Following on from Sam’s piece with the PVA mesh and foam nugget for perfect presentation I thought I would add my own version here which gives perfect presentation but also adds a little bit of attraction around the hook bait. This particular method has been particularly successful for me during the cold winter months.

The best PVA I have used for this in terms of meltability and size is the one Korda market as the Boilie Funnel Web.

So, here goes, with the ingredients required…

  • One pinch of Quest Baits Micro Feed
  • One Pinch of Maximum Action Pellets
  • One Pinch of crushed up Boilie
  • One full Boilie
  • Tub of matching Bait Glug

Start off with the Micro Feed going into the tube first followed by the Maximum Action Pellets. I then place the tube on a table top or bucket lid and compress these two ingredients nice and tight.

Next drop a pinch of crushed boilies in and crush together again. Now follow it up by dropping a whole boilie inand push the mix through. The reason I crush the first ingredients together before dropping the boilie in is because I want to leave a full boilie behind every cast which hasn’t been broken or crushed.

Once you have pushed the ingredients through and exposed your PVA mesh bag you need to decide if one layer of PVA will be thick enough to stay on untill the rig reaches the bottom. In most cases I double wrap th tube. You can do this really easily and quickly by twisting the end rather than tying the knot then using the ram rod push the mesh bag back up the tube and out the other end before tying it off in the conventional way. This gives you a much more durable double wrapped bait stick which is more likely to stay on and not fall away from the hook upon impact of the surface after a big cast, or whilst sinking in deep water.

As a hook bait when using these bags last winter I used standard boilies straight out of the pack but after putting them on the hair I peeled them to resemble a apple core leaving the entry and exit points of the hair intact.

Make sure you bury your hook in the end with the Micro Fed and Maximum Action Pellets to ensure you don’t mask the point. If I am using a long hair which I often am I trap this to the outside of the bag using PVA tape which I have always preferred over string or thread.

Before casting out I give the whole lot a quick dunk in a matching Bait Glug (the Quest Baits ones are PVA friendly). Once this is in place on the bottom you will see the Glug start to creep along the bottom rather than just float away. The Maximum Action Pellets will kick in first giving the first bost and waft of flavour which will start spreading to all depths. After this the Micro Feed and the Broken Boilie will start to pump attraction out and finally if you are on a very difficult water where it could be a day or so before the fish come by you the bfull boilie will still be emmitting a small amount of attraction.

So, there you are – my secret little winter edge! Every component in the bag is working for you and working over a long period of time. Having observed the carp in th edge responding to these bags they appear a little wary of the free full boilie and tend to take the apple cored one first. I continue to put the full boilie in as I am sure I am using their intelligence against them. They are so convinced the standard round bait will be the one with the sting in the tail that they take the apple cored one without giving it a second thought.

Not only that but every cast leaves another sample of your boilie behind which is exactly what you want if you are also fishing single hook baits, pop-ups etc.

Give it a go – it works real well for me. I am currently pushing this technique a stage further but it is still early days so I will keep it under my hat for the time being.

Best fishes, Shaun

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