Custom boilie scores with a big commercial water mirror.


A secret recipe boilie was at the heart of a great winter session for one angler after the bait proved the downfall of this beautifully scaled 30lb mirror.

Caught from Kent’s Elphicks Fisheries, the stunning specimen was banked by angler Paul Andrassy during a 24hour session that also saw him net a common of 22lb.

Targeting the residents of the complex’s Plantation lake, Paul’s secret weapon was a special custom boilie mix of a winterized amino base mix with crushed hemp and an assortment of ‘confidential’ flavors.

“The boilie’s been doing really well for me and my brother on a syndicate lake we’re fishing this winter,” Paul, who works for Kent-based firm Premier Baits, told Total Carp. “We thought we’d give it a go at Elphicks, and over the whole weekend the lake we fished only gave up three fish, two of which fell to our boilies.”

Baiting lightly with around 10 freebies over each rod, Paul fished tight to an island in around 3feet of water, fooling the fish with a shocker rig set up. Featuring a 1oz lead on a length of tubing, Paul used a blob of tungsten putty down the tubing to hold the lead and set the hook instead of the usual bead to make sure it was extra safe should he lose a fish. A pair of 12mm wafters in the secret recipe hairrigged on a size 8 Gardner Talon Tip made up the business end, along with a small oily stick mix to get the fishes attention.

“We arrived at the water around 1.30 in the afternoon and I had a good take by 5.30pm,” continued Paul. “I like to use the shocker rig on commercial venues like this where the fish might be a bit cagey as it shows up takes very well.

“To start with I didn’t actually think that it wasn’t that big, but when it got under the rod tip it started to put up a fight. It was a great looking fish," the 34-year-old added. "Me and my brother had actually seen the fish in photos in the fisheries gallery before the session and said it was one of the best looking carp in there, and it looked twice as good on the bank.”

For details on Premier Baits, clicks here.