It only seems like a few days ago when I was writing up this piece for 2008, and here we are again with another year having literally flown by. I hope you all caught some good fish through what was quite a mixed year for many I know, with the very inconsistent weather causing the results on a lot of waters to be patchy, to say the least. On a personal note, I was more than happy with how my own fishing turned out, but for some of the anglers who had a slower time, bait is often given as one of the main reasons for their lack of success. I know that when I’m out on the bank and chatting to others it’s inevitable that bait will end up getting talked about the most. It nearly always gets the blame for a blank session, and I do get the feeling that a lot of anglers are changing baits far too often. If you’re planning to concentrate on one venue for a full season then going out every weekend with something different will do absolutely nothing for your results over the course of the year. Confidence in your chosen bait is an absolute must, as this allows you to concentrate fully on other things such as location etc. However, you do need to give that confidence the opportunity to actually build, and this will take longer than just one session. Whatever bait you do decide on, give it a fair chance over a number of sessions in different weather conditions, swims etc, before you finally decide that it’s not for you. There can be many reasons other than bait for a blank session.

IAN POOLE

RICHWORTH FREEZER BAITS
I think it’s fair to say that the vast majority of anglers looking to stick with one of our baits for a season or two will probably be looking at the K-G-1, the Ultraplex, or the Multiplex freezer bait. I know they would certainly be my choices on any water I was visiting regularly and hoping to get a boilie established over a period of time. In fact, through 2008 my chosen bait was the K-G-1. I know that if I put it in the right place at the right time, it will catch me fish, and once you have this confidence in whatever bait you choose, you have one less thing to worry about.
At this stage the question I would normally be asked is which of the three baits just mentioned would be the best, but to be honest, the answer is that I couldn’t really choose between them. All three will do the job when you are on feeding fish, but as they are different there is a decision to be made as to which might be best suited to your particular water, and only you can work that out by looking at what’s currently going in, what’s gone in, the type of bait the carp prefer etc. What I will say is that all of them have been designed to work all year round, and one thing that you won’t find us doing is bringing out a second version designed for use through the colder months, because we don’t need to. The train of thought that fishmeal based baits are less effective in winter is one I have personally never subscribed to - provided you are using the right one of course. The Multiplex, K-G-1 and Ultraplex are all based on a fishmeal called LT94, an ingredient widely acknowledged as being an essential addition to a good quality fishmeal based bait, and one that also has a surprisingly low oil content. Many anglers automatically assume that all fishmeal based boilies are going to be high in oil, but this is simply not the case, and is one of the reasons why baits like the K-G-1 have built up such a good winter track record.
If you’re looking for something slightly different then the Ultraplex could well be the one to look at. One of the extra ingredients the Ultraplex has over our other freezer baits is the very effective Robin Red. Of course there are many Robin Red fishmeal’s available these days, but the dairy/fish attractor combination we eventually chose to complement the Ultraplex with was different from the norm and has proved to be extremely instant. This type of bait suits me perfectly as I live long distances from all of my chosen waters. I’m in no position to pop down to the lake and bait up a couple of times a week in an attempt to get the carp interested in my bait - I want something the fish will pick up from day one. If I do put in any bait at the end of a session, then I much prefer to put small amounts of bait into areas I’m sure the carp will be visiting rather than spreading 5 or 10 kilo’s all over the place. This nearly always upsets other anglers and if done at the wrong time ends

NEW FOR 2009
Richworth’s new releases for 2009 have come about partly through listening to what users have been telling our consultants on the bank, and also due to the fact that we’ve finally been able to get our hands on a number of ingredients which have, for a long time now, been unavailable.

