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Two Flavours Are Better Than One

During one of my Wednesday evening live sessions on YouTube, someone asked me a very interesting question.

When we go for a short carp session — maybe 16 hours, a full weekend, or a few nights — is it better to bait with one single boilie, or is it more effective to mix different baits together?

For me, the answer is clear: two flavours are often better than one.

This is not just a theory. It comes from years of testing while developing baits for Big Fish, working together with a full team of field testers. Over several seasons we ran many comparisons in different waters, carefully observing how carp reacted to different bait strategies.

What we discovered was very interesting.

Even in the same lake — sometimes even on the same spot — carp do not always respond to the same signals. Different fish can have different chemo-receptive sensitivity and, quite simply, different taste preferences.

More than once we noticed that certain carp, even big ones, were regularly recaptured on specific types of bait, while ignoring others.

In some lakes we clearly had fish responding to a particular flavour profile, while other carp in the same water seemed to prefer something completely different — sometimes even the opposite in terms of taste and attraction.

This tells us something important: carp can develop real feeding preferences.

And this is not only true for wild carp, which are naturally more attracted to animal proteins.

It is even more evident with large Hungarian hybrids. These fish are usually raised in tanks and fed pellets during their first year of life. That early feeding stage creates a strong food imprint. Later on, those carp often show a clear attraction to flavours similar to the pellets they grew up on.

A similar situation can happen in lakes where anglers constantly use the same type of boilies — something that is very common in commercial fisheries. Over time, carp may become used to that flavour profile and develop a preference for it.

So if different carp can prefer different signals, one thing becomes obvious: offering variety increases our chances.

Different flavours, colours and bait sizes all help to intercept more fish passing through the area.

But of course, this needs to be done with logic and consistency.

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Mixing Flavours – My Early Experiments

Years ago, when I was fishing for Richworth, I often baited with a mix of two or three different flavours, sometimes also changing the bait size and colour.

The interesting part is that all those boilies were made using the same base mix, rolled with Minamino, flavour and sweetener. So the only real difference between them was the flavour profile and the soluble attractors.

This allowed me to offer the carp:

• small baits, which are usually less suspicious

• different colours, creating more visual contrast

• different flavour signals

In many situations this simple approach increased my catch rate, especially in waters where carp were not used to boilies and during short sessions without any pre-baiting.

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What Experience Has Taught Me

After more than twenty years of further testing and fishing experience, I now see things even more clearly.

When fishing short sessions, the best strategy is often to combine two boilies that are very different from each other, especially in terms of flavour profile and attraction signals.

By doing this you dramatically increase the chances of triggering a response from any carp passing through your spot.

At the same time, it is always a good idea to mix different bait sizes when introducing boilies.

A balanced baiting approach could include:

• crushed boilies as the main base of the baiting

• small boilies (12–16 mm)

• medium boilies (18–22 mm), often perfect as hookbaits

• a few larger boilies above 22 mm

Those larger baits can help when nuisance fish are present, preventing the whole baited area from being eaten too quickly.

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Two Opposite Bait Families

In practical terms, the most effective approach is to mix two clearly different bait types.

Sweet / Carbohydrate-Based Boilies

These baits are generally low in animal proteins and amines, but rich in carbohydrates and fats.

Typical examples include:

• birdfood mixes

• 50/50 mixes

• spice mixes

• yeast mixes

• nut-based mixes

They are often rolled with sweet, fruity or spicy flavours.

These baits also combine very well with liquid foods such as:

• tiger nut juice

• CSL

• molasses

• peanut butter

• yeast extracts

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Savoury / Protein-Based Boilies

The second group includes baits that are much richer in animal proteins and amines.

Typical examples are:

• fish mixes

• liver mixes

• meat mixes

• blood mixes

These boilies are often rolled with:

• fermented fish sauces

• amino-based liquid foods

• high pH amine flavours

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By combining these two very different bait profiles you create multiple feeding signals in the water, increasing the chances that at least one of them will trigger a feeding response.

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Baiting Strategy

When baiting the spot, simply mix the two boilies in equal parts and spread them evenly across the area.

A very interesting option is to prepare softer baiting boilies, using only two or three eggs in the recipe.

This creates boilies with a limited breakdown time — usually between three and six hours depending on water temperature — allowing them to release food signals and attractors more quickly.

At the same time, it is important to include a small amount of harder boilies identical to your hookbaits, so the spot can remain active for longer.

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Instant Attraction

If you want to be effective from the first cast, simply attach a PVA mesh stick filled with crushed boilies to your rig.

The crushed bait should again be made by mixing the two chosen boilies in equal parts.

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Hookbait Presentation

The hookbait should follow exactly the same idea.

Personally, I like to fish two boilies on the hair, one from each type, mounted on a rig that highlights the bait nicely — for example a D-rig.

Hookbait size should always be adapted to the level of nuisance fish present.

However, when targeting big, cautious carp, smaller hookbaits are often a big advantage.

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The Two-Tone Hookbait Trick

If you prefer using a single bait, there is a very simple trick.

Cut two boilies perfectly in half using a sharp cutter, then mount one half from each bait on the hair rig.

You will end up with a two-tone hookbait, combining the attractive properties of both boilies.

Some dedicated bait makers might point out that it is also possible to roll boilies made from two separate mixes joined during extrusion.

That is true — and I experimented with this technique many years ago with great results.

But in practical fishing terms, simply joining two halves together is much easier and works perfectly even with ready-made boilies.

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My Favourite Combinations for Unknown Waters

When I approach a water I don’t know, these are two combinations I often rely on:

• Fish mix rolled with fermented fish sauce (Tiparos) and squid flavour
combined with
a nut mix with peanut butter and molasses, flavoured with Scopex

 

• Liver mix with liquid krill and fruit esters
combined with
a yeast mix with chrysalis liquid food and honey, flavoured with red thyme essential oil