Bait guide uk

S I N C E

1 9 8 7

BY K E V IN NASH FR E E

FROM THE BEGINNING

KEVIN NASH Kevin Nash is most famous for his early tackle developments of safety sacks and weigh slings, few realising the original company he formed in 1978 was called Happy Hooker Bait and Tackle.

The bait side of the business concentrated on successful flavours and attractors he and his friends had painstakingly identified from years of sourcing and fishing time. Soon after Kevin established Happy Hooker Rod Hutchinson started Catchum, and with his immense bait knowledge also brought out a range of top ingredients, flavours and attractors.

Both Kevin and Rod’s businesses rocketed from demand for their pioneering products. Something had to give.

Rod was also producing sacks and slings so they did a deal. Kevin dropped his bait range and Rod started buying Kevin’s tackle.

Then in 1988 Rod’s company Catchum got into trading difficulty and he asked Kevin to partner him in the business.

Sadly the relationship broke down and the company was

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<< FROM THE BEGINNING >>

divided up with Kevin retaining ownership of Catchum and all of its original and unique products, and Rod engaged in a new company, Rod Hutchinson Products. It caused chaos in the marketplace - anglers didn’t know who had what, for example who had the world beating Scopex, was it Catchum or Rod? It was a difficult and challenging time for both Kevin and Rod, and ultimately led Catchum into decline.

Long time Catchum employee Gary Bayes was anxious to turn the company around and a big decision was made. Catchum was wound up and out of the ashes emerged Nashbait. The rest, as they say, is history.

From the start anglers flocked to buy the innovative new range of Nashbait additives and baits.

A range based on not only the awesome products that Kevin and Rod had sourced and developed,

but also gifts from many of the best anglers of the 70s and 80s.

Nashbait was an amalgamation of a world of carp bait knowledge.

Today Nashbait are the longest established carp bait company in the world, with nearly 40 years knowledge and experience supplying ingredients and attractors for anglers who want an edge - resulting in the greatest portfolio of record breaking baits ever produced.

Nashbait is in a way a carp academy for budding stars of the future. Many of the country’s most respected anglers cut their teeth and made their reputation with Nashbait.

Our baits have helped anglers on their way to lucrative sponsorship deals and follow every angler’s dream of making a living out of their passion.

<< FROM THE BEGINNING >>

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CONTENTS

6-9

Factory Of The Future

10-13 Kevin Nash On Bait 14-17 The Right Bait For You 18-23 Instant Action 24-27 Formula 28-31 TG Active 32-35 Scopex Squid 36-39 The Key® 40-45 Key Cray 46-49 Citruz 50-53 Flake 54-55 Better Hookbaits 56-59 Cultured® Hookbaits 60-63 Liquids and Additives 64-67 Old Skool 68-71 Custom Mixes 72-75 Upper Layers 76-79 Out Of The Box 80-83 The Sharp End << CONTENTS >>

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The Factory of the Future

Gary Bayes An amazing new era for Nashbait – it’s the most advanced carp bait manufacturing in the world.

Pressing the button to start the rolling machine in the new state of the art Nashbait production facility was the end of a 30 year journey, and the realisation of a lifetime of ambitions in bait manufacture.

We’re now making bait in the same way global manufacturers make food. The capacity is huge, we can make over 30 tonnes of boilies each week without breaking sweat. Like never before it allows Nashbait to react to demand literally by the day and ensure baits are as freshly made as possible before they reach the

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<< FACTORY OF THE FUTURE >>

which is why we’ve made such major investment – instead of taking several steps forward we’ve made a quantum leap to ensure we remain the largest manufacturer of quality carp baits long into the future. >> shelf or freezer.

The industry has changed enormously with increased competition, pressure to produce more bait more efficiently, and all while raw material costs, wages and transport costs go up.

With massive demand for baits like The Key and Citruz and effective marketing there’s constant pressure on production

Nashbait production at a glance...

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500 kilos of boilies per hour from each of our machines

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Additional production line for custom mixes and Old Skool recipes

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Base mix and liquids automatically blended and mixed

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Continual self-loading extrusion unit

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Constant conveyor and paddle based operation

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Computer controlled water flow, temperature and cooking time

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Fan assisted cooling and drying

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New rollers cut in 10, 12, 15, 18, 20 and 24mm

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120 seconds from extrusion to producing a finished boilie

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DEFRA licensed for storage and handling of animal feeds

<< FACTORY OF THE FUTURE >>

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Push button solution

The science behind the success

The culmination of decades manufacturing boilies is a production line that can be fed dry and wet ingredients at one end, and with the push of a button out come finished perfectly round boilies at the other end, just minutes later.

Production capacity on just one of the two new machines is greater than running all the previous machines put together – leaving Nashbait in a unique position to supply huge volumes of bait like never before.

Producing world beating baits requires an in depth understanding of both carp themselves and also the science of food and nutrition. Kevin and I have always worked together on Nashbait, but leading bait expert Dr. Keith Sykes joining the research and development team in 2012 has been pivotal. Keith’s understanding of the chemistry and analytical science behind everything from vitamins and minerals to flavour constituents to digestion and dietary

requirements in carp has helped us push forward using proven food science that directly affects the success of our products. His contribution developing baits like The Key, the unique Stabilised process and Citruz are well documented.

In House Attractor Blends Hot tub time machine Computer calculated control of the cooking time of Nashbait recipes is crucial for consistent production. Baits are not simply ‘boiled’. The cooking time and temperature required is unique to each bait.

The level of control on the new machines – accurate to less than one degree – ensures valuable and sensitive ingredients are kept at their best not denatured.

It’s been pivotal in the success of developing Key Stabilised and advancing beyond traditional shelf-life processes.

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<< FACTORY OF THE FUTURE >>

Nashbait has always been about innovation and having an edge, and from the beginning Kevin and Gary were clear that they weren’t prepared to use flavour houses to source the same products being used by other bait companies.

Leading the industry by installing their own lab and employing a full time chemist has put Nashbait in a unique position to produce exclusive and world renowned carp catching attractors and flavour blends.

Atmospherics One of the most technically complex operations at Nashbait is the manufacture of the deadly Cultured Hookbaits. The

success of the unique but time consuming glaze and layering procedure that builds the living Culture skin around the balanced core hookbait requires a dedicated room with a controlled atmosphere, air extracted and moisture constantly removed. << FACTORY OF THE FUTURE >>

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Come to that, could the modern carp angler imagine a tackle shop without boilies, let alone having to make his own bait? There were no base mixes, no off the shelf additives, sweeteners, attractors… nothing.

You had to teach yourself the basics of nutrition, what a carp needed to thrive; fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and a few went even further and researched the significance of vitamins, enzymes and amino acids. Unless you gained this knowledge, you’d be fishing with sausage meat, Kit-e-Kat and bread like the rest and catching very little.

KEVIN NASH ON BAIT I can’t think of a better way to explain my thinking on bait than to take an extract from my forthcoming book ‘Herman’s Hole’.

These days, carp anglers generally don’t think that bait is important – but I know that after location, nothing matters more. Go back to when our bait armoury consisted of potatoes, bread, sausage, and cat food paste; we caught a few carp, but nothing to compare with the results we enjoyed on High Nutritional Value baits. I’m not sure the impact of Fred Wilton’s 1972 article Towards the Ultimate Bait in the British Carp Study Group magazine has been fully recognised as the biggest game-changer in carp fishing of all time. Can you imagine a carp world without boilies?

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<< KEVIN NASH ON BAIT >>

“…all the lake’s biggest carp in double quick time.”

Some of us made the effort and learned how to put carp bait together, with probably more failures than successes along the way. When we did find a bait with an edge we would spend five to seven hours every evening hand rolling our precious boilies. Our mission was to find the most effective bait we could to give us an advantage over other anglers. In those days we would arrive at a new water after a week of baiting with HNVs and often catch all the lake’s biggest carp in double-quick time, and then move on.

Sometimes, we’d go through four or more venues a season. Other anglers would spend a lifetime sitting on one lake, struggling to catch any of its inhabitants.

Nowadays, it strikes me how easily carp anglers are led by bait company marketing instead of looking for edges. Back in the early 90s the trend began to get as many people as possible using one bait, selling through the back door of the factory, on the bank, tackle shops... anywhere. To this day, you can pick up carp magazines and the catch reports will be dominated by baits from one or two companies. It’s a brilliant tactic because it doesn’t have anything to do with how effective the bait is – if everyone is using it, it’s the only thing that the carp can eat! >>

“…I’ll share any information except the bait I’m using.”

Keep that Edge...

Forty-odd years of carp fishing has taught me to find a superior bait, and keep that edge to myself.

That’s not easy now I head up Nash Tackle and Nashbait, I have to give up my secrets. I haven’t got a problem with that. I love helping others to catch carp, my only rule on a water I’m fishing is that I’ll share any information except the bait I’m using. I spend significant time establishing the bait and there’s a cost to that. Most importantly, if I’m targeting a specific carp, I want to know it hasn’t been caught on my bait. In moments of madness, generosity has got the better of me and I’ve given some of my bait to someone on the same lake. It has been a painful lesson – costing me the Snake Pit Common, and Herman from Warmwell, at the time the UK’s largest common carp.

I can’t fish a lake if I know that others around me have exactly the same bait. I also can’t keep on my bait if I believe there’s any chance I’ve lost my target fish on it. That fish might well trip up again, but I won’t take the chance.

And here it comes… Nashy can say that because he’s got access to a bait factory. I’ll give you that, but if that was me I’d have my ear to the ground and my eyes on the magazines or social media. I’d want to be first on a new bait that offered an edge and smash my chosen venue before others woke up to it. It’s easier than it sounds as most anglers take time to switch bait. Alternatively, I’d look around for effective baits that were out of fashion.

“That fish might well trip up again, but i won’t take the chance.”

If I did suspect other anglers were moving on with the same bait I’d use them to my advantage and let them do the baiting for me but would up my game and make my own special hookbaits to achieve an edge as well as seek a different way of presenting and applying my bait.

“Baits go out of fashion with anglers not carp.”

The best baits of all time are still just that. I challenge anyone to come up with a bait that caught so many big carp around the UK and Europe as Scopex Squid when it hit the scene in the early 90s. Until being involved in the development and testing of The Key and Key Cray, I was still happily using Scopex Squid, and was very content with my results. Baits go out of fashion with anglers, not carp.

