If you are a beginner or experienced homemade bait making angler there are always new exciting things to discover to improve your results and keep ahead of the fish – and other competing baits! To make baits that work the very most consistently for big fish it takes a deep knowledge and long experience both in designing baits and in refining them to ensure they perform most consistently – and no-one knows it all! This article is about making a big fish bait – so let us look at a few background details first.

The history of the modern phenomenon of boilie making could be said to go back many hundreds of years or thousands of year because high protein baits have been used in fishing for millennia. A guy called Fred Wilton did something unusual in that he took the essential needs of carp in particular and built his boilie and paste baits on essential fish needs to maximise possibilities that fish would need to consume his baits to top up their natural foods right through the year if possible. I personally think that high nutritive baits are just one option and I combine aspects of very instantly attractive and addictive substances chosen very specifically in my homemade baits and in fact do not aim to make a complete so-called food bait with balanced amino acids etc because it is simply not that vital to do this to catch fish – even against baits made like this!

The original protein-rich high nutritional value baits were designed around caseins and caseinates but other protein sources also figured including liver, yeast, and fish materials etc. From the fifties and onwards the rise of specialist baits really has exploded but a shift occurred from the mainly milk orientated baits of the seventies and early eighties to the fish meal and bird food and other combinations and styles of baits that predominated. It was realised by those who did their research well that fish need carbohydrates in baits to fully utilise the proteins in them, and also milk proteins sky-rocketed in price over the years so other protein sources have been sourced again and again; however, caseins still figure largely in nutritional baits of most kinds today! Fish meals really became popular in the eighties and nineties like the bird foods and other forms of ingredients as homemade bait-making anglers strove to cut costs while developing highly nutritional digestible baits and it can be significantly cheaper to make your own outstandingly successful potent baits than just depend upon ready made baits – especially if you are smart in how and where you buy your protein-rich ingredients!

Although fish meal baits came more into prominence in the nineties, bird food and milk protein type HNV baits were not the only forms of nutritional baits as there are endless variation, and the success of flavour over-dosed baits and fake baits show that many other options also exist. Fish such as carp or catfish can be trained like dogs or humans for that matter to come back for more food when it is introduced to them regularly; where baits contain particularly stimulating nutrition and bioactive factors then baits can be extremely successful – even if you are only an average angler. HNV type baits can be an excellent leveller of results even against better more talented and experienced anglers when you regularly apply them over time – which is a major reason I prefer to make my own unique economical ones and because this is a long-proven big fish tactic for both big carp and catfish and other species too!

The best start point in designing baits is knowledge of fish essential needs, internal workings and how to manipulate these and feeding behaviours and habits using the most suitable substances as bait; this is why just knowing a bit about an ingredient or the odd additive or flavour is not going to be much of a massive advantage! Getting to know much more deeply about fish internally is like building muscle – the more you build the more power you can gain – in this case in manipulating fish feeding locations and intensities and modes of feeding in your personal favour! As they say; knowledge is power and in the case of fishing baits it is amazing how many anglers really do not get this; so many go for the short-term solution and expect miracles from readymade baits they do not understand and therefore cannot exploit to their full potential – no wonder the average carp angler using popular readymade baits is only getting average (or worse than average) results!

Once you have discovered a great deal about fish and their inner needs and workings then selecting bait ingredients is much easier and you can choose how you design your baits will masses of confidence because your baits will be built on what fish response strongly to and not just your personal preferences and guesswork! I began making homemade baits in the early seventies when literally everybody else was too and it was very hard to get information about the internal workings and interactions of bait substances and fish but I enthusiastically pursued this passion for decades to the point where many bait company bosses ask me for ingredients and bait reviews, articles on their products and for my bait secrets ebooks and personal advice. Things are much easier today in terms of finding uniquely stimulating ingredients and additives because the internet has provided endless suppliers of ingredients, additives etc; some can from bait companies but many substances come from other sources and using what bait companies do not sell is a very serious edge indeed in making homemade baits from particles, ground baits or pastes and boilies etc!

In the old days milk protein baits were used very sparingly by most anglers because for one thing they were very high in protein so the fish did not need to eat many before getting full; and anyway, they worked instantly on the vast majority of waters. When fish meal baits came into prominence it was the relatively new tactic of dumping many kilograms of boilies into a swim to draw and hold the fish. Please do not get the idea that you need to make hundreds of kilograms of homemade boilies to catch big fish because just a handful of extremely potent homemade baits are always be just as good as any pricy readymade bait when you fish them in the right spot with a suitable rig!

In making homemade baits and adapting established ready made baits to give them a new lease of live and improved performance takes a good degree of knowledge not just of the insider secrets of bait substances but of the fish – and the water also; such bait-making information leads to being able to artificially create unique fish feeding opportunities that lead to multiple captures of big fish -even against more experienced or more talented anglers! As in my ebooks my homemade baits have now caught me 4 UK lake records including a leather carp over 46 pounds and a mirror carp of over 49 pounds plus over thirty catfish caught in the UK weighing between 68 pounds and 120 pounds; homemade baits really work and this is why I am so enthusiastic about getting the word out – plus they can save you a fortune and give you even more confidence and satisfaction than any readymade bait ever will! Now for some homemade food bait recipe ideas to get you started on the road to bait-making success that has a few alternative features and performance benefits – for big fish!

The bait below is not a complex one and anyone can make it – or versions of it with confidence when aiming for big carp or catfish for instance. This bait is based primarily on highly digestible fish meal and not caseins to keep costs low and there are additions in it that you may or may not utilise to boost effects and performance and make your bait especially unique. When making baits it is an art and not just science so bear in mind that levels and ingredients can be adjusted to however you like and this bait although digestible and highly nutritionally attractive is not as optimised for digestion as is possible looking at this recipe form a scientific standpoint – but your fish will not mind at all!

