Best Carp Bait

Krill sits at the heart of this fishmeal-based boilie, giving it its natural flavour and food value. The Krill comes in 12mm, 16mm and 20mm in 1kg and 5kg bags, with a 24mm size in the 5kg bag only. This shelf-life version keeps without a freezer.

The mix uses 25 ingredients, built around carp dietary needs, with the krill there to stimulate feeding. A natural preservative is the only difference from the freezer version. Fish one on the hair over a spread of catapulted freebies.

It's a krill boilie for spring, summer and autumn. Next to the Dynamite Baits The Source Shelf Life Boilies, which lean on Robin Red and spice, this one takes its flavour from krill. It's one of the two boilies I use most myself, alongside The Source.

To be fair, fishmeal is traditionally a warmer-month bait, so you'd feed less of it once the water turns cold. For a krill boilie that keeps on the shelf, though, I think it's a dependable choice from spring to autumn.

Built on a high-protein, low-temperature fishmeal, The Source is a spicy shelf-life boilie that keeps without freezing and is made for use all year. It comes in 1kg bags in 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, 20mm and 26mm.

Haith's Robin Red gives the deep red colour and spicy flavour, backed by Dynamite's own spice mix and special attractors developed with Terry Hearn. Crushed eggshell adds a distinctive crunch, and the recipe hasn't changed since 2002. Fish it on the hair over a scattering of freebies.

It has caught carp and barbel across the UK and abroad, and it's a common choice for an unfamiliar water or a trip overseas. Next to the Sticky Baits The Krill Shelf Life Boilies, it's the spicy option, with Robin Red birdfood blended into the fishmeal. It's one of the two boilies I use most myself, alongside The Krill.

To be fair, it's still a fishmeal, so you'd feed it more sparingly in cold water. For a proven, year-round boilie that stores without a freezer, though, I think it's a reliable pick.

Rolled from Mainline's Dedicated base mixes, frozen Cell is a sweet, food-source boilie that Mainline puts outside the fishmeal, milk-protein and birdfood types. It comes in 1kg bags, and the frozen Dedicated range covers 10mm, 15mm and 18mm. The bait is frozen within hours of rolling.

Quality enhancers and attractors are combined with liquid food sources, and freezing it fresh helps keep the active ingredients at their most effective. Fish it on the hair over a bed of freebies. Mainline backs it up with matching pop-ups, dips, liquids, pellets and groundbaits.

It's one of the most popular, proven boilies around, made to fish all year. Next to the CC Moore Live System Frozen Boilies, a milk-protein and birdfood bait, Cell is a different sweet bait with a whole matching range behind it. The Mainline Cell Smart Dip in our picks shares its flavour.

To be fair, it's a freezer bait, so you need room for it at home. For anglers who want a proven sweet bait with matching hookbaits and dips, though, I think it's a sound place to start.

Sweet, creamy and yeasty, Live System is a frozen milk-protein and birdfood boilie that stays in the freezer until you fish it. It comes in 10mm, 15mm and 18mm, in 1kg and 3kg packs.

Milk proteins, yeast, vegetable proteins, cream and corn steep powders make up the mix. There are no synthetic dyes, so the sandy colour can vary between batches. The open texture releases water-soluble appetite stimulants in all water temperatures. Air dry the boilies before use, especially for a throwing stick, and pair them with citric or red fruit glugs.

It can be fished on its own without pre-baiting, or alongside other baits, all year. Sweet milk-protein baits are a common cold-water choice and arguably easier for carp to digest. Next to the Mainline Dedicated Frozen Cell Boilies, which aren't milk-protein based, this is the true milk-protein option.

To be fair, it needs air drying before use as well as freezer space. For winter fishing, or a water you haven't been able to pre-bait, though, I think it's a strong sweet option.

Tiger nut flour and natural tiger nut milk form the base of this sweet nut boilie, which needs no freezer. The 1kg bags come in 12mm, 15mm and 18mm with a resealable zip-lock, and there's a 15mm 5kg bag.

Vanilla flavour and all-season attractants are blended with the tiger nut milk for a sweet, creamy, nutty profile. The flour brings naturally occurring amino acids, vitamins and minerals. The boilies keep releasing attractants in cold water and retain a soluble finish. Fish one on the hair over a few freebies or a bed of particles.

