hi-attract hookbaitsshaping yoUr sUper-short chodsteam the rig straight to take out any memory from the hooklink.wrap the hooklink around a chod store and steam to create a curve.the finished short chod rig, using crimps rather than trying to tie it.123Some may frown on this approach, but it's one I'm ultra-confident in, and one that catches me fish from most lakes where I choose to chuck it out!When you are next in your local tackle shop, take a look around the bait section and see for yourselves all that's on offer. It's not just a gimmick or a marketing exercise, these baits really do work, or else why would the different manufacturers go to all the trouble of producing them?Since I've been involved with Nash I've been amazed just how many attractors and flavours are available to me, and only my imagination limits what I can do with them all. My concoctions don't have to be limited to smelling sweet, although I suppose I do lean rather towards the sweet fruity flavours. That way, if I get the stuff all over my hands at least I don't smell like Grimsby docks!For me, a couple of oil palatants stand out from the crowd. For the past 18 months I've used Strawberry palatant to flavour all my plastic baits. This was something I picked up from the lads at Nash on an open day, and I knew instantly that it would give me an edge when using artificial hookbaits. It smells so good and tastes very sweet, both qualities that the carp crave. Next up is the Banana palatant. The awesome new Monster Squid has this already mixed in when it leaves the bait factory, so all I do is lightly cover my pop-ups in the neat palatant and leave them for a few weeks until the stuff has thoroughly soaked through them. The end result is a lovely pot of hi-attract Monster Squiddies which ooze attraction and food signals.It just goes to show that on the hi-attract front there are no hard and fast rules - what works for one may bring nothing but failure for others. That's why I find the subject so interesting, as we can all bounce ideas off one another and hopefully come up with some sort of formula for success. The tactic isn't just limited to pop-ups, of course. Most of my time down on Wellington Country Park was spent fishing pure bottom baits with a fleck of colour in the shape of the plastic fantastic, yet the bottom baits were highly glugged with the matching base mix additives. The same goes for my little 'take anywhere' 10mm hookbaits in orange and white. These had a liberal helping of Tangerine Oil Palatant slung in the pot but now, when you take a look inside, all the said oil has disappeared - food for thought indeed. All I know is, if I needed to stake my life on catching a fish, nine times out of ten I'd reach for some form of 'brightness' to get me out of trouble.If this not something you're already doing, you could well be missing a trick! UKcarp magazine 21 aUgUst 2nd 2011a 30lb common from the carp society's Farriers Lake.hi-attracts don't have to be pop-ups. these are bottom baits.with the baits out, now i just need to slacken off my lines.