7 ounces of low temperature fish meal. 2 ounces of calcium caseinate. 1 ounce of 90 mesh casein. 2 ounces of CLO. 1 ounce of blood plasma. 1 ounce of hydrolysed poultry protein. 1 ounce of blue cheese powder. 1 ounce of chopped fennel seeds.

You might make this homemade mix using eggs plus liquid kelp complex and shellfish extract for instance plus perhaps a small dose of triple-filtered pure salmon oil plus a little krill oil to boost internal impacts. You might want to use flavours, palatants, and appetite stimulators etc; try CC Moore Ultrasweet with corn sweet syrup for instance plus maybe some geranium essential oil mixed with eucalyptus and you might use a range of suppliers from on-line bait companies to your local health store and supermarkets and so on. (For much more detailed helpful information on making, adapting, designing and boosting all your baits see my dedicated website Baitbigfish right now!)

By Tim Richardson.

Now why not use this moment to multiply your catches for life with these unique fishing bibles: Big carp baits secrets, and Big carp flavours and feeding triggers secrets, plus Big carp and catfish bait secrets! For these and much more now visit Baitbigfish the home of the world-wide proven homemade bait making and readymade bait success bibles!

Joining millions of bird lovers in creating a backyard aviary can be easy and rewarding with a little help choosing and maintaining your wild bird feeders. Begin by imagining your backyard as a birdwatching paradise and picture the desired sights and sounds that will become your goal.

Start by considering the types of birds that you wish to attract, and the ones you do not want to see. If you’re a beginner, asking neighbors or co-workers which types of birds frequent their backyards might prove useful. Understanding that your target is to attract finches or cardinals, for example, will assist you in selecting the optimal wild bird feeders and creating the right birdwatching environment.

Bird feeders are available in a number of styles. Some of these kinds include platform and ground feeders, tube, thistle, suet and wood. There are even specifically crafted feeders designed to attract a particular type of birds, such as hummingbirds. Taking the time to learn about the features of each one will increase your chance of success.

Once you have chosen the right feeders, make sure to fill them with your desired birds’ food preferences. To attract the most varieties of birds, black oil sunflower seeds are a great choice. Seasonal fruits or nuts may attract less common types of birds, especially in summer. Specific types of birds, like woodpeckers, enjoy peanuts.

Keeping to a budget with regard to bird food is easier when you choose wild bird feeders that are squirrel-resistant or unlikely to attract other furry animals. Choosing a location away from easy-to-climb landscaping or shrubby hiding places can also reduce the chance that squirrels or other creatures will gorge themselves on your newly refilled seed. If squirrels do persist, you may also try switching to thistle seed as some birdwatchers have noted that squirrels don’t like the taste.

If you’re like most birdwatchers, your desire is to attract a variety of species. Offering an array of feeders rather than one type is a way to enjoy regular backyard visits from a number of birds even throughout the seasonal changes.

When you find a spot that birds seem to frequent, setting up a bird feeding station with many feeders concentrated in one area can be exciting. Alternatively, you can position your wild bird feeders at various locations around your house and take delight in viewing the wildlife through many different windows.

Once you’ve got your yard set up, sit back and enjoy. Remember to have an identification book handy so you can enjoy your success when those exotic or unexpected species begin to arrive!

To learn more about Best Bird Feeders and birdwatching, visit my website for great deals and reviews on Droll Yankee Feeders and other top feeders.

If you want to be a saltwater fisherman than you must have the appropriate fishing tackle for the kind of fish that you are trying to catch. Since there are so many different sizes of fish to be caught, that means there are many types of tackle that are necessary.

For inshore fishing some light fishing tackle would work well. By this I mean either a spin casting rod and reel, or a spinning rod and reel set up. I would recommend the spinning rod and reel set up, and look for a reel that can support 5 to 20 pound test fishing line.

There are two popular types of saltwater fishing lines that are commonly used by anglers, there are braided and monofilament. Monofilament line is much cheaper than the braided line, and will catch fish and has been used for a long time, it will not hold up as good as braided line though.

For the size of line, braided line is a lot smaller, for instance you can fit more yards of 15 pound test braided on a reel than you can with monafilament line. Braided line is easier to cast and will hold up a lot longer than monofilament line. The only downside is that braided line is the most expensive type fishing line you can get.

You will need a leader line on your fishing rod set up too, this line is usually 2-4 times stronger than the line you have on your fishing reel, and should be 1-3 feet long for inshore fishing. When you are fishing offshore, especially when you are trolling the leader lines can get a lot longer.

Some of the things you might have on a leader line would be weights and sinkers. The leader line is connected the fishing line by a swivel and clip, or by tying a blood knot. The last thing on a common leader rig is the fishing hook or a fishing lure.

Hooks are sized by number, 1 being the smallest for inshore fishing. For inshore fishing you will be using sizes 1 through 10, 10 being big enough to catch a medium sized shark. If you are deep sea fishing you will need to use much larger hooks if you are going for big game fish that are 50 pounds and up.

An alternative to using live bait would be a fishing lure. Fishing lures can come in many varieties, while some are designed for a certain species of fish and some are for a wide range of fish. Every angler should have a good collection of fishing lures in their tackle collection.

Now that you have an understanding of what types of tackle you will need to saltwater fish you will need a place to store all of it. This is where the tackle box comes in place. Tackle boxes will give you the space to neatly organize all of your terminal tackle and fishing lures so that you can find them easy when you need them.

Want to learn more about saltwater fishing tackle, then visit the authors site on how to select the best saltwater fishing gear for your next trip.