SALMON SUPREME FREEZER BAIT
If you have come into carp fishing in the last decade or so then the name Salmon Supreme will probably mean very little to you. However, through the eighties and early nineties the Salmon Supreme freezer baits were almost as highly regarded as the legendary frozen Tutti Frutti’s. Red in colour and with a very distinctive sweet/fishy aroma that was totally unique, the bait was responsible for many big catches on some quite notable waters up and down the country. Unfortunately, when one or two of the key ingredients became impossible to obtain, we had no alternative but to discontinue it. Since then we have received regular enquiries from anglers as to whether the Salmon Supreme would ever come back, but it’s only now that we have been able to replicate the original recipe and therefore feel confident to launch the bait once again. If the bait proves even half as successful as it did when first released all those years ago, by the end of 2009 there will once again be many fans of the frozen Salmon Supreme’s.

MULTI-STIM PELLETS
One of our real success stories in 2008 were the K-G-1 Multi-Stim Pellets, and after a number of requests we have introduced three new flavours to the range. There is undoubtedly a vast array of pellets on the market these days and to be fair the choice can be somewhat confusing. However, it seemed that many K-G-1 users really took advantage of the fact there were pellets available with an identical attractor profile to their favourite boilies to use in PVA bags or when spodding etc. Pineapple Hawaiian, Tutti Frutti and Salmon Supreme are the three new additions to the range this year, and being based on a low oil recipe are suitable for use all through the year.

BAG & STICK MIXES
A dedicated mix suitable for PVA bagging and stick fishing is another product that many people have been asking about for quite a while now, and I can assure you that we have been listening. Whilst it would have been very easy to throw something together and introduce it to the market almost immediately, we wanted to ensure the finished product was 100 percent right and would perform in all conditions. The results of this are four new Bag & Stick Mixes in the same flavours as the Multi-Stim pellet: K-G-1, Salmon, Tutti and Pineapple.
For solid bagging all of these mixes can be used straight from the pack, however whilst being field tested they also fished extremely well when dampened down slightly with a suitable liquid. For a very effective stick groundbait, try the Salmon Supreme with our Blended Salmon Oil, which is another new addition to the range this year. I also found the Pineapple Hawaiian to go really well when used alongside the CSL liquid, with another of my favourites being the addition of Minamino to the Tutti Frutti Bag & Stick Mix. Despite being very effective in boilies, nutritional liquids such as CSL and Minamino really are at their very best when used in products such as our new Bag & Stick mixes.

SPRAY ON FLAVOURS
Richworth’s spray on flavours have been a popular addition to anglers’ bait bags for many years now, and for 2009 we have updated the range to included some of our most recent baits, such as the K-G-1. Ideal for short sessions when you want to give a hookbait an instant boost but haven’t got time to bother with dips, I also keep a couple in my floater bag for those days when a normal mixer just doesn’t seem to be enough to interest a slumbering summer carp. I find that a dozen or so ‘squirts’ over a kilo of floaters gives off an attractive slick effect that really can make a difference on a difficult day. I’ve also found these easy to use flavours don’t melt PVA and are ideal for giving mesh bags an extra zip of attraction just before casting out.

Have a good 2009
Ian Poole

Feature 2008

The Past, the Present and the Future

There’s no doubt that the world of carp angling has evolved massively over the last 25 years or so. From those early days where carp anglers were in the minority, and there was only a very limited amount of specialist tackle and bait available, the sport is now almost unrecognisable. When I started my own carp fishing journey back in the mid-eighties, I don’t think you would have been able to fill up half a dozen pages with carp tackle, let alone a whole catalogue. Unfortunately, many of those early manufacturers, and in many cases pioneers, have long since ceased to exist, but of the few remaining, one is, of course, Richworth. If you’re a relative newcomer to carp fishing, one interesting fact about Richworth is that in 1983 they were the first bait company to produce a ready-made boilie. The fact that Richworth are still here a quarter of a century later really says it all about the quality of the bait they have produced in all of those 25 years.
Bringing things right up to date, 2007 turned out to be one of Richworth’s most successful years ever. If you read the weekly angling publications then I’m sure you saw the K-G-1 freezer bait mentioned regularly in the catch reports. When the bait produced a string of personal bests in the first few weeks of field testing, we all had extremely high hopes that we had developed a real winner. However, it’s the long term results that make the great baits stand out from the good ones, and 12 months on, the K-G-1 is going from strength to strength. From easy waters through to some of the most challenging, the bait has caught fish consistently and has developed a very loyal following in a surprisingly short time.
Some readers might be aware that fellow Richworth user Steve Renyard and I played a big part in the development of the K-G-1, and one thing that was important to us was ensuring the bait would be effective for 12 months of the year. There is no doubt that many fishmeal based baits do lose their edge in lower water temperatures, and in my view there’s nothing worse than working hard all year to establish a bait and then to get doubts about its ability to keep on going through the winter. Bait needs to be one of those things you can forget about, and if you’re worrying whether your chosen boilie will be acceptable to the carp in what’s always the toughest part of the carping calendar, it can start to affect your whole approach and be a real confidence sapper. 