I guess my message here is, if you have a bait that gives you supreme confidence and then it starts to blow, you only need to change bait if you stay on that venue. If you move venues to start another campaign I would always want to be going in with the bait that gives me the most confidence from past experiences and one that I can be as confident as possible hasn’t been hammered on that water previously.

Since I first started selling bait there has been massive change in carp fishing. The baits have changed, the anglers using them have changed, but what remains the same is the importance of using the very best bait and ensuring your bait gives you that vital edge. For me Nashbait has always been the choice of the angler who wants that edge because after location nothing matters more.

<< KEVIN NASH ON BAIT >>

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Which bait and why?

Kevin Nash How to choose a bait that works for you.

Not everyone needs or wants the same things from their bait.

Identify the type of fishing you enjoy and then you can identify the bait that would suit your situation. What the hell is Nashy on about?

I’m a campaign angler, generally picking one water, sticking on it to learn it and catch either the majority of the lumps or a specific target fish.

My approach will be to fish or visit the water at least 3 times a week and introduce bait, establish my food source to get the carp really on it and looking for it, and

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<< WHICH BAIT AND WHY >>

“…fish or visit the water at least 3 times a week and introduce bait...”

I’m not going to do all that work and spend all that money for someone to catch off the back of me because they’ve got the same bait.

At the other end of the scale are a lot of anglers who fish ticket fisheries and often just for day sessions. There’s no point

fish well at least you’ll get your share of the action. My advice would be give yourself the edge by going to the effort of making your own special hookbaits.

For one off sessions of several days where you have some time available you need the best of both worlds, attraction and a quality food source. In all my years I’ve found very few baits that sit in this category, and even now it’s hard to know why some

spending money on a baiting campaign because you are not there enough to make the effort and cost stack up to a result. It’s more logical to use a bait that works on instant attraction, what we often call carp sweeties. It’s often considered a derogatory term, how wrong that is. We all love sweets, chocolates and cakes so why not tempt carp with the same philosophy?

baits catch from the start and then keep on catching, but we’re lucky that TG Active and Scopex Squid are perfect examples. Carp eat them and get caught on them the first time they find them due to their awesome attractors, but even a few days of steady baiting is enough to establish their food value and keep carp coming back for more with results getting better and better.

The other way to attack it is to identify the going bait. If one bait is being piled into your water then it becomes a recognised food source. You will be sharing it with everyone around you but if you

Finally, there is the stalker or hunter style of angler with no better example than Alan Blair.

He is never happier than putting a bait directly to a fish that he can see and catching it in double-

quick time. His approach requires a bait that is really acting like a lure, amongst Alan’s favourites are Coconut Crème and the high attract Citruz. Equally, it could be a Zig Bug, Riser Pellet, a mixer, maggots or bread.

Alan and I have enjoyed some great times fishing together.

If it’s been a water we have targeted, in the past then I have generally beaten him because of my approach to establish a

bait so they are homing in on the food. They’ve previously eaten it, benefitted from it and are now looking for it. If it is a one-off visit somewhere I struggle to keep up with him. He is a lot younger than me, his energy levels are beyond comprehension and put simply, I’m too old to work as hard as him hunting them down all day and night. This is where he scores with his lure approach. >>

“…put simply, I’m too old to work as hard as him hunting them down all day and night.”

Selecting the right bait for you SCENARIO

PROBLEMS

APPROACH

BAIT PROPERTIES

BAIT CHOICE

Day ticket, short sessions

Limited time, high angler numbers.

Fish for one bite at a time with a bait that is instantly accepted.

Elevated levels of effective attractors. High leakage base mix.

Weekend angling and longer one off sessions

No opportunity for prebaiting. Pressured, often warier carp.

Choose a bait that works instantly on the attractor profile but as carp eat it they also recognise its superior food value.

Quality nutritional value base mix. Instant appeal from attractors.

Focusing on one water

No time or finance to prebait.

Option 1: Fish for one bite at a time. Choose attractor baits instead of food baits.

High level effective attractor blends. High leakage base mix.

Focusing on one water

A going bait being heavily applied by other anglers.

Option 2: Use the going bait but get an edge with custom hookbaits or the way you apply it.

Unique smell and taste in an established food for extra takes. Changed physical properties for a better feeding reaction.

HOOKBAIT KITS LIQUIDS & ADDITIVES FLAKE

Focusing on one water

Highly pressured, experienced carp with a high quality of anglers.

Option 3: Establish a food bait on your own or as part of a team and control its application.

High nutritional value bait for better and better results over time.

KEY CRAY SCOPEX SQUID TG ACTIVE OLD SKOOL

Targeting the biggest fish

Abundant bait and natural food. High angling pressure for the ultimate prizes.

Use the highest quality HNV bait possible for carp that are experienced feeders. Be prepared to catch less in order to catch the biggest.

The most nutritionally valuable food possible, offering vitamins, minerals, aminos and food signals.

THE KEY ®

Short sessions, hot weather

Lethargic or seemingly disinterested carp.

Target carp on the surface and in the upper layers not on the bottom.

Floating and sub surface baits with high attractor leak off to pull carp up to feed from below the bait.

RISER PELLETS ZIG BUGS SLICKER FLOATERS HOOKABLE FLOATERS

European Fishing Natural Venues

Super rich in natural food. Large numbers of nomadic carp.

Heavy and widely spread baiting to hold carp for as long as possible.

Instantly attractive, high leakage. Cost effective for heavy baiting to prolong the action.

INSTANT ACTION CITRUZ

Bait of differing qualities readily available at all times.

Option 1: Fish high attract baits for one carp at a time or high attract baits over a steadily introduced food bait for additional takes.

High leakage base mix with instant effective attractors.

Options for colour, flavour and different sizes for presentation changes.

INSTANT ACTION

Intense pressure from high angler numbers.

Option 2: Treat as pressured UK fisheries. Combine high quality attractor packages with a food source that carp respond to better and better.

European Fishing Holiday Venues

European Fishing Holiday Venues

Quality nutritional value base mix. Instant appeal from attractors.

CITRUZ INSTANT ACTION KEY CRAY SCOPEX SQUID TG ACTIVE CITRUZ INSTANT ACTION

KEY CRAY SCOPEX SQUID TG ACTIVE OLD SKOOL

<< WHICH BAIT AND WHY >>

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INSTANT ACTION Kevin Nash Let’s challenge the misconception - many still believe that a cheap bait is a crap bait. How wrong that is.

STEVE BRIGGS One of the greatest carp baits ever is sweetcorn, and tigers nuts are pretty good and they are cheap too…

To be an effective carp angler you need to understand the carp you are targeting and their dietary requirements. Nashbait’s high carbohydrate base mix developed over many years gives carp exactly what they need when they are active, an attractive high energy food.

Using a high leakage blend of cost effective pre-cooked cereals results in a bait that is cheaper than using expensive milk proteins but offers fast release of attractors and maximum digestibility.

Instant Action boilies are exceptional catchers because they use the most successful Nashbait attractors and unique combinations earmarked from many years producing custom mixes and specials.

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<< INSTANT ACTION >>

“Instant Action has changed my views on bait and everywhere I go now the Coconut Crèmes go with me. I’ve had mid 40s on them in the UK, fish to upper 60s at Rainbow in France and caught in six different countries on them the first few months I used them.

They really are white wonders!” >>

Instant Action Boilies FLAVOUR

COLOUR

LIQUID ATTRACTORS

BASE MIX

APPLICATION

Bright orange

Tangerine Oil Palatant Two tutti frutti flavours

Nashbait high leakage cereal blend.

A mouth watering fruit blend that works all year, the oil palatant drawing fish down to the bait, the tutti providing instant attractor leak off even in cold water.

Washed out/natural

Exclusive flavour blend including Scopex No. 1

Nashbait high leakage cereal blend. Spanish tiger nut meal.

Subtle and sweet with a rounded taste from the Scopex and tiger nut meal combination. The washed out finish is ideal for pressured fisheries where bright baits are hammered.

Crab and Krill

Deep red

Hydrolysed Krill Krill flavour Nash Crab Shellfish Sense Appeal

Nashbait high leakage cereal blend. Fishmeal blend from Scopex Squid. Ground and whole oil seeds

Brilliant on venues that respond to fishy flavours and fishmeal baits, the Crab and Krill attractor package is a stinker. A great warm water and big fish bait.

Pineapple Crush

Vivid yellow

Pineapple Oil Palatant Butyric Acid

Nashbait high leakage cereal blend. White and yellow dyes for a brighter visual effect.

An out and out attractor bait, brilliant for spring fishing and action waters. Butyric Acid improves cold water leak off and an oil palatant pulls carp down in warm weather.

Coffee

Coffee Crème Scopex No. 1 Butterscotch

Nashbait high leakage cereal blend. Added milk protein and taste enhancers.

The flavour blend that ran Citruz close as the number one for bites anywhere. Top field testers are using Cappuccino as an alternative hookbait over food baits with huge success.

White

White Chocolate Oil Chocolate Malt Coconut

Nashbait high leakage cereal blend. Added milk proteins.

A renowned cold water catcher and brilliant over weed and silt where other baits become tainted. It’s a top catcher on big foreign venues, rivers, stillwaters, and being bright white is deadly on park lakes and public waters.

Tangerine Dream

Candy Nut Crush

Cappuccino

Coconut Crème

•

Instant Action Boilies: 10, 15 and 20mm

•

All Instant Action Boilies except 5kg bulk bags contain 3 free matching pop ups

200 g

1 kg

2.5 kg

5 kg << INSTANT ACTION >>

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Instant Action Session Packs include: •

400g 15mm boilies

•

200g 10mm boilies

•

100ml Booster Juice

•

6 x 10mm, 4 x 15mm Pop Ups

•

550g 6mm Pellet

6mm Pellet JASON MASSAY

Encourage greater competition than just using boilies in the swim with Instant Action 6mm Pellet. It’s ideal for warm water and instantly increases the food signal in the water. A fast breakdown ensures it keeps fish feeding harder and longer, and is perfect for bag fillings, Method mixes and spod mixes, leaving loads of residual taste and smell.

NO.1

Little and Large

Wet, stick, ball, haul!

