Frozens or Readymades?

[MikeyP]

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons between frozen boilies and readymades? Am I at a disadvantage if I use readymades or is there really no difference?

[dexter]

To be quite honest unless you intend to go on some kind of baiting campaign then I think ready mades are fine.

[gilbertron]

yeah, readymades are good, never used frozen because i've never felt the need, always caught on readymade. one of my friends has spent the whole winter making his own boilies and freezing them, so when we go on our first carp trip this year (i'm working away at the moment and itching to get back and fish!) we'll see which performs best!

[Dunk Fairley]

Ready mades can contain a high level of preservatives, which have in the past been blamed for causing digestive problems in fish.

 

One of the most common preservatives is salt. I know this won't cause a problem. But there are others, Pottasium Sorbate for instance, which can cause digestive problems in HIGH levels. Because of this, it's inclusion in a ready made bait, has been kept at an extremely low level. Therefore, I believe that you can use ready made baits with a clear concience, knowing that they are highly unlikely to affect the fish in a negative way.

 

One of the other reasons that ready-made boilies are banned on some waters, is that there have been instances of un-eaten bait piles building up on the bottom of the lake. I've seen a bit of evidence of this, however I don't believe it's as much as a problem as some make out. Unless the bait has been dropped into areas where fish will not feed, or large amounts have gone in, it will all get eaten by fish or other creatures.

 

Back in the 80s, the EA did research into whether preseved boilies, were harmful to fish. The tests showed no harm was done. In fact, I remember that during tank tests on Barbel, the only bait the scientists could get the Barbel to eat, was boilies (Richworth, I believe)

 

However, further developement in the methods of short to long term storage of foodstuffs is moving on. The organic food industry, has carried out extensive research into methods of preserving foodstuffs for long periods, without chemicals. One of those methods, has been to seal the food in bags which contain no air (which is needed for food to rot). The air is replaced with Nitrogen, prior to the bag being sealed. We are starting to see this method being used, with food such as pre-cooked Noodles and in some cases bread, which is then labelled as "Stay fresh".

 

I believe that this method is slowly creeping into other areas (they are even researching it for blood for transfusion)and it's only a matter of time before it gets to bait.

 

All that being said, I nearly always make my own bait and freeze, or air-dry it. I also buy Frozen bait and use it with full confidence, if I find I have no suitable bait in the freezer.

 

I base my reasoning, purely on the fact that for me, more success has come with frozen bait, preservative free. This could be because the bait starts to deteriorate faster when it's in the water, which I believe can attract carp better.

[ayjay]

Frozen boilies tend to have a softer texture than the shelf-life ones,I certainly prefer using them.

[ThePiker]

I've just got my first batch of frozen boilies,after using readymades for a few seasons.Immediately I could tell the difference,they really do smell different (fresh),have a softer texture, and generally seem to be a better all round bait.Whether or not they will be better fish catchers(Tench) remains to be seen,but i do have the utmost faith in Richworth.

The only disadvantage I can see the frozen's having ,is trying to keep them frozen over a week-end sssion,whereas you don't have that problem wth readymades.! :confused:

[singy]

Frozen baits will fish the pants of shelf life baits, no question. Much better texture, generally not as over flavoured as the shelflife.

 

If you need to keep them fresh on the bank, get a air dry bag, Once your baits have thawed transfer them to the bag, make sure you aggitate the baits at least twice a day to allow a good air flow. this will prevent mould forming.

 

If the weather's dry hang the bag in a nearby tree. If damp you'll need to keep them in the bivvy.

[Rob Ward]

Dont mistake the white powdery coating that frozen boilies get when thawed for mould. It is in fact sugar and they are very effective when they're like that!

[singy]

Absolutely, although that is generally only prevelant on Mainline's products A8s and NRG etc.

[dexter]

Singy,

 

You've made quite a sweeping statement there. And to be quite honest I don't agree. See its all down to application. Many of the places I fish are many miles away from where I live and it would be impracticle to do any pre-baiting. On these places I use ready mades, and to be quite honest 1 type of ready made and thats trigga. I've caught on places the first time I've used it, and still catch on those place now. I don't pre-bait at all with them save for a stringer or a few freebies and definately don't chuck a load in when I leave. Try fishing frozen boiles like that and I guarentee they won't be as effective an impact bait, and I don't care what your using cos I've tried nearly all the fishmeal types, A8 Frozen Trigga et al. I have also made my own baits. And with careful pre-baiting they are fantastic, when the fish get on to them they really go for em. I use a high quality base and next to no flavours and haven't had the mix blow on me yet. So what I am saying is its horses for courses. But I'll tell you what, when I'm fishing a new stretch I'll put my money on the ready mades every day of the week cos the high flavour catches more fish, end of.

Dexter