Boilie making

[Anderoo]

Again, I have to stand up for the Mistral pop ups as they are by far and away the best I have ever used. In the past, I have had them in the water for nearly a week and they were still like corks which is a testement to their resistance to water.

 

Have you had many bream on them Paul? I have never used them myself.

[Anderoo]

By the way, how long should I be microwaving 10mm boilies to harden them? Just a few seconds?

[Dick Dastardly]

Depends on the micro wave and the base mix.I put them in on full power for 30 seconds then check and repeat if necessary.You can burn them so easy does it on the first few until youve got it right (I pop em into a glass of water to see if they are floating) but you will need to find out the best time /power combination to get them to the hardness you want.As I said though it does tend to spoil the flavours/smell but you can stand on these muthas they are that hard!

[tincatinca]

Have you had many bream on them Paul? I have never used them myself.

 

In truth they are not fish selective as I have caught several species of fish on small pop up rigs using the Mistrals which include Carp, Tench, Grassies, Chub, Bream and the ocassional Jack. This has been on a variety of still waters and also on some rivers. The rosehips are also a very effective winter bait for Carp which initially was the main reason for using them but they proved to be a very effective bait all year round. I always keep a few kilos in the freezer and am never without their pop ups.

 

I personally rate them very highly and would be quite happy if I had nothing else. Along with Ritchworh tuttis and Nutrabaits big fish mix, they are the only boilies I have used for many years now. Mistral also did a strawberry isotonic but never got round to using them as the rosehips proved to be so good.

 

They are more widely used over Europe than the UK and have been for a considerable time. I think you will find that a certain member of the Tench fishers uses them also.

 

I know that if you ask 10 questions on bait you will probably get 10 different answers but they have certainly been consistent for me over a wide range of waters.

[Anderoo]

Cool, thanks

 

I think the first thing to try is microwaving. Crazy isn't it, I'm already obsessing about next year's bream blanking GET A GRIP MAN!

[tincatinca]

I tend to look at it on the basis of how something stands up to water absorption. Generally speaking if you get rid of the moisture through micro waving the probability is that the finished boilie is very hydroscopic and will soon take on water again unless the mix is such that it contains ingredients and a bonding agent that repels water. Although not a good comparison, rubber sponge highlights what I meam. For example normal sponge absorbs and retains huge amounts of liquid due to its open structure wheras closed cell sponge only gets wet on the outside. I suppose it depends on what you want as the desired result ie high or slow leakage rate or just visual attraction which of course generally applies to plastic baits. I think in many ways it is a matter of confidence but for me it is real rather than imitation plus the fact that if swallowed by a fish, it is easily passed through thier digestive system.

[Jack81]

I will look into these bait dips then, thanks. I guess they are oily and the oil displaces any moisture and prevents it getting back in?

 

These are the dips I meant:

 

http://www.mainline-baits.com/english/enhancers.php

 

They don't seem oily but are pva friendly, I guess an amino acid base? A little way down the page they recommend soaking baits for a couple of weeks to beat crayfish.

[tincatinca]

It is sown to personal choice but here is a link to the Mistral bait which has been very good to me over the years

 

http://www.mistralbaits.co.uk/shop/special...p-isotonic.html

[wyeknot]

Have you had many bream on them Paul? I have never used them myself.

I have used these a few times at "a certain fishery in Kent" and the tench quite like them. They certainly lasted 24 hours or more too. Maybe the roach there don't like them? If you are looking to physically protect the bait rather than affecting the moisture level by cooking them then Den's suggestion of using Armamesh is your best bet. It also opens up other avenues of bait exploration. You can fish particles in a similar manner to boilies, i.e. a little ball of hemp or wheat, for instance, can be fished on a hair.

 

Food for thought?

 

Steve C.