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TEAM MAINLINE BAIT FAVOURITES – AARON COPP Posted by Aaron Copp

Our Team Mainline anglers reveal their favourite and go to baits...

HOOKBAIT

I firmly believe that presenting a hookbait as naturally as possible, i.e., imitating the free offerings, gives me the best chance of getting a wily carp to make a mistake. In effect, that means using a balanced bottom whenever possible. My results over the decades have also shown that carp in venues under high angling pressure prefer smaller food items. So, if the nuisance fish population allows, and in the scenario where I am fishing over chopped or crumbed boilie, my go-to hookbaits are 12mm Balanced Wafters. I don't want the hookbait wafting around the swim as soon as a carp enters the scene, so I whittle the hookbait down somewhat. I primarily use larger hooks these days (mainly size 4's), so whittling the hookbait a little ensures the weight of the hook is negated. For the vast majority of the time, I match the hookbait to the free offering, so my favourite hookbait has to be a 12mm Cell Balanced Wafter.

BOILIE

Ignore the importance of bait at your peril. If you can reach the situation where your bait is ‘established,' you will reap the rewards throughout the season. In the height of the summer, when the lake's water temperature is at its highest, and so too is the carp metabolism, I have been in situations where anglers around me have successfully used fishmeal-type baits. But whilst there is little doubt that fishmeals can be devastating at the right time of year, I have witnessed their captures reduce drastically as cold weather arrives and they switched over a different bait for the winter. And that is why I have great faith in the likes of Cell and Hybrid over many years. Both baits have proven attractors, and they are ‘all-season' baits, meaning they are just as effective in winter as in warmer months. So the bait you apply earlier in the season will pay dividends as the year goes on and the carp develop a taste for it. As I have described, this puts you at a significant advantage over some other anglers. In terms of an outright favourite, it has to be the Cell. If I get the location right, I never worry about bait. And being a subtle attractor, I have never found its effectiveness waning on the big fish waters I have targeted. Without a doubt, it's a classic carp bait.

LIQUID

I have had success adding Stick Mix Liquids and, more recently, Smart liquids to chopped and crumbed boilie, and that is undoubtedly a very effective way to pep your bait in a nice, subtle way. But my favourite liquid from the Mainline stable has to be the Supa Sweet Zig Liquid. There are occasions when, if you are not employing zigs, then you are missing a stellar opportunity. Particularly in spring, when the carp's metabolism is not yet at its peak (i.e., they are not yet really getting their heads down), and they are spending a lot of time in the upper lays of the water column. My go-to zig hookbait is black foam soaked in Supa Sweet Zig Liquid in those situations.

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