James Betts

Field Tester

0

Hello my name is James Betts and I have just started Field Testing for SBS baits, I fish mainly for Carp but also enjoy fishing for Tench, Bream, Barbel and Chub. For many years I have really wanted to catch a 30lb Common so with this in mind I started to formulate a plan, I roll most of my bait myself which lets me experiment with all the SBS goodies. So after looking at the range I settled on the Phaze1 base mix, and carefully selected liquids that will hopefully make a big Common slip up and finally grace my landing net. Home Bait makers are really spoilt for choice with SBS range of liquids, flavours, and natural additives.

So this is the recipe I settled on,

• 1 kg Phaze1 base mix
• 25 ml Natural Attract
• 20 ml Whiskey Link
• 10 ml Molasses
• 12 Eggs

I am a huge fan of groundbaits and there is a matching method mix for all the range of boilies. So with the baits all sorted, I set off to a local day ticket water to try my luck with all the new bits I made. The lake is a small water but is very well stocked with Carp which range from 2-35lbs but mainly Mid Doubles, a good water to try new baits.

So armed with 2 kgs of Phaze1 Method mix, 20mm Phaze1 boilies, and Phaze1 soluble disks, which are made using Gold Treasure Liquid and the above liquid foods, (The soluble mix is made without eggs and gunned out into 20mm  sausages and air-dried and then cut into discs). This saves a lot of time as there is no cooking or rolling.

I arrived at the lake only to find the car park very full, so after a walk around I set up at the far end of lake with a cold NE wind blowing into my face, not ideal but there were no other anglers down this end, most opting to fish on the back of this uncomfortable wind. Within 20 minutes of setting up 3 fish rolled on the end of the wind, happy days!

I wanted to lay down a reasonable bed of bait so out when 10 orange sized balls of Phaze1 method mix to around 30 yards range. The first rod would be fished with a inline method feeder and a short coated hook-link and baited with a small 12mm Frankfurter boilie, which was made using the Catcher Range of SBS boilie mixes.

The second rod was fished with a lead-clip and 10 inches of supple braid and a size 6 wide gape, 20mm boilie and a PVA bag of soluble discs. With the rods all sorted and a nice active bed of feed working away in swim, I was a happy angler. Over the next hour the method rod emits bleep after bleep but not positive bites happen, then to my surprise the rod with the 20mm Boilie is away and a short time later a little 11lbs common is in the net, great start.

The Boilie rod gets a new PVA bag of soluble Phaze1 and is cast back out onto the baited spot, about an hour passes the method rod is still bouncing around only a matter of time before it produces a fish, Bleeeep it’s the boilie rod again! This fight is different all together, heavy and slow the fish kites to the left of lake and with some side strain it is brought under the rod tip and into the back of the net.

With the mat wetted and the scales zeroed the fish is lifted onto the mat and at this point I started to realise that I had a new PB. The fish pulled the needle past 20, then 25, past 30 and settle on 32lbs I couldn’t believe it.

The photo’s where taken, and the fish was returned back to its watery home, leaving one very shocked angler shaking his head in disbelief.

I fished on for the rest of the day session and caught 4 more doubles, but I was to buzzing to fish properly after my new PB.

The Method Feeder rod never did produce a bite all the fish came to the boilie/soluble combination, which says a lot for the effectiveness of the soluble range of product, simply awesome!

So my “Common Problem” is finally solved. 

Tight lines and good luck,

James