Best Boilies for Carp Fishing: A Total Fishing Tackle Review

Boilies are an angler's staple bait when it comes to targetting big carp, but the choice of carp bait can be mind-boggling, particularly if you are new to carp fishing. Sweet, savoury, fishy, big or small, the choices are endless. Don't fear though, we are here to help you! Grab a cuppa and have a read through our choices for the best boilies for carp fishing.

SHELF LIFE OR FROZEN

Boilies come in two forms. They are either fresh/frozen or shelf life/stabilised. The main difference is that the shelf life of boilies contains a food-grade preservative to help prevent the ingredients from going off or turning mouldy. Fresh/frozen boilies contain no preservatives and must be frozen when not in use and defrosted before use.

Now, this is the tricky part! Which are best? I think any carp angler worth their salt will say that frozen baits are best, but that doesn't mean that shelf-life baits won't catch fish. In fact, quite a lot of anglers only use shelf life boilies for the convenience factor. I would say if you can store freezer bait, and you have the time to defrost and prep it before a trip, then go frozen boilies every time, BUT shelf life boilies won't do you any harm as long as they are from a reputable manufacturer. For peace of mind, everything we sell here at TFT, we would use ourselves, so shop away, safe in the knowledge that all our products will help you catch more fish.

Choosing three of the best is a tough ask, but we have narrowed it down after much deliberation and arguing in the TFT office. No punches were thrown though, I promise.

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Mainline Cell Shelf Life

DNA Baits The Bug Freezer Bait

Nutrabaits CO-DE Freezer Bait

PRODUCT INFORMATION

The Mainline Cell needs no introduction, arguably the most popular boilie and captor of god knows how many carp all over the world. But, it doesn't make the number one spot for one very good reason. The shelf life version is brand new and it is too early to tell the effects that the preserving process has taken on the bait.

DNA Baits The Bug - a cracking bait that will catch carp from any venue all year round. This insect meal-based boilie has a creamy chocolate malt smell and anyone who knows carp bait will know how good a quality chocolate malt flavour is.

So that leaves our winner as the Nutrabaits CO-DE boilies! Let's hear what Nutrabaits have to say about it.

'A bait that has proven to be an instant hit throughout our extensive field-testing on a wide variety of waters both in the UK and across Europe. A true all-around bait, being a perfect blend of human food grade nut meals, our yellow birdseed blend along with vitamins and minerals. Giving a bait packed with nutritional content with boosted levels of in-built attraction to ensure twelve months a year effectiveness.

Add to this a beautiful Amino-rich blend of liquid foods, yeasts and natural sugars, along with our in-house blend of flavours and essential oils that carp simply find hard to resist. This is one of those baits that can be used with total confidence on virtually any type of water throughout the year.'

From my perspective Nutrabaits have some serious credentials when it comes to producing epic boilie ranges, the BFM or Big Fish Mix is a hall-of-fame classic and the Trigga and Trigga Ice are up there too. I love the yeasty smell and the deep brown colour, great for venues with pesky bird life.

If you are looking for bait for this coming season, head over to the website and have a good look around, we have a great selection of boilies to choose from.

Below are some key points to think about when choosing a new bait.

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