It's a classic bait for winter campaigns and year-round use, and nut boilies do well on waters where tiger nuts or particles go in a lot. Next to the Dynamite Baits Frenzied Mini Tiger Nuts, it puts tiger nut flavour in a boilie, an option on lakes that ban real nuts.

To be fair, it's one sweet vanilla profile, so it won't suit anyone after a fishmeal. For a sweet winter bait that keeps on the shelf, though, I think it's a sensible choice.

Deep red and spicy, this birdfood and fishmeal boilie is made with the original Haith's Robin Red and has cereal in its base mix. It comes in 15mm, 20mm and 26mm, in 1kg, 1.8kg and 5kg bags.

Spice essential oils and flavours act as the attractors, and the high-leakage mix is formulated for digestibility. Its firm texture holds together while the attractors disperse. Fish it on the hair over freebies. Dynamite backs it up with matching Robin Red pellets, glugs, stick mixes and groundbaits.

Robin Red is a long-standing classic carp flavour, and this boilie is made for use all year on big and small waters. Next to the Dynamite Baits The Source Shelf Life Boilies, which also carry Robin Red, this is the birdfood-led bait, and it also comes in a 1.8kg bag.

To be fair, the 1.8kg and 5kg bags only come in 15mm and 20mm. For anglers who want a classic Robin Red boilie with matching pellets and liquids, though, I think it's an easy one to build a session around.

Built to match the Dedicated Freezer Range, the Mainline Dedicated Base Mix Pop-Ups are buoyant 15mm hookbaits in Dedicated flavours including Cell and Essential Cell, sold in 150ml tubs.

Each one uses the same liquid attractors as its freezer bait, so it matches that boilie's look and smell. The buoyancy is consistent, which keeps a rig well presented and holds heavier Hinged Stiff and Chod Rigs in position for long periods.

They make most sense if you're already feeding Mainline's Dedicated boilies, and the Cell pop-up pairs with the Mainline Dedicated Frozen Cell Boilies. Next to the Mainline ISO Sweet Fluoro Wafters, which sink slowly and sit balanced, these are buoyant hookbaits for Chod and Hinged Stiff Rigs.

To be fair, the matched look and smell count for less over another brand's boilies. For anglers feeding the Dedicated Freezer Range, though, I think they're the natural pop-up to tie on.

These 15mm wafters come three colours to a pot, yellow, pink and white, all in the ISO Sweet flavour. They're super-bright hookbaits from Mainline's Dedicated Fluoro Wafters range, which also covers Cell, Essential Cell and ISO Fish.

The hook's weight counterbalances their slow-sinking buoyancy, so the hookbait sits critically balanced on the rig. That suits Spinner and German Rigs, and they can also go in PVA bags or be fished over a feed of other Dedicated baits.

A bright hookbait like this can give carp something to find without adding more food. Next to the Korda Fake Food Slow Sinking Corn, which sits over particles, these can be fished over a feed of Dedicated baits such as the Mainline Dedicated Frozen Cell Boilies.

To be fair, this pot is 15mm only and mixes all three colours, so you can't pick a single shade. For a bright, balanced hookbait over a Mainline feed, though, I think they're an easy choice.

Korda Fake Food Slow Sinking Corn is an artificial corn hookbait, sold in packs of 12 grains with matching hair stops. There are two separate versions, I.B in yellow and Fruity Squid in pink.

The flavour is moulded into the plastic of every grain rather than soaked in, and the buoyancy lets the corn sink slowly over light particles, natural corn, groundbait and stick mix. Fish one grain or several on the hair, or tip another hookbait with it. It also works in solid bags, or on its own.

It's for anglers fishing over particles or groundbait. Next to the Mainline ISO Sweet Fluoro Wafters, which sit balanced over a Dedicated boilie feed, this corn settles slowly onto a bed of real grains such as the Dynamite Baits Frenzied Maize.

To be fair, each pack holds one flavour and colour, so trying both I.B and Fruity Squid means buying two. For fishing over particles, though, I think it's a sensible hookbait to carry.

