Catch Reports
Park Lake Blitz!
Posted in Catch Reports on 11th May 2008Bristol based anglers Steve Sweeten and Terry Hancock decided to open up their ‘new season’ account on a tricky Southern Park Lake where a hand full of carp each season is the norm. However, within 48-hours of the season opening up, the ‘Dynamic Duo’ managed to bank no less than 18 carp which totalled a staggering 500lb plus and included three 40’s and five different 30’s!!
31-year old plumber Steve Sweeten managed to break his personal best no less than 4 times during the hectic haul and ended up with mirrors of 41lb 5oz and 40lb 2oz, a 36lb 10oz leather & three other 30lb plus mirrors and six more carp over 20lbs!
Meanwhile in the next swim along, his fishing partner Terry Hancock was also on a typical ‘B5 bombing’ mission and managed to add to the impressive tally with mirrors of 41lb, 34lb, 23lb, 19lb and 17lb to complete an historic achievement from the difficult venue.
Both anglers were using Essential Baits Shellfish B5 frozen ready mades in 16mm and 20mm and introduced approx 7kgs of boilies between them during the frenzied feeding spell. All the fish fell to ranges of between 60 and 80 yards over firm spots surrounded by silt and sparse weed.
Essential Bait boss Mike Willmott knows the venue well and wrote a chapter on the lake (Park Life) in his book ‘Carp Life’. Commenting on the 500lb haul Mike commented: “A catch of this magnitude has never been equalled before on the venue and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer couple of lads. I know how difficult the lake can be at times so for Steve to smash his PB on 4 different occasions during 48-hours is an incredible achievement. Awesome angling from both of them”.
Shelf life boilie advantages
Our Essential resident 'Globetrotter' Merv Pennell with one of his many big carp caught on our range of Shelf life boilies. Merv, amongst so many other anglers, openly admits that our shelf life range offer a massive edge over 'standard' shelf life boilies and would not use anything else.
Of course the big advantage about the use of shelf life boilies can be summed up in just one word – convenience! And this is the key word you need to bear in mind. Good quality freezer baits are fantastic for that long term baiting campaign, yet can be problematic for extended UK sessions and of course when fishing on the continent.
So would we recommend substituting freezer baits with shelf life boilies for long term bait application? In short, no we wouldn’t! Simply because this will not offer any advantages at all, however, we can honestly say that for those trips outside the UK or even those extended sessions within the UK where it would be difficult to keep freezer baits fresh, this highly successfull range of shelf life boilies tick all the boxes - and more!
So many anglers strongly believe these are the best quality shelf life boilie available ANYWHERE in the world! Confidence and convenience, such key words for success.
Top Tips
1) Avoid cheap and cheerful shelf life boilies like the plague. I can think of few things worse to ruin your chances of success than poor quality boilies that have been ‘over-flavoured’ to mask preservative odours!
2) If the manufacturer states there are no preservatives in them, ask him to tell the truth!
3) Beware of semi-soft shelf life boilies. These are likely to be overloaded with preservatives. We tend to rely on reduced moisture levels, which in turn creates a 'tougher' bait, but with far less preservative.
