Our colleague Victor presents us with an exceptional article about the homemade elaboration of boilies in which he goes through the history of the boilie, the main utensils that participate in the different stages of manufacture, the ingredients that compose it and their characteristics as well as a graphic example step of how to prepare them for use. Welcome to Masterchef in Passion.
A little history Before getting into the elaboration of boilies, let's get to know a bit of history. The progression and development of bait fishing for carp have advanced a lot in recent years. During the first stages of their life the carp feeds on all kinds of food, such as potatoes, bread crust, cold cuts and natural baits, such as those usually found in their environment, such as worms, earthworms, etc. Some of these baits are still used these days and with very good catches.
"A good bait will always be a good bait." In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a group of fishermen led by Fred Wilton began using a high protein bait. They fished mainly in the south of England taking many captures, using what in the end would be the first version of what we now call "Boilie".
Fred Wilton had a theory and it was that the carp could instinctively recognize the nutritional value of the baits after having eaten and digested them and being able to recognize them later, that is how the boilie was born, as a bait of high nutritional value.
At first we used masses that wrapped our hooks (putties), but being too soft and inconsistent at the minimum touch of our friends or the insistent "pezqueñines", before we realized we did not have anything in our hook, it is so they began to mix other types of ingredients that could give our bait a little more consistency, an increase in size and with a hard outer skin, such as fishmeal, soy proteins, wheat gluten, semolina, even eggs and various flavors.
Nowadays, many fishermen buy these already industrialized baits, prepared and directly for immediate use. There are two types, some that are packaged with preservatives and that last a lot without having to preserve them and others that are normally much more natural and without preservatives, which you have to keep in the freezer so that they do not spoil you. Of the first, it is said that the tents themselves detect preservatives and reject them.
A new technique arrives Then came a new technique, which we owe it to Kevin Maddox and Len Middleton, preparing the assembly that left the hook completely free by holding the bait to the hook thanks to a "hair" (at least in the most primitive version) so that is called "hair". Thus, when the hook was uncovered, it was favored that the hook pricked the fish's lip more easily. Thus a new way of presenting the bait with the hook fully visible was born.
What are the Boilies? Boilies are normally spherical shaped baits composed of different types of solids and liquids, mixed in turn by egg and then boiled, so they can take that layer of hardness which prevents smaller fish from eating it and thus select the size of our captures (at least in the beginning is what is being looked for). The vast majority of fishing stores have a wide variety of Boilies, which come in various flavors, colors and different sizes.
Many of today's carpenters make their own Boilies or have done them once, but if you have not done them I never invite you to read what follows, I'm sure that when you finish reading it you'll want to smear your hands a little and try to make your own recipes in the future. Utensils: Mixing equipment We distinguish: - Large bowls (salad bowls, bowls, cubes, small bowls, etc.).