Today I’d like to share a homemade recipe for producing a highly attractive and well-balanced liquid food, ideal for rolling boilies and producing pellets with an exceptionally high pulling power, without relying on questionable chemical additives that can easily put off larger, more cautious carp.
This liquid allows you to create outstanding baits for waters rich in natural food, but it also works as a strong feeding trigger in high-pressure situations, such as competitions or when targeting big carp in managed fisheries.
The recipe is based on three animal ingredients with proven effectiveness and intense stimulation:
LIVER
The attractor par excellence. A powerful organ acting as a natural reservoir of sugars and essential amino acids, and at the same time highly digestible.
I generally suggest chicken liver due to its easy availability, but pork liver is equally valid, as is beef liver, which is usually richer in blood and haemoglobin. The choice simply comes down to availability and cost: use what is easiest and cheapest to source.
SQUID or CUTTLEFISH
Two cephalopods of which it is advisable to use only the internal organs, including the ink sac, as this is where the maximum attraction is concentrated.
When I used to produce large quantities of cuttlefish ink liquid food, I would ask my trusted fishmonger to keep aside the offal from cuttlefish and fish free of charge, and I would turn it into a garum-style liquid. In this case too, you can work exclusively with the internal organs.
MUSSEL
A mollusc naturally rich in highly attractive compounds, which are further enhanced by predigestion and then evolved through subsequent fermentation.
The ideal choice is shelled Pacific mussels, usually sold for around €5–6 per kg, or alternatively standard black mussels, which will need to be shelled first.
Many carp anglers tell me they can collect large Anodonta mussels from lakes and canals at zero cost. Provided that collection is legal, this can be an excellent and completely free alternative.
Preparation
Producing the liquid food is straightforward. Simply combine the three ingredients in equal parts. You can also vary the proportions depending on availability and cost; for example, using the internal organs as the primary component (around 3 parts out of 5), then adding liver and mussels as single parts (e.g. 3 kg of off internal organs, 1 kg of liver, 1 kg of mussels).
Add:
20% salt relative to the total weight
10 g of bromelain (>2000 GDU) per kg of product, excluding the salt
Bromelain is essential for the predigestion process, which can be completed in as little as 48 hours when kept at the right temperature (a constant 30–40°C).
It can be omitted if you decide to go for a longer fermentation, garum-style, where autolysis takes over, supported by the enzymes naturally present in cephalopod and fish offal.
In practice, blend everything, add the bromelain, mix thoroughly and leave the compound at the correct temperature for at least 48 hours. At this stage, it is already usable as a predigested liquid for rolling baits.
My personal advice is to transfer the liquid into a dark glass container and allow a spontaneous fermentation to continue (at temperatures above 20°C) for at least 20–30 days before use.
If you have time and patience, the liquid reaches its peak maturity after 3–4 months of maceration, during which the container should be shaken occasionally.
If you are thinking of this product as a top-of-the-season liquid (October to December), the ideal timing would be to start production in June, so it’s perfectly matured when you need it most.
The liquid remains stable for a very long time if stored in a cool, dry place. Many enthusiasts successfully use garum-style liquids that are over a year old.
Using the Liquid
Given the strong attraction of this product and its very low cost, baits can be formulated using the liquid as the sole attractive base, with the addition of a synergistic essential oil.
I recommend:
- a bird food mix for competition baits
- a fishmeal mix for baiting and fishing in open waters
- pellets
1-Bird Food Boilies (Competition)
Per 1 kg of dry mix:
- 100 ml of this liquid
- 10 g betaine
- 8 drops red thyme essential oil
- 3 eggs
Top up the missing liquid phase with monopropylene glycol as required.
This setup produces highly soluble boilies, breaking down within 3–4 hours of immersion.
2-Fishmeal Boilies
Per 1 kg of dry mix:
- 150 ml of this liquid
- 10 drops red thyme essential oil
- Eggs as required
3-Pellets
To make pellets, mix a standard carp groundbait, even an inexpensive one, using this liquid diluted 50% with water.
Keep the dough very compact and dense, then extrude it using a manual or electric mincer to produce small cylindrical pellets.
Allow them to dry in a cool, dry place.
These pellets are ideal for mixing with crushed boilies to fill solid PVA bags and PVA mesh.