There's no preparation with Dynamite Baits Frenzied Mini Tiger Nuts, as the mini nuts are ready to use straight from a 2.5ltr jar. They're cooked in that same jar, and they're a year-round bait for carp anglers.

Cooking them this way keeps in natural sugars and carp attractants that would normally be lost, and the nuts leak a milky, tiger-nut flavoured attractant. Feed them as a bed and fish a Monster tiger nut on the hook over the top.

They suit anyone who wants a nut bait in particle form. Next to the Dynamite Baits Monster Tigernut Shelf Life Boilies, a nut-based boilie made with tiger nut flour, these are whole mini nuts for building a bed of feed.

To be fair, no shelf life is stated once the jar is open, unlike the six months given for the Hinders Prepared Chinese Hempseed. For a tiger nut bed with no preparation, though, I think they're the easiest way in.

Hinders Prepared Chinese Hempseed comes cooked and ready in a 3.5 litre jar, so you can use it as soon as the seal is off. Once opened, it keeps for six months in a cool, dry place.

The hemp is carefully cooked and shows white shoots, with a crunchy texture. It's made for carp and pleasure anglers, and you can feed it as a bed straight from the jar or load it into PVA mesh.

It suits anyone who wants a bed of small seeds without cooking hemp at home. Next to the Dynamite Baits Frenzied Maize, which can be stacked on the hair, this is a smaller seed to feed. The Korda Fake Food Slow Sinking Corn is made to sit over light particles like it.

To be fair, it's not recommended for PVA bags, only PVA mesh. For a ready-cooked bed of hemp that keeps once opened, though, I think it's a sound jar to have on the bank.

Cooked inside the jar, Dynamite Baits Frenzied Maize keeps its nutrients and attractants in the bait. This is the larger 2.5ltr jar, meant for building a bed of feed, and there are no added preservatives.

Each grain holds sweet juice, kept in as the maize is packed and cooked. Feed it as a bed, then fish a small stack of grains on a hair rig over the top.

It's made for carp and other big fish. Mini tigers, hemp and maize work well mixed together, so it pairs with the Dynamite Baits Frenzied Mini Tiger Nuts and the Hinders Prepared Chinese Hempseed. In that mix, the maize can also be your hookbait, stacked on the hair.

To be fair, it's maize alone, so making up that mix means buying the other two jars as well. For a sweet, ready-cooked particle that feeds and hooks, though, I think it's the jar to build a mix around.

Korda Tinned Sweetcorn comes in a big 2.15kg catering tin, made for anglers who use corn in quantity. It's ready to use straight from the tin, with no soaking or cooking.

The corn is naturally sweet, bright yellow and packed in its own juice. Korda's own anglers use these big tins to make up a large part of their spod mixes. You can bulk out a spod or groundbait mix with it, or feed it loose over a spot. Then fish a couple of grains on the hook over the top.

It suits anyone who feeds a lot of corn, and it's a bestseller at a large UK online tackle shop. Next to the Sonubaits Corn Salted Caramel, a 400g tin with added flavour and salt, this is plain corn in bulk.

To be fair, 2.15kg is a lot to get through once the tin is open if you only need a handful. For bulk feeding and spod mixes, though, I think it's the obvious tin to buy.

Sonubaits Corn Salted Caramel is specially selected sweetcorn in a 400g tin with an easy-open ring-pull lid. It's ready to use straight from the tin, and Sonubaits makes it for carp, bream and tench.

Sonubaits cooks the ingredients together, so the natural sugars, salts and flavours stay in the bait. It adds salt and a sweet caramel flavour too. Use it as loose feed, in a spod mix, or a couple of grains on the hair.

It suits anglers who want a flavoured corn without doing it themselves. Next to the Korda Fake Food Slow Sinking Corn, an imitation grain for the hook, this is the real thing for feed and hookbaits, and it matches Sonubaits' Salted Caramel range.

To be fair, a 400g tin won't go far if you want a big bed of bait, and this listing is one flavour. For a sweet, salty corn that's ready in seconds, though, I think it's a handy tin to keep in the bag.

Parker Baits Sexy Spod Mix is a 3kg shelf-life particle mix made for spodding and building a baited area. It needs no soaking, boiling or other preparation, and it keeps without a freezer.

