For as long as I could remember I had always fed a mix of boilie and particle in my angling and as the method wasn’t broken then I felt no need to fix it. I had noticed though, that the times when I felt a boilie only approach was the answer, that my results had suffered, hence returning back to my tried and tested methods in order to remain consistent. I suppose I just convinced myself that my method was superior and that the bait wasn’t the issue.
2010 – 2015
From 2010 to 2015 I was a consultant for a large PLC and without question, I had put my faith in their products. Although I experienced some great results, I can count on one hand the captures that didn’t involve particle or pellets. It was towards the end of 2015 that the company in question made a brave decision to completely change their bait range. The problem was, that after trying several flavours, I just couldn’t find one to suit me.
The waters I fish all tend to follow a similar pattern and it’s obvious that a lightly baited boilie approach scores better in the early part of the year, with the particle and pellet doing the damage after they have spawned, so when your main tactic revolves around a method that’s really isn’t suited to early season, you can kind of forgive yourself a slow start to the year.
These thoughts had entered my head on many occasions but with the complete change in products and the one and only boilie I was previously happy to use discontinued, I needed a new plan.
The angling industry is a small place and within days of making my decision to move on, I had two very appealing options. Option one was a small company that I knew little about and option two was, at the time, a slightly larger company that had invested heavily in marketing and in my opinion at that time got that side of the business right! For the first time ever I followed the crowds and took option two!
I was soon back out on the bank armed with a new bait and a new company to represent. I had huge hopes for this bait and being a nut bait I was convinced it would suit me perfectly.
From the off, I was catching, but just like before after watching the feeding response it was evident that I needed to add my trusted particle and pellets mix to gain the maximum advantage.
Nine months passed and although I had enjoyed my time, learned a lot about the industry and the marketing side of the business and made some good friends, (who I am still in contact with today) from an angling point of view I hadn’t achieved what I wanted. Yes, the carp were eating my bait when a mix of items was presented to them, but as a boilie only approach I just didn’t have the confidence!
March 2016 and I was at work with the car loaded ready to fish after work and I got talking to Mark from MAD Baits on Facebook. Mark could tell I wasn’t happy doing what I was doing and invited me over for a chat. I left work and headed straight for St. Neots!
Mark showed me all the products and spoke lovingly about his plans and ideas and I knew that the company had the foundations to move forward. Mark showed me the various base mixes and it was easy to see that these were food-based baits and contained high-quality ingredients.
I left the factory armed with Nutz and Wicked Whites.
Nutz and Whites are a deadly combination and I’m sure the inclusion of the Wicked Whites in the mix is so successful due to the fact that they resemble washed-out Nutz boilies.
Mixing two baits is a fantastic tactic and I don’t think there have ever been two baits that have gone together as well as these two. I really liked the baits and caught with just boilie from the off, In fact, I actually went nine sessions without a blank!
I was always convinced there could be more from this bait and after hours of discussions with Mark, he told me about a bait he used to make in the past for a previous consultant. This particular bait was a combination of both the wicked whites and the nutz and went by the name of wicked nutz. Without hesitation, I switched to the Wicked Nutz instantly and from that point on I was hooked.
The results just kept coming and the more I used it the more I caught. The carp clearly agreed judging by the mess on my unhooking mat!
The first year at MAD Baits was a whirlwind and working closely with Mark and the team, we made huge changes and all of them for the good of the business.
In December as I was just getting my gear ready for a quick trip out, I received a rare and pleasant message from Mark! As a thank you for all my hard work and commitment to Mad baits during the year he had a surprise for me, and I would get to see it in the new year. I don’t work like that and I was quickly on the phone to talk him into submission!
Mark revealed that he was going to be adding Brococell to my bait and that I would still be the only one using it.
I named the bait TB2 and on just my first trip to the bank in 2017, I landed my first winter 40 at 41.12. Complete with a new on-test Wicked Whites Compulsive pop-up, the TB2 had done what it was designed to do!
As the weeks progressed I continued to catch and by March I had landed a good number of large carp. They all left the telling sign that the TB2 was the one for them on my unhooking mat!
By early summer we had offered the bait to the teams and by the end of the year, we had no choice but to replace the standard Nutz that we sold with the new and improved TB2 that now goes by the name of Nutz Plus.
I still use particle in my angling when the time is right but I am as confident as ever in my boilie only approach these days
Two 40’s in 3 weeks in the spring, first-ever winter 40 in February, both 40lb commons and mirrors in the same month, 11 fish on an overnighter, the results list is endless – and when I look back at the past, it’s clear to see that it wasn’t my angling style that needed to change in 2015 it was simply my bait!
mmm