When consumed, carp break down proteins into amino acids and peptides. These are then either used to make up body proteins for growth, repair, or other uses, such as enzymes for digestion of more of your bait! Or proteins are used to provide energy, either immediately, or after being stored as glycogen in the liver.

The digestible protein of the bait is affected by the level of anti-cholesterol agents produced in the liver, which speed the breakdown of glycogen for energy, or prevent it's formation.

Therefore any substance you can put into your bait to maximize this effect will give the carp more energy to eat more of your bait, make it 'feel' better and healthier. It's rather like being in a 'slimming' club. Maximizing 'anti-cholesterolic' substances in your bait like garlic or onion extracts will help your nutritional bait perform even better!

Examples of protein ingredients best used in various combinations:

1. Predigested milk proteins.

2. 90 mesh rennet casein.

3. 100 mesh rennet casein.

4. 30 mesh acid casein.

5. Lactalbumin (whey protein 'Alaren 312' is ideal.)

6. Sodium caseinate.

7. Calcium caseinate, 'Casilan.'

8. Whole milk powder.

9. 'Lamlac.'

10. 'Equivite.'

11. 'Vitamealo.'

12. Fresh hen's eggs.

13. Whole egg powder.

14. Egg albumin.

15. Soya flour.

16. Full-fat soya flour.

17. Soya isolate.

18. (Coarse soya meals are less refined; less undesirable by-products left in them.)

19. Wheat germ.

20. Blood powder (contains glucose.)

21. Blood plasma powder (contains glucose.)

22. Predigested fish protein.

23. Capellin meal.

24. White fish meal.

25. Herring meal.

26. Sardine and anchovy meal (Chilean.)

27. Low temperature fish meal ('LT94', is superior to higher temperature fish meals.)

28. Standard white fish meal.

29. Tuna meal.

30. Fish blood and bone.

31. Fish silage.

32. Predigested crustacean protein.

33. Crab meal.

34. Lobster meal.

35. Squid meal.

36. Black squid meal.

37. Shrimp meal.

38. Krill meal.

39. Mixed crustacean meal.

40. Freshwater shrimps.

41. Freshwater snails.

42. Freshwater water flies.

43. Freshwater daphnia.

44. Spirulina.

45. Ground nuts: Raw, ground, cooked, or toasted; especially peanuts which are 25 % protein and very high in energy providing fats.)

46. Predigested meat protein.

47. Pork meal.

48. Chicken flakes.

49. Turkey flakes.

50. Beef and hide meal.

51. Hydrolyzed feather meal.

52. Liver powder.

53. Worm meal.

54. Silkworm meal.

55. Insect meal.

56. Trout pellets / powder.

57. Halibut pellets / powder.

58. Coldwater fish flakes / pellets, (ground.)

59. Koi food pellets, (ground.)

60. Brewers yeast.

61. Bakers yeast (deactivated).

62. Yeast extract.

Conjugated or 'complex' proteins, release amino acids and non protein groups in hydrolysis or enzymic digestion and in fermentation reactions too. This fact is very helpful in making effective baits! Examples of the protein groups released by the above means include:

Phosphoproteins; like milk caseins and egg yolk phosvitin. Then there's glycoproteins; like digestive mucus secretions. These in particular are incredibly effective in carp baits! These proteins increase bait attractiveness when amino acids are released from the bait in the form of 'free aminos'. These are water soluble and readily detected as food by carp.

Proteins especially when predigested can trigger the carp to feed on the bait, through aqueous solutions leaking off and ionizing the water around the bait.

'Free forms' of amino acids supplement this effect greatly, for example, body-building supplement tonics, and proprietary carp bait amino acid compounds.

These are also used included in 'palatants' to induce feeding in animals, for example, but are now included in proprietary fishing bait preparations, such as peach or tangerine palatants. These have fruit oils and flavours combined with 'free' amino acids to form an extremely carp-attractive compound.

These products are great bait soaks and dips; I have caught numerous UK carp over 45 pounds, and catfish to 110 pounds (in the UK) using these excellent additives, so they really produce the goods!

Chromoproteins, like haemoglobin, haemocyanin, cytochrome are found in blood. Blood and its extracts, (like plasma,) have been used as basic 'complete protein' sources in many productive carp baits and incidentally, in catfish baits too over the decades.

Blood provides glucose, iron, and other great attractors and nutrients. Blood and blood derivatives are a great alternative to milk proteins in bait.

Then there are flavoproteins, that is flavin, (enzymic,) and nucleoproteins, e.g. nucleotides, which on hydrolysis, break down to form nucleic acids, the essential building blocks of life (or DNA).

All these proteins are ideal components of your bait, (in combination,) and are best absorbed by carp in as quickly a digestible form as possible.

For maximum nutrition and attraction, the more soluble sodium caseinate and lactalbumin for example, are excellent balancing ingredients to the less-soluble proteins in casein, when used in bait.

Whey proteins like lactalbumin and lactoglobulins are around 88 to 90 % protein, while casein is over 95 % protein. These offer some of the highest levels of protein in milk constituents for carp bait purposes.

Casein is more beneficial, with higher protein, and less appetite satisfying hormone effect than whey proteins.

It is commonly recommended that casein be used from two different extraction methods, so that the digestible amino acids profiles are maximized in your bait, although just one type of derivative will still work, for example 90 'mesh' acid casein used alone instead.)

The recommended use of casein is in a combination of two forms; in equal amounts, to give maximum digestible benefits, for example:

50 % of 90 'mesh rennet' casein, combined with 50 % of 90 'mesh acid' casein.

Often the first four ingredients in a 'milk protein' boilie bait are quoted as these; for example:

* 'Rennet' casein.
* 'Acid' casein.
* Lactalbumin; 'whey protein isolate' is sold in body-building formulas, for example.)
* Sodium caseinate (or often calcium caseinate instead.)

Each of these provides a broad profile of amino acids in your carp bait and form a very effective basis for any homemade protein carp bait. (Warning: this article is subject to copyright.)

The author has many more fishing and bait 'edges' up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact on catches. (Warning: This article is protected by copyright.)

By Tim Richardson. 'The thinking man's fishing author and expert bait making guru.'

*** FOR MORE EXPERT FISHING IMPROVEMENT INFORMATION AND EXPERT BAIT MAKING BOOKS SEE: http://www.baitbigfish.com