Boilies
This subject is a problem for me, as I feel that we are all being conned a bit by the extravagant claims that are made for the fish catching abilities of the humble boilie. I don't doubt that every type of boilie ever made has managed to catch fish, but if that is true and bearing in mind what a strange mix of ingredients are used in their manufacture, then it would appear that almost anything that a fish deems to be edible can and does catch fish, and that is the problem. Why do we need boilie's in the first place, why not all of the more common baits such as bread, maggots etc etc. These baits have one great failing and that is just how long they will remain on a hook. Carp anglers above any other type of angler need a bait to be attached for as long as possible to his hook, as he is not going to recast endlessly because he thinks that his bait may no longer be attached, and risk disturbing any fish that may or may not be in the area, and it is for this reason that the boilie came into existence. A boilie is nothing more than paste that has been boiled for a short time so that a skin is formed around it, this makes it impervious to the attentions of the small fish and an angler can leave his bait out for hours, or days if he wishes to. The formulation of boilie's gets stranger every week with ever more obscure ingredients being incorporated into them, and my feeling is that with slick marketing then all of these expensive ingredients can be justified. Dick Walker said many years ago that floats were made to catch anglers and not fish, and I think that boilie's can be classed the same. I do use boilie's myself at times, but for most of the time the more conventional baits will suffice, as I do not want my bait to last forever.