AIR DRYING
A question I’m asked quite regularly is on the subject of freezer baits, and how to keep them fresh whilst on the bank. If you’re out for just an overnighter then this isn’t going to be an issue, but for longer sessions, there are a number of things you can do to help keep your boilies in good condition for the duration of your stay. After all, the last thing that any of us would want is to locate some carp a few days into a trip, and then discover all our bait has gone off.
After taking my bait out of the freezer, the first thing I do is to simply let the boilies defrost naturally whilst still sealed up in the 1kg bags they are supplied in. In the freezing process the baits will dehydrate slightly, and at this stage it’s important to allow any ice in the bags to melt and the liquid to be re-absorbed. In the process of defrosting, the baits will suck the moisture back in, and to ensure all the boilies are the same, it’s worth shaking the bags a couple of times if you can. When the baits are fully defrosted they will be identical to how they were packed in the Richworth factory, and it’s from this point on that you need to start treating them like fresh bait.
The next step is to open up all of the bags to stop any chance of the baits sweating. From now onwards it’s important to keep your baits as dry as possible, as this will help prolong their life. The bait I know I will use over the next 24 to 36 hours will be fine as they are, but everything else will be transferred over to air dry bags. The secret with these is to not overfill each one. I use one air dry bag for every two to three kilos of bait, and during daylight hours will hang them up in a well ventilated area away from any wildlife that may be partial to a few boilies. As long as you give them the odd shake now and again, the baits should keep for the foreseeable future. They will shrink a bit and become noticeably harder, but the drying process is what ensures the baits don’t go mouldy. It all sounds like a long-winded process I know, but in reality takes just moments, and even if you only save half a kilo here and there, over the course of a year it can mount up to a surprising amount of bait that you might well have just thrown away.
With large amounts of fresh bait for trips to France etc, it’s generally best to air dry your bait before you leave. Managing 20 or 30 kilos of bait is much easier to do at home than in those first few hours on the bank when all you want to do is get the rods out. However, don’t get caught out and leave it too late. It’s best to start the process at least a couple of weeks in advance to ensure your baits are fully dried before you leave. As I mentioned earlier, your air dried 18mm baits will end up as 16s, and so on, so size up accordingly if most of the baiting up is likely to be done with a throwing stick or catapult.
One extra thing I like to do with air dried baits is to liven them up a little with a glug. The best product for this will be the liquid additive you would use if making up some boilies at home. So for instance, if I was using the K-G-1 I would add 20ml of the matching Liquid Additive for every kilo of air dried boilies, glugging the baits 24 hours in advance of when I would need them. 25ml might sound a lot of liquid for every kilo, but I can assure you that it’s just about the right amount. Remember that the Liquid Additives are not concentrated flavours, and all you are doing is replacing the potency of the liquid part of the bait, some of which inevitably gets lost when you air dry.