It holds seven particles. You get yellow peas, dari, tares and buckwheat, plus pop maize, hemp and maples. They're hand prepared in the UK, preserved with natural salts and stored in a formula liquid. Use the mix straight from the tub, or add boilies, pellets, liquids or powders.

It suits anglers who want a varied particle bed without preparing dry particles at home. Next to the Dynamite Baits Frenzied Maize, a single particle in a jar, this gives you seven in one, including maples.

To be fair, you can't change the blend, so check your water allows all seven particles before you buy, as some fisheries ban maples. For a ready-made spod mix, though, I think it's one of the easiest ways to get a varied bed out.

Dynamite Baits Frenzied Salty Buckwheat & Maples puts two particles, salty buckwheat and maple peas, in one 700g can. Both are cooked in the can and ready to use, with no preservatives added.

Cooking them in the can keeps their natural oils and attractants in the bait rather than losing them in a separate cook. Dynamite describes the pair as special particles that work well side by side in a carp mix. Both have a reputation for keeping fish feeding over a baited area for long periods.

It suits anglers who want maples without soaking and boiling dry peas, which can take up to 45 minutes of cooking. Next to the Parker Baits Sexy Spod Mix, a seven-particle blend, this is a simpler two-particle can to add to your own mix.

To be fair, a 700g can won't build a big bed on its own, and some fisheries ban maples. For a quick maple and buckwheat boost to a spod mix, though, I think it's a handy can to carry.

Deep red and high in both protein and oil, these pellets are made with Haith's Robin Red, working with the original producers of Robin Red. They come in 2mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm, 12mm, 15mm and 20mm. Each 900g pack comes in a re-sealable bag.

The 8mm, 12mm, 15mm and 20mm sizes are pre-drilled, so they go straight on a hair rig or into a bait band without drilling. The 2mm, 4mm and 6mm sizes are made as feed pellets, so feed and hookbait can share the same Robin Red base.

Robin Red has long been a classic carp flavour, and these pellets sit naturally beside the Dynamite Baits Robin Red Boilies. Next to the CC Moore Belachan Pellet Session Pack, a low-oil 6mm shrimp pellet, they give far more size choice and a high-oil Robin Red profile.

To be fair, it's pellets only, in a 900g bag, with no liquid or wafters like the Belachan pack. For anglers already on Robin Red who want feed and hookbait pellets to match, though, I think it's a sound, simple choice.

Three Belachan baits share one black bait bucket. You get 2kg of 6mm pellets, 100ml of Liquid Belachan Compound and ten 10 x 14mm wafters. Belachan is fermented shrimp from Malaysia, with a deep, salty taste and aroma. Store the pack somewhere cool, dry and out of direct sunlight.

The pellets are low in oil and highly digestible. They carry soluble attractors and amino acids from Indian Ocean shrimp, plus natural butyric acid and ionic salts. They go in spod mixes, as loose feed or in a PVA bag with a Belachan Wafter, and the liquid boosts the mix.

It suits carp, barbel and coarse anglers who want feed, liquid and hookbaits in one flavour. Next to the Dynamite Baits Robin Red Carp Pellets, which are high in oil and run to 20mm, this is a low-oil 6mm feed pellet with the hookbaits supplied.

To be fair, the pellets only come in 6mm here and there are just ten wafters, so a long session will need more hookbaits. For a fishy, shrimp-based setup in one bucket, though, I think it's a tidy, well-matched pack.

Sonubaits Supercrush Mega Carp Method Mix is a coarsely ground blend of fishmeal pellets with added fishmeals in a 2kg bag. Sonubaits makes it for anglers targeting big carp, in Original, Red and Green versions.

It was developed for Method feeder fishing, so it binds readily around a feeder, then breaks down quickly once in the water to leave a carpet of feed around the hookbait. Its heavy, coarse texture also suits margin and shallow-water fishing, where it stays put when bigger fish move in.

It suits commercial and day-ticket anglers fishing the Method. Next to the Parker Baits Sexy Spod Mix, which builds a bed of particles from a spomb, this puts a tight parcel of feed right on the hookbait.

To be fair, it's a fishmeal mix, so go easy with it in very cold water. For Method feeder fishing for carp, though, I think it's an easy mix to get right.

