Hey Pete,
Any idea what the spice blend was in the old Rod Hutchinson Ultraspice base? I remember good results off it but had to stop using it as it gave me a banging headache whenever I made up a mix of it!

John, not sure of the Ultraspice, never used it....

Oils, The reply re: Bass just about sums it up.. and emulsifiers don't help much either...

Andy, A carp can live on a protein diet, lipids spare protein from being used for energy, thus promoting growth/tissue repair, a carp cannot live on lipid sources, indeed, this is one of the reasons that peanuts in very large quantities used as a mass bait by all anglers on a lake cause problems... you cannot get any problems using a balanced protein bait... why do you think receptors that can detect Aminos/peptide chains are present on carp? there are no receptors for lipids.. any lipids would be on the surface anyway........

This was going down a new route.... why stop???

Which post?

"We're talking about many facets of 'attraction' when we look at why herbs and spices work in boiled carps baits. pH differentials as already mentioned, you wont find an effective spice or spice blend that does not elicit a change in pH if put into solution.

This is just part of it in my opinion, we can isolate amino derivatives from the aforementioned groups, we can also identify powerful alkaloids which can possibly have interactions with a carp’s nervous system. Couple this to possible immune augmentation and digestive aids and we begin to see the story behind why herbs and spices are particularly useful in boiled baits"

That one...

Are we talking herbal medicines?

In part, or perhaps to be a little more specific, derivatives of plants that promote digestion? You must ask yourself what is it that you want from any bait???

partial to a bit of erb myself

You must ask yourself what is it that you want from any bait???


Atraction and good for carp


As for what part herbs/spices play i think its PH related maybe get some which give off a ph signal very close to their natural foods like bloodworm giving off amonia which will give away their presence amoung the "chod" ?

"which give off a ph signal very close to their natural foods like bloodworm giving off amonia"

That takes care of the alkaline side of things then.. Carp attraction/feeding triggers are centered arond pH differentials and Amino Acid detection, how many baits focus on this? or maybe do by accident?