I received these recently through the mail, and, if I’m honest, didn’t really fancy my chances with them; I’ve never heard of ‘Carp Zoom’! Initially, they got shoved in the rucksack and forgotten about, but on a recent trip to Baden Hall fishery near Eccleshall in Staffordshire, I thought I’d give them a go.
Baden is full of hungry carp and bream and I know that fishmeal pellets do well. On the day we arrived, my fishing buddy chose to use two rods baited with boilies; I had a carp rod out and I thought I’d have a crack at ‘The Method’ using the pellets.
The packaging is fairly nondescript, nothing flashy or particularly eye catching, but the bigger packs are ‘zip lock’ to retain freshness and the hooker tubs seal with a screw top so there is no danger of a burst bag or tub in the bottom of your rucksack! There are lots of different colours and flavours to choose from and, on the day, I used the scopex pellets in the 10mm size. Texture of the pellets on the hair was consistent. Easy to push a baiting needle through without stabbing myself in the finger or leg, (a common problem!) and the pellets are firm enough to withstand even the biggest cast without breaking up. The 10mm are fairly uniform in size, some are slightly shorter than others but there are no ‘bits’ and each tub contains enough to keep you in bait for a good few sessions.
Do they work?? With a fairly sticky method ball, it took only a couple of minutes for fish to break it down and take the bait presented on a 3” hook link. Bite indication was positive as expected when fishing this way, but every single bait was taken properly, no fish were foul hooked swimming over the baited area and the pellets discharged to give a great hook hold. The weather conditions were pretty tough during the day, and few other anglers were catching. After a couple of hours we even had others who were fishing come over to see what was going on as we had caught consistently on the ‘Carp Zoom’ baits all morning;- we eventually agreed to share our secrets, and shortly afterwards other fish came out to prove it was the bait, not the location, that was the key. With over 150lbs of good sized bream and carp, the pellets out fished every other bait on the day.
‘Carp Zoom’ is a Hungarian company based in Budapest. If you look at their website (www.carpzoom.com) you will find that the range of baits is actually quite impressive! From pellets and boilies through to artificial and groundbaits, they seem to have something for everyone. I now have quite a few different sizes and flavours of ‘Carp Zoom’ baits and will be confident of catching wherever I use them. They are a worthy addition to use as a main attack or change bait.
Clint Walker, 2009
Carp Zoom Boilie Pellets
