Dear Mike Redfearn,
I keep reading in various magazines about glugging hookbaits. Excuse me for sounding a bit naïve, but as I am fairly new to carp fishing, what, exactly, is meant by this term and what are the benefits of carrying out such an act? Also, could you please recommend a couple of these glugs that I could possibly use to my advantage?
Hope you can help.

Colin Gilbert.

Hi Colin, and thanks for the question. I hope I can help you with your queries.

What Is A Glug Or Dip?
A glug, or dip, is a liquid solution that has been flavoured (and usually coloured). These come in a variety of flavours from most bait firms and are called a variety of names, including hookbait enhancement systems, dips, glugs boosters, etc., etc. You can also make your own by placing a few of your favourite flavourings into a small pot with a neutral dip already in, thus enabling you to put your personal touch to your hookbait. The obvious advantage to this is you may just come across a winning combination that puts you extra fish on the bank, and, of course, that can be your little secret and edge! But as you are fairly new to carping, I would advise you to start off by using the ‘off the shelf’ ones that have been fieldtested and are known to be winners, and in time to come, as your confidence rises, then you can start making your own.

This image shows three very popular dips that have been specifically designed to be used with various different base mixes/freezer baits, which are readily available in shops. Also available to buy are either fishy/savoury or sweet/fruit dips to go with all different types of fishy or fruity boilies and base mixes. I would recommend these last two types of dips for starters, unless, of course, you want to use a dip/boilie combination that is designed to be used together. The most success I have had using combi dips/boilies has been whilst using Fusion freezer baits along with the Fusion hookbait enhancement system.

Glugging Hookbaits
Basically, glugging hookbaits is where you place your hookbaits (whether they are pop-ups or ordinary bottom baits) into the dip. This can be done when they come straight out of the pack, or when you have actually placed them onto the hair of your rig ready to cast out. The length of time left in the dip is up to you; some people like to leave their hookbaits to soak for months and months, others, like me, tend to soak their hookbaits for periods of one week to a month, but if I have run out of soaked hookbaits then I will dip them just prior to casting and still have confidence in them.

What Are The Benefits Of Glugging Hookbaits?
Maximum attraction, minimum food source! That’s it in a nutshell. Although there are quite a few reasons why you would want this, I will quickly detail a couple of examples when I feel using glugged hookbaits will give a definite advantage.

At certain times of year the carp do not want, nor do they need, to feed as much as at others, especially from November to late April. At these times it pays to cut down the amount of bait, whether it is boilies or pellet that you put into the lake. Because they are eating less you want to be able to attract them to your end tackle as quickly as possible without using lots of bait to do it, and the best way of doing this is to have a hookbait that is giving off a stronger than normal signal in the water surrounding it. Most dips are water-soluble, hence releasing all the flavourings directly around the hookbait and drawing the carp in, without the need for laying down a big bed of bait.

I have also found that in late July and August, when the carp have seen quite a bit of angling pressure, that they often tend to shy off big beds of bait and don’t really seem to feed heavily until mid-September, when they are getting ready to slow down for winter. This period can also be a really good time to boost your hookbaits

I hope this helps you Colin. It’s a big subject, but hopefully I have given you a starting point.

Cheers

Mike