Bait Dips - Why, when and how to use them.

First of all why use bait dips?
Basically when used right they can boost your catch rate no end they can changes an ordinary boilie, meat, or particle bait into a top notch catcher with just a little effort ... the following methods are explained with boilies in mind but dips can be used with almost any carp bait.

When to use a bait dip?
Baits dips tend to be mainly used in winter and this mainly because the carp are much less active in searching out food, they have already stored up enough fatty reserves to last them right through the winter so in most instances they don't have any real need to be on the constant look out for food as they are through the rest of the year. Due to this on many waters it is a big advantage to have your bait oozing of flavor and smell "attraction". Bits dips can also be very effective during the summer but should be used in a very y different way as I'll explain later ... So you can use the added attraction of a bait dip all year round but they really come into their own during the colder winter months.

How to use them?
You don't need telling do you? it's simple right? are you sure?

Well, just attach your boilie to your hair plonk it in the dip, pour a little on the rig and lead and your away, how can you fail, or can you? Well this approach is fine in the summer months on prolific waters where there are plenty of hungry carp queuing up to grab hold of your irresistible hook bait, this will work fine but when winter comes round you'll need a whole new approach is a quick dip and a few glugs will no longer work....................

When the cold winter comes a different approach is needed you can't just smother your baits with dip and expect the same results that you had in the summer, when you quickly dip your hook baits and pour some dip over your rig the flavor disperses and fades away quite quickly but in the winter you might not be waiting hours for a run but very possibly days and on the very tough waters weeks, so where does this leave your hook bait and bait dip? nowhere, you need to change your methods as soon as the cold weather sets in.

Here's the way to get the best out of your bait dip for winter use!
You can just leave your boilies in your bait dip for a week or two, maybe even a couple of months but this still won't give you the best results all you'll succeed in doing is flavoring the outer skin of the boilie which is fine but it still may not give the long term attraction that your bait will need when its in the water for a few days at a time. This next method is far more effective in getting the flavor right to the core of the boilie.

First get a small container big enough to hold around ten boilies and have room to roll them around, add a small amount of dip to the container, just enough to cover the bottom of the container add your ten boilies or however many you want to boost to the container and roll them around until they are covered in the dip ... don't cover the baits so that they are submerged in the bait as they won't be able to draw in the flavor any further than the outer layers, instead roll them around as described put the lid on the container and just leave them over night, I prefer to put them in the fridge but you can just leave the container in your garden or something if it is cool. The next day you will see that most of the bait dip has gone, drawn into the boilie .... add some more bait dip again just enough to cover them and put them back in the fridge you can do this as many times as you like until you feel the bait has the boost it requires .... the more dip that is absorbed by the bait the longer it will take to release and the longer the bait will have added attraction whilst waiting for a fat one to find it. 

You can also do this when freezing your baits, make up a mix of pop-ups pour the dip into the freezer bag with the boilies (just enough to coat the boilies) give the bag a good shake until the boilies are covered and put the bag in the freezer, remove the bag the next day thaw them out, add some more dip/flavor, shake up the bag again and return them to the freezer ... again you can repeat this several times until you think your bait have the required boost!

..... There it is, Bait Dips explained .....

Don't think about it, when winter comes round again "do it" ... it works!