Quest Baits Blog

A big Cambridge mirror in a big frost.

29^th November 2011 and unbelievably it has taken until now for the winter to start  looking as though it is finally starting to cut in. The water I am currently fishing has finally seen the water temperatures start to drop this week to below 10C (40’s F) and combined with big winds there is a certain wind chill reminding me of what will surely come in the weeks ahead.

The water temperatures are still plenty warm enough and the carp still active but each winter when the waters drop below 10C (50F) they continue to drop quite rapid so to my mind winter although late is now starting to happen and my tried and trusted winter methods now come into play.

Anyone who has read much of my writings in the past will know my love of very small baits yet winter is the time when one rod will go in the opposite direction and is one of the few times of the year I would consider putting a 20mm hook bait on. continue reading…

Here is yet another message I have received confirming that Poisson Chat really do not like the ingredients we use in our anti Poission Chat bait Pineapple Crush.

Hello Shaun,

You may not remember but I promised to report back to you about how Ghurkka Spice fared against the Poisson Chat’s compared to Pineapple Crush on the reservoir I fish in France (Lac de Pincemaille/Rille).

Well sadly they loved it!

Any unmeshed Ghurkka Spice were noshed by the little buggers very quickly. I did try meshed Ghurkka Spice on the hair, but still managed to foul hook them anyway. Considering the number of Poisson Chats in the lake I reasoned that the carp probably weren’t getting the chance of any freebies anyway!

I even tried double 20mm boilies (one Ghurkka Spice and one Pineapple Crush) on the same hair as an experiment, within an hour or so and a few bleeps I reeled in to find the Ghurkka Spice completely gone but the Pineapple Crush untouched. This happened a couple of times without actually hooking the chats because I put the pineapple on the hook end of the hair (a potential good tip for the future when fishing Pineapple Crush alongside another bait the chats might like.

I think to summarise, a bit of a thumbs down for the Ghurkka Spice on heavily ”chatted” waters, but what a good test for Pineapple Crush against the chats! So no guesses as to what bait I’ll be taking to that water next year.

I hope this has been of interest to you.

Regards

Martin Park.

Early 80's snow captures

There was a comment on facebook the other day that I responded to and thought I should add it here too.

Someone asked how important we think bait is.

My quick answer was…
‘I would say it is the most important thing. The best rig in the world isn’t going to be able to do its job if the fish isn’t stimulated enough to pick the bait up. There are periods when carp will eat almost anything but at scratching times when the fish aren’t really bothered about feeding then the tiny little extras added to the bait by some will make a massive difference. I always find the Carpology independent tank tests with different company’s baits very interesting and extremely revealing. I’d better not say much more or it will look like an advert but even with a great bait you still have to present it in the right area on a set up which will leg the fish up’.

It struck home to me after I had posted that just how important this issue is at this time of the year. A poor choice of bait will most certainly result in very few fish being triggered to have a feed  but more importantly it can in turn ruin other anglers chance of sport if those baits are picked up and then the carp find that they can’t digest them easily. – thus taking much longer to need to feed again which will affect the other anglers sport. Not only that but it can be very dangerous

a 1990's snow capture

feeding fish or any other animal food that it is going to struggle to get rid of. Carp are cold blooded so their metabolism is wholly governed by the water temperature. In cold water not only does the carp slow right down with its actions but many baits congeal and trap in many of the attractors/stimulants that are supposed to be encouraging the fish to have a feed.

You don’t need a lot of bait in winter so now is the time you can definitely afford to compete with anglers of all levels by using the best winter baits available with proven effectiveness for many years.

I am extremely proud of my own personal winter fishing achievements over the years having caught from holes in the ice on three separate venues as well as snow captures from lots of venues as well as several half frozen lakes. My first winter carp fell to my rods in 1977 and there haven’t been many years gone by when I haven’t  winter carp fished. I learned a long while ago what the carp like in the cold weather as well

A snow capture from last year

as what they can easily digest. I fed my own carp in my own lake for many years as well as my fish in my garden.