After spawning use larger baits because carp need to feed hard and get back in condition. At the other end of the year 10mm boilies definitely get more bites than 15 and 20mm baits in cold water.

The mistake is putting 2 or 3 of them on the hair, you always get the most bites just using a single 10mm hookbait.

Instant Action Session Packs contain both 10 and 15mm boilies plus two sizes of matching pop ups, allowing you to make presentation and feed changes for more action.

1. Add a splash of lake water and a squirt of Booster Juice to Micro Pellets in a round groundbait bowl or bucket so they are only lightly moistened.

Leave for a couple of minutes and the pellets should bind together with a gentle squeeze.

If they crumble too readily, add more water and repeat.

Plume Juices The high viz Instant Action Plume Juices are a breakthrough - creating an aura of colour and attraction around the hookbait.

They use human food grade safe dyes, fishery owners take note! Do not compare them with similar products that could be harmful to fish and the

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<< INSTANT ACTION >>

NO.3 environment.

Use Plume Juices to boost mesh and solid PVA bags, sticks and hookbaits, their application is limitless. When takes dry up on zigs kick start the action again by soaking a Zig Bug or piece of Ziggaz Foam in Plume Juice – the longer the better - to create a high attract visible flavour trail.

NO.2

2. Fill a Ball Maker mould to the top with the dampened pellet, and firmly push the mould together to create uniform balls. Ball Makers are available in 20, 30, 40 and 60mm.

3. Dampened Micro Pellet can also be moulded around flatbed feeders and leads. This scaled down approach can be as effective with difficult carp as it is on commercials and ticket fisheries.

Micro Pellets Instant Action Micro Pellets are different to most pellets because they don’t break down, remaining as tiny individual food items to hold carp and prolong feeding Add Booster Juice or Plume Juice stirred over them to coat them and give an important taste and smell link from your carpet feed to the boilie or pop up.

Slightly dampen Micro Pellets to mould them together, making them ideal for Ball Maker moulds and Ball Blasters or moulding around flatbed Method feeders or Tractor and other flat design leads.

The hookbait over Micro Pellet needs to be able to be sucked in easily. Try a trimmed down slow sinking pop up with the anchor weight directly underneath the bait – you’ll get lots more action!

<< INSTANT ACTION >>

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Formula (EUROPE ONLY) Big Baiting for Big Hits.

Back in the early 1990s I was fishing a huge French reservoir, an inland sea some 50 miles around.

It was an awesome place and contained large shoals of carp that rampaged around the lake like herds of wildebeest. They’d arrive in your swim and the action would be frenetic. It wasn’t uncommon for all the rods to suddenly scream off, virtually simultaneously. Then the carp would be gone, I just couldn’t hold them. How much bait do you need to hold thousands of ravenous carp? I tried piling all my bait out that I brought for the session, 50kg, and still it didn’t hold them - they were gone in less than an hour. So I got Gary to make me up a lower cost bait so I could bulk bait as efficiently as possible to hold the carp even longer.

We have reintroduced my bait, Formula, after I was chatting with some of my French friends who encounter the same situation today on some of the huge reservoirs and rivers they fish.

High carbohydrate bases of cereals are much cheaper to produce than baits with more refined protein ingredients, enabling us to produce a highly cost effective mix ideal for bulk baiting to stop big water, nomadic carp in their tracks.

Results prove that carp have different and varied tastes from water to water. On some venues it may be their preference is for fish based attractors, on others carp clearly have a sweet tooth. Our Formula baits are produced in two variants, Formula Fish and Formula Fruit.

We also recognise that specific attractors seem particularly effective in different regions, and to cater for this Nashbait roll dedicated custom flavour blends using the Formula base mix at the request of European retailers. >>

<< FORMULA >>

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Formula Dip Tip Formula Fruit and Formula Fish have extra dense dedicated dips that concentrate attraction around a hookbait for long periods in flowing water or on big venues.

Dilute the Formula Dips 50/50 with water and surface coat all your Formula boilies up to 12 hours before a session. The thinned down dip impregnates the boilie skin for massively enhanced attraction and taste.

Formula Special recipes can be surface coated with Crustacean Extract, L-Zero or Liquid Betaine, also diluted 50/50 with water.

FORMULA: • •

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Formula Fish, Formula Fruit and Formula Special: 5kg, 15, 20 and 24mm Formula Special available in: Scopex, Peach, White Chocolate, Banana, Sweetcorn, Shellfish, Mussel, Liver, Crab, Garlic, Strawberry and Tutti.

<< FORMULA >>

Julien JOSSELIN

ARCANGELO SORTINO

TG ACTIVE

CHRIS CUMMINS

TG Active is one of the best kept secrets in carp fishing that is available to all. But most have no idea how effective this unusual spicy blend is.

TG Active at Teillatts I was off to Les Teillatts in France for a social with the lads at work. As always for a one-off trip, especially on a water that sees the pressure week in week out that Teillatts does, I was looking for edges, wondering what tactic and bait probably hadn’t been used before.

We had been a couple of years earlier (the first time I had ever fished a commercial water in France) and although I only went because the lads nagged me I loved Teillatts, sitting there at night listening to all those lumps crash out. The place really has a buzz. On that first trip we did pretty well, but I wanted one of the Teillatts’ A-Team. On tapping up the bailiff he told me he’d never seen anyone fish maggots because of the bream. Well, we never had trouble with bream and I knew I could feed them off so maggots would be my main

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<< TG ACTIVE >>

Too many takes!

approach. I also wanted to take my favourite The Key to see if that would sort me out a real chunk.

The alternative bait I eventually picked was TG Active. I’d never used it, but the fieldtester reports were impressive. It appeared because of the awesome attractor package that it would catch from day one, but as a food bait the more you put in the more the

carp grew to like it and really got on it. TG Active is one of those rare baits like Scopex Squid that catches from the off and continues catching until you’ve emptied the lake. That would do for me!

What a cock-up the trip turned out to be. I started piling in the maggots and the rods were away – bream after bloody bream!

Where did they come from?

So the maggot approach was dropped. Luckily I had enough TG Active as backup. Within an hour the first TG rod was away – a nice start with an upper thirty I thought, but soon my joy turned to concern. I couldn’t keep rods out on TG Active for more than an hour or two before I was away with another twenty or thirty. This

went on for three days before I’d had enough. I hadn’t come all that way to wade through the whole population in the hope that the big girls would turn up in the time I was there. The odds were too long, so I wound the rods in and took off the TG. The final cockup was Alan had only brought 5kg of The Key, but still it caught me the biggest fish of my trip. >>

<< TG ACTIVE >>

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OLI DAVIES

“The first time I used TG Active was on a river that I had fished for many years. Within 10 minutes of casting out I was staring at a new personal best river carp, the first I had caught from that stretch. It was obvious to me very early on that this was a special bait.

Over the last two seasons I’ve watched how the fish react to it, feeding the carp in the edge on the Horton complex. Interest is instant and carp return and feed until every last bit is gone.

I’ve caught some of the most desirable carp on the Horton complex on TG, including a mid 40 lb common and the iconic Woodcarving from the Church Lake not once, but twice.

The best thing about TG Active is that it works everywhere, in this country and across Europe too.

I’m always confident when I’ve got TG Active on the hair, and I never worry that my bait isn’t working - I know that it is!”

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<< TG ACTIVE >>

ALAN BLAIR

Kevin comments: Oli had a mega result with those seasoned old warriors at Horton with the TG, but I would also mention (as it appears to have slipped his mind…) I don’t believe it was just down to the TG. Oli hasn’t mentioned he was using TG Active Flake…!

Tandoori and Garlic - good enough to eat I often see the similarity in food preferences of carp and humans. Indian food is the most eaten cuisine in the UK. We were immediately excited by the sample of the human food grade Tandoori Spice complex that forms the backbone of the TG Active attractor package. In tank tests carp went crazy for it.

It’s so tasty you can marinade chicken in it to eat yourself! The T in TG Active stands for Tandoori; and the obvious avenue to complement it was the G – Garlic.

An incredible attractor package

coupled to a great base mix. I will stick my neck out and say it is one of the best, if not the best, instant food baits around. You will empty your chosen lake on it, but unlike Scopex Squid its lifespan seems to be just one season which should come as no surprise – anything this damn attractive can’t work long term.

Ingredient Profile...

2 fishmeals, whole squid meal, krill meal, hydrolysed fish, whole milk powder, 90 mesh casein, chilli powder, piri piri, chai spice, yeast extract, Tandoori spice complex.

•

TG Active Frozen Boilies: Flake, 12, 15 and 20mm

•

TG Active Stabilised Boilies: Flake, 12, 15, 20 and 24mm

•

TG Active Wafters and Hard Ons: 12, 15, 20 and 24mm

•

TG Active Pop Ups: Natural, Pink, Yellow, White 12, 15 and 20mm

•

TG Active Cultured Hookbaits: 15, 20 and 24mm core baits

<< TG ACTIVE >>

33

Scopex Squid

“Scopex Squid was the downfall of Two Tone no fewer than SIX times.”

GARY BAYES

The return of the Nashbait record breaker.

Matteo Marmocchi two TONE

Little did Kevin Nash know when he popped into the Nashbait factory one morning over 25 years ago that he was about to discover the most effective carp attractor of all time.

Gary Bayes showed him a scientific paper, a study on the impact of feeding Squid Extract to salmon. When Canadian salmon farmers graded their stock they typically experienced 30% mortality. This was brought down to virtually zero when Squid Extract was fed to juvenile salmon.

Carp aren’t salmon but it certainly got Kevin’s attention and soon a half kilo sample was heading across the Atlantic. The delivery driver arrived complaining it had stunk out his lorry – containing expensive dresses!

Going on a gut feeling – Kevin Nash “With Gary busy on a campaign and refusing to become a guinea pig the initial field testing fell

34

<< SCOPEX SQUID >>

Scopex Squid broke every county record in the UK, and to this day has probably smashed more records than any other bait.

entirely to me. I decided to choose a water I knew inside out and had fished for 15 years, so I knew how the carp should react.

Disappointingly results were surprisingly patchy and before I knew it I’d run out of the sample.

The supplier refused to send a further free sample, leaving a minimum order of 100 kilos for a still unproven additive. Even back

then it was fifty quid per kilo, do the maths! Based on nothing other than a gut feeling that it was something special I took one of the biggest punts in my life and bought 100 kilos.