NEW FOR 2008
With the K-G-1 freezer baits proving such a success through 2007, it was a natural progression to extend the range and introduce a shelf life version of the bait for 2008. The shelf life K-G-1 is available in the full range of sizes, from 10mm right through to 20mm. Also available are 400g packs of Dumbell Boilie Pellets, Airo Pop Ups, an Impact Dip plus base mix and matching liquid additive.
To further complement the K-G-1 range we have also introduced the new K-G-1 Multi-Stim Pellet. Available in 4 and 8mm, these low oil pellets contain all of the successful attractors found within the freezer bait, and have proved very successful whilst being field tested over the last 12 months. Whether you are using PVA bags, spodding, or feeding at catapult range, they are the ideal all year round background feed when using the shelf life or freshly frozen K-G-1 boilies.

Our other new bait for this year is yet another that’s been requested by a number of Richworth users. We introduced the Honey Yucatan freezer bait back into the range a few years ago now, and since then many anglers have been asking for a 10mm version to give them extra options with their bait application. The 10mm baits also come into their own through the winter months, when fining down the size of your hookbaits and end tackle can really be of benefit. Well I’m pleased to tell you that they are now available. The Honey Yucatan freezer bait has got to be one of the most underrated boilies around, and I know of a couple of anglers who actually rate them to be on par with the legendary Tutti Frutti – you can’t get a recommendation any higher than that. All I will say is that if you haven’t tried the Honey Yucatan before then I really do urge you to give them a try, and fish them in exactly the same way as you would do the Tutti Frutti. I promise that you won’t be disappointed. Good Luck

Feature 2007

20 YEARS ON

I’m sure there are not too many of us around who can recall exactly when we bought our first bag of boilies. All I can remember is that it was in the spring of 1987, and now of course exactly twenty years ago. As I’ve mentioned it here it won’t come as any surprise to you that the baits were made by Richworth and were the Strawberry flavoured freezer baits. Through the course of the school summer holidays I slowly cleared out the shop’s freezer of bait and with them caught an amazing amount of carp from a local irrigation reservoir, and it has to be said, the odd session before and a few after! You certainly couldn’t get away with it now, but I remember going back after yet another absent day to be asked by my form teacher as to how many I had caught this time. Of course I never ever knew what they were going on about and always pleaded innocence.
In the late eighties there were nowhere near the amount of bait companies as there are now, but still firms came and went within a year or so. Twenty years on and Richworth are still producing baits that catch carp day in, day out, and without the need for any hype. In fact, I know of a couple of anglers who have used nothing else since they’ve been carp fishing, and they’ve been at it now for nearly as long as I have. Asked why, the inevitable answer was that they were catching so felt no reason to change. Also, the fact that the quality and consistency of the finished bait was to a high standard every single time counted for a lot. Consistency in a bait is an important point to consider if you are planning a lengthy campaign where you are really looking to capitalise on its long term appeal. It’s nice to know that the first kilo you put in is exactly the same as the tenth, the twentieth and so on, with the quality from Richworth being second to none.

