Press Reviews

For an unbiased view on some of our products see the bait reviews below that have appeared in Carp Talk, Anglers Mail , Angling Times and angling websites:

CARP COMPANY - NEW HOOK RANGE

Firstly let me say that when I was given some of the new Carp Company hooks to try I was a little dubious so say the least, as I have been a faithful supporter of the Super Specialists for most of my carping for many years, but I decided to give them a try to see what they were like.

I have been doing a fair bit of stalking lately and as one of the packets I had been given were of a size four 'Super Strong' named pattern I decided to give these a try first. Now I was very impressed with these hooks as soon as I tried to get one out of the packet, as they are seriously sharp to start off with. They are chromed black and they looked, as their name implied, very strong indeed but I needed to put them through their paces to see if they lived up to their name.

For the technically minded out there the packet states that these hooks, in the 'Super Strong' patterns, are 'Forged, wide gape, extra strong special curved bend, barbed hooks. Also the 'Anti - Eject' pattern states that they are 'Special curved - in bend, slight reverse, forged ten percent turned down eye, barbed hooks'.

Right so off we went to try the Super Strong ones first. Now the water I have been fishing lately lends itself to a certain method of snag fishing where you need extremely strong tackle throughout and I decided to try these hooks out on this method first.

Tying one of the hooks on the end of my mainline, I had been given the size fours, and moulding my bread flake around the shank and then lowering it into some of the snaggiest swims that you could imagine, I managed over a two week period to bank some three twenty pounders up to around twenty seven pounds and a few nice doubles as well without a hook pull once. No sign of any bending in the hook, no sign of any damage to the fish through hooks slipping either. So generally I am most impressed with this pattern of hook and I will be using them now for all my snag fishing.

The other pattern that was given to me in a size 8 was the 'Anti-eject' hooks and although I have yet to put them through their paces seriously they are also extremely sharp and I have the same confidence in using them as with the 'Super Strong' pattern. I have only managed to fish a couple of sessions using these hooks on my normal bottom rig set up but again there were no fish losses due to hook pulls and no sign of them slipping either.

I do not usually change something that I have found to be good in my fishing but I will be persevering with these hooks and I will get back to you on my results as time goes by.

All in all I am very impressed with these new hooks and I think that Carp Company are onto a winner with them. Click on the image above if you wish to take a closer look at all of the other Carp Company products.

Andy Dixon - Carponline Editor

CARP COMPANY - THE AMINOL ACID MIX

New from Carp Company for the year 2000 is an exciting new base mix called the Aminol Acid.  It is roughly based along the same lines as their highly regarded Icelandic range.  Carp Company have always utilised highly soluble fish and milk proteins, crab, lobster and krill extracts as well as insect meal, Green Lipped Mussel, L-Zero-30 protein extract and a  proven combination of amino acids.

The finished base mix rolls extremely well and in conjunction with Squid and Lobster EPAs has, I'm told, already proved itself to be highly effective on various waters bringing personal best fish for the anglers testing it.  Available in 1kg bags at £7.50 and 5kg buckets at £33.00.

  Chris Ball, Carp Talk, June 2000

CARP COMPANY ‘THE FREEZE’ BASE MIX AND EPA ATTRACTORS

With cold weather carping well under way, now might be time to try Carp Company’s highly regarded ‘The Freeze’ base mix. This mix has been specially formulated for cold water temperatures and, with its highly digestible base, allows a fast leak off of flavours and attractors. I’m told the ingredients provide a balanced protein and carbohydrate diet combined with an excellent amino acid profile to form an easily digestible food source for this time of the year.

The mix rolls well with the minimum of fuss and coupled with Carp Company EPA attractors – used 5mm of Classic Spice and 2mm of Super Sweet in a six-egg mix – made a most appealing bait: one that caught carp. Carp Company also recommended their Cranberry and Sweet Cream EPAs as an alternative to the classic Spice/Super Sweet combination I used. 

Carp Talk comment: "If your catches are flagging a bit at the moment, The Freeze and EPAs are well worth a try.  Recommended."    Chris Ball, Carp Talk.

CARP COMPANY ADDITIVES

Anchovy and Green Lipped Mussel additives have proved themselves in both warm and cold water, and we reckon that these two powerful new products are set to put some big fish on the bank this year.

Anchovy Plus is made from pure anchovies and the resulting thick liquid smells grim... but the carp go bonkers for it.  Try it as an additive in a boilie base mix at 5ml to 10ml per five-egg mix, or as a hookbait soak/glug - chub, barbel and match lake carp love it on luncheon meat.  A 100ml tub costs £9.99.

