The first thing you will need is a base liquid. This can be an oil such as olive oil, or a frying oil such as vegetable or sunflower oil, some specialist stir fry oils come with added flavours like garlic, or a favourite of mine is sesame seed oil. Oils for dipping bread are also good. Another good base liquid is the juice from a tin of sweetcorn.

Once you have your base liquid, you can add your flavours. For sweet dips, try adding almond oil, or baking flavours such as strawberry, vanilla, peach, chocolate or whatever you fancy trying. Nesquick powders and honey also work well. Also syrups are a useful addition, glucose syrup can be bought at the supermarket to add a sweetening effect.

For summer fishing when the water temperatures are up, I would go for a fish oil based dip, as these oils will leak easily from the baits and cause a slick which will attract the carp. In colder weather I would be more inclined to go for a dip which will not drift away but will stay concentrated around the baits. In this case, the sweetcorn juice base is a good bet. Corn steep liquor is also a good base for winter dips.

As far as quantities go, it is going to vary considerably depending on the chosen ingredients. Remember you don't want to make it too runny, it should finish up as a fairly thick liquid which will soak into your baits. If you want it to really soak in, try soaking a few boilies, freezing them and then defrosting again. As they defrost, more flavour is drawn into the boilies. Then soak again and use or freeze again for later. Just remember not to overdo the flavours. It is possible to put the fish off completely. And don't forget, it's not just boilies you can dip and soak, any bait works, and you can also try it with your chum mixers. Also try coating your baits in honey and marmite, both said to be good carp attractors.

So, have a look in your cupboards, take a trip to the supermarket, and see what you come up with. A little experimenting can save you a fortune on the ready made dips and may also give you that edge over the other anglers on your lake.

Mix 1/2 water and 1/2 karo in a pot on the stove or water and sugar. bring to a simmer, and then to a LOW boil. add a pinch of salt, a few squirts oil of choice and flavor of choice, if any. fill a pint glass 1/2 full with COLD water. mix a few tablespoons of corn starch into the pint glass. SLOWLY add the cold starch water to the hot water.... a spoonful at a time, and wait until it comes back to a boil and the starch becomes clear before adding any more. stir this mixture continuously. stop adding starch when you get to desired consistancy. REMEMBER it will be significantly thicker when cool. this product will not spoil. oil will be perfectly suspended in the glug.