Quest Baits Blog

Words and pictures by Patricia Boer:

English based company Quest Baits Ltd supply bait in many different countries but up until now have not really pushed to get a foot into the Dutch market but this is now about to change.

I was talking to Quest Baits owner Shaun Harrison about this and he explained that Quest Baits had been very fortunate in its growth and have always been able to sell everything they make so haven’t had to go out to find new markets.

He explained he had websites in different countries but now felt it only right to start exploring some of the other countries close to the U.K. Quest Baits now have a much larger production and storage capacity than ever before.

So, having struck a deal to allow F.N.E. Trading in Amsterdam to distribute the range through the Netherlands he was delighted to hear that they would be showing a good selection of the Quest Baits range at the mighty Carp Zwolle fishing show.

With visitors from all over Europe this is the place to be, if you want to promote your bait.

Being a Quest Baits consultant Frans Nestor from F.N.E. Trading invited to come along and help out at the show. I travelled through a very icy Holland to get to Zwolle and be at the Carp Fishing Show on the 4^th & 5^th of February.

My job? Share my experiences on Quest Baits with the many visitors.

Together with a couple of other enthusiastic people we worked hard throughout this weekend in an effort to make the visitors more familiar with the boilies, pellets, pop-ups glugs & dips of the Quest Baits range. A range of baits which is distinguished by the use of pure ingredients, as you yourself would in the kitchen.

The reactions of visitors to the stand were very positive and resulted almost every time in interesting conversations on people’s individual view on carp angling.

The highlight of the weekend was the introduction of Quest Baits newest addition to the range, the Magnum White. Tested in England with very good results by Shaun Harrison and a few selected friends.

Looking back on this weekend, I think it is safe to say that Quest Baits made a great debut at the show and we’ve made good progression on promoting it!

Best wishes

Patricia

Question from Bev Anglerqueen

Hi,

We are off to Lords lake in May, and was hoping for some advice on what bait to use and the size you think best, ?

Also I am looking to re-line my reels, have you any recommendations on the best line to use, all help greatfully recieved.

many thanks,

Bev

i caught this one on Ghurkka Spice in Slovenia. I'd use it anywhere in the world.

Hi Bev,

It’s a refreshing change to receive a question from a female angler.

I’m afraid I haven’t fished Lords Lake but if I were visiting it in May I would take a couple of baits with me so that I could ring the changes. Almost certainly in May I would have a  fish based bait with me. Something like Special Crab or the new Squid Berry which will be released in March.

As an alternative bait the two most instant ones on waters where they are used for the first time seem to be Rahja Spice and Ghurkka Spice. Both are very different to each other. The Rahja utilises human grade spices and smells like an Indian Curry whilst the Ghurkka Spice is more coca nutty with a more gentle spice blend. I would be happy to use either of these spice baits anywhere in the world at any time of the year. Here is a link telling you a little more about the boilies. http://www.questbaits.com/results.php?category=1

I did a Google search for Lords Lake and see that Angling Lines have it on their books. I’m guessing you have seen this on their site http://www.anglinglines.com/Lords/ continue reading…

Trevor Reece asks:

Which bait and size do you think I need for my Laroussi trip in April?

Shaun Harrison answers:

Definitely take some Rahja Spice with you. It has been a firm favourite at Laroussi for many years, particularly in the smaller sizes too. The Laroussi fish like 10mm’s but it is worth mixing the bait size a little. The lake record has fallen to Rahja Spice on more than one occasion. If I were going this coming year I would also take an alternative with me to ring the changes and that would probably be the Ghurkka Spice. I know they both have ‘Spice’ in their names but are very different to each other hardly sharing any ingredients at all other than the obvious eggs and chilli.

Hope this helps
Shaun

21lb winter scaly

Winter is always the hardest part of the year for catching carp. This year I have been adjusting rigs and fishing different hook baits to try and get me that extra bite. I’ve been using pop up rigs lately and having some good results. The best fish being a stunning 21lb scaly mirror.

Last winter was a very hard time for me as I did about 30 sessions and blanked them all. I Lost fish so I was doing something right to get the bites but I just couldnt land them! Having so many blanks in a row really got my confidence to a very low point. That’s why this year I wanted to up my game and try and get a few fish.

So far I have had 7 fish in 7 sessions. Fishing on my local club water and a few day ticket waters, I have fished lakes about 2-3 days after they have thawed out and knew it was going to be tough I have also fished lakes that have been half frozen when I’m there  and I have still managed to get amongst a few. This just shows how much the carp love the Quest Baits I have been using! continue reading…

I come from the generation of carp anglers that started out making their own carp bait. Quest Baits with their extensive range of boilies pellets hookbaits and pop ups didn’t exist and in fact for a few years I was fishing boilies didn’t exist.  Early attempts at catching carp included a multitude of pastes, cat food and eventually my first boilie manufactured from pilchard flavoured Go Cat Munchies.  Eventually I heard about Fred Wilton and his experiments and started sourcing ingredients to copy his HNV boilies.  It wasn’t too long after that that base mixes, ingredients, sweeteners, attractors and flavours became available commercially and tackle shop started to resemble a chemists.  It seemed that every carp anglers kitchen or garden shed if you were using monster crab; had become a boilie factory.  Equipment wasn’t good and not very efficient and much of the old closed season was spent filling bait freezers for the next campaign.  I remember I destroyed three hob tops in one of my kitchens and demolished a mate’s kitchen leaving the house reeking of Monster Crab and Compound TF when eight of us descended on his house while his wife was away playing hockey in Holland for the weekend. continue reading…

With the drop in temperature bait choice is getting really critical now and can mean the difference between a long cold struggle for the rest of the winter or a bit of action.
Why risk a lot of possible blanks with baits that may not be totally suitable for cold water fishing?
Cast out a Fruity Trifle Boilie or a Rahja Spice and you know you are using something that has caught cold water carp from many different countries leaving you to only have to think about location and presentation.