Betaine-rich Green Lipped Mussel in fish mix or birdfood boilies is a classic carp-puller, but try mixing it with bread or cheese past for barbel, chub, bream and tench, as well.  A 50g tub sells for around £7.50.

Angling Times Verdict  "Top quality additives" - Kevin Green

CARP COMPANY POWDERED ADDITIVES

The effectiveness of additives in a modern carp bait is without question, and new for this year are three effective ones from Carp Company.

The first is L-Zero-30, which is a soluble, natural, concentrated protein extract, high in protein (60%) and free amino acids. It enhances and reinforces the flavour of fish products and acts as a very effective fish attractor. Recommended as an essential additive to any fish or meaty base mix, it is supplied in 50g tubs at £7.50.

Liver Powder is the next product. This is a pure, high quality liver powder, rich in vitamins and minerals. A very successful additive which is highly attractive to carp and more than useful in any fish, meat or bird food baits, for use in summer or winter. The tub contains 56g and costs £7.50.

Last but by no means least is Carp Company’s Amino/Betaine additive. The 50g tub which sells for £7.50 contains Betaine hydrochloride, which has proved to be highly stimulatory to both primary and secondary receptors. I’m told that Betaine is more effective when used in combination with amino acids. Therefore, Carp company’s Amino/Betaine contains numerous free amino acids, resulting in an extremely effective attractor.

Carp Talk comment: "Additives worth serious attention.  Recommended."  

Chris Ball, Carp Talk

CARP COMPANY’S SEED OF THE WEED MIX

Carp Company, being a specialized bait firm, have always offered carp anglers products of high quality at affordable prices. Their new Seed of the Weed base mix is the result of months of sourcing high quality ingredients at are not widely used by other bait firms. Seed of the Weed is packed with powdered, crushed and whole hemp seed, along with CLO, Wheat Germ Embryo, Insect Meal, high quality milk proteins, whey products and molasses. It also has a very high vitamin and mineral content. The mix itself is quite coarse, which allows a high leak off of flavours, but it still rolls well. Already it has proved to be far more effective than the original Carp Company Hemp Mix, performing extremely well throughout the whole year and taking numbers of big fish to 40lb-plus country-wide. Prices: 1kg £7.00, 5kg bucket £31.00.

To complement the above mix Carp Company have The Natural High EPA liquid, which is also an excellent attractor when used in birdfood and milk base mixes. There is also a Natural High Advanced Bait Soak available which contains the proven combination of amino acids including the Aminol, Amino/Betaine and the concentrated flavour. The EPA is priced at £7.99 per 100ml bottle, the bait soak £5.99 per tub.

Chris Ball, Carp Talk

CARP COMPANY WINTER RED MIX

With the success of the Icelandic range of base mixes and frozen baits over the past two seasons, in particular the Icelandic Red, Carp Company have decided to work on a new base mix that would be as successful during the colder months.

The majority of anglers they spoke to expressed that they preferred not to make many changes in their winning formula, which had produced results so well during the warmer months. As a result of this Carp company have produced the Winter Red Mix. It has a lower oil content but an increased level of soluble proteins compared to the Icelandic Red, plus the correct ingredients for the carp’s dietary needs for the time of the year when water temperatures are low. The end result is a high quality, extremely effective base mix at an affordable price.

Carp Company also tell me that, in tests, a combination of their Sweet Cream with Cranberry or Forest Berry has brought excellent results.

Chris Ball, Carp Talk

CARP COMPANY BALL PELLETS 

Just released from Carp Company are their new 12mm and 20mm ball pellets.  The type I have been using are based on the outstanding Icelandic Red, Caviar and Cranberry combination.

The make-up of these ball pellets include the Icelandic Red Base Mix with certain other additional known fish attractors included.

The 20mm ball pellet has an approximate break down time of 45 minutes and the 12mm ball pellet will start to break down in around 3 hours.  (Depending on water temperatures)

Like me, do not be surprised that when dropping the ball pellets in the edge and checking them after the above mentioned times, you find that they appear not to have broken down at all.  Drop them in a marginal spot that you know fish visit then watch them explode in a cloud of goodness as the fish enter the baited area.

Another excellent product from the Carp Company stable.  For availability contact Carp Company direct.

Paul Howell, (Heathrow Bait Services) - Published in Carp Talk