Today I’m going to focus on the making of boilies. Making boilies is a relatively simple process, providing you have made the necessary preparations. You start by making a paste, the paste is then rolled into balls and then boiled. This is where the name boilie originates. The very basic ingredients are eggs and base mix. More can be added to enhance your bait, such as colours, flavours, sweeteners, stimulants, seeds and other particles. We will focus on a simple mix for now. Should you wish to add more to your own mix, do it proportionally.
The use of enhancers is totally up to you, I like to add all kinds of stuff to my mixes, they have never let me down to date. Confidence in your bait is essential, so putting the extra effort in here will pay dividends in the future.
Eggs serve 2 purposes in the mix, the first is to bind the mix together making it malleable. The second is to help hold the bait together as its boiled, eggs harden when boiled, this is exactly what happens to the boilie. Hardened baits last longer on the hair rig than a soft one would.
Lets start by making the base mix. You can either make your own base mix or buy premixed base mixes from all major suppliers. I like Mainline’s Cell base mix or if you want to make your own you will need;
8oz of Semolina
4oz of Ground Rice
4 oz of Soya Flour
Weigh out the appropriate amounts of each ingredient and put them into a large plastic bag, bin liners are good. Fill the bag with air and pull it tight so that you can shake the contents thoroughly and have an even mix.
Many anglers like to add things like crushed hemp seed or robin red bird seeds to their mix. If you decide to add either, about 3-4oz will give a good consistency to the mix. Too much and the mix wont bind, your boilies will fall apart easily and you will waste time and money.
Now that the base mix is ready, its time to prepare the liquids. Take 4 whole eggs and crack them into a bowl. Beat the eggs with a fork, making sure not to add too much air to the mix. Too much air will cause your boilies to form bubbles when they are boiled. If you want to add any extras to the mix, now is the time. For a mix this size, you will want to use the following amounts;
3 ml Sweetener
5 ml Colouring
3-5ml Flavouring
Make sure the eggs and additives are well mixed.
Now its time to mix the base mix with your liquids. Don’t add all the mix at once, slowly add the powder to the liquids. Take 1 cup of powder and add it to the liquids, give it a good mix and it will go like sloppy weetabix. Leave it for 5 minutes, allowing the mix to absorb as much of the liquid as possible. Then add another cup full of powder and kneed the mix just like bread doe.
Now all that remains is to roll out your baits into the appropriate sizes and boil them for 2 minutes. Once boiled, remove the baits and allow them to dry on a drying tray. If you don’t have a drying tray you can use a clean dry towel or news paper, just keep the baits on the move or they will stick to the surface.
