That needn't be the case! 

In this and subsequent blogs covering ingredients (this one), Mixing, Rolling, Boiling, and Drying I would like to clear away the fog of information overload and show you how to create a decent carp bait, bypassing the jargon and the hype. 

Basically a good carp bait should contain easily digested protein, fats, vitamins and minerals and carbohydrates, and Haith's Baits can cater for much of your needs. Let's look at the list in more detail. 

Robin Red RR-EU:

Can be used at 10-15% of the total base mix.

This is a 100% natural food colouring agent that can be used to impart a deep red colour in the bait. It contains no chemical or synthetic colour agents, being entirely natural, containing naturally occurring colour in foods such as beetroot and paprika. A spicy, rich, deep red additive that helps in creating a spicy Red Fishmeal or a Red Seed type bait. This is a totally natural product that we have designed to be used in base mixes, groundbaits and stick mixes. (Note: Not to be confused with the original synthetic colouring agent known as Robin Red, which we still sell as Robin Red HB.)

It should be noted that the dyes in this product could stain most of the commonly used plastic storage containers…and also your hands! 

Robin Green with Spirulina: 

Can be used at up to 20% of the total base mix. 

Robin Green with Spirolina is another of our new 100% natural colouring agents. It is naturally peppery with earthy smelling tones and it will improve any base mix. This unique, high quality additive has good levels of vitamins and minerals allowing anglers and bait firms to experiment with existing and new base mixes. While we were researching natural colour foods we looked into using the highly regarded natural food Spirolina as a green colouring agent. After prolonged field trials we are happy to say that our colour food Robin Green now contains a high level of this natural organism. 

Spirolina, is a form of cyanobacteria that is rich in vitamins and minerals that are known to benefit a carp's metabolism. It is also very high in vegetable protein, (70%) which supplements the carp's natural day-to-day diet. Naturally occurring Spirolina is believed to be one of the most nutrient-rich foods on Earth. In addition it can add a dominant green colour to the base mix so that the finished boilies blend in with natural weed growth and with the lake bed of  silty and weedy lakes and rivers. It is also an important nutritional food that carp can detect with ease and home in on. 

PTX: 

A mid-protein, high-fat ingredient derived from soya beans, molasses vegetable oil and various bee-keeping feeds. Can be used at 20-30% of the total base mix. 

PTX is another of our all-time classic bird foods. It is a molasses-rich, sweet-smelling ingredient that can add taste and the crunch factor to your birdfood recipe and is particularly good when included in a fishmeal recipe, as our low temperature fishmeal is included the recipe of PTX. As well as our fishmeal, it also contains our own Bird Food Supplement, honey, molasses meal, maize oil, soya bean meal and white rusk. 

Nectarblend: 

Can be used at up to 70% of the entire base mix. It can be used in its natural form or ground down in a coffee grinder. 

After Robin Red, Nectarblend is probably our most popular birdfood ingredients; not surprising when you consider what is in it. Just look at this list of ingredients: 

• Bird Food Supplement (our own development).
• Dried Egg Yolk.
• Hempseed
• Honey
• Micronised Soyabean Meal.
• Niger seed.
• Trusoy
• Yellow Egg Biscuit. 

The dried egg yolk and yellow egg biscuit are very useful in this recipe as they allow you to make boiled baits without using eggs. Eggs, as you probably know, have a buffering effect on acids so even if you include a strong acidic trigger in your attractor package, its signal will be partly obscured by the buffering effect of the eggs. By using Nectarblend in your mix (or any of the other similar products, namely Softbill Food or Red Factor) you can entirely do away with eggs when making your bait so this acid trigger remains strong, certainly stronger than is the case with egg-based boilies. 

Nectarblend is widely regarded by cage and aviary bird breeders as a 'high fat' ingredient, a point that was grasped quickly by the carp and specimen bait trade, as fat has an important sparing effect on protein, allowing a higher proportion of the latter to be used nutritionally. Nectarblend is a fabulous nutritional binding agent for method mixes, ground baits and of course, boilies, and arguably our most popular bird food fishing bait ingredient. 

Red Factor: Can be used at up to 70% of the total base mix. 

First a bit of background: The red factor canary is a popular pet bird, kept for the novelty of their vivid red plumage Our own blended Red Factor is another colour food used by cage bird lovers to maintain the colour of the plumage of red factor canaries.

Red factor canaries get their colour from carotenoid pigments, which are carried via the bloodstream and absorbed by growing feathers — giving them the distinctive red coloration. Carotenoid pigments are introduced into the canary’s system through their food. Offering birds a diet specifically designed to maximize a specific colour is known as “colour feeding.”

Colour feeding is traditionally done by offering foods that are high in red carotenoid pigments. (Note the reference to carotenoid pigments.) Carrots, broccoli, kale, and other red bird-safe fruits and veggies are commonly given. Commercially produced “red factor canary seed” can also be used. These are ordinary seed mixes that have been infused with a colour-enhancing chemical—typically Canthaxanthin.

Our own Red Factor is highly attractive to all cyprinids thanks in no small part to the inclusion of our own Ready-Mixed Colour Food. It is readily digestible, comparatively cheap and if used with high quality fishmeals, or milk or egg proteins will make a very good long term bait. 

This photo shows Red Band paste with a scattering of popcorn maize. I created this using nothing more that 95% Red Factor and 5% cooked Popcorn maize. This is blended with tap water to which my favourite liquid attractors have been added. Dead easy to make and can bring instant results. The coarse nature of Red Factor allows an almost immediate water exchange once the bait is in the lake: water goes in, flavour and attraction comes out. 

Next time I shall look at the ways in which you can mix and blend ingredients to create a bespoke boilie (base) mix. You never know, take our advice and soon you too could be looking lovingly at your new PB, like my missus and her PB common of 51 lb 15oz.

Written by Ken Townley