Richworth

I am either too impatient or just don't seem to have the time to spend rolling hookbaits and pop ups, The times I have tried the results have either been too dry a mix which then cracked or egg shaped baits and lots of washing up to be done.

I use the shelf life baits as hookbaits which you can buy in small packs to match your chosen freezer bait, just add a small amount of the matching boilie dip to a selection of shelf life hookbaits and keep giving the tub a shake, similarly with the pop ups it gives them an extra kick of attraction.

The shelf life's tend to be a little firmer with a tougher outer skin which gives me the confidence to leave my hookbaits in for long periods of time especially if there are other species of fish in your chosen venue which maybe whittling your hookbait down over a period of time.

One thing I have been doing of late is soaking a selection of hookbaits in Richworths Aqua-Stim, a product that has been under my radar for sometime. I am loath to change anything in my angling however a close friend had a mega spring using aqua-stim'd hookbaits so a closer look was on the cards.

The baits ooze attraction and smell sooo good once soaked in aqua-stim, too push this process one stage further and one I have been using to cast at showing fish is to take a small quantity of powdered betaine and green lipped mussel extract fishing with me in separate tubs, once the aqua stim'd bait has been put onto a rig I was then dipping the wet bait into either one of the powders and giving the tub a good shake to coat the hookbait etc in powdered attractor, How long this attractor leaks after being cast out is debatable however when used to cast at showing fish its just another source of attraction and may help the fish to hone in on your hookbait if fishing a baited area. I have since been putting the pre soaked baits into a small pot of betaine which then forms a crust on the outside of the bait which should prolong the extra kick of attraction. These baits can then either be used as hookbaits alone or as a small stringer combo.

If you take a look at the Lead Shed website www.leadshed.co.uk they have a number of textured coatings for their leads which will absorb liquids, the longer you soak them the longer the attractors seep from the lead in a fishing situation. Another tick in the box from me.

 

Not one too sit on my laurels for too long I have since pushed it one stage further by spraying the whole rig and tubing etc with the relative Richworth spray on flavours, and using pre soaked leads then drop the whole lot into a long plastic container with a thin layer of the betaine or green lipped mussel extract powder give it a shake and you have a rig coated in carpy attractors.

The jury is still out on which of the powders is king as I have only just scratched the surface of the potential of this dare I say edge, as there are numerous powders and liquids available from Richworth and other companies to try.

You could also soak the rig in aqua stim rather than the spray on flavour, the sprays are my choice so far as they are so convenient to use, I have left rigs out for 24 hours and upon winding in the whole rig still smells of the spray on flavour

As we creep into winter or on my current water where distance is sometimes of the essence and from watching the korda underwater series and watching fish feeding over bait I think there is a lot more mileage in trying to make your hookbait stand out either from your free offerings or any possible contaminants i.e. silt etc.

If like me you don't have the time or inclination to make your own hookbaits but are looking to try and squeeze an extra 1% out of your angling or too have an edge over others then the above processes may just tip the odds in your favour.

If any of you try the above or any other combo's then let us know how you get on via the Richworth facebook page and we can all learn from each others experiments and findings

Wet sacks or should I say safety retainer slings. ken beech