Boilie Pizza and a Simple Birdfood Bait

In this blog I will show you how to make a very quick and easy birdfood bait using Red Factor, Red Band Pigeon Conditioner, Robin Red (EU/UK) and Whey Protein Concentrate.

The full 500g recipe is as follows:
200g Red band Pigeon Condition (fine ground).
100g Red Factor
100g Red Factor (fine ground)
50g Robin Red (EU/UK)
50g Whey Protein.

First weigh out 200g of Red Band Pigeon Conditioner.

Now use a coffee grinder or similar to reduce the seed to a fairly fine powder, say, about 25-30 mesh. You can sieve out larger items if you wish but I don't think it matters if there are one or two crunchy bits in there!

We now turn to the Robin Red and the Red Factor. Note that we always give the packing date on the labels. This is very important as it assures you that the product you are using is factory-fresh.

So let's look at the Red Factor: Not only is this a fantastic nutritional ingredient but the egg biscuit component also acts as a very good binder.

I therefore like to divide the it into two parts, one fine ground, the other un-ground. This is the fine ground Red Factor.

Robin Red needs little or no introduction to most carp and specimen anglers. Heaven knows how many huge carp, tench, roach, chub, barbel and bream have fallen to baits containing this legendary ingredient. Note that we now offer two types of the original Robin Red HB, and the new all-natural Robin Red which is labelled EU/UK. This version contains only natural colour foods and natural extracts. Here you can see the Robin Red (EU/UK) and we will be using 50g (10%) in this recipe.

Finally to augment the binders in the mix we will add 50g of Whey Protein as seen here. Alternatively you can use another 50g of fine ground Red Factor or a binder of your choice such as blood plasma or wheat gluten.

I always like to boost the attraction using natural stimulants and food enhancers and this are to two of the best. The Stevia Sweetener is an alternative sweetener which is rarely used in carp bait. It is a natural product and this version is flavoured with butterscotch. It is 100% water soluble with a round, sweet taste. It is heat stable and around 300 times sweeter than sugar.

The Liquid Squid Hydro is an exciting new product made from whole squid and being hydrolysed it makes a devastating carp attractor. It can be used mixed in your bait or as a soak/glug. You can create a bespoke attractor by blending the Squid Hydro with other liquids like liquid betaine, enzyme treated liquid Yeast, Glycerine, Plankton hydro, Salmon oil, Oyster extract etc. It has a strong fishy fragrance, is water-soluble and PVA-friendly. Use at 25ml per 500g mix…though in fact there is no limit to its inclusion rate and higher levels are extremely effective in cold water during winter time.

I regard additional flavours as optional in this recipe but if you prefer to add flavours to your boilie mixes then I thoroughly recommend those offered by John Baker. I think these are two of the best on the market and if I were forced to chose I would go for the Plum.

It is a very powerful flavour, so much so that the recommended inclusion rate is just 1ml per kilo. In fact John also offers a small syringe that allows the user to measure accurately such a small amount.

In order to blend the dry ingredients place them all into a polythene bag. Form a neck in the bag and then blow into it so as to inflate the bag. Now shake the bag vigorously. This ensures that all the dry powders are mixed thoroughly. This is the final dry base mix after blending the ingredients in the bag.

To start the process first break four eggs into a bowl and the add 25ml Liquid Squid Hydro and a pinch of the sweetener. OK, a pinch is not a very technical term to describe the inclusion rate but it is such an intense additive that I don't want to suggest a specific amount in case you get carried away and start piling it in by the spoonful. The recommended rate is 1-3g, and I tend to go for the lower end of the scale.

Whisk up the eggs and the attractors and then start to add the dry base mix. Start with about half the dry mix and blend this in with the egg mix. You can gradually add the rest of the powders until the mix starts to come together.

You will find that it is quite a sticky mix so I suggest you add some oil to the mix and also put some on your hands. This will allow you to blend everything together nicely. Hemp oil is an excellent nutritional oil with a delicious taste and smell. Carp adore it!

Add around 30ml of the oil and then work it into the mix using your fists, like a baker kneading a dough. You will end up with a big ball of boilie paste.

I am going to show you a novel way of making a lot of bait very quickly: I call it Boilie Pizza! First split the single big ball into two equal parts and flatten them out using a rolling pin (an empty wine or beer bottle does the trick admirably!) The kitchen tool in the photo is a Pizza paddle. A little oil on the rolling surface helps prevent the mix from sticking.

Take a large, shallow, flat saucepan and set it on the stove to boil the water as normal. Meanwhile slide the pizza paddle under one of the two flat, rolled-out 'pizzas'.

When the water is boiling carefully slide the pizza off the paddle and into the boiling water. Set the timer for four minutes.

When the timer sounds lift the cooked pizza out of the boiling water using the paddle.

Place the hot pizza on a piece of kitchen roll, which in turn is laid onto a clean towel. Repeat with the second pizza.

When both pizzas have been cooked and part-dried, take them off the kitchen towel and place them on the towel to complete the drying process.

Leave them to dry thoroughly overnight and next morning they will be ready for cutting and dicing. This takes only a matter of minutes using a pizza cutter.

Using the pizza cutter trim off the edges and create boilie crumb with the off-cuts.

You can now process the remaining squares of cooked dough into your preferred size of bait cubes or squares. OK, I accept that this is not the ideal shape where distance is a factor but if you are fishing at medium to close range the free baits can be fired out a surprisingly long way using a catapult, or even thrown in by hand if fishing the margins. Alternatively, if you can use a bait boat or a small rowing boat then there is no need for your freebies to be round.

The bait is now ready to be bagged and labelled and placed in the freezer.

You can add a short-term shelf life by using glycerine, which I have mentioned before many times in these blogs. This magic preserving syrup is highly soluble and is readily detected by carp that are searching for food. It will extend the shelf life of the bait for anything up to a year (sometimes even longer!). Pour the glycerine directly onto the bait and then give the bowl a good shake to ensure each bait gets a good coating.

Mount the bait as normal using a baiting needle. I won't suggest a rig as all bottom bait set ups should be suitable for this bait. Carp do tend to gorge on this type of bait showing little fear or suspicion. I use a simple knotless knot rig and, a Gardner CRV Size 4 Barbless, a hook with a very pronounced curve. Note the alternative tying of the knotless knot that has the hooklink material exiting the eye of the hook from the opposite side of the eye to the standard way of tying it. Here I am using the best, most supple hooklink material money can buy, namely Kryston Supa Nova 25lb.

Experiment for yourself to discover from which side of the eye you prefer the hooklink material to exit. You will note a subtle but significant difference in how the hook is presented on ejection depending on which side the hooklink exits…wink ;-)

Last time I told you about the lovely little riverside gite Tat and I were due to visit in September (about NOW in fact!), where we hoped to catch a few nice wild carp like the one that is pulling my arms off here…see next photo! Sadly the ongoing CV-19 problems have meant that we have had to postpone the visit until next year.

Let's all hope and pray that by September 2021 the effects of this awful virus will have been contained and life can return to some kind of normality. Keep safe, everybody.

Written by Ken Townley