Michael Chipolina Wrote;

I am fishing a lake that the carp tend to pick up baits that have been washed out after a couple of days.When I reel in my baits that have been out for two days, they have either gone or they just fall apart.  I want to leave them out a bit longer how do I make them last longer (two days plus)

Hi Michael,

Great question and one that Shaun would probably give the most in depth answer to.  As he is still hopefully catching a few Buffalo carp in America, I will give you my thoughts and I am sure Shaun can add to this on his return.

You say they are picking up washed out baits, I have found this before myself on a couple of pressured waters.  Have you tried to rehydrate your baits in say hemp juice or lake water?

Shaun has wrote extensively on the subject in the past and you can read all about this in the article section of the website.  Basically Air dry your boilies (freezer baits) until they are rock hard, then place them in a tub and cover with your chosen liquid.  They will soften up and their colour will fade, A large proportion of the strong aroma (flavour) will disperse.  This by itself will give you baits that have the appearance of having been cast out for a couple of days and you will immediately have bait that the wary Carp will feel confident in picking up.

I am pretty sure that whilst your bait is in the water it is not coming off your hair and that it will be coming off on the retrieve, that is unless there are crays present in the venue.

If you feel confident in using artificial baits then I would advise using a plastic topper above your washed out bait. That way you can pretty much guarantee that you will have something that the Carp will pick up.  I have to admit that when artificial baits first became popular I was one of the sceptical ones, but I have total confidence in trying them now, especially the little 10mm hi viz green boilie.

Quest Baits hard hookbaits are another option if you want to leave your bait out a bit longer, as it takes a lot longer for the water to soak through them.  Try glugging them in either a boilie dip or bait soak which will further their breakdown time.  In the summer months I would certainly feel totally confident in heavily soaking my hookbaits in a fish oil. The fish oil acts as a barrier against the water penetrating through the bait and softening it up.  You can try this at home by soaking the baits for as long as you like (often the longer the better), then drop them in a large glass of water and see how long they last.

Another alternative is to mesh your bait either in a pair of tights or you can now buy some boilie shrink wrap.  I think Fox tackle may have now brought out a system similar to PVA funnel web that doesnt melt but holds particle on a hair and that would be perfect for the job of holding the boilie together.

I must say though that to me at least it is a good sign that the boilies are softening up and falling apart after 2 days as that shows the leak off of attractors is effective.

Hope some of this is helpful

Good luck

Jamie

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