DNA Baits Betastim Floaters are super-buoyant floating pellets in a 3kg bag, in 6mm and 11mm sizes. DNA makes them as hookbaits and loose feed for surface fishing in the warmer months.

They're infused with DNA's BetaStim liquid, so they start releasing amino acids as soon as they hit the water and keep releasing them as they break down. Feed a few at a time to get fish competing, then fish one on a bait band or hair under a controller.

DNA aims them at waters where carp have become wary of the dog biscuits other anglers use. Next to the Sticky Baits Krill Floater Pellets, which add a two-stage coating and a slick, these keep things simple with one infused pellet.

To be fair, they're a warm-weather bait, so they'll sit in the cupboard through the winter. For surface fishing on waters where mixers have been hammered, though, I think they're well worth trying.

Sticky Baits Krill Floater Pellets bring The Krill to surface fishing as a high-protein floating pellet. They come in 6mm and 11mm sizes, each in a 3kg bag.

Instead of a standard floater, Sticky uses a two-stage coating. The first layer releases food signals and bait fragments across the surface. The second sends soluble attractors down through the water to fish that aren't feeding up top yet. Oil in the coating makes a slick without extra glug.

They suit anyone already feeding The Krill, as they're part of the same range, and The Krill is one of the two boilies I use most myself. Next to the DNA Baits Betastim Floaters, a simpler infused pellet, these do more of the work of pulling carp up in the water.

To be fair, surface fishing is mostly a warm-weather method, so they'll see little use once the water cools. For floater fishing from The Krill range, though, I think they're the ones to get.

Fresh krill is the base of this Sticky Baits liquid, which comes in a 1 litre jerry can. Once it's applied to the swim, it forms a hazy cloud close to the lake bed.

Highly soluble liquid foods are combined with salts and sugars. It works in PVA mixes, and added to a spod mix it creates the same haze. It can also dampen pellets before they're balled in. It complements Krill Active Mix, and you can use it with Krill Pellets, Krill Powder and crushed Krill Boilies.

Anglers who spod their feed or use PVA mixes and want more attraction will get the most from it, especially alongside the Sticky Baits The Krill Shelf Life Boilies. Next to the Mainline Cell Smart Dip, a thick dip for coating one hookbait, this one works on the feed.

To be fair, it's built around Sticky's krill range, so it makes most sense if your feed is krill too. For anyone already feeding krill, though, I think it's a sensible extra to carry.

Cell is one of four flavours in Mainline's Dedicated Smart Dip range, each made to accompany the related boilie range. This one is a thick 250ml hookbait dip.

It combines the food-source flavours used in the Dedicated Freezer Bait and Shelf-Life boilies with the active elements of Smart Liquids. The thick dip coats and enhances the hookbait, and the formula is made for increased pulling power once it's applied. Dip the hookbait on the hair just before you cast.

Anyone fishing Cell who wants the hookbait to carry an extra coating over the freebies will find it useful. Next to the Mainline Dedicated Frozen Cell Boilies it's made to go with, it adds attraction to the one bait on the hair. The Sticky Baits Cloudy Krill Liquid works on the feed instead.

To be fair, it's a 250ml pot made for hookbaits, so it won't stretch to boosting a whole bed of feed. For Cell anglers who want the hookbait to match the boilies, though, I think it's a handy pot to keep in the bag.

Robin Red is a long-standing classic carp flavour, and this 500ml bottle from Dynamite Baits carries it in liquid form. It's blended with original Haith's bird foods and Robin Red, made with natural ingredients, and has a deep red colour.

It boosts hookbaits and feed boilies, goes into spod mixes and can be mixed through groundbait. It's suitable for bulk-soaking bait too, and as a PVA-friendly liquid it can go straight into PVA bags or PVA mixes.

Those already feeding Robin Red, such as the Dynamite Baits Robin Red Boilies, can carry that colour through the spod, the groundbait or a PVA bag. Next to the Sticky Baits Cloudy Krill Liquid, which also works in PVA mixes, this is the Robin Red option, and it boosts hookbaits as well.

To be fair, it's a single flavour in a 500ml bottle, so bulk-soaking will get through it quickly. For Robin Red anglers who want one liquid for hookbaits, feed and PVA, though, I think it's a versatile bottle to carry.