The ultimate SuperRed article - part two

Last month I looked at how SuperRed and its stable mates can be used as groundbait, but there is so much more to them than that. I designed the ‘Reds’ to be the ultimate in versatility so let’s look now at other ways you can use these amazing products.

Method Mix

Mixed to a fairly stiff consistency using lake water and liquid attraction (Kelp Liquid, Multimino, molasses, corn steep liquor and the like) SuperRed and the other ‘Red’s can be used to create super Method mixes. I like to make my mix up the night before, allowing it to rest overnight in a sealed bucket. In this way the bait absorbs the maximum amount of water and attraction, and you will also find that it moulds around the feeder than much better.

To start I add neat liquid kelp extract to the dry SuperRed.

This thick dark viscous and powerful attractor is rich in vital minerals to which the carp are invariably drawn. Vitamins and minerals are important aspects of any carp bait and by incorporating a seaweed products such as this, you are adding both nutrition and attraction.

I follow the liquid kelp with an equal amount of Multimino, which is a sweet, amino acid-based liquid food.

Finally I add the lake water to make the Method Mix. Ideally this should be fairly stiff and able to withstand powerful, long-range casting. I keep my rigs on the short side, usually using nylon or fluorocarbon, and I nick the hook into the Mix before casting. The force of the splashdown will free the hookbait, leaving it cocked and ready.

Where feasible I also like to fire out a few balls of the mix shaped as if the feeder cage was in place. Probably makes little or no difference but it makes me even more confident.

As a neat alternative to an out-and-out Method tactic, you can also mould the Mix around your lead. This is especially useful for anglers like myself who prefer to use running leads.

Stick Mix

Use SuperRed in its dry form to create an astonishing stick mix. You can use it straight from the bag or dampen it with liquid attractors, but make sure the liquids you chose are PVA-friendly. In this photo pure, dry SuperRed forms the contents of the PVA mesh stocking.

Paste – Egg-based

Beat eggs in a bowl along with your favourite flavours and liquid attractors. Add dry SuperRed and mix eggs and powder together using a fork. As the paste begins to thicken coat your hands in oil (sunflower oil will do fine but pure salmon oil, or another top quality fish oil is better). Finally work the ball of paste using your well- oiled hands. This will prevent too much of the paste sticking to your hands as you mix. Finally pop the ball of paste into the fridge until needed. It will keep at least a couple of weeks, but for longer storage use the freezer.

So now you have a ball of paste, what next? Well, you can either form it into small boilie-sized balls of paste and fire them out with a caty, or you can actually boil the little balls of paste to form SuperRed boilies. As you can see from the photo, the SuperRed boiled bait still retains a nice soft centre with a hard exterior after a two-minute boil.

I also like to keep some paste aside to form a paste wrap around my hook and hookbait. I often use paste wraps on a Stiff Rig, as this is an ideal rig for fooling crafty carp. I generally bait the hair with double baits because when you mould the paste around them some of it gets stuck between the hookbaits, prolonging the attraction given off by the paste. The photo shows my standard Stiff Rig.

First take a generous pinch of paste and form it into a flat pancake shape in the palm of your hand.

Next place the double hookbaits in the centre of the pancake.

Finally mould the paste around the hookbaits. You may worry that this will impede effective hooking but have no fear. The carp will be completely fooled by this big ball of paste and will not realise that there is a hook buried inside.

If you prefer a smoother paste or an easier to work with boilie mix, grind down the SuperRed before mixing with the eggs. A coffee grinder is ideal for this.

A Paste – Water-based

One of the quickest and easiest ways of getting attraction into your swim FAST is to use SuperRed paste made using water. Water based pastes break down a great deal faster than the same paste made with eggs, so the attraction leaks out instantly as the paste begins to disintegrate on the lakebed. Creating a water-based paste could not be easier. Simply add dry SuperRed to a bowl and carefully pour on water that has been laced with you favourite attractors. Any of the ‘Reds’ can be used this way and here I am using MarineRed, the fishmeal version of SuperRed. You can see that the paste is beginning to come together in this photo.

Once the main ball of paste has been formed, you can then chose how you wish to use it. Small catapult-able paste balls are an obvious first choice but if you plan ahead you can actually make water-based pastes that go as hard as bullets simply by air-drying small balls of paste.

The ones in this photo have been drying for about a week and they are rock-hard. In this form they will keep literally indefinitely. However, regardless of their texture when introduced to the lake, within an hour or so they will break down completely, flooding your swim with attraction.

Here you can see two balls of water-based paste. On the left is one made with SuperRed; on the right it has been formed with MarineRed

One hour later and here is the SuperRed paste ball. Note the aniseed oil leaking out of the paste!

This photo shows the MarineRed paste ball after an hour. Lovely!

I hope these two articles have inspired you to give this range of revolutionary Multi-Purpose Food Blends a try. People in the know have been trying to keep the effectiveness of the ‘Red’ range to themselves for ages, and it has been hugely successful on the northern match angling circuit. Why not see for yourselves just how good it can be!

Written by Ken Townley