Quest Baits Combi Snowman Tube

I still remember the first 'proper' carp I caught as an adult. I was playing about with some bait that I had and put on a bottom bait, followed by a pop-up. I loved the way it sat up just off the bottom and when a fish 'boshed', I cast straight at it. In a way, life would probably have been easier if I hadn't caught that fish....I might have decided to concentrate on more 'sane' areas of angling. As it is, I now find myself 'popping' out for three days at a time in pursuit of carp!

At the time, I hadn't done much reading around the subject, but was told by a friend that what I'd done was used a Snowman Rig. It made sense to me, as that's what it looked like...all I really needed to do was stick a carrot into the pop up and a couple of hemp seed eyes and the image would be complete. However, that would be silly, and we all know that carp anglers aren't silly, don't we?

For those new to carp fishing, the Snowman Rig can help you in two ways;

1. It pops the bait just off the bottom, presenting it above any debris and wafting it nicely in front of any passing carp and,
2. It creates what is, basically, a 'neutral buoyancy' bait. This means that the bait, when sucked in by a carp, weighs nothing (or next to nothing) as the buoyancy of the pop-up counteracts the weight of the bottom bait. The theory is that the carp will feel no resistance and take the bait more confidently. And it often works! With larger baits, you may need some extra weight to stop very buoyant pop-ups lifting your rig right up in the water, but with these 10mm and 15mm ones, that wasn't necessary with my rigs. Have some split shot or Heavy Metal to hand, though, as you may be using finer hooks than me.

Quest Baits have already established themselves as a serious contender in what is a pretty crowded bait market. With Shaun Harrison at the helm, they have the integrity to back up a good product. However, even this isn't always enough to tempt a wary carp angler, so they have been quite innovative in the way their baits are presented. A while ago, we mentioned their Glug/Dip/Pop-up tubes and this Combi Snowman Tube is an extension to that idea.

Consisting of four pots, you get two tubs of pop-ups (10mm and 15mm) and a tub each of matching bottom baits. The bottom baits have been glugged in a food liquid, in order to boost their attraction somewhat. This hasn't been done in an over the top way, thankfully, as there are times when subtlety is the key. The tube itself keeps everything neatly together, so you're not rooting around in rucksacks for bait.

If you're looking to try a new bait flavour, or have never tried fishing a Snowman Rig before, then these may well be just the ticket. They give you a range of options for bait presentation as, obviously, you can just use the bottom baits and pop-ups on their own if the situation dictates it. They cost £13.99, which is about right when you consider that pop-ups tend to be about £6 a tub. Just to give you an idea of how many baits you get, I've counted the pop-ups in the tubs I received – I got 64 10mm pop-ups and  27 15mm pop-ups.

At the time of writing, the Quest Baits Combi Snowman Tube was available in the following flavours:

You can find out more about the Quest Baits range, including online ordering and a list of stockists, by visiting www.QuestBaits.com

Elton Murphy, December 2008