When it comes to carp fishing, one of the most popular and versatile hookbait options available is a pop-up. Whether they are cast as singles to showing fish or used over a spread of boilies, when equipped in the right circumstances they can be absolutely unbeatable.
In a range of colours, shapes and sizes, there really is an unlimited supply of pop-ups on the market and they are only limited by your imagination. You can use them as they are, trim them down for sight toppers on bottom baits and surface baits, or whittle them down so they sink precisely how you want them to, making your rig as effective as it can be.
The best pop-up hookbaits for carp fishing at a glance...
• Best Pop-ups For Single Hookbaits - CC Moore Northern Specials NS1+
• Best Pop-ups For Varied Shape - Mainline Quads
• Best Pop-ups For Strongest Smell - Baitworks Scent From Hell
• Best Pop-ups For Winter - Sticky Baits Signatures
Very often in carp fishing, a pop-up is used in a bright colour, with loads of smell and attraction to make it stand out amongst the free offerings and get you the quickest bite possible. The theory is a bright bait is the first thing the carp picks up when it starts to feed. However, pop-ups come as "match the hatch" too, which can be very useful to use towards the end of the season when the fish start to become wary of their brighter counterparts. Here is a list of some of the fantastic pop-ups out there...
Best pop-ups for single hookbaits
www.total-fishing-tackle.com
Special by name and special by nature, a cult classic that transformed attitudes towards using small, bright and fruity hookbaits.
When you open the tub, you will be met by a burst of citrus and sweet, fruity aromas that you can’t quite identify but will have you coming back time and time again to smell, they really are that good.
With lots of different flavours in the bait that all leak out at different rates, the bait will continue to pump out attraction long after it’s been cast out. Don’t be surprised to reel it in, in the morning and it still smells the same. CC Moore steam their hookbaits to lock in the flavours and colours, meaning you have no loss of attraction, you also get a liquid booster to compliment the baits.
Available in lots of colours (including black), sizes and flavours, even down to 8mm in size, there will be something in the range to suit every angler and situation.
Pros
- Smell incredible.
- Available in 8mm for something different.
Cons
- Would be nice to see a mixed pot of the larger sizes.
Best pop-ups for buoyancy
www.properjobpopups.co.uk
If you’re looking for a pop-up that you don’t need to worry about losing buoyancy, then you will be hard pushed to find a more buoyant choice than Proper Job Pop-ups. These baits are hand rolled and all built on the same mix regardless of flavour, colour or shape and will remain popped-up for well over 48 hours.
Available in a wide range of colours and sizes, from 11mm to 15mm , the flavour choice is almost endless. You can even buy unflavoured pop-ups that you can personalise how you want, something we haven’t seen before.
The baits are all perfectly uniform and perform the same, so once your rig is balanced, you can just change the baits without having to manipulate the rig each time. They also cut well without tearing, great if you want to change the shape or combine them with other baits.
Pros
- Incredibly buoyant.
- Loads of colours and flavours available.
Cons
- May be more buoyant than you're used to.
Best winter pop-ups
www.fishingrepublic.co.uk
What started as a secret bait soon became available to the masses in the form of Sticky Baits Signature Pop-ups, after how devastating they were in testing. Sticky based the attractor package on a changing of the pH of the water surrounding the hookbait, and whilst it may sound scientific, it is just another way carp find their food naturally.
A combination of ten liquids and two powdered palatants create a bait with a wonderful, fruity, almost sour aroma that carp, especially in the cooler months, find very hard to resist. Each bait is then given a coating of a unique amino acid blend after cooking to give it a final boost.
The baits are sold in pots with three colours, a washed out pink, yellow and white, to give you options on the bank and save you buying the three separately.
Pros
- Great attraction leakage in cold water.
- Mixed colours in same pot.
Cons
- Only come in mixed colours.
Best pop-ups for particle fishing
www.total-fishing-tackle.com
A new range of pop-ups from the Mainline stable, Mainline Clones were produced for fishing over particle baits. The flavours, size and colours all match popular particle fishing baits, that are generally too soft to fish effectively on a hair.
Flavours available are 'Hemp' in a black and white colour, 'Maple' in a dark brown, 'Sweetcorn' in a yellow and 'Tiger nut' in a beige. Mainline have identified a problem, and looking at the colours and flavours available, have created a durable hookbait that will fish over your favourite particles perfectly, without worrying about them falling off or being too blatant.
They smell incredibly similar to the particles themselves but boast a lot of extra attraction to get you a bite quicker, even over lots of small particles. They are available in 13mm and can be trimmed down if required but will remain very buoyant.
Pros
- Great for using over particles when you prefer to use a pop-up.
