and palatability of the base mixes.

I currently have the highest level of stock I have ever had and this is because of the Mega carp show in Southend in November. Although it is 2 months away I will need to get the stock organised now in time to fill the stand. The baits I will be taking to the show are as follows.

Plum Zing

NB2 (New black fishmeal with a very unusual flavour combo and pure liver extracts)

A Plex (Red Bull concentrate with Berry palatants, with added dark yeast and protein sweetener)

XL and XL white (digestible sweet base with yeast cell walls, milk and fruit palatants)

Tangerine dream (a lime green birdfood base with the nicest fruit label you have smelt)

Skunk and blackberry (a lilac birdfood on a classic theme)

Purple red Bull

All the show bait will be in 750 gram bags as usual and I also have 300 pots of eye candy pop-ups already.

I will not be ordering very much bait before the show for the website and the stock I have in this week should last me until this date.

I will also be taking a break from the bait from the middle of November until the 1st of March. This is a very slow period as a rule and I will be looking to reorganise the garage or even a small unit locally, I will still be open during this period but the stock will be limited to what is in stock.

I have been testing new products all year which I think will make a major difference to the baits effectiveness and one in particular is as good as anything I have ever seen. They are from a variety of sources mostly from Europe and from the aquaculture industry. With everybody offering reasonable fishmeal baits it is necessary to look for the edges in order to offer something very different which is what the A Bait has always been about.

My recent trip to Slovakia did not pan out as I had hoped but pioneering is always risky compared to fishing established commercial fisheries. My trip to France was also cut very short and I was forced to come home 4 days early but I hope to do a bit of autumn / winter fishing this year and have already started baiting a new water.

www.booksoncarp.co.uk

Best wishes

Jay

Overview

Preserved baits

It is now 28 years since I made my first batch of bait and the 3rd season of doing the "A" bait on a much larger scale, although I have always had freezers full for a few selected friends. The best decision I ever made was to move to a shelf life bait, not only in terms of storage and use but also in catch rates. The most important thing in a carp bait is that they are good for the fish, easy to use and most importantly that they catch a lot of fish. The first one here is easily solved as I have always looked to the best suppliers for the best possible ingredients. The second point was not really possible until I started working with the pH components. The baits now will stay fresh and good almost indefinitely in a dry and stable environment and revert to the equivalent of fresh baits when introduced to water. Put simply the baits will break down in the lake at the same speed as fresh or freezer baits and sometimes a little bit quicker! If you have a freezer at home for your bait you will do no harm at all by freezing the "A" bait but you should from then on treat it as you would normal freezer baits.

Any bait should eventually "go off" if exposed to condensation or bright sunlight and if this is not the case then please avoid using it, this is the sort of thing that will sit on the lake bed forever. Thankfully I think we have pretty much seen the back of these things in the modern age.

The "A" Bait does not need handling with kid gloves though, it is designed to be convenient and will store really well in most garages and cupboards. Those of you that have seen my garage will know what I mean.

The only bait that I have had problems stabilising was the nut mix and here the problem is typical of one of the ingredients, baby milk. Anybody who has used this or complan in there baits will observe the skin of the bait turns white, by feeling the bait you will soon see that it is merely discolouration and not wet mould and the fish like it! However it does not look good and I no longer use that type of product.

Whats new?

Within the next month or so I will be bringing out a new range of pop-ups

firstly there will be the eye candy range - these will be 16mm and 2 different colours in each bait designed to break up the shape of a normal round bait. They will be mainly essential oil / oil palatant combos that will be super buoyant!

Secondly there will be 10mm toppers in yellow pink and white as sight bobs to complement the the existing range at

www.booksoncarp.co.uk

Rods

I do not imagine that I will be going into full time rod supply but I have a couple of very good manufacturing contacts and can produce a very high top spec rod at an affordable price. By September I should have a good number of these rods on the ground ready to go.

To find out more about these rods and other products sign up for regular newsletters at

1jayrider@googlemail.com

During August I will be exploring Slovakia and once again facing my nemesis - Lake Bled in Slovenia. I will be gone for about two weeks and hopefully settle an old score. For any large orders for bait I will need to know about by the middle of July as I am also working on the new book. I still do not have a title but it could well be ready by October. This is going to be an awesome book and the line up of contributors is a bit like a whos who of carp anglers past and present. Most featuring the UK scene past and present with a lot of tactical and personal viewpoints.The book will also have no less than 5 chapters on bait by myself, Ken Townley, Tim Richardson,Geoff Bowers and Keith Jones.

