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The Problem With Freezer Baits

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October 2014

IMG 1606 300x199Although we do sell freezer baits as well as our preservative free shelf life versions we still like to warm people of the problems with freezer baits and the fact that the only thing you can guarantee is that there full effective life is going to be for a very short time span before going off.

The main problem with ready made freezer baits is that they can be nearing the end of their most effective life by the time the consumer buys a ‘fresh?’ bag. Boilies are rolled and then dried before being froze. Generally as most companies I know only freeze with conventional freezers or freezer rooms so no blast freezing (rapid freezing) is taking place bait will already be a day old before it is frozen. If they are loading a freezer with 10 kg bags for quick convenience the middle bags can be a couple of days or more before they freeze, the more bait put into a freezer the longer they are being froze, the bigger the company the bigger the problem.

A shop orders, so the bait is taken from the freezer, parcelled up and put aside awaiting the courier. Bait companies are like any other factory with a 9 hour or so working day. If the shops order is the first job of the day then it will be packaged in the morning and have to sit around until the courier collects late afternoon (no one wants early collections in the bait trade).

The courier then takes it to the local depot where it is put onto the next wagon for delivery hopefully the next day if everything goes to plan (it doesn’t always).

The parcel is delivered and if you are lucky someone will open it and get it back into a freezer pretty quickly but even so it has had another 24 hours (if the courier delivered on time) out of the freezer. The years I spent at Walkers the frozen bait was always wet and thawed out when we received it.

The bait then goes into what is usually a domestic freezer at the shop so can be another 24 hours freezing back down.

Customer comes in for a nice fresh bag of frozen bait and it is likely to already have had 3 days out of the freezer by this stage.

Off they go to work Friday morning fully loaded so they can get straight off down the lake after work. Sunday they have some bait left so they take it home and freeze it for the next session.

That bait is now at least 6 days old and doesn’t gain any of those days back by being frozen again…

Reality isn’t always the best thing to hear but can be a bit of a thought provoker.

Give me a quality preservative free shelf life bait any day of the week. I haven’t used a freezer bait myself now for around 7 years and I can get my hands on it before it has ever been frozen.

Best fishes
Shaun Harrison

About the Author: Shaun Harrison

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Quest Baits boss Shaun Harrison has put over 40 years of experience into developing his range of carp baits ” This bait range is the culmination of the bait knowledge I’ve gained throughout my carp fishing career, a journey which started in the 1970’s. It has truly been a long and winding road – frustrating at times, fascinating and rewarding at others….. Our range you’ll only find proven baits, the ones I use myself 

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