SONU
BAITS TUNA SPOD MIX AND TUNA WRAPS
 I'm
not a great believer in wonder baits, so the arrival of some pre-release samples
from Sonu Baits saw me sceptical. However, I had been thinking of using some faster
breakdown pellets in my mesh bags, so I mixed some of the Spod Mix into a bucket
of small halibut pellets. Testing
the Spod Mix in a tub of water showed that the various sizes and types of pellets
do break down at different rates, and they certainly have a strong fishy aroma. In
use the mix certainly didn't put the barbel and chub off. In fact I had some good
catches using them. Not conclusive in itself, but one thing I did notice was that
I caught on baits fished in spots that were not the ones I expected to produce.
Most of the season I had been fishing with one rod because the swims weren't conducive
to fishing with two, or because there was only on spot in them that was likely
to get a bite. In a couple of the latter such swims baits
cast in unlikely places produced fish when used in conjunction with the
Spod Mix. Again not conclusive, but a nice confidence boost. The Spod Mix has
now become the basis for my bag mix, laced with small halibut pellets to provide
a longer lasting bit of feed around the hookbait when leaving baits in place for
a couple of hours.  The
Tuna Wraps, on the other hand, I have had less success with. Admittedly they haven't
often been used in banker swims. I'm not a great fan of shelf life boilies for
one thing (although I have used them successfully), and these are particularly
hard. Not that hard baits worry me either, having caught barbel on air dried baits
in the past.
As
the name implies, Tuna Wraps are what looks to be a bird seed boilie with a gelatinous,
tuna flavoured outer wrap. This wrap washes off the bait to provide an flavour
trail. Despite
fishing the Tuna Wraps with the Spod Mix I have yet to have a barbel pick one
up. Chub, on the other hand, love them! On slow days the Tuna Wraps have saved
the day by producing the only fish of the session - always a chub, including some
nice ones. As
can be seen from the accompanying photos both the Spod Mix and the Wraps are supplied
in sealed plastic buckets containing 3kg and 1kg respectively. Dave
Lumb Posted
December 2007 | 
It's
not every day that a bait comes along that really is something different - that
actually works. I approached Sonu's Tuff 1s with the same scepticism that I do
all new baits. The original S-Pellets had been okay, but I found they had a habit
of disappearing from the hair without warning. The small ones were a valuable
addition to a PVA bag though. The oil release being the key, I think.
The
concept of shelf life boilies being made with 'fresh fish' is one that seems oxymoronic
to me. Still, I'm no bait anorak. Nonetheless the Mussel and Oyster baits I had
decanted into a tub remained unused in my rucksack for some months. Until the
final day of the river season in fact. I will concede that the Mussel and Oyster
baits looked good and smelled fishy enough to catch though. Although harder than
frozen baits they are not like little rocks.
I'd always considered pre-drilled pellets to be a bit of a gimmick as I have always
tied pellets to the hair using a Uni-Knot, but since trying them I have to admit
that they are pretty handy things. Some
I've seen have been a bit rough and ready though - wide bore holes that a camel
could easily pass through and a rough, dry texture. 
If
the feeding frenzy that the limited edition Stinky French Garlic Spam created
on the internet is anything to go by, barbel anglers like baits flavoured with
garlic! So I assume that Dynamite Baits' new Garlic Frenzied Hemp will prove popular
with barbel anglers who don't prepare their own seeds. I must admit that when
I opened up the tin I was surprised to find that the garlic wasn't just added
to the hemp as a flavour but as bits of chopped garlic. The other new Frenzied
Hemp is Spicy Chilli, which again has actual chopped chillies in it.