Best wishes & tight lines

Jay

www.booksoncarp.co.uk

The right Bait for me

I really believe that no one bait will be right for every occasion. One big bait supplier claimed this and has since changed his mind judging by the new range of baits he now makes. Due to my nature, I am always looking for something new and just about every time I go fishing I am looking for new products to include in the baits to improve them. Below is a run down of the current range to help you make the right choice for you.
Plum Zing
This is the oldest "A" Bait in the range and for a good reason, it is an incredible catcher and is consistent in most waters. I resurrected the incredible green zing flavour and looked for a second flavour that would mellow it out and complement it. I could not find the right one so I made it from scratch and the plum zing was born. This has a medium flavour content that is pushed into the water by the low pH additive. An amazing smelling bait that is "wife" and definitely carp friendly. The base mix has a superb fishmeal content and will keep catching all year round, the current version was actually a bait that was tweaked for winter use and I kept with it as it proved to be so good. The bait was responsible for the world record day brace of commons last year and is as good as anything costing double the price.
spice UPX
Most companies work on the principal of cheap base mixes with lots of liquids to pull fish. This is exactly the opposite! It is just about the best fishmeal bait you can make with very little added flavour. I wanted a bait where the fish can smell the pH additive and the greatest flavour of all time, Ultraspice is added with clove at a very low level. I added piperine to the ultraspice and produced a fantastic flavour on a natural oil base. Piperine is the substance that gives black pepper its smell. The UPX is a very serious bait for the discerning angler.
Monster Spice
This base mix has been about for ever but with a proven track record. It is made from mostly salmon fry crumb which is more relevant now than ever with more pellets than ever going in. It contains a very high level of the UPX flavour which offers massive attraction, as I said it is an oil based attractor and cannot really be over loaded. I initially thought that this would be an instant attractor type bait but it has proved itself on some really hard waters. Due to the high mixed oil content I would expect this bait to be best in the summer months. On my recent trip to France I absolutely smashed it on this bait and the water was far from warm. Some people have done well using this bait in conjunction with the spice UPX.
A Plex
This is the newest bait and combines some very advanced chemistry. This bait contains no oil and is designed to be used for 12 months of the year. Enzyme treated meat meal is the central ingredient and offers something very different from the norm. It also looks like a fishmeal so nobody will suspect you are doing something unusual. The Red Bull flavour started life as a gimmick but you always have to back it up with something good and I believe this flavour is as good as any ever made! I am quite serious about that as well. I have included a raspberry palatant which is also something very unusual. It has a pH of 2 and absolutely no smell but an amazing taste.This is the lowest pH bait of the range which I have buffered perfectly with the flavour label. I have also included satsuma essential oil to enhance the bait in the way it attracts. The bait is a little bit firmer than the rest of the range in order to offer something different.

overview
If you stand still you will fall behind! Just look at Woolworths. I want to catch fish when I go to the pond and explore as many avenues in bait technology as possible. I know which companies make the effort and which do not as I am always following contacts and looking for leads and the salesmen tell you when you mention that there product is going to be used for fishing. Some people are still not convinced about preserved baits but the informed will make there own choices. Put an A Bait in a glass of water for 2 days along side a freezer bait and see which breaks down the fastest. The baits on my website are the baits I use because I am only interested in making the best baits possible. The fact that they are cheap compared to other baits is because I have few over heads and I believe that if you give people a fair deal they will appreciate it. Money is not a factor but the best quality is. The baits are set up so the pH works with the bait and interacts with the water to create a response. This was something I created 4 years ago and other long standing professional companies are now trying to copy. Remember you saw it here first and I have moved on a long way from that stage already.

Domaine De Boux

www.booksoncarp.co.uk

Monster spice paste in conjunction with wafters and 10mm baits. Bait was applied as rolled un boiled boilies ans it was clear how much the fish were relishing these. Fish caught away from the baited areas were showing clear signs of feeding on the bait, see the fishs red mouth in the picture which was not an uncommon sight.

All in we caught 104 fish between 3 of us for a total haul of 3,500lbs.