The field testers got stuck in, all testing at their own levels. Again results were inconsistent. Some were hauling on it, others weren’t.

Meanwhile Gary had finished

emptying his lake and was happy to give the squid a trial, adding it to his favourite Scopex and Red Liver Oil Palatant combination.

I had a batch as did our A-Team testers. Everywhere we took it we absolutely emptied. The rest is history. >>

JIM SHELLEY PIC COURTESY OF JIM SHELLEY

<< SCOPEX SQUID >>

35 3

Weight Watching RONNY DE GROOTE

One of Gary’s strengths is seeing important patterns from field testing. Picking out consistently bigger fish remains a trademark of Scopex Squid – why else do you think Gary chose it when fishing for the biggest carp in the UK? Field testers would report catches where carp averaged 24 lb on a squid bait with different additives, then when they trialled the Scopex and Red Liver blend the average would go up to 28 lb for example – it’s a bait for the bigger fish!

Addicted to Squid A 1994 campaign by Nashbait testers in Belgium on Scopex Squid saw the country’s biggest mirror caught quickly, caught again less than three months later

by Ronny de Groote at a massive 33.8 kg (74 lb 8 oz) and then again just eight weeks later at an even higher weight by another team member, Phillip Cotinier, who went on with the squid to become the most successful and respected Belgian angler. This Belgian record breaking carp seemed almost addicted to the squid.

Ronny hung his rods up until the following October before beginning a campaign after the country’s biggest common. Three trips in and Scopex Squid worked its magic again, resulting in a new Belgian record common of 30.3 kg (66 lb 12 oz).

Most satisfying of all Gary Bayes recorded the UK’s first 60 lb carp with Conningbrook’s Two Tone at a record 61 lb 2 oz, nearly

36

<< SCOPEX SQUID >>

Out from Under the Radar

a decade after Scopex Squid had first been released. Acknowledged as the ultimate prize, Scopex Squid was the downfall of the mighty Two Tone no fewer than six times!

Scopex Squid was the bait Jim Shelley used to catch the iconic Black Mirror from Colnemere, along with The Client from Fen Drayton. Darrell Peck slaughtered

the Yateley Car Park carp on it, the list goes on and on.

Even pressured carp never stop eating or getting caught on Scopex Squid, it is quite simply one of the most remarkable baits ever.

Nashbait have continued to supply Scopex Squid to top anglers under the radar to this day. With the increased production capacity of the Nashbait factory Scopex Squid is being made available again to tens of thousands of carp anglers who have never had the opportunity to use it.

Many of the flagship fisheries of today that contain the most desirable, difficult carp have never seen Scopex Squid because the bait is older than the 40 and 50-pounders they contain – what an edge!

SIMON CROW

Simon Crow:

Ingredient Profile...

“I was one of the original field-testers of Scopex Squid in the early 1990s. The first time I used it was at the pressured day ticket water Orchid Lake in Oxfordshire. Very little had been out for over a week but out went the Scopex Squid and the rods went crazy! I’d never seen such an instant reaction by such pressured carp. The reeds I was fishing to were being bent sideways as the carp tore the swim up. I ended up with a dozen fish in a day to just short of 30 lb, which on that venue was a great result.

More than twenty years on Scopex Squid is still going strong, and has the real knack of catching those really special fish.”

LT 90 fishmeal, blended fishmeal, Nectarblend, Red R Factor, Nashbait’s cereal blend, Squid Extract, 30 mesh acid casein, yeast extract, Scopex No. 1, Red Liver Oil and sweetener.

•

Scopex Squid Frozen Boilies: Flake, 12, 15, and 20mm

•

Scopex Squid Stabilised Boilies: Flake, 12, 15, 20 and 24mm

•

Scopex Squid Wafters and Hard Ons: 12, 15, 20 and 24mm

•

Scopex Squid Pop Ups: Natural, Pink, Yellow, White 12, 15 and 20mm

•

Scopex Squid Cultured Hookbaits: 15, 20 and 24mm core baits

<< SCOPEX SQUID >>

37

THE KEY

®

Ultimate nutrition for ultimate performance, The Key is the greatest big carp bait ever made available.

Bizarrely The Key was born from me writing my first book The Demon Eye, it brought back memories of the good old days and the journey learning about carp bait. It also reminded me just how effective those HNVs were.

It struck me there simply wasn’t an HNV bait available, the principal reason being cost.

Top baits were £11-12 per kilo, and there was no way we could produce and distribute the highest quality HNV bait for less than £15.

However, I felt there were enough old skool anglers around like me who would love the chance to get back on a pure HNV with the knowledge that HNVs genuinely do pick out the largest and the most rarely caught of all carp.

A carp’s bait preferences can be likened to human food preferences. I liken The Key HNV to dietary preferences in mature adults. Let’s talk cheese. As a youngster I loved Cheddar cheese but there was no way I would eat one of those stinky rotten blue cheeses. As I have got older my

38

<< THE KEY® >>

“I can guarantee your catch rate will dramatically drop but I can guarantee your average weight will go through the roof.” taste has changed, and I love Stilton above any other cheese.

I love the richness of Stilton but because it is so rich I don’t eat a lot of it, maybe a quarter of the amount that I would eat Cheddar.

Oli with Teillatts common

The Key HNV should be seen as a specific bait to do a specific job. It is most attractive to the old carp that have been around the block and seen it all. Which is handy for The Key because those old carp are often the largest and therefore our target fish. Choose The Key only when you are focused and committed to catching only the very biggest and don’t want to waste time and effort wading through younger, smaller fish. A runs bait it ain’t. I can guarantee your catch rate will dramatically drop but I can guarantee your average weight will go through the roof. >>

<< THE KEY® >>

39

Composition The Key is the most balanced and complete food source we can produce, including milk, animal, and highly complex vegetable proteins.

Everything has been analysed through laboratory analysis, not guesswork. Deficiencies have been balanced out using a vitamin and mineral compound specifically tailored for carp and an exclusive amino acid complex. These are just a few grams per kilo, but they are a very important few grams.

THE KEY STABILISED ®

DR. Keith Sykes

The formula that challenges 30 years of frozen baits.

LOZ SMART

The big fish bait – a matter of fact When we launched The Key I was immensely satisfied to note that it replicated the results we enjoyed with Fred Wilton’s original HNVs in the 70s. I had many reports of guys walking on to waters and catching the largest inhabitants on their first session or catching carp that hadn’t been out for years. They weren’t isolated incidents. The Key’s track record catching the biggest carp is not an opinion, it is a matter of fact.

constant feeding stimulus to a carp that simply doesn’t come from other boilies. The Key is cooled and quickly frozen, when the bait is defrosted it continues to produce its own food signal.

A huge advancement has been using protective coagulants and a very short cooking time to prevent heat sensitive ingredients being rendered useless.

Boilies brought to life

“Expect peak activity at 1824 hours after defrosting, with another spike at around 36 hours.

You will see physical changes occurring to the bait, this is natural, and part of the enzyme system being used.”

Developing The Key we have designed and had manufactured a new up to date enzyme system that only acts to pre-digest the complex proteins in the bait. As the bait breaks down it produces free amino acids and offers a

40

<< THE KEY® >>

Dr. Keith Sykes:

Less is More – Kevin Nash comments…

After extensively testing The Key I tried to warn people that fishing your usual helping of boilies was not the right tactic because it is so rich you could well blow your swim. Try putting that message across to modern carp anglers… it’s been brain damage. I pointed out that The Key is no more expensive than other boilies when you need half as much or even less! So actually, The Key represents superb value for money.

Not only is The Key a revolution but history was made with the Stabilised version. We assumed it would be impossible to make a so called shelf-life version without denaturing the bait. Keith Sykes confounded this by introducing a development from the food industry…

Key Stabilised challenges the thinking that frozen is superior – the food is identical in value and the bait performs equally as impressively without needing to be frozen or chilled.

New processes allow parameters such as exact cooking temperature to be controlled so effectively that the amino acids, complex proteins and sensitive vitamins and minerals in The Key Stabilised are protected allowing carp anglers to use the very finest carp bait anywhere in the world.

Dr. Keith Sykes: “I can detect no visible difference in feeding preference to either form of The Key, and

after years of testing I know my fish will show me preferences.

The Key Stabilised is every bit as good as The Key frozen. Some of our testers have switched to Key Stabilised when they have run out of frozen bait and action shows no signs of slowing up.

It’s an amazing new direction for someone like me who has had a lifetime of using frozen baits.”

REMY ZANJONZ

Ingredient Profile...

90 mesh casein, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, lactalbumin, LT90 fishmeal, spirulina, two hydrolysed fish proteins, exclusive vitamin and mineral and amino acid complex, cod liver oil, essential oil blend including black pepper.

•

The Key Frozen Boilies: 12, 15 and 20mm

•

The Key Stabilised Boilies: Flake, 12, 15, 20 and 24mm

•

The Key Wafters and Hard Ons: 12, 15, and 20mm

•

The Key Pop Ups: Natural or Pastels 12, 15, and 20mm

•

The Key Cultured Hookbaits: 15, 20 and 24mm core baits

<< THE KEY® >>

41

KEY CRAY

Agata Korzeniowska

Anyone who knows him will agree you won’t find a drier, more cynical sod than Gary Bayes. He’s not one to be caught up in marketing hype in any way, and his tackle is the perfect example.

MICK HENDERSON

Kevin Nash: Gary once went fishing on a Belgian Canal with one of our Belgian mates. The second day Gary asks if our friend could watch his gear whilst he popped to the shop. To which he replied ‘You don’t need to worry Gary, you could leave that gear for a year and no-one would nick it...’ That sums Gary up nicely.

I don’t think I had ever seen him as excited since the squid extract as he was when we first received samples of wild harvest crayfish meal. My interest was pricked.

Gary has kept carp in a pond for over 20 years, he understands them intimately and the reaction he got when he fed them the cray meal was like nothing he had ever seen before. We had to take this stuff seriously, and immediately knocked up various trial mixes and put it out on test. Strangely just like the early squid extract field testing, the results were mixed.

On some waters the anglers had excellent results only a short time

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<< KEY CRAY >>

after introducing it and on others the bait just didn’t seem to work.

