Boillies........

Neneman Nick · Jul 5, 2007

This one has probably been asked before and indeed answered many a time but here goes anyway.... When choosing a boillie for carp fishing (or indeed any species that readily get caught on boillies) why do some big fish anglers prefer frozen over off the shelf???
Do frozen baits taste better??? can they be continually re-frozen and thawed??? I can see why a bag of off the shelf baits is so convenient but what are the pros and cons i should be considering when choosing between these two???

Paul B · Jul 5, 2007

I'm no expert on bait but arguments i've seen in the past have pointed towards frozen bait as being of a higher food value and better for long campaigns than shelf life. Shelf life baits need some kind of preservative and (other than possibly sugar)i'm not aware of one with any nutritional value; shelf life are often "high attract" type (higher flavour levels) which arguably will "blow" quicker than a lower flavour higher food value frozen boilie.
Another argument i've read is that shelf life bait can take so long to break down that they can start to rot and pollute the water, whereas frozen bait breaks down quickly and gasses up, floats and gets picked up by birds and other beasties.

You shouldn't re-freeze boilies once thawed but air drying any left-overs is easy enough and gives near shelf life convenience.

I'm sure the experts will disagree with/re-educate me on some of that!

Matty C · Jul 6, 2007

why shouldnt you re-freeze them ?

dadondo · Jul 6, 2007

hi matty you shouldn`t re-freeze boilies as most are made with egg as a binder therefore you are adding more bacteria each time you re-freeze and thaw the boilies.The freezing process is the preserver and this stops the boilies going off .

Frothey · Jul 6, 2007

bacteria's a good thing - why spend time adding amino's and enzymes when the bacteria do it for free....

EC · Jul 6, 2007

I remember an article by Rod Hutchinson I think it was who talked about the effectiveness of his bait going up when it was mouldy!

I've got loads of mouldy (now defrosted) A8's in the garage.

My garage smells.

dadondo · Jul 6, 2007

hi frothey so are you saying that thawing and re-freezing boilies is a good thing?

Paul (Brummie) Williams · Jul 6, 2007

Mould is salty? at least the blue cheeses i love are!

We know salty tastes can attract fish....perhaps mould is the ultimate natural "salt"?

Or perhaps we are all guessing and just don't know?

craftycarper2001 · Jul 6, 2007

NO NO NO do not re freeze youre bait think about it lads the amount of bacteria that will build up in the boilie will be extreemly harmfull to the carp if diggested
would you re-freeze some chicken you didn't get to one night then thaw it out again at a later date i think ya might end up with food poisoning the carps digestion system is not as strong as what ours is and a lot of carp baits is based on human food grade so please all (you do not have to believe me but use the net search engine for frozen boilies like i did there is a lot of info on this subject and it can kill the fish )only thaw what ya need .

Ray Daywalker Clarke · Jul 6, 2007

Re freeze your bait its easy.

This is how i do mine and have no problems.

When thawed and air dried, after your session take your boilies home, i get a large pan half fill it with water cold or hot.
Tip the boilies into the pan for a minute, strain them off, lay them on an old towel roll them around to take off the wet.

Put them in a freezer bag add some flavour and put them in the freezer. Perfect boilies time after time.

Steve Spiller · Jul 6, 2007

Ray does air drying the boilies stop the bacteria?

Ray Daywalker Clarke · Jul 6, 2007

Dont know Steve i am not a scientist as you would have guest.

The air dry part as i am sure you know, stops the boilie going soft and sticky.

Maybe freezing them kills the bacteria.

Frothey · Jul 6, 2007

craftycarper - dont believe everything you read on the web!

if the bacteria are so dangerous, there would be fish popping up everywhere - how do you stop the bacteria working on a bait once its chucked in the lake? carps digestive systems are nothing like ours, but we could eat re-frozen chicken if our immune system got used to it. carp eat their own poo, decaying vegetable/meat, anything really. i really wouldnt worry about the bacteria on bait!

dadondo · Jul 6, 2007

hi steve bacteria need moisture and warmth to multiply by freezing you only stop this process until thawing and then the bacteria will again multiply. air drying takes away the moisture which the bacteria needs to grow/ multilpy thus stopping our baits going off .

dadondo · Jul 6, 2007

hello again frothey so are you saying that its ok to re-freeze boilies, and they have no detrimental effect to the carp?.i do understand that in their natural habitat that they eat all sorts of decaying and natural foods so can you tell why bacteria is not a problem to carp.

Big Rik · Jul 6, 2007

don't confuse bacteria which may be harmful to the delicate balance of our stomachs, with something that passes straight through the digestive system of a carp, which has no stomach, gut, or natural bacteria to breakdown foodstuffs.

We are human, they are fish, don't confuse the issue.

dadondo · Jul 6, 2007

big rik are you saying its ok to re-freeze boilies.

dadondo · Jul 6, 2007

i was always told not to re-freeze boilies as they will harm the carp , if this is not the case then fair enough i have wasted
lots of bait i could have re used at a later date .

dadondo · Jul 6, 2007

by the way i now air dry my left over frozen boilies .

Steve Clements · Jul 7, 2007

So no-one is prepared to state that re-freezing baits is good/bad then?
carp eat all sorts of rubbish and still thrive.
As Rik pointed out, they have no stomach and their life/environment/diet is nothing like ours so we cannot apply human health issues with a fish.
What evidence has been offered that the process is detrimental?
I air dry mine, they last longer.

PS: when I fished a syndicate water, Trigga shelf life out scored the frozen version.

Boillies........

Well-known member

Well-known member

New member

Active member

Frothey

Guest

EC

Guest

Active member

Paul (Brummie) Williams

Guest

New member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Frothey

Guest

Active member

Active member

Big Rik

Guest

Active member

Active member

Active member

Steve Clements

Guest