RICHWORTH FOR OTHER SPECIES
Although carp are my target fish for the majority of the year, I’m very fortunate to live just minutes away from one of the best barbel rivers in the country. Last autumn I finally took advantage of the fact that the River Severn is literally right on my doorstep and spent a number of evenings on a club stretch getting to grips with the excellent sport the river offers.
Pellets have been dominating the barbel catches on the Severn for several years now, and it seemed silly not to adapt this approach for the first few trips until I got to know the river better. Richworth supply the ever effective Halibut pellets in three sizes and these were the obvious choice to begin with, although after a few evenings spent reeling in numerous bream, a rethink was in order. I’d originally gone in with small mesh PVA bags of 4mm Halibuts with a 14mm pellet drilled out and fished on a hair, and whilst I was catching the odd small barbel, the tiny pellets were also a magnet for what was obviously a huge population of Severn bream that patrolled up and down this part of the lower river. In clear water conditions for finicky fish and on the smaller rivers the 4mm Halibuts would still be my first choice, but when in flood the fishing on the Severn was unlike anything I had done before, with big baits, big leads and beefed up end tackle the way to go. For the following trip I had a rethink on my tactics and dropped the 4mm Halibuts for bags containing half a dozen 14mm pellets and a couple of Complex freezer baits broken in half. After some advice of a few experienced Severn anglers, the hookbait was also made much larger and comprised a 14mm Complex boilie wrapped in a large piece of paste. This was made up at home from the Complex base mix and matching liquid additive at the recommended levels. I’d generally only target the Severn when levels were up and the river was running coloured, and the bait’s strong seafood aroma seemed just right for these sorts of conditions when the barbel seemed to throw all caution to the wind and feed much more confidently than when the river was low.
I have to say that the use of the paste wrapped boilies transformed my results. The large hookbaits meant the bream captures were kept down to a minimum, but proved no problem to even a medium sized barbel. The Complex boilies and paste proved particularly good for the River Severn, although any of Richworth’s boilie base mixes and the liquid additives of your choice will make an effective river bait. Some of Richworth’s proven flavours such as the Crab & Mussel go superbly well with either Minamino or Liquid Yeast to form a powerful savoury smelling paste that barbel are very attracted to as it spreads downstream. To save time I make up six eggs worth in one go and then split it down into smaller blocks. I found that one eggs worth would be just right for an evening’s fishing, with the remainder stored in the freezer ready to use next time.

K-G-1

Richworth’s main release for 2007 is the new freezer bait known as the K-G-1. Field tested on a variety of waters across Europe, the immediate feedback was that Richworth had once again come up with a bait that had tremendous potential. Within the first two weeks of testing the K-G-1 had accounted for no less than six personal bests, and on a personal note, two UK 40’s and several other big fish for me over the latter part of the year. With several good quality baits already well established on the water I intended to target, I knew that I would be asking questions of the K-G-1 from the very first time it would be introduced. The carp that live in this particular water are definitely boilie orientated creatures, but over the course of the last few years I had seen a number of so-called top baits come and go without making any impact whatsoever. They liked their boilies for sure, but at the same time could also be extremely fussy eaters. I knew I would find out fairly quickly if the K-G-1 was as good as we all hoped it would be. Fortunately the fish found the bait attractive from day one, and pictured are just a couple of the fish that fell over the next few months.
For me, a good bait has to work from the off. There are very few anglers around who have the time and money to introduce large quantities of bait just to get the carp picking it up. It has to be attractive enough to be instantly recognisable as food, but at the same time have the required food value to ensure the carp keep coming back for more. Take our own Multiplex for example. The bait has proved to be one of the best long term baits around and just goes on and on. I know of waters where the bait is catching as well as it did when first released six years ago. Ultraplex seems to be going the same way, so anything new has a lot to live up to.
The K-G-1 itself is based on a low temperature fishmeal with added milk products to ensure the bait has a balanced nutritional profile, the finished baits roll well and then boil up firm enough to withstand the attentions of nuisance fish. There is no Robin Red in this one (look at the Complex or Ultraplex if you require a Robin Red fishmeal), with the liquid content made up of a combination of fish and fruit attractors along with a tried and tested amino product. The bait will be available from the freezer in 10, 14 and 18mm, and due to demand there will now also be pop ups in 18mm as well as 14mm. Should you wish to roll your own or perhaps make up some specialist hookbaits, a base mix and matching liquid additive are also available with the highly attractive Impact Boilie dip (this smells superb) completing the range.
I mentioned that 18mm pop ups will be available in the new K-G-1 bait, and the good news is that we’ve extended the range to include several of our most popular flavours such as Tutti Frutti. Couple these with the Dumbell Airo Pop ups and the Hookable Boilie Pellets and you have ready-rolled hookbaits to cover 99% of angling situations.
For ready-made fans we have also added four brand new flavours to the range with Cranberry, Mapleseed, Caramel and Mulberry joining well established favourites such as Crab & Mussel and Esterberry. Matching Impact dips are also available for all the new flavours.
Have a good 2007.

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