If you enjoy fishing for carp, barbel, catfish or tench, it's a great idea to make your own boilies. A little DIY enables you to tailor your bait to your needs and to experiment with flavours.
Your pride in your catches will be considerably enhanced when you know that you created the successful bait yourself! Happily, homemade boilies do not require a huge investment in equipment and accessories. much of your outlay will be recouped by not having to buy the boilies.
You will be able to create hard baits for long sessions and soft baits for when conditions are favourable. You could consider adapting your boilies to make pop-ups and it is definitely a good idea to test out a few different flavours to see which works best for you.
Equipment you will need
All you need is a mixing bowl, resealable plastic bags, a saucepan and some kitchen towel. Add cork balls to your shopping list too if you want to make pop-ups. Your basic ingredients are crushed hemp seed or a suitable base mix, 4 eggs and your chosen flavourings. Flavourings could include anything from marmite, molasses or milkshake powder to proprietary bait flavourings. You could also test the water with chilli powder, shrimp paste or anything else that springs to mind!
Step 1: Mix Your Dry Ingredients
Take your dry ingredients (approximately 25 tablespoons in total) and place in a plastic bag. Seal the bag or hold it shut and give the ingredients a good shake to mix them thoroughly.
Step 2: Mix Your Wet Ingredients
Crack the four eggs into a mixing bowl and beat. Add any wet flavourings and beat the mixture again until the ingredients are blended nicely. 10ml to 20ml of fish oil added to your bait at this stage not only enhances its attraction, but also makes the bait easier to roll.
Step 3: Making Your Paste
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture in the bowl. You are looking to create a firm, malleable paste which is not too wet and not to dry and crumbly.
Step 4: Get Rolling
Take small amounts of paste and roll into balls. If you wish to make life easier, invest in a bait-making sausage gun and a rolling table. If you are using these accessories, extrude a sausage of paste across the rolling table, add the top section of the table and slide forwards and backwards on the lower part to roll the baits into shape.
Step 5: Boiling the Bait
Boil the balls of bait in a saucepan of water until they rise to the surface. This should happen after roughly one minute. Remove the bait and place on the kitchen towel. Boiling the balls gives the bait a hard exterior.
Step 6: Drying Your Bait
Leave the bait to dry out and harden at room temperature. This process will take roughly one hour. The bait can then be used immediately or stored in your freezer for when you need it.
Making Pop-Ups
If it is pop-ups that you are after, simply wrap the paste around cork balls before boiling. These will have to be made by hand rather than using a rolling table. Happy fishing! If you're not in the mood to mix and make your own baits, why not check out our large range of in the Fishing Bait World online store?