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Robin red anybody?

Jamie Armitage

Jamie Armitage

Senior Member
Anybody used Robin Red??

Made boilies out of it ? or just soaked hemp and corn in it??

Read an article about it in course fisherman a few months ago about it.
The mag was saying it was a top carp bait ! i was wondering if it would work with barbel??

pm me if its a good secret;)

cheers jamie
 
One of the most popular bait ingredients, Robin Red is an incredibly successful blend of bird food, peppers and spices. It is bright red and will colour baits deep red. It is an attractant in its own right but its vitamin content also makes it a valuable food source, especially when added to protein mixes. Use up to 3oz (100g) per 16oz (500g) mix.

Barbel and carp seem to love it and is present in a lot of commercial baits. Personally would use it between 3 and 5% in a mix. Have caught using it at much higher levels.

Years ago. some of the 'old' RR would colour most things red - including plastic kitchen utensils. 'New' stuff doesn't seem to have such a persistence.

Cheers
Bob
 
Bob Gill said:
Years ago. some of the 'old' RR would colour most things red
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Very true. You could always tell if secret squirrels were using it in their baits as their hands were stained red. That or they'd just killed someone, so either way I didn't find the need to talk to them..
 
Robin Red was originaly formulated by Haith's of Grimsby as a pigeon conditioner and cage bird colour enhancer, and they still hold the patent on the exact ingredients. There have been many attempts (largely unsuccessful) at copying it, and many 'claim' to know the recipe, but in fact Haith's keep that a closely guarded secret. 'Cornish Ken' Townley was sponsored by Haith's to promote RR within the carp fishing fraternity for many years, and even he claims not to know the full list of goodies!

However, the relevant facts are that all fish that I have ever heard of it being tested on seem to love it, and a very high percentage of carp and barbel boilies contain it, and have done for years, whether it is mentioned or not. And finally, I do not know of any circumstance whereby the inclusion of it would not be a benifit, or at the very least, do no harm.

I quite like it :p

Cheers, Dave.
 
Rhys Perry said:
I remember someone once saying it was basically just paprika.
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Give it a try then :p

We went all through these theoretical/rumoured recipes for years in carping... mixes of paprika/other peppers/spices/brown sugar...you name it, it was tried.

Nothing came close to the original....damned frustrating :(

But don't let me put you off :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Not anymore Dave, but if I sourced any over here I'd probably need to order a fair bit to make it worthwhile which means it will be around for a while.
 
As long as you keep it sealed it should last a good while. Had a bag of it for a good while now and it is dry powder at the end of the day, so shouldn't really go off.
 
Only been here a couple of weeks but will be fishing for Carp mainly, commons and grass. Plus Red Drum when I get down to the coast.

Always been a big fan of Robin Red in the UK and used to use the Waka boilies for both Barbel and Carp.
 
Paul Garner said:
Only been here a couple of weeks but will be fishing for Carp mainly, commons and grass. Plus Red Drum when I get down to the coast.

Always been a big fan of Robin Red in the UK and used to use the Waka boilies for both Barbel and Carp.
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I see it didn't take you long to get back to the important things in life Paul :D

As you know, Haiths are the original manufacturers, and may help you out.

http://www.haiths.com/Products/Robin-Red-SCSF01008/
 
Dear All,

Haiths are the only ones that sell the original "Robin Red". Other stuff with similar named products is not "Robin Red". Does it work in a barbel baiting context? I would say yes seeing as almost everything edible also works! Other stuff that Haiths do that might be of particular interest is "Prosecto insectivorous" which has dried insects in the formulation as well as "Softbill" which has oils and honey in the mix. These two types are in the Haiths "soft food" range. I use Robin Red, Prosecto and Spoftbill as additives to my own ground bait mix which also contains Haiths "crushed hemp". It is worth mentioning here that not all "crushed hemp" retains its oil content as many types of crushed hemp sold to anglers have had most of their oil content removed as it is merely a by product of the hemp oil industry. Always go for crushed hemp that has retained its oil content when purchasing some for fishing.

Other really good "Haiths" products for inclusion into ground bait mixes is the "mealworm crumble" or "dried mealworms". Add the mealworm crumble to your ground bait and the dried mealworms in it will rise up out the ground bait to attract fish. Or soak some dried mealworms and add to the mix if you want the mealworms to sink. I use dried soaked mealworms as a hook bait when feeding either a hemp/mealworm loose feed combination or a ground bait combination. Fish will take mealworm instantly when they are perhaps not taking larger worms. Haiths products really do add another dimension to a ground bait that other anglers will not have along the river bank and its always nice to have that special edge.


Regards,

Lee.
 
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