The Key ® cut with Cray The breakthrough came when we cut The Key HNV mix with the cray meal and results absolutely

rocketed. There were still a few anomalies. The challenge for a bait designer is to get a bait to work on the largest variety of waters as possible, and the base of The Key HNV with cray meal was then ‘tuned’ until the most effective mix was established.

Nashbait are in a unique situation, and after decades of making custom baits we have a

book of recipes that would last us a century. When Nashbait launch a new bait it could easily have been tested and proven for over a decade. The Key Cray had only one short season of development and refinement before winter arrived.

I have always had the opinion that no one bait will be deadly through every season, we all know for example how effective fishmeals can be in warmer water but how poor they can be in the winter. It has come as a surprise that as I write this in January following one of the coldest winters for years that results are flooding in, guys absolutely having it off on the Key Cray. Early days I know, but I’ll stick my neck out and say Key Cray is a deadly bait through all the seasons.

We would prefer to carry on testing in the time honoured Nashbait way, but word is out and whilst we have exclusivity on the cray meal for the UK that doesn’t stop the copycats bringing it in from Europe.

Why is the cray meal so deadly? Here’s a final thought. We all know how effective fishmeals and krill meal can be, but they are marine food sources. There has never been a commercially available source of freshwater protein, exactly as a carp would find in its natural environment, and instantly recognised as food until now with the cray meal. >>

<< KEY CRAY CR RAY >>

43

“I used the Key Cray with my friend and Nash Consultant Christoph to bait a local gravel pit.

Due to a lot of work commitments I managed to fish just one or two nights until the middle of November. I was a bit concerned as I had no idea how Key Cray would perform with water temperatures down to just 8 degrees. Three nights later all my concerns were gone – I landed two monsters of 28 and 32 kilos. Key Cray has been a very special bait for all the Austria-Germany team lucky enough to have been testing it.”

ARno bergler

JOHN BARTLEY

“I’ve seen how even difficult carp respond to the Key Cray.

I joined the Essex Manor – carp which have seen literally everything over the years - and my second session I caught a 38 lb common and then braced it with a personal best 48 lb mirror. I’ve seen guys blanking for months, switch to Key Cray and then get five takes the first weekend using it. That’s when you know a bait is something special and making the difference.”

Kevin Nash: Like Gary I am excited about this one, results have been spectacular with big hits of fish from day one and it has shown similarities with The Key in terms of catching the largest carp in the quickest time, and fish that haven’t been seen for years, or in one case ever. I had a report of a January capture of a common larger than the lake’s biggest known common that no member had ever seen before.

Why is this bait so special? I made the observation when I first started using it that it reminded me of the results we enjoyed when we first had the Scopex Squid. Carp just threw caution to the wind and takes came quickly and in unusually big numbers.

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<< KEY CRAY >>

“My first thought with Key Cray base was that you couldn’t make it any more natural to a carp. I caught instantly and was catching three to one on Key Cray compared with other baits that I’d always used confidently.

Where crayfish are present in fisheries the carp seem to be thriving and growing to ridiculous sizes. I’ve also seen them become

MIKE WILSON

very preoccupied eating crays at particular times of the year.

I fish low stock, difficult waters, and caught fish on Key Cray to just under 40 lb, and best of all a 32 lb common which had never been caught before. The more the recipe was tweaked during testing the quicker I seemed to be catching, the finished bait is awesome.”

Ingredient Profile...

Wild harvest crayfish meal, krill meal, calcium caseinate, lactalbumin, LT90 fishmeal, two hydrolysed fish proteins, exclusive vitamin and mineral and amino acid complex, Meat Compound attractor matrix, cheese powder, 3 yeasts, Talin.

•

Key Cray Frozen: Flake, 12, 15 and 20mm

•

Key Cray Stabilised: Flake, 12, 15, 20 and 24mm

•

Key Cray Wafters and Hard Ons: 12, 15, 20 and 24mm

•

Key Cray Pop Ups: Natural, Pink, Yellow, White 12, 15 and 20mm

•

Key Cray Cultured Hookbaits: 15, 20 and 24mm core baits

<< KEY CRAY >>

45

KEY CRAY

46

<< KEY CRAY >>

<< KEY CRAY >>

47

Citruz

ALAN BLAIR

The bait with the zing in its tail…

Some of them were excellent, but when our A Team Testers were asked to pick one above all the others, the answer was always Citruz. I gave some of the trial Citruz baits to Alan Blair and everywhere he was going he was and still is catching fish.

I consider Dr. Keith Sykes a good friend but I avoid calling him because we just talk for hours.

We are both old skool, were both there at the beginning and both understand the essence of carp fishing and are passionate about bait. Not that I would compare my knowledge of bait with his – he is on another planet.

Keith can go on a bit about bait, in fact not a bit, a lot. A case in point was the Citruz. Over to you Keith…

Dr. Keith Sykes: In the mid 1970s I discovered a group of additives which included the legendary powdered Milk B, and its liquid alternative. Milk B was a combination of esters of lactic acid, vanillin, lactone, sweet substances and other esters and aldehydes, it smelled and tasted lovely and carp went potty for it.

Sadly as with so many successful carp bait additives it ceased to be available. Luckily, modern flavour technology

48

<< CITRUZ >>

DAN REED

Alan Blair:

has allowed us to take the chemical building blocks of Milk B and improve it, mixing various esters and aldehydes within the common denominator group that after decades of work we know stimulate carp. It’s been complicated work.

Citruz is broadly based on the liquid version of Milk B, and uses four key component matrixes including esters and aldehydes, a taste enhancing complex and two orange derived essential oils.

Mixed and aged at different times

the resulting attractor package cannot be reverse engineered, it’s produced in house and is unique to Nashbait.

Citruz works all year-round, but really comes into its own when the temperatures drop. If a carp has even the slightest tendency to feed in the winter months then you can bet you’ll tempt it with a Citruz hookbait.

We were testing combinations for the ultimate get a bite pop up, and had savoury, fishy, spicy and chocolate blends out on test.

“Citruz has become my go to bait, it’s the one I take everywhere because it does exactly what it’s designed to – it gets me bites in double quick time. Unless I’m surface fishing or stalking it’s absolutely my favourite bait. I used to be the angler who took a dozen pots of pop ups and worry about which one might be the best on the day, now all my pots are Citruz just in different colours.

Whenever I cast a Citruz out I’m always super confident of a bite.” >>

<< CITRUZ >>

49

Bites against the odds

NO.1 1. Citruz Cultured Fizzing Stick Mix is ready to use straight from the packet, it doesn’t need damping down or mixing with any dip or food liquid.

The Citruz baits being made today are better than ever before because we understand more about carp bait now than we used to – Citruz has been added to and improved in every way. It’s a recipe that gets you bites against the odds, but then you’d expect it to, we’ve been refining it for over 30 years!

CARL SMITH

Pumped for action

2. In colder water make PVA bags and sticks using the ultra fine Webcast PVA mesh that dissolves readily whatever the temperature.

NO.3

Citruz is unique in that it can be used at very high levels, and the atomizer supplied in the tubs gives everyone the option of elevating the attraction.

We tend to spray Citruz pop ups every other day for a week before using them. The finished baits stink but make a huge difference either when it is very hot and carp are lethargic or it’s very cold and carp are unresponsive to other baits.

All Citruz pop ups include a 3ml Citruz Concentrate atomiser for overspraying. Citruz Concentrate is also available in 30ml atomisers for boosting pop ups, maggots, floaters and plastic baits.

NO.2 NO.4

3. A Citruz Cultured Hookbait on the hair is the perfect choice, the Culture skin continually releasing Citruz feeding triggers after the stick has broken down.

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<< CITRUZ >>

4. In water the Fizzing Stick Mix offers a visual target and can be heard by carp long distances away as it gently bubbles to release powerful fruit attractors that rise and fall in the water column above the rig.

smell signature still further with the Concentrate atomiser. The development of the Cultured Fizzing Stick Mix adds another unique twist to the Citruz story – using sight and sound to attract carp from long distances.

High Viz with Fizz The principle of Citruz is a bait that does everything it can to stimulate a carp to feed – the amazing attractor blend, the colour for visual attraction and the option of increasing the

•

Citruz Boilies: 10, 12, 15 and 20mm Stabilised

•

Citruz Pop ups: 10, 12, 15 and 20mm Pink or White

•

Citruz Wafters: 10, 12, 15 and 20mm Pink or White

•

Citruz Cultured: 15 and 20mm core hookbaits, Fizzing Stick Mix

•

Citruz Concentrate

<< CITRUZ >>

51

Flake Kevin Nash

I hate repeating myself and I feel like I am, because I’ve written this for my new book. I had a mega run of success in the mid 1990s from a number of significant edges coming together.

I had the squid, I had come up with the blowback rig, and lastly was absolutely milking a bait approach that no-one else was using at the time. I was baiting with large quantities of crumbed boilies and fishing PVA bags full of the same crumb. I did a national slide show tour and used to make the comment that the only round ball in the swim was the one on the hook.

Carp have had boilies thrown at them for up to 50 years on some venues. It is obvious they have wised up and approach boilies with caution. It’s merely a matter of how hungry they are or whether the bait is attractive enough to create greed so they drop their guard that dictates our success.

I’ve observed their growing fear of boilies repeatedly over the years. I got Gary to produce some 10mm

52

<< FLAKE >>

“I was baiting with large quantities of crumbed boilies and fishing PVA bags full of the same crumb.” rollers at a time when anglers were mostly using 15 and 20mm baits. I enjoyed great success on the 10mm baits for a season before the carp wised up. The same thing happened when we got on the chops.

When I started applying crumb I emptied lakes. I’m not talking about picking up a tool to crumble a few boilies to fill up a bag or spod. I’m talking about baiting in volume to hold them in the area and feeding for longer because it takes longer for them to get their fill, and to stop them in their tracks with a visual, scented carpet of small food particles that would lay on top of silt or weed.

Crumb has become even more relevant with HNV baits like The Key and Key Cray because these baits are so rich the carp don’t eat so much. Feeding Flake holds them longer for the same quantity of food in the swim.

To this day over 20 years later Flake is still my favourite approach and a huge edge. It was such hard work crumbling up kilos and kilos of boilies that I got Nashbait to invest in a machine to flake my boilies. I now get all the Flake I need, the problem is so can everyone else. Just don’t fish on the same lake as me please! >>

<< FLAKE >>

53

Kevin’s Tip The first time you apply Flake in quantity results can be epic.

