Field testing

Field testing
I approached the suppliers again about the possibility of a further sample as other sources and searches had proved fruitless. I got two 30g samples enough to produce 30 kilos of dry mix and 40kg of boilies at 10g / kg inclusion. Through the Carp Forum I sent out 1 kilo bags to about twenty people to do some tests on their ponds and tanks. The first feedback was nearly the end of it all with the chap saying the fish in my tank like it crumbed but it has sat in my pond un-touched for five days. The dry mix was a high quality dark fish mix with no other attractants whatsoever; this would give me the best indication of the strength of the additives. We were now in January but I would not make any excuses for the fishmeal, there had to be a better answer. Later that evening I asked the guy if he could test his ponds pH for me and he said he could, the result was a low reading which suggested that it had worked against the additives. The next day the guy rang me back to tell me about a fish he had caught on the bait. The lake only contained a few very old carp but he had caught a new one that nobody knew about, it was not new it had just evaded capture for years, very exciting stuff indeed! The next weekend his friends talked him out of using the bait and twelve rods caught nothing until putting on the prototype A bait which brought instant success. I could not believe the amount of catch reports that were coming in as it was January and each angler only had a kilo of the stuff.
A friend of Mine Paul Russell happened to mention to me that he had a good relationship with the guys at Nash bait and that they were always looking for revolutionary products. A few phone calls later and they would be prepared to let me have their Amber Attract at a good price in order for me to test the additives fully. I decided there and then to take the plunge and order the two products in quantities. I set up the European trade agreement that was necessary and obtained the safety sheets that confirmed both products were totally safe for all aquaculture. Furthermore the mineral and vitamin profiles were excellent and with a built in digestive aid the company assured me that the benefit to the fish would be immense in the long term.
The first run of Strawberry white amber bait was called the A1 and arrived late February in time for the Carpin on show at five lakes. Daryl Dunn had the first bait and ended a six month blank with commons of 39 and 35 from an ultra difficult Essex venue. Absolutely everybody who had the bait was catching and very quickly it seemed that the acids were kicking out the flavours very quickly even in the cold water. After a few hours the skin of the bait would be clammy where the oils and liquids were exiting so fast. We had the perfect winter bait but I have always been a HNV user and still had ideas along these lines. Also I needed to prove it was the additives that were making the difference and not just the Amber bait. The second roll was the A2 version where I replaced the Strawberry’s with blackcurrant oil and raspberry powder to give the bait a more natural profile. This bait was also stepped up to 12g of additives and the A3 at 15g. The A 3 was stripped back even further with just Cointreau powder and sweetener added. There was no noticeable difference in catch reports with the increased levels other than it was apparent that all fish wanted it. In one week I had reports of a 14lbs tench, 16lbs Bream, 8lbs chub and a 3lbs 12oz roach. The catfish at Keith Moors’ lake went mad for it and eventually he had to stop using it so good was it at catching catfish.
My return to Boux in April 2009 was nothing short of incredible with 39 fish, more than half of these were over 35lbs with seven over 40llbs to 49-08. Half of the fish fell to a spice version with Pimento berries and Sting oil and 10g of both additives. This is on my base which hopefully will be cost effective but in the meantime will be used in conjunction with the Amber and known as “spiced amber”. At this point in time (May) everybody is catching on the bait and its ultimate destination is unknown but I have enough additive to get me through 2009 and I am looking forward to doing some serious damage with it on Lake Bled in Slovenia in July.

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