Back in 2019, an avid angler decided that it was time to do something about the quality of baits on the market.
Kevin had spent many years making his own bait and wanted to put this passion into creating a high-quality, effective boilie that would perform beyond expectations.
He set about not only developing bait that would attract carp but one that would also be nutritionally beneficial to them. While it took some time to develop, he finally came up with a formula that would one day become proven.
After Kevin and his friends tried out the boilies at some of their favorite fishing spots, they were delighted to discover that they had an incredible effect on the fish.
Going from days spent on the water without a single bite, the anglers were soon reeling in some of their most impressive catches.
Other anglers at local fishing spots soon began to pick up on the success that the group were having and asked if they could try the bait for themselves.
Kevin agreed and began supplying some local angling fanatics with bags of his boilies. To date, every batch has been proven to perform and so, Proven Baits was born.
Table of Contents
What Makes A Good Boilie?
To the novice angler, it might seem that choosing a boilie is as simple as a lucky dip, but that isn’t the case. There is a multitude of mass-produced products out there that aren’t delivering on ingredients, never mind results.
When it comes to making the perfect boilie, there are four key areas that the manufacturer needs to be paying attention to.
The boilie needs to be palatable to the fish. If it isn’t they aren’t likely to return for more. If you use bait that the fish enjoy and are attracted to, you’re already onto a winner. But it needs to do much more than just taste good.
Fish are surprisingly intelligent animals, and they will quickly be able to tell if a food is of any nutritional value so baits must also be packed with goodness and the things that carp need to thrive.
These fish require large amounts of protein so a good boilie will contain at least 35% protein and will be easy for the fish to break down in the digestive tract.
If this can be achieved, and you regularly fish the same spots, the carp will come to trust the boilies as a viable food source and will return for more.
Finally, the boilies should be the correct texture. Carp have a natural diet that consists of things like crayfish and snails so it’s important to match the texture of these things as closely as possible.
Finally, the boilie should be soluble but not so much that it breaks up immediately upon contact with the water. When it lands, it should break up slowly, giving off an attraction to draw the fish in. However, when the fish arrives to eat it, the boilie cannot be too hard as this will make it difficult for the fish to eat who will quickly spit it out.
What Are The Best Carp Bait Products?
Keeping in mind some of the things we have discussed above, we checked out some of the best carp baits and we were blown away by the following products.
Monsterberry Boilies
The Monsterberry boilies are designed to draw immediate attraction thanks to the fishmeal and high-quality ingredients. They come as either pop-ups or wafters and are great as a free offering to gain the trust of the fish.
They come in a choice of three sizes; 12ml, 14ml, and 18ml and can be purchased by the kilo. Whether you are looking for frozen or shelf-life boilies, you’ve got the choice when opting for Monsterberry and when you couple the boilies with a bait spray, you’ll get amazing results!
MC1 Boilies
Using a blend of bird feed and nutmix, the MC1 boilies offer a softer shell than a hook bait and are ideal as a free offering, much like the Monsterberry.
The only real difference here is the ingredients but both products have proven to be very successful and the fish go mad for them.
Once again, these boilies come in a choice of 12ml, 14ml, and 18ml sizes and can be paired with bait liquids and sprays for a boosted performance.
Bait Sprays And Liquids
These bait sprays are ideal for hook baits and will sit on the outside of the bait to create an instant attraction. That said, you can use them on your free offerings as well.
They come in a selection of flavors including Monsterberry, MC1, and Toffee, and Maple, all of which have had some excellent results.
On the other hand, bait liquids can be used for soaking your bait prior to angling. For the best results, soak your bait for a couple of days and you’ll see that the results speak for themselves.
The liquid will soak right into the boilie drastically boosting its attraction.
What To Look For When Choosing Boilies
The products we have looked at in this guide are all incredibly effective and we are in no doubt that they will perform on and in the water. However, when it comes to choosing the right boilies, there are a few things to think about, depending on what you want to achieve.
Frozen vs Shelf Life
Boilies come in two different forms; frozen and shelf life. The ingredients in both are exactly the same apart from frozen boilies have no preservatives whereas shelf life boilies do. These two types will suit different types of anglers.
Frozen boilies are great for those who are fishing for the long term, for example, if you are spending a weekend or a few days on the lake. Moreover, they can be stored in the freezer for up to 12 months without their quality being affected
What’s great about frozen boilies is that thawing and refreezing will have no negative effects. If you take out more than you need, it’ll do no harm to pop them back into the freezer until you need them again.
On the other hand shelf life boilies contain a preservative and will last in a cool, dry place for up to six months. They come in a resealable bag to keep them fresh and keep out moisture, which is essential to their quality and will help to prevent mold.
This type of boilie is good for people who will only be using small amounts in the short term.
Boilie Sizes
Another key consideration when choosing the right carp bait is to think about the size of the boilies. If you are fishing exclusively for carp then you’ll typically do well with any size.
The important thing is to think about the size of the fish’s mouth. Using an 18mm boilie to catch bream or tench isn’t going to be easy as the bait will be too large for the fish. In situations like this, we would recommend going for a 12-14mm bait that the fish can easily fit into its mouth.
Larger 18mm boilies are great for catching bigger fish such as chub. These sizable boilies will also catapult further but one of the greatest things about them is that owing to their size, they will lower the risk of you catching nuisance fish.
Conclusion
If you’ve spent any amount of time trying to perfect your angling skills then you’ll know that your luck has just as much to do with the bait you are using as it does with how good an angler you are.
That’s why using high-quality boilies is essential and when choosing the right product, you need to make sure that what you’re using has been lovingly created for the best results.