Don’t dilute the effectiveness of the tactic by mixing it with other baits the carp have become wary of such as particles and pellets.

Keep this approach pure, Flake only and lots of it!

Sliced and Ground Some companies sell crumb and small particles of boilies which are a waste product from manufacturing. Nashbait Flake is produced from whole boilies after they are cooked, exactly the same as the baits that are bagged up to be sold. They are then passed through a cutting machine that produces two distinct elements in the finished bags of Flake - a large percentage of chopped irregular boilie slices and fragments, plus a finely ground crumb element that is brilliant for creating a cloud, and instantly adding smell and taste to a swim.

Soft landing Flake offers one of the best presentation edges possible, the flake and crumb elements sinking very slowly to settle over silkweed growth or resting on top of silt rather than sinking into it.

Even small quantities of Flake

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<< FLAKE >>

impregnate the lake bed or weed, carp returning repeatedly to find every last crumb. Baiting on top of shallow weed – what an edge for the thinking carper where carp are clued up to the danger of feeding on anything but the tiniest of clear spots.

•

Frozen Flake and Stabilised Flake: Key Cray, The Key, TG Active, Scopex Squid

Better Hookbaits Gary Bayes Making your own hookbaits is a serious edge, it’s something Kevin and I have always done.

Between the Hookbait Kits and the Liquids and Additives range there are plenty of ways to create wicked pop ups, balanced baits and special bottom baits that will catch more carp, especially when the fishing is hard.

The base mix in the Hookbait Kits uses additional hardeners to create perfect skins around cork ball pop ups or extra durable bottom baits that can be left out for long periods. They come with the exact same liquid blend that we use to make the feed boilies. As well as changing the levels of the same attractors you can also make hookbaits that include additional additives for a twist, high attract baits using liquid and powdered attractors instead of bright colours. A carp’s sense of smell is better than its sight and if they go near the hookbait they often home in on it and pick it up first.

NO.1

2. Air dry special hookbaits for a couple of days on a hard surface in a dry place. Do not use towels or cloths. Maggot sieves are perfect.

NO.2

3. Keep them in pots in the freezer, taking them out as you need them. Out the freezer e they will last 2-3 weeks if kept out of direct sun to prevent them sweating.

NO.3

1. I use double the usual levels of the dedicated liquid blend in all my hookbaits because I boil them for longer than feed bait.

Killer Combinations TG Active • • •

NO.4 2. Drill slowly through the

NO.5

5. Have hookbaits permanently in soak to use in weed or over silt. The liquid soaked into the skin acts as a physical barrier to bad smells.

NO.6

6. Different shapes are an edge. Dumbbells are my favourite, and very hard for carp to spit out, they bring more action and better hook holds.

centre of the core bait, before pushing a needle through the hole you have created.

TG Active Liquid 1ml Scopex No.1 0.25ml Betalin

Gives a sweeter, creamier spice hookbait.

The Key • •

The Key Liquid 10ml L-Zero

Enhances the fish proteins already in there. Glug the finished baits in Atlantic Salmon Oil or Hemp Oil.

4. If I’m not getting action, my first change is to boost the smell of the hookbait, either with a booster or dip, or the liquid from the Hookbait Kit.

Scopex Squid • • •

Scopex Squid Liquid 5ml Crustacean Extract 0.25 grams Liver Powder (end of a teaspoon)

Used very successfully in some of the custom Scopex Squid mixes we have rolled over the years.

Key Cray • •

Key Cray Liquid 10ml Atlantic Salmon Oil (5ml in cold water)

Or substitute Sweetcorn Extract at the same levels for a creamy, sweeter Key Cray.

All recipes are for one egg plus base mix.

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<< BETTER HOOKBAITS >>

<< BETTER HOOKBAITS >>

57

Cultured Hookbaits ®

Kevin Nash The story of the ‘snots’

Any fishery owner worth his salt should know his carp so when I had Keith and Dave Sykes and Dean Lloyd up for a session on the Church Lake I knew something was up – they were having the session of their dreams. On the odd occasion the Church big girls can be cooperative but on this occasion the boys were mugging them. I just knew they were up to something that they were keeping quiet.

I stood on Keith’s throat until the sneaky Russian came clean and showed me his ‘snots’ as he called them. He opened a pot and inside were greenish, mouldy looking balls. Yuk. They were horrible looking and had a horrible name, but the results were clear to

58

<< CULTURED® HOOKBAITS >>

see. Keith explained that they had been working on these for some time and just hadn’t got round to telling me and Gary… like I said, sneaky Russian!

The concept of Cultured Hookbaits had arrived, and I took my foot off his throat. In simple terms the science behind the snots is taking a critically balanced core bait and growing

a culture skin around the boilie made up of aminos, enzymes and vitamins and minerals - the point being that these essential elements/attractors cannot be exposed to heat which renders them useless.

Maybe he was just generous or perhaps it was the thought of further violence, but Keith kindly gave me the remaining snots when the session ended. I’ve been fishing long enough to know when something comes along that is really special – it’s obvious really if you see a massive spike in how quickly you are getting takes and the number you are catching.

This was so true of the Cultured Hookbaits.

My favourite approach and a

double edge is to feed with Flake and fish a Cultured Hookbait over the top. If a water has never seen proper application of crumb or Flake you’re on to a winner anyway. Add to that a hookbait that the carp have never seen the likes of before pumping out unique natural feeding signals that they use to find their food day to day, and you will mug them. >>

<< CULTURED® HOOKBAITS >>

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Nature Identical Triggers Based on 15, 20mm or 24mm balanced core baits Cultured Hookbaits are repeatedly layered with Culture skin to form a living hookbait. Once cast out the Culture skin will slowly break down over a period of hours (depending on water temperature) until the active core bait remains.

The dissolving Culture skin produces a nature identical feeding signal never before commercially achieved in carp baits – until now.

Continually releasing feeding

triggers replicating those found in a carp’s natural food Cultured Hookbaits are the closest you can come to threading natural aquatic life on the hair. Rich in amino acids and nucleotides that are most effective in their free form, Cultured Hookbaits are simply the most remarkable carp baits ever made commercially available.

core bait once the culture skin has dissolved. Don’t stress fellas… the dissolved skin continues to release strong natural food signals around the core bait. I once put a Key Cultured hookbait out with no feed or free offerings on a water stuffed with bream. The rod went off two days later, producing a chunk a few ounces under 50 lb.

MOUNTING CULTURED ® HOOKBAITS TS NO.1

NO.2

Attraction beyond skin deep!

I’ve had a number of phone calls from anglers questioning the effectiveness of the active

1. Using the tips of your rig scissors remove a 2-3mm section of the Culture ‘skin’ on a bait to expose the inner core bait.

2. Drill slowly through the centre of the core bait, before pushing a needle through the hole you have created.

NO.3

•

3. Insert the stop in the loop and pull it down tight to the core bait before moulding the removed Culture skin back over the hair stop.

Cultured Hookbaits: The Key, Key Cray, TG Active, Scopex Squid, Citruz (15 and 20mm only)

15mm core Cultured Hookbaits 25 per pack 20mm core Cultured Hookbaits 15 per pack 24mm core Cultured Hookbaits 10 per pack

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<< CULTURED® HOOKBAITS >>

<< CULTURED® HOOKBAITS >>

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Liquids & Additives

Gary Bayes A no nonsense range of liquids and additives proven to bring more bites – guaranteed!

Atlantic Salmon Oil High grade Salmon Oil with a typical Nashbait twist, boosted with Salmon Oil Palatant for even greater attraction. Rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids and with a distinctive taste and smell it’s brilliant for stick mixes, helping them to break down more readily.

An excellent warm water surface coat for boilies, pellet mixes, Riser and Slicker Floaters.

Watch the lake because if a carp disturbs your bag or stick then you’ll see a flat spot – a great edge and pretty exciting too! On the surface it helps you watch the controller and hookbait more easily in the flattened water.

Hemp Oil Nutritious and packed with natural hemp attraction. Hemp Oil is an ideal complement to any Method mix or stick mix and great for splashing on pellets for PVA bag work or surface fishing.

A distinctive and under used oil that can score brilliantly when fish oils have been hammered. A well

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<< LIQUIDS & ADDITIVES >>

Tiger Nut Syrup Beautifully sweet, and a formula unique to Nashbait that remains stable where other inferior products quickly go rancid. Fortified with additional concentrated tiger nut extract, Tiger Nut Syrup can’t be overloaded, and is excellent poured into particle mixes or on pellets. kept secret is dipping deadbaits in Hemp Oil for predators – it can produce more action than using fish oils.

Liquid Betaine A naturally occurring organic vitamin like substance found in several foods and naturally in the body, Betaine has a long standing track record as a stimulant used in commercial aquaculture feeds.

Nashbait Liquid Betaine uses two types of Betaine HCL for the most effective attraction. Highly water soluble, however you apply Liquid Betaine it gives you an edge - dipping, splashing, mixing into groundbaits and Method mixes, adding to special hookbaits, there are endless possibilities.

TOM FORMAN

Liver Powder One of the greatest attractors of all time, but often overlooked these days. Brilliant in boilies at 3-5 grams per 4 eggs but I prefer it outside a bait rather than inside it. A tiny sprinkle of Liver Powder on pellets or Flake is deadly, but use solid bags so the benefit is around the hookbait rather than washed off before the rig hits bottom. >>

TIGER NUT SYRUP

Betalin

PURE Crustacean Extract

A blend of fruit esters and Talin – famous for its taste enhancing properties.

Excellent on plastic baits, superb for rounding off tastes in boilies and awesome on maggots at 2-3ml per pint. A great edge is mixing one part Betalin to three parts water and surface glazing tiger nuts. Or mix it at 10% in Liquid Betaine and soak boilies in it for increased and faster action.

Liquid Sweetcorn Extract

Strawberry Oil Palatant

One of the most universal, epic attractors around. Can be used as a hookbait dip or to add a creamy taste to boilies, groundbaits and Method mixes. European and South African anglers swear by this extract to soak maize. This is what your plastic should be living in as a long term soak - the longer they are in there the better they get.

Another old skool favourite originally from the Happy Hooker bait range, Strawberry Oil Palatant is an iconic attractor, famously used in the Amber Strawberry.

