It didn’t take us long to notice that that a very high percentage of the big carp photos submitted to our photo galleries on Facebook were of fish taken on Mainline’s Cell. It seems to be THE carp bait of the moment and is taking waters apart all over the UK and beyond!
In this short article, we take a brief look at what Mainline are offering in The Cell range, as they do offer a complete carp-bait solution. Mainline have long prided themselves on a forward thinking approach to carp baits, and this unique ability to stay ahead of the pack means that there is always a perfect product at hand, no matter what situation the angler might be faced with.
The Cell range of carp baits is the perfect example, with a whole host of hookbaits and freebaits to choose from, but before we get into the nitty gritty, what exactly is the Cell? Mainline explained that the Cell is a completely different type of bait to everything that has gone before it; it’s not a milk protein, fishmeal or birdfood based bait – it is the next step in nutrition technology designed to provide a protein source that is easier for carp to convert than fishmeals and birdfoods, provoking a sustained feeding response in all water temperatures. The result is a bait actively field tested over a two year period before release – with truly outstanding results – offering the angler a quality carp bait from a company you can trust.
So, with all that said, what’s available?
For simplicity in a bag, you can’t beat the 15mm Fresh Frozen Cell Freezer Baits, or 18mm Fresh Frozen Cell Freezer Baits. Rolled by Mainline themselves you know you are getting a bait rolled to the highest standards with all the ingredients, attractors and secret edges contained at exactly the right levels. Available in 1 kilo bags it couldn’t be easier to grab some bait and get it on the end of your hook!
When it comes to the hookbait itself you’re spoilt for choice. For a standard bottom bait approach you can take one right from the bag, but if you want to experiment a little further, mainline have got all eventualities covered. Cell Pop Ups allow you to present a bait up off the bottom, great during the winter when you’re fishing over a lot of leaf litter or for when you simply want to stop them in their tracks. The pop ups are air dried and perfectly match the freezer bait, they stay buoyant for days, even when punctured with a needle, so are great for continual casting about in a roaming approach. You can also get Cell Mini Pop Ups which are great for delicate presentations where you might be using a critically balanced approach, or for say topping off a bottom bait snowman style.
Staying with the hookbaits just for a moment, a nice little edge is to offer them something different from the norm, and the Cell Dumbells certainly do just that. Let’s face it, 99% of anglers are chucking the same shaped baits into waters week in, week out, so by just changing the shape a little you might well get into some of the lumps that usually hang back from the crowd; available in either Cell Dumbell Pop-Ups or Cell Dumbell Bottom Baits.
OK, so with hookbaits sorted you’re ready to cast out – but before you do, we’d recommend you give your baits a good soak in the Cell Hookbait Enhancement System 175ml Dip. The dip includes all the required attractors, sweetners and enhancers that will help to boost the attraction level of your hookbaits, pellets and even groundbait mixes. For a top tip, Dave Lane and a few of the other Mainline lads use the soak/dip on its own in a small pva bag with just the hookbait. Other possibilities include soaking, over-coating pellets or freebies before loose feeding, or even rubbing some into the braid or tubing prior to casting out – especially effective in winter!
With the bait now in the water it’s time to look at some feeder bait to draw them in. The boilies themselves can of course be crumbed or introduced whole, but another good option for feeder bait is Cell 5mm Pellets. The pellets are a popular attractor method to induce carp into a feeding response. The pellets slowly dissolve, releasing high levels of taste and attractors into the direct area in and around your bait, and they can be direct fed, pva bagged or spodded – whatever suits.
All of the above products are great in terms of simplicity and ease of use, but of course Mainline have long recognised that a great many anglers still love to roll their own baits, so there’s also a dedicated powder base and liquid attractor available, too. You can purchase Cell Base Mix 1kg packs which contain all the same goodies that are in the rolled bait, to which you simply add the Cell Activator – 300ml liquid. As the name suggests, the Cell Activator is the triggering agent for the Cell base mix – a dedicated liquid food source additive containing a complex reactionary triggering agent encapsulated in a liquid form. The secondary additive and attractors come in dry form are contained within the Cell base mix itself, which when combined and brought together as a paste or rolled bait, bring the bait to life.
With so many baits available from so many companies, it’s easy to get caught up experimenting with a bit of this and a bit of that, trying different baits on different rods and whatever else – I guess we’ve all been guilty of it at times. The problem is that when fishing like this it’s often difficult to pinpoint which bits are working and which aren’t. As such, complete baiting systems like those available for the Cell are great, as they offer complete confidence in bag with no experimenting required; from hookbaits and freebait right through to pellets, liquid attractors and dips – all completely matched in to give one powerful hit of attractors and feeding stimulants – little surprise it’s so successful really!
Get on the Cell!
Handy links;
15mm Fresh Frozen Cell Freezer Baits
18mm Fresh Frozen Cell Freezer Baits
Cell Hookbait Enhancement System 175ml Dip