- Match the scent of their particle counterparts perfectly.
Cons
- Not made to be visual, so no stand out colours available.
Best pop-ups for Strongest smell
www.baitworks.co.uk
Easily the most recognisable smelling pop-ups on the market. Baitworks Scent From Hell pop-ups come with a warning and for good reason…they absolutely stink! You can’t miss them, the postman can’t miss them and the carp certainly can’t miss them. The smell is actually attractive to carp and the baits are as well known for their success as they are their smell.
Tank tested by none other than Simon Scott, these pop-ups were in the trial period for 5 years before being released, to make sure they were as good as they could possibly be. A blend of savoury compounds such as monster crab, essential oils and other feeding triggers mean there is no pop-up like it for pumping out attraction into the lake.
The baits, being so pungent, are particularly useful when fishing very silty lakes that can often penetrate a bait and make them smell putrid, the Scent From Hell is simply too strong for that to happen. Great as a single hookbait or when looking for quick bites over large beds of bait. If you prefer a sweeter bait, there is a Scent From Heaven too.
Pros
- Easily the strongest smelling pop-ups on the market.
- Very unique flavour profile.
Cons
- You might want to wear gloves when putting them on, they really smell that much!
Best pop-ups for visibility
www.gooutdoors.co.uk
The brainchild of Carp Team England manager Rob Hughes, these pop-ups have been specifically designed based on what has been examined by delving underwater.
The baits come in specific colours and have been created to fish in certain depths and water clarities. The tubs will confirm via their colour wheel, which is the most suitable choice for the venue you are fishing. Red is considered best for fishing in poor clarity and clay lined bottoms for example.
The baits are blended with fruity esters and essential oils to create a lovely sweet bait and they are available in 12mm and 15mm sizes - perfect for most modern rig presentations. Also included is an additional booster liquid, should you feel the need for a more attractive hookbait.
Pros
- Visible hookbaits.
- Useful colour wheel on the lid.
Cons
- Colours are sold separately.
Best pop-ups for beginners
www.ebay.co.uk
If you want a pop-up that doesn’t come with loads of confusing ingredients and will catch fish, the Nash Instant Action pop-ups are well worth a second look.
Based on Kevin Nash's and Gary Bayes' flavour combinations, these pop-ups have been catching carp for 20 years or more now. Available in 10mm, 12mm, 15mm and 18mm and in lots of classic flavours, these are sure to continue to put fish on the bank for many years to come.
Designed to be high attract and easy to use, they are ideal for beginners or anyone who just needs a simple pop-up that works.
Pros
- Lots of flavours available.
- Lots of sizes available.
Cons
- You don't get many in a tub.
Best pop-ups for varied shape
www.fishingtackleandbait.co.uk
With a square profile instead of the classic round shape, there is nothing else like the Mainline Quads on the market and we are sure the fish haven’t come across anything like them either.
Small in shape at around 10mm, the tubs include three colours, white, pink and yellow. There are a variety of flavours available to match the Mainline boilie ranges: The Link, Cell and Essential Cell. They can be used as "toppers" to compliment a boilie hookbait or just to add an unusual shaped visual aid in a snowman presentation.
The square shape also lends itself to zig fishing or fishing over particles, when the fish can be very cautious with their feeding. It is claimed, that due to the shape, the bait is harder for the fish to eject, meaning far more takes. If you’re looking for an edge by fishing with something completely different, the Quads are well worth picking up.
Pros
- Unique shape.
- You get a mix of colours in one pot.
Cons
- Only the 10mm option available at the moment.
Best summer pop-up
www.total-fishing-tackle.com
Designed to replicate The Krill boilies once they have been submerged for 24 hours, these Sticky Baits The Krill pop-ups are the ultimate "match the hatch" hookbait and will not raise any suspicion amongst feeding carp.
Created on the same base mix as the boilies and with high inclusion rates of the liquids and birdfoods, this is basically a floating food bait, not just a pop-up mix with attractors in it. Designed to be very buoyant and needle friendly, they are easy to use and will keep your rigs positioned exactly as you meant for them to be.
This is a fantastic pop-up to use when fishing over spreads of boilies. On venues where the fish have been caught a lot on bright baits, the higher levels of attractors and discreet colour draws the fish towards the hookbait resulting in quicker bites. They are available in pink and white if you still prefer a bright option.
Pros
- Very attractive.
- Colour matches Sticky Krill boilies perfectly when in water.
Cons
- No larger baits than 16mm available.
Best food bait pop-ups
www.total-fishing-tackle.com
The Nash Scopex Squid Cultured Pop-ups are basically a floating boilie, rather than a pop-up mix with enhancers added, it is packed full of natural attractors and foodstuffs that carp are known to love.