Rich and sweet tasting it can’t be overloaded, Kevin’s party piece at shows used to be drinking it!

Alan Blair is a huge fan, using it for dipping plastic, Zig Bugs, pop ups and on maggots.

L-Zero

Scopex No.1

LO-30 was a renowned old skool attractor, unfortunately it became unavailable many seasons back. We just couldn’t let this awesome additive disappear, so with the skills of Keith Sykes and our chemist in the Nashbait lab we have been able to replicate the profile of the famous

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Developed by Nashbait in the late 1980s and one of the all time great seafood extracts. A favourite of Kevin’s and used by Rob Maylin with great success as a dip for single hookbait fishing at Farlows and Harefield. Effective all year round, Crustacean Extract works at high levels for high attract hookbaits, and cannot be overloaded. Use as a boilie additive, a splash or soak on floaters or as a boilie dip or pellet booster. Deadly on floaters which is why Riser Pellet and Slicker Floaters are produced in Crustacean flavour!

<< LIQUIDS & ADDITIVES >>

hydrolysed fish protein. Salty, taste enhancing, PVA friendly and a complex formula now increased to over 50 elements – L-Zero is the best soluble fish protein yet!

A brilliant boilie additive, with no limit to inclusion, and great for using neat in PVA bags or diluted down as a splash and soak.

The original and the best.

One of the most famous and successful flavours ever Scopex No. 1 is a sweet, full and long lasting smell and a crucial part of the deadly Scopex Squid recipe.

Use on its own or in winter with a sweetener such as Betalin or blended with other liquid additives

DAN YEOMANS

for warmer weather. Great on maggots or sweetcorn, and also added to dips for a creamy twist, there is nothing that Scopex No.1 will not improve. Inclusion rate 3-5ml per 4 eggs.

<< LIQUIDS & ADDITIVES >>

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OLD SKOOL The Nashbait Back Catalogue available again – it’s Old Skool!

KEVIN NASH: I am proud of the heritage of Nashbait. Right from the beginning because of our wealth of knowledge we were able to launch very special baits that made a big difference to anglers’ catch rates, not to mention their status and livelihood. It was Nashbait’s Monster Pursuit that catapulted a young Terry Hearn to the top of the record lists with Wraysbury’s Mary and Amber Strawberry certainly didn’t do Jim Shelley’s results or profile any harm either.

NIGEL SHARP FORMER NASHBAIT USER

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<< OLD SKOOL >>

It has often frustrated me that we have continued to make our Old Skool baits as specials for top anglers without recognition. Those who quietly go about catching the UK’s largest carp without seeking publicity, often in numbers that

would put the superstars to shame. Now I can change all that with our new bait facility. Our legendary baits are back, but on a limited basis. We are not going to flood the market as we want anglers to feel they can keep an edge on their particular target water. Old Skool will be available on a limited basis from select retailers. >>

JIM SHELLEY PIC COURTESY OF JIM SHELLEY

•

Old Skool Frozen or Stabilised: 15 or 20mm

•

Old Skool Pop Ups and Wafters: 12, 15 or 20mm

•

Old Skool Boilie Dip

• • • • • • • • •

Amber Chocolate Amber Strawberry Tangee Squid Tangee Peach Monster Squid Red Monster Squid Purple Monster Pursuit Whisky 4G Squid << OLD SKOOL >>

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OLD SKOOL - carp bait history in a bag!

Amber Chocolate Nashbait’s Amber Attractor birdfood mix is exceptional on lakes where boilies being tainted by weed and silt is an issue, used

by Kevin himself at Snake Pit to hook at the time the lake’s only two residents - both the big commons in a couple of weeks.

Amber Chocolate uses White Chocolate Oil and Chocolate Malt for a marriage made in heaven. A legendary cold water campaign bait, chosen by Terry Hearn for the notorious Sutton-at-Hone.

Ingredient Profile: Amber Attractor/S Mix All Season, Chocolate Malt, White Chocolate Oil, 2 Sweeteners

Amber Strawberry The white wonder, made famous after the incredible success enjoyed by Jim Shelley.

An all year catcher, and excellent winter campaign bait. Uses both oil and ethyl alcohol strawberry

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<< OLD SKOOL >>

flavours for a timeline of attraction and resists silt and weed odours that cripple the attraction of other mixes.

Ingredient Profile: Amber Attractor/S Mix All Season, Big Strawberry (EA), Strawberry Oil Palatant, Scopex No.1, Liquid Liver.

Tangee Squid Developed by Kevin Nash for Warmwell, Tangee Squid produced more carp for him in one season than all the other anglers put together. Gary Bayes bagged 8 Essex Manor 20s in a day on his first trip after baiting with Tangee Squid. A simple but amazing bait, the list of Tangee fans is long and distinguished!

Ingredient Profile: S Mix Squid, Tangerine Oil Palatant, sweetener.

Tangee Peach Well known Essex Carper Dave Jordison can be thanked for this combination, after requesting a

unique squid mix bait. The blend of Peach and Tangerine Oil Palatants on the All Season mix smashed waters everywhere in the UK and abroad. Tangee Peach has been proven to have a great track record for the big fish as well.

Ingredient Profile: S Mix All Season, Tangerine Oil Palatant, Peach Oil Palatant, sweetener.

Monster Squid RED Nashbait’s flavour chemist developed a formula of over 35 fruit esters to create the exclusive Banana Oil Palatant. Used in a 50/50 mix of S Mix and Monster Pursuit it became Monster Squid, a brilliant long term bait, lasting season after season due to the complexity of its label.

Ingredient Profile: S Mix/ Monster Pursuit, Scopex No. 1, Red Liver Oil, Banana Oil Palatant.

Monster Squid Purple Specials using purple dye had always been a proven edge, outfishing all other colours. With no other purple baits on the market Monster Squid Purple was released as a limited edition special with the Robin Red removed. The resulting bait was tighter textured with the Banana Oil coming through more than in the original recipe, and better out of a throwing stick. It was a huge hit both in the UK and Europe.

Ingredient Profile: S Mix/ Monster Pursuit, Scopex No. 1, Red Liver Oil, Banana Oil Palatant.

Monster Pursuit One of the original Nashbait giants from the early 90s, and without doubt the most famous Robin Red fishmeal in the world. It was Monster Pursuit that helped talented teenagers Terry Hearn

and Nigel Sharp to fame, catching all of the Yateley big fish between them, many more than once!

Ingredient Profile: Monster Pursuit, Shellfish Sense Appeal, Pure Crustacean Extract, Seafood flavour, green lipped mussel.

Whisky Nobody actually knows how a bottle of whisky extract landed on Kevin’s desk. It fascinated him, and was often picked up, sniffed and put down. It smelled of whisky but there was more to it. A friend of Kevin’s asked for it in the squid mix – Kevin had literally missed what was under his nose. Whisky made headlines instantly, made famous by prolific writer Shaun Harrison. On Horseshoe if you weren’t on Whisky Squid it wasn’t worth casting out!

4G Squid A squid variant that combined low level Robin Red, tiger e nut meal and the 4G Squid Salt Dust compound, a unique taste enhancing Rock Salt. Using the same famous liquid attractor package as Scopex Squid, 4G Squid instantly won fans and emptied venues all over the UK and Europe.

Ingredient Profile: S Mix Squid, Scopex No. 1, Red Liver Oil, sweetener.

Ingredient Profile: Milk protein enhanced S Mix Squid, Whisky Extract, Cream Extract, Liquid Liver, sweetener. << OLD SKOOL >>

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CUSTOM MIXES Kevin Nash Be different, not the same.

I’ll share anything with other anglers on a water, except my bait. That’s one element of my fishing that doesn’t change, and gives me an important edge.

Top anglers are particular about bait – it has to be just right. That might be ingredients added for specific times of year such as rock salt, or changes to size, texture and colour, even boiling time. Nashbait offer the only true custom bait rolling service, perfect for campaign anglers and baiting teams.

Nashbait have rolled more custom mixes for top flight carpers than any other company, and continue to offer bespoke baits because we know the importance of an exclusive mix when the stakes are high and you need every edge you can get. >>

<< CUSTOM MIXES >>

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NEIL MUNDY

Custom Mixes • • • •

Minimum order one mix (80-100kg finished boilies) Frozen or Stabilised One size bait per mix, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20 or 24mm plus dumbbells Cost varies depending on base mix and additive

Ingredients and additives Choose any additives from the Nashbait portfolio.

From liver powder to chilli flakes, high levels of green lipped mussel or elevated liquid foods – you choose.

Got a favourite additive or blend that Nashbait don’t have? Simply supply it yourself!

Texture A custom mix made harder suits throwing stick work or fisheries with nuisance fish. Softer baits release attractors more quickly and perform better in colder water.

Colour Common requirements are black custom baits to defeat bird life or decrease the scare factor in hard fished carp, or pure white and even hot pink to stand a custom bait out.

The BIG black book!

Nashbait boss Gary Bayes has consistently kept a record of all the custom mixes produced over three decades. Religiously noting the recipes that have resulted in huge catches it’s a priceless resource, allowing a successful custom mix to be picked that has already been proven as deadly.

Enquiries for custom baits:

baitorders@nashtackle.co.uk

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<< CUSTOM MIXES >>

COLIN DAVIDSON

SAMIR AREBI

NEIL WHITE

UPPER LAYERS KEVIN NASH

Here we go again…

I’ve described how Gary and I ‘discovered’ Riser Pellet in my new book, the sequel to A Demon Eye - at this rate it won’t be worth buying as I’ve written half of it in here!

It was a pure fluke but thank God we did discover it. I do hope the intelligent carp angler truly understands that I’m not one for marketing hype, I can only tell it as I see it based on my own observations, and I believe on its day no carp bait is more lethal than Riser Pellet.

“I believe on its day no carp bait is more lethal than Riser Pellet.”

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<< UPPER LAYERS >>

You’ll see it on The Final Account DVD, within minutes the whole population of The Copse were on the surface eating Riser. Less than five minutes after casting out I had a 52 lb 2 oz mirror.

No one was more surprised than me when shortly after I braced it with the Emperor Common at 51 lb 2 oz. I’m not one for records but apparently that is the largest UK brace of floater caught carp ever, and in less than ten minutes. >>

“create a small trail of Riser Pellet drifting across as much of the lake as possible.”

