I’ve been a massive fan of topping off baits for years. By this, I mean using a boilie on the hair and also adding one piece of imitation corn on top. I’d used both items on their own for years, but it was only one session when I’d run short of my critically balanced boilie hookbaits and only had standard bottom baits left that I decided to put the two together, as the floating corn just added that little bit of buoyancy to a standard bottom bait which I believe is essential in making the hookbait critically balanced so that it acts in the same way as the freebies when being inspected and sampled by the carp.
Improved results quickly led me to believe this was the way to go and, to be honest, I now tend to do it all the time. I now keep a load of different types and colours of imitation baits in a little pot of glug, and add one each time out, before returning it to the glug after each session.
The only downside is that it can be a little fiddly and messy when baiting up with various little bits and pieces, some glugged, some not, some large, some small and so on, which is where these new imitation bait stops from Avid come in – they take away all the mess as the bait stop is incorporated into the design, which speeds up the whole process and makes the finished presentation look even better!
Essentially, they are an imitation bait with a little hook protruding from the bottom, so all you have to do is pull your hair through your chosen bait with a needle, fix the hair to the hook on the stop, and pull it back down – job done – and not a fiddly bait stop in sight… what could be simpler!?
What’s more, there’s a whole host of types, sizes and colours to choose from in the Avid Carp range; Sight Stops (which mimic half a boilie), Corn Stops, Maize Stops, Maggot Stops, and Mega Sight Stops. Check out some of the eBay listings below, if you want to see them in detail. They all come in yellow or mixed colours and are just the job for adding an extra bit of visual impact and buoyancy to your hookbaits. You can also get different sizes on the length of the hook shaft to suit different sized baits – they’ve thought of everything!
Say goodbye to the bait stop as we know it… hurrah!
Available now priced from £2.00 per pack.
Julian Grattidge
Northwestcarp.co.uk
January 2012
