Quest Baits Blog

QUESTION

“I am planning on fishing a silty reservoir this winter. It is choked with weed and stinky silt, I’m having a few problems with getting the bait right, have you got anything in your bait range that would combat the stench of this weed and silt? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated”

The old silt smell problem is always an awkward one to combat without including oils which then mess the effectiveness of most winter baits as the oil congeals in the bait and seals a lot of the natural attraction of the bait, plus it makes it more difficult for them to digest.

Personally I would go on with either the Rahja Spice or the Liver B8. These will soak a bit of the silt smell in but not as much as many other baits.

I would also keep a rod with alternate hookbaits and would definitely try two of my winter favourites for years which are now called Irish Cream and Fruity Trifle. Both of these, particularly the Irish Cream will soak in silt but are still worth a stringer cast or a very light dusting of bait. continue reading…

Richard asked;

How many 18mm or 20mm boilies do you get to the kg ?

It is very difficult to give the number of 20mm or 18mm baits per kg as different base mixes have different densities. For example you may get more fruity trifle per kg than you would special crab. However, if you have 100, 20mm boilies it is equivalent to 137 18mm boilies. continue reading…

Barry Waterworth wrote: 

Myself & 3 mates have booked a trip to france fishing a carp lake called la Biliais near a town called guer.  Do you or your team know anything about it? We like surface fishing for carp , the owner says the carp are not used to surface baits much but we are going to give it a go. Have you any tips on tackle and surface baits to try.  Thanks Barry 

Hi Barry,

I can’t help you out on info about the place your fishing as I have never heard of it, sorry.

On the floater fishing…

Personally I did try several times to catch carp from the surface in France. But I must say I did not get as much action as I would have thought. The only way I could catch some was stalking them behind little islands or in shallow bays. Its very strange but in open water I never could tempt a fish to take baits from the surface, however, what did work was a zig rig placed 4-6 feet under the surface using Quest pop ups .. rahja spice and pineapple crush.

continue reading…

Stuart wrote:

Hi Shaun,  me and my angling partner are booked up for a week on Gigantica in France. I know that you have had great success on this venue and its one you regard high, but have you any tips/ advice or baiting strategies etc that you can share. Regards, Stuart M. P.S. We’re on peg 2.

Hi Stuart,

I have only been to Gigantica (St Christophe as it used to be called) once, this was August 2007.

I got lucky and started to catch from the off. It is difficult having your own bait factory and deciding what to take and what not to take with you.

I went along with just Liver B8 boilies and the Garlic Feast particle mix. I have total confidence in both of these baits working anywhere so decided not to confuse the issue any further.

continue reading…

Andy Stansfield wrote:

I’m going to France at the end of April and have just found out it’s a boilie and fake bait water. What do u think would be best to take with me?

Hi Andy,

At the end of April I wouldn’t hesitate to take the Special Crab and or the new Liver B8 as the boilie choice. As far as artificial baits are concerned I use many different types and always carry a selection with me.

We sell the Enterprise Tackle ones here at Quest Baits and I have personally done particularly well in France with the yellow/green artificial Boilie fished over the top of a conventional boilie ‘snowman style’. Simply changing the colour of the top bait (I refer to them as sight bobs) can often make all the difference and tempt a few bonus carp.

Good luck and best fishes – Shaun

Hi chaps,

Fished for a long time using my own rolled bait also shop bought frozen and on a few occasions shelf-life baits. Frozen baits I always keep in a metal flask. Now I will only be able to fish short sessions for a while - dawn until dinnertime so how will I get the best out of my bait… keeping it frozen, or taking it out the freezer the night before?” Many thanks, Mac

Hi Mac,

It depends to an extent the type of bait and the size of the bait in question. Personally at this time of the year (late winter) I would take most conventional boilies out the night before and simply keep them cool overnight so they thaw slowly.

I don’t like to bait with frozen boilies in the winter but have no problems at all during the summer.

During the summer I would keep the baits frozen as long as possible. When using cool boxes and flasks for bait storage I prefer to load them a few days before I am going fishing then keep them in the freezer until I actually go. Cooling the container right down in the freezer certainly keeps the bait fresher for longer.

Best fishes, Shaun