These pop-ups are layered with the unique living Nashbait Culture, infused with the infamous Scopex Squid attractors. This paste layer totally encompasses the bait, slowly breaking down over the period of a few hours. The breakdown releases a feeding trigger rich in amino acids and minerals that heightens the attraction around the hook, emulating the natural feed triggers a carp is searching for rather than artificial flavourings.
Once the culture has broken down, the pop-up left behind will still be perfectly balanced thanks to some clever tweaking of the mix by Nash. So you needn’t worry about the hookbait no longer holding up the rig, or the rig lifting off the bottom.
Pop up sizes: 15mm, 18mm 20mm and 24mm
Pros
- Unique layer of attraction.
- Great for matching free baits.
Cons
- Quite expensive.
What to look for in a pop-up hookbait for carp fishing
Pop-ups, when deployed correctly, are a deadly bait for catching carp. They are not only very attractive to the fish, resulting in more pick ups, but they can be used to make rigs far more effective in hooking the fish too. As far as choosing a pop-up goes, it's generally regarded that in spring and early summer, bright and visual pop-ups are the best to use, as they grab the attention of the fish as they wake up from winter and can be great for getting a quick bite.
As the summer draws on and the fish have seen some pressure, it can be far more effective to use a bait that matches the colour of your free offerings to reduce the suspicion amongst the fish. That being said, a lot of fish do come to bright baits all year round.
Pop-up hookbaits are not only attractive to the fish, they also help with the mechanics of a rig, some of the best rig presentations available have been designed for use with pop-ups. You can choose to pin them down with lots of putty or choose to use them at neutral buoyancy so they sink really slowly, with the aim that the hook shoots back into the mouth of the fish when inhaled. The versatility, range of flavours, colours and sizes are what make pop-ups such a great choice to use, especially when targeting carp.
Glossary
Buoyancy: The ability of an object to float in water, the more buoyant an object, the more weight is needed to sink it.
Pop-up: A fishing bait that is designed to catch carp and manufactured to float.
Visibility: The distance an object can be seen from as determined by light conditions.
Amino acids: Amino acids are molecules that combine to form proteins. Amino acids and proteins are the building blocks of life. When proteins are digested or broken down, amino acids are the result.
Fishmeal: Fishmeal is dried and ground fish, usually marine fish such as herring or sardines.
Palatants: Ingredient systems that are specially designed to improve food consumption by appealing to the taste or smell of an animal.
Esters: Any of a class of compounds that react with water to produce alcohols and organic or inorganic acids.
Essential oils: A natural oil obtained by distillation and having the characteristic odour of the plant or other source from which it was extracted, such as lavender or peppermint.
Water soluble: The ability of something to dissolve into water, the better the solubility the more easily it dissolves and spreads through the water column.
Base mix: A dry mix of ingredients that will generally contain some binders along with fishmeals, nut meals and various other ingredients that are manufacturer specific.
Frequently asked questions on pop-up hookbaits
When should I use a pop-up over a bottom bait?
You can use a pop-up whenever you like. A lot of great anglers only use pop-ups on their rigs, so it doesn't matter if it is winter or summer, fishing over bait or using singles, pop-ups are effective for everything. Pop-ups are also great in smaller sizes or when trimmed down for using with zigs. They are also the best choice for fishing over weed, silt or other bottom debris.
What colour pop-up is best?
This really comes down to preference, but in general, the main colours that are most popular and considered to be most effective are yellows, pinks and whites. Some days it really can pay to be on a certain colour, so we would recommend using different colours to start the session and should you notice a pattern emerge, then switching to that colour can pay off massively and turn an average session into one to remember.
What rigs should I use with a pop-up?
Rigs can be key to how many fish you catch on pop-ups, due to the varying natures of lakebeds and how fish feed. The most popular rig for a pop-up is a Ronnie/Spinner rig, but other rigs such as the Chod rig and Hinge Stiff rig were specifically designed for use with a pop-up.
Can I fish a pop-up over particles?
The general consensus a few years ago was no, due to the way fish sit close to the lakebed and move slowly while feeding on particles. However, with the development of rigs such as the Ronnie, the pop-up lies so close to the bottom, it doesn't look unnatural like it can on other rigs, so the carp will inhale it without caution. This coupled with some of the baits used to simulate particles means using pop-ups can be very effective way of fishing over a bed of seeds.
Author Aidan Bordiuk is an enthusiastic angler who enjoys all fishing disciplines from match fishing to beach casting. He is currently occupying the position of Commercial Content Writer at Angling Times.