If I was to stick my neck on the line to give my top two recommendations it would have to be Fruity Trifle and Rahja Spice. Both baits have caught thousands of true winter carp for many years now and I know they will continue to do so. If ever you bump into me on the bank during the winter  – ask to see my bait. I can use anything I want but you will most definitely find one or the other or both in my bait bag. They are still the main 2 baits I use to compare new winter baits against.

If you are lacking in winter confidence there really is no need to worry about bait. If I’m not catching on either of those I have my location or rigs wrong.

Best fishes

Shaun Harrison

Words and pictures from Mario Taal.

We all know the stories of fishermen who are blaming the weather conditions, moon size or what else they come up with. Is that finding an excuse or is there some kind of truth in the fact that other factors can make our session fail or succeed? I think there a lot of those factors, the difference in ph-level of the water comparing to the bait you’re using is one of them.

I always try to do everything I can to have a successful session, the spot, set-up, rig and the bait are proven factors of the past. What if they let you down? Turn they all out to be rubbish at once or is there another factor why the carp won’t bite? I’ve experienced this the past year on my targetwater. It really got me in the head. My trust in reliable tactics faded away many times, but the thing that kept me going was that other locals weren’t catching either. There had to be something else what was making it that hard. continue reading…

Question from Gergely Pataki

Hello Shaun! The next question from me.

The last time I go fishing a small lake and have caught some large carp. However, the bait completely taken over after 4-5 hours by the strong smell of rotting sludge. What kind of bait and flavors suggest that the baits can retain the smell for a long time? I think that is much more able to catch more carp breed.

Thanks in advance for your answer!

Best Regards: Gergely Pataki

Boilies soaking up liquid before baiting in a silty lake.

Shaun Replied:

Try soaking the baits in liquid before you go. The water from cooked hempseed is excellent for this or simply use lake water. By leaving the baits to soak up the liquid before baiting up they won’t be able to take so much of the silt/sludge smell thus retaining more of their own original smell and taste.

I usually fish around a bit though and try and find the areas the silt doesn’t smell so strong, you will usually find the carp prefer to feed in the less smelly areas. Slightly shallower areas should be less silty as the deeper areas act like a sump and collect the old leaves etc.

Hope this helps

Best fishes

Shaun Harrison

Question from Dave,

Are your shelf-life baits nutritionally good for carp, particularly the Rahja Spice. I’m a day ticket angler that hasn’t got much time to fish so want a bait that a carp wants to eat straight away. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Shaun answered…

A winter carp from Dallas, Texas. The first time they had ever seen Rahja Spice

Hi Dave,

I can only comment on our own Quest Baits range but the whole of our range was put together with the desire to offer the carp a little something back in terms of nutritional benefit.  Our shelf life baits contain exactly the same ingredients in exactly the same quantity as our fresh frozen baits – apart from the type of egg used. The shelf life baits are actually slightly more calorific than the standard fresh frozen versions.

It is now a couple of years since I last used one of our fresh frozen baits preferring the controlled stability of our shelf life versions for my own fishing knowing that the bait won’t be wasted if conditions dictate I don’t need to be feeding much. It is as easy for me to take baits out of the freezer storage as it is for me to take baits straight off the shelf and if I honestly thought I would catch just one more carp per season by using the fresh frozen versions I would do.

A big fish from an ancient mere. The first time this fish had ever seen Ghurkka Spice boilies.

The Rahja Spice you have mentioned would be one of my main choices to take to a water that has never seen our baits before. It is very different ingredient wise to a lot of what is used in baits and the carp simply accept it as a food source from day one without the need for pre-baiting and weaning the fish onto it.

I would happily take any of our range anywhere in the world but to be fair the Rahja Spice and more recently the Ghurkka spice have been the two first baits I grab when exploring new venues.

I hope this helps.

Best fishes

Shaun Harrison