Quest Baits Blog

When you open a bag of Chilli Chocolate the first thing that hits you is the powerful chocolate aroma… but the clever thing about it is the subtle chilli & pepper taste. It surprises many people to learn that carp adore a spicy flavor.  It’s true that the fruity sweet flavours do well too… who can doubt the effectiveness of Fruity trifle… but baits like Rahja spice prove without doubt that they have a like for the spices too!

My first sessions proved conclusively the effectiveness of the Chilli Chocolate.  I also received the combination hooker to me bait set.  It comprises  pots of 15 & 10mm glugged hook baits & pop-ups.  Extremely practical!

See you soon at the waters edge!

Romu

There’s no easy way to get your chosen boilie out, no matter what the size or shape, unless you use some of the following.

Throwing Stick

These come in variable sizes and diameter depending on the brand you use.  I find that the Throwing Stick gives me a better spread pattern of round bait for 10mm to 24mm baits over a large clear area of the lake. This gets the carp moving and roaming around the area and gives you a better chance of getting the carp confidently feeding in numbers. Brilliant to use at showing fish and very quiet in the proccess.

The Spomb

This I have just recently used and I recommend highly. They are capable of holding any shape, size or chopped boilie and get out to a feature of the lake at great distance. There is no spillage like the normal spod or rocket depending on the angler of course and is very accurate in its flight. Great for baiting up at distance and suprisingly effortless. continue reading…

I’ve spent a lot of time chasing barbel and, although I like all species, they are just possibly my favourite. Most anglers think of meat or fish baits as the main attractors, but I’ve always felt that spices were the better bet. To that end I spent a great deal of time experimenting, and reading up on all the world wide curry mixes, and it makes fascinating reading. You may learn that a mere two of the items in a curry are ginger and clove, but how much of each? Equal amounts? 90% versus 10%? Or vice versa?

Yes, it is complicated, but get it right and it’s brilliant. Your favourite chips taste ok on their own, are much better with a pinch of salt, but become uneatable if covered in salt. That’s what I had to sort out, and I finally go it right in 1997. Since that time I haven’t changed a thing, as Mega Spicy worked right from the off and is still doing the same. Dusted on to meat, added to maggots, cooked into hemp, mixed into paste – it won’t let you down. On the odd days when the barbel just won’t play then if there are chub, bream, or carp around you’ll have to settle for them. It works all year round but it seems the colder the water the better your results may become.

Archie Braddocks

This is everyone’s favourite fish, judging by the numbers of carp waters around the country, and every bait company produces a “must have or you can’t catch” mix.  The trouble is, these ‘must haves’ vary so much… sweet, savoury, fruity, meaty, fishy… could all of them be right?

Well, yes, because carps tastes vary from season to season, and even from water to water, and are also affected greatly by temperature.  So I decided to try and blend them all together, taking only the best attractors from each mix.

Mega Carp was one of my later releases, so I already had a great deal of experience in blending various items before I even started on this additive.  It worked from the off, so if you are targeting match carp, or big fish, it should feature somewhere in your approach.  Stirred into sweetcorn, mixed into paste, added to groundbait, maggots, or even as part of a boilie base mix, it does its job of attracting.

For the roach lovers among you this is worth a serious go.  Gary Barclay, senior manager at Drennan International, was one of my early field testers, and as a pleasure angler and matchman he tried it on the Thames, canals around Oxford, and various still waters.  Other than carp, he was impressed by the numbers of quality roach that were attracted, but kept it quiet for a long time as he was regularly picking up coin in the matches and wanted to keep this particular edge to himself.

Now Quest have re-released it & it’s available to you!

Archie Braddocks

So, it’s the first full day of the enforced close season on my syndicate venue where my quest for a certain 40+ UK common continues. I’ve got  a month until the start, when many new keenie members will all be hunting the very same carp. Of course I have the advantage of  a seasons knowledge of the water, however as I said recently, the plan is to bait a couple of swims, one banker ‘hot’ swim and one ‘probably be empty and unpopular’ swim, in the hope of having a ‘fall back on’ option. Bait is to be my edge.

So the car is loaded, my initial baiting is to be approx 20 kilos of bait spread over the two swims, being a mixture of Quest shelf life baits in 15mm and 10mm, plus a mixture of Quest maximum action pellet, and an obligatory tub of hemp! I’m using an initial blend of baits as initially I want the ‘spot’ to be cleared and also recognised. Although 20 kilos is a fair investment, after this initial baiting I’ll reduce the amount and be putting the Chilli Chocolate shelf lifes in exclusively, with a view to building up the fishes confidence in it as a food and keeping the spots clean. I won’t be able to afford to put in stacks and stacks of bait, probably a couple of kilos a week, however over the course of the season the fishing will get better and better.

The big common came out twice last season, the dates and swims it was caught from are in my diary, along with my holiday form from work!

Time to get the baiting spoon out!

All the best, Spencer H

Hi. I recently attended the Fish Fest at Chapmans in Hull and was talking to a member to Archie Braddock’s on the Quest stand.  He was telling me about his powder additives that are been reintroduced. Unfortunately at the time i was unable to make any purchases but will be doing so soon.

What I would like to know is which and how he used to make the paste with hemp in, he did tell me but there was a lot to take in that day that Ii forgot!  Also with the sweetcorn, which additive was used?

I remember him saying he prepares and freezes etc but I am very intersested in trying the 3 formulas he had made on display (sweetcorn with additive, meat coated in additive and the paste with hemp).

Once Ii know i will then be heading of to Chapmans to purchase the Quests ingredients you suggest. I have subscribed to your blog and look foward to endless help and info.

Thank you, DEAN

Hi Dean.  The three items you requested info on;

Sweetcorn with Mega Carp. I tipped a tin  of Jolly Green, juice and all, into a maggot box and stirred in two heaped teaspoonsful of Mega Carp.  Best done the night before.

Luncheon Meat with Xotic Spice. Chop up a 300grm tin and drop it into a small freezer bag. Sprinkle over the meat 2 heaped teaspoons of Xotic Spice, then shake the bag until all the meat is coated. Freeze until needed.

Hemp and Mega Spicy. Liquidise the hemp in a blender until it is a sticky grey slop. Stiffen it up with groundbait dosed with Mega Spicy at the higher winter level, instructions for same on the Mega Spicy carton.  I use it for groundbait end plugs in an open ended feeder, on its own in a cage feeder, or stiffened up further, as a method mix.

I hope this helps.

Archie.