Help wanted with boilies

Just started fishing for carp and I want to get in to fishing with boilies, but I don't know where to start i.e. How to tie them on to your rig, Which rig is the best, Which make is the best. Another word I need HELP. So if any of you could help me I would be so grateful.

My advice is to keep things SIMPLE to start with, no matter what everybody else is using. We have to crawl before we can walk!

I dont know where you are fishing, but again keep it simple to start with,try some where easy and well stocked where you can use simple rigs and Ready made boilies, hopefully to catch a few fish and get to grips with your style of fishing.

This will help you get confidence and an understanding as to what and how your bait and rigs are working.

Any well known bait company now produce good ready made boilies, frozen or shelf life, depending on your requirements. My personal favorites being Nash or Solar, but again they are all just as good as each other really. Try to find out what other people are using and if a particular bait is working better on that particular lake

As for rigs, again keep it simple to start with, if you have chosen the right type of lake to start and learn on you shouldnt need the latest ultra complicated rig!

Try just a simple hair rig, tied on nylon or braid, check out the rig page, or try using a ready tied rig, again many well known tackle firms are now selling these, Nash, Fox etc, etc.

Before you know it you'll be making your own boilies, discussing enzmes and Ph's of lipid fats and boring all your non fishing friends!

Keep it simple and use well known reputable brands/manufacturers to start with and you wont go far wrong.

Thanks Ryan for your advice but i have already bored my girlfriend about it today LOL. I am fishinng at Birch house lakes at Brailsford, Derbyshire. They have four lakes and a canal section. I used luncheon meat before but I want to start to use boilies. My best carp is only 10lb I want bigger fish. Anyway thanks again and I hope to test it out sometime this week.

Neil - dont be suckered into thinking baits and rigs are the answer to catching bigger carp(or any fish) - the curent record came out on maize(sweetcorn), and knowing what lee normally uses, it was a pretty simple rig (but may be proved wrong!!). getting too into rigs/baits early on in your carp fishing life will just serve to confuse you and give you more things to worry about. a ready made boilie on a simple hair rig and running ledger will still catch you a lot of fish-just find them first.
Dont worry if you dont catch much to begin with-it being winter-wait till the spring when the fish are a lot more active. Only 10lbs? i think you'll find that the majority of carp anglers are yet to catch a twenty, let alone 30,40 etc-dont take the magazine catch reports to heart.

Thanks for the msg Dave. I have been trying sweetcorn, maggots and luncheon meat. So I thought I would try boilies, but I am a novice in this area. I am going to keep trying with my old methods. Thanks again Dave

Keeping it simple is sound advice Neil. if you want an understanding of rigs and uses of rigs in different situations, then read, read and read some more. Ask questions, loads of questions. Theres a search box on the homepage of FM and you can bet that you're questions would have been asked before. If they haven't, then keep on posting away on here mate. To get you started, try the knotless knot, undersatnd its strengths, learn to tie it properly and read up on why its both simple and efective. This will guide you through how to attach your boilies to get going.

sorry, didn't mean to agree with Dave on this one, 'ja-sus', whats come over me here?

I just like to say a big thanks to Stuart, Ryan and Dave. I've printed of about 40 pages of boillies, rigs and knots, so today I am going to pratice my knots as this is the most important thing.(I think anyway) My next question is What size hooks and Boillies to use. Plus has anyone fished the Birch House Lakes at Brailsford and if so how did you do?

<a href=http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article.asp?SP=&v=2&UAN=2010>This Link will sort you out Neil!</a> Scroll down this link until you get the boilie to hook size grid. In fact the whole series of carp articles for the novice that we put together should pretty much help you through your early satges. If not, give me a shout mate, as we say, we're here to help and this is where we can get you sorted and started!

What can I say Stuart you are God is there anything on this site you haven't covered. I've been looking for 2 weeks for a site like this. All I want to do now is go and fish. But with a broken ankle I can't drive so I have to wait till the weekend for my mate to take me. Thanks again Stuart Santa will coming down your chimmney this year

Thats disgusting....just hope he cleans up after himself!!! (sorry couldn't resist)

The whole series is worth a read Neil as it takes you through step by step. Leave the complicated stuff until later because its an open dporr that you could regret entering!!

Just keep posting questions mate and we're cover them off for you, no matter how silly they may seem to you, ok?

Ok next question is. If I'm using boillies on the bottom how do i make them stay there?

1. What weight should I use
2. Do I use a sinking boillies if there is such thing
and 3. What should I use to temp the fish to my boillies. I mean I can't use boillies if they float can I

Ok Neil, there are three types of boilies mate, bottom baits (stay on bottom), pop-ups (pop-up from bottom-float) and critically balanced (critically balance between popped up and bottom). Lets keep it simple for starters mate and crack on with bottom baits throughout your next few sessions and with winter fast approaching you’ll see the weed dying back so lessens the need for pop-ups a tad and will allow you to concentrate on just one method to begin with. My Suggestion to get you started would be the following, this will allow you to confidently roll forward and as time goes by ask questions based on your results. If you wish to start with boilies and with the colder months now here, start with a fairly high attractant bait such as Grange or Active 8. I would recommend you get the smallest bait which will be around 12mm. The previous grid will show you what size hook to use. Add this hook and bait to the knotless know and hair and leave about 1cm between the curve of the hook and the bait itself (this will allow the natural line aligner to operate effectively, but we’re cover this another time). Use about 10lb flouro (transparent line) or braid (low diameter).

So you now have the boilie, on the hair, tied via a knotless knot to the right size hook for the size of boilie. The link between the hook and a swivel should be around 8 inches. Learn to tie a grinner knot and tie the link to the swivel. Do a search for a korda safety lead and clip and follow the instructions or walk into your local tackle shop and ask them to demonstrate how the safety lead clip works. For starters attach a 2oz lead (we can work through different weights later). Attach the lot to your mainline (which should be around 10-12lb this time of year and the lower the diameter he better. I would then recommend you read the articles on here that refer to PVA bags and winter fishing and then feed sparingly throughout each session. DO NOT take any notice of anyone advising you to throw in kilo after kilo of boilies as loosefeed as this will lower your chances this time of the year. Get that rig right and fire more questions at us matey. We’re here to help my friend!

<a href=http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article.asp?SP=&v=1&UAN=1769>Safety Lead Rig</a>

Can I just say that I've been away for a couple of days, and i am disgusted to find this filth on Fishing Magic. I mean, Stu agreeing with me?????.......

Sorry mate, must've been the jet-lag! (Time difference between UK and Tenerife = 0 hours)

Just count yourself lucky Neil that when you started carp fishing you didnt have to find out what the bloody hell a Monkey Climber was or indeed a Screemer,(Keep it clean!!)

Needless to say things have progressed in the product naming department at least!

I would have fought with a pointed stick for a site like this when I started carp fishing nearly fifteen years ago.

Can any body else remember any naff or irrelevent names for things?

Expert angler!

Swamp Donkey!

honest politician