The way carp feed on Riser is really interesting. They don’t come up underneath and suck it down like you would expect, they swim parallel to the surface with their shoulders out the water eating continuously. It is a sight to behold, even difficult carp become completely preoccupied.

The trick is to create a small trail of Riser Pellet drifting across as much of the lake as possible, then the Riser will almost seek the carp out! As it drifts some of the pellet slowly sinks, which brings the carp up to investigate.

Keep feeding the Riser until they are really having it then go after them with a Bolt Machine and Hookable Floaters, Riser Zig Bugs, or my favourite approach zigs fished slightly overdepth on the surface. For the zig approach it’s all in the feeding, too much and they follow the Riser away from the hookbait. Aim to coincide the drift of the free offerings so that the feeding activity is concentrated around the hookbait - pure skill and immensely satisfying!

Nashbait Floaters...

•

Riser Pellet: Strawberry Oil and Pure Crustacean

•

Slicker Floaters: Strawberry Oil and Pure Crustacean

•

Hookable Floaters: Strawberry Oil and Pure Crustacean

(include free Hookable Floaters) (include free Hookable Floaters)

I believe Riser triggers their natural feeding instincts, replicating a hatch where insects rise to the surface to shed their husks. Some parts of that husk sink downwards which attracts the carp up to feed on the hatch before it is over.

Here is the big tip… Don’t catapult it out where it will sit in the same place on a still day. Pick a day with a light breeze, get on the back of the wind and start ‘pulting small pouchfuls out every few seconds.

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<< UPPER LAYERS >>

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Getting Out of The Box

Kevin Nash My whole carping career and successes have been based on one philosophy, get an edge over the other anglers around you – a rig edge or a bait edge.

If you don’t have an edge then you’ll fish like the rest and catch the same as the rest. I am seriously competitive and want to smash a lake and everyone around me, sorry lads but that’s how it is. Here’s a couple of bait concepts that I came up with which have given me that much needed advantage especially where the quality of angler is too damn good - except in my case they aren’t quite so sneaky as me.

Bug Life The powers that be, namely Alan and Oli, insisted I make a DVD, well I’m a carp angler not a

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<< GETTING OUT OF THE BOX >>

film star and I hate being in front of a camera but the pressure was forceful to say the least.

So I agreed to do The Guv’nor to try and put across my thoughts on successful carp angling. We picked the Church for the project but some 300 anglers had fished it and those carp had really wised up. I needed an edge. I’d been pondering the Zig Bugs and what a game changer they had been.

Carp had been going about their business eating bugs mid-water

and getting away with it – and we had all missed it. So why not fish bugs on the bottom? Carp were eating bugs everywhere. This was my approach alongside The Key which I was field testing, bottom bait rigs with Zig Bug hook baits.

What I needed though was some feed.

I wanted to attract a carp to the bug on the bottom with a natural food source, i.e other bugs.

That is what Bug Life is all about, instead of a groundbait designed to attract carp, it’s designed to attract bugs, Mr Carp swims along and suddenly comes across a dense concentration of aquatic insects, shrimps, snails and the like. All are things that a carp has

no fear of because unlike a boilie it has never been caught on them.

Mix with the Bug Life Juice and listen to the noise. Bug Life is unique because it pops and crackles utilising sound to attract carp. It is a known fact that fish, including carp, can hear noise from great distances and it is believed they can hear their mates crunching up food such as snails and mussels.

The uncommon common If you watch The Guv’nor, after a blank night I had a look round before packing up and spotted a couple of carp at the opposite end in a corner swim named No Carp Corner. Guess why? Carp are

notoriously difficult to catch there.

I put two baits in the margin and one was a boilie and one a couple of feet away from it was a zig bug on a bottom bait rig which I fed Bug Life over the top of. I watched a carp come along the margin from the right, it paused then >>

<< GETTING OUT OF THE BOX >>

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carried on over the boilie rig but stopped in its tracks over the bug rod. Within seconds the bug rod was away with a nice common.

I felt quite chuffed with that, the point is, that carp swam past a Key boilie which I later went onto hammer the Church carp on but it couldn’t resist the Bug over the Bug Life groundbait. The common I caught was a very rare visitor to the bank and at the time of writing has not been out since my capture over three years ago. A coincidence?

Sometimes you need to get out of the box to have an edge or catch a particular fish! Bug Life may well be that edge to keep up

your sleeve for the right situation, especially when in front of heavily pressured carp.

Gyro Bug Nothing floats my boat more than creating the feeding situation, setting my trap and it all coming together and the buzzer screaming, I always feel I’ve earned the capture.

Once I had proven the effectiveness of the Zig Bug concept I lost interest because it was a bit too much like fishing singles, a tactic I dislike. I wanted to create a feeding situation, so I

came up with Gyro Bug. What if I baited with a feed that underneath my zig bugs would break down and lift up in the water column creating a mid water baiting situation with food rising up as well as falling down? And I’d cover two situations, the chance to nail carp mid water or on the bottom…

After a lot of experimenting I arrived at a three part mix using a base groundbait, Riser Pellet and a blend of real dried bugs plus the purpose designed Gyro Juice. Feeding it and filming how it behaved underwater was a revelation, you can see on Nash TV on Youtube the footage of how the balls lift off the bottom, revolve and break apart with food particles rising up and sinking back down again. I was excited because when I used Gyro Bug I could visualise the way I was encouraging carp to search and hunt for food particles at different levels of the water column. Gyro Bug has been a breakthrough because you are no longer limited to feeding on the top or the

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<< GETTING OUT OF THE BOX >>

bottom – the bait actually feeds at all levels and pulls the carp to the hookbait.

Gyro has been missed by many but those who have understood it have made tremendous catches, with twists like adding additional Riser to the mix to create balls that float and shower food particles down over zigs as well as working from the bottom upwards – edges everywhere!

<< GETTING OUT OF THE BOX >>

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The Sharp End

I went on to explain why I’d picked the swim and then set about trying to convince the viewer that I knew what I was talking about when it came to fishing zig bugs. By the time that was all done it was early afternoon, the rods had been out all morning, I’d caught nothing, seen nothing and what was bothering me was the wind had an unexpected chill to it. I went for a walk and immediately felt the warmth of the sun at the other end in the calm water off the back of the wind and elected to move.

I had that entire end to myself except for two lads on the opposite bank. I sat there, my mood darkening. By this time I’m thinking if I don’t catch something before we pack up tomorrow Alan and Oli are going to drag me out do to this bloody feature again.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my meanderings and thoughts about bait. I’ll sign off with a Darkening mood story. Bloody filming again…

Alan’s dragged me off to a club lake which we had joined but never fished. It contained a good head of doubles, around ten 20s, a mirror of mid to upper 30s and the biggest fish was a cracking original common that generally came out around 40 lb.

The script was Nashy will illustrate how to approach a new water and as it was early Spring also give you a masterclass on Zig Bugs. Great! I was overwhelmed with enthusiasm. Not. We turned up in the morning, I check the weather and it was going to be sunny with a light westerly breeze.

Right guys, Alan and I are at this club lake and I’m going to show you how I approach a new water...

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<< THE SHARP END >>

I’d seen just one carp that kept rolling in front of the lads opposite, a good fish but I couldn’t get to it. With dusk approaching and with it my mood getting even darker the two lads packed up and left. I needed to get focused and gave myself a talking to because I didn’t want to have to come back. I called Oli down and we recorded a quick five minute clip on a new Zig Bug we were launching, the glow in the dark bug, no surprise called a Glow Bug. I whacked it out to the showing fish, positioned another zig rod and then put two bottom rods out underneath each of the bugs, baiting with Gyro Bug Mix. I had a blank night but just after dawn my right hand rod was away and this fish felt lumpy and I’m trying to play it with Alan in my ear saying it was a shame it was on one of the boilie rods not a bug. I was so focused on this fish it was a few seconds before I realised what he was saying. Then it hit me, it was on the new Glow Bug! He’d seen me cast my rods out earlier, but wasn’t aware I had switched them around. >>

I heard a car pull up behind me, then a guy walks around for a chat and it turns out he used to come to the tackle shop where I worked as a Saturday boy, some 44 years earlier. Small world! I explained we were filming to which he replied he wouldn’t fish then.

No, no, I said, it only means this part of the lake is being used, really I don’t want to ruin your session. He explained he was retired and could fish any time he wanted, bless him and said he’d leave us in peace to make our film – a good guy.

What’s the story?

“In just 23 hours at a venue I’d never seen or fished before I’d caught the lake’s biggest resident. Jammy or what?”

He let out a cheer and was well happy.

He was nowhere near as happy as me, because it meant I’d nailed this film and could go back to my fishing away from the cameras. I’m easing it in closer and closer when Alan exclaimed ‘It’s only the big common… ” In just 23 hours at a venue I’d never seen or fished before I’d caught the lake’s biggest resident.

Jammy or what?

Couldn’t just sit there…

Fast forward one year and we’re back on the same venue. This time Alan wants to do a feature on Zigging with Riser Pellet. I’ve turned up in the morning for what would be only my second ever session as I’d not been back since I caught the common the year before. Alan had done the night and was going to shoot home for a shower before the camera crew turned up.

I sat waiting for the camera crew. I didn’t want to get fishing in case I caught something before the crew arrived. But I couldn’t just sit there could I… so I put one rod out on a zig and baited around it with Gyro Bug.

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<< THE SHARP END >>

He walks away and then changes his mind and comes back and says Kevin can I just ask you one thing? I said sure. What is the true story of that common you had last year? I asked what he meant.

He told me he’d been in the club eight years targeting that fish with no success to date, yet according to the film I’d caught it in less than 24 hours. I said honestly, as it was filmed was exactly as it happened.

He laughed, muttered something about me being lucky and made his way to his car.

He drove away as Alan’s car reappeared. At that moment I had a take, hooked a fish and played it as Alan made his way around and proceeded to do the honours for me - netting the big common once again.

If you have watched the piece on Nash TV of me zigging with Risers you may remember there’s no mention of the common. I slipped it back with the opinion that no-one would believe me.

Like I said you always need those edges, selecting the right bait at the right time, the quality of that bait, a different form of presentation from the norm… fish like the rest and you will only catch like the rest. Was that common lucky or not?

Nashbait – “Fish well and I guarantee you will have a result!”

A

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