I have to congratulate you on your decision to put in a little extra effort.Pre-baiting can be a massive edge,it has competely transformed my fishing.I started doing it three years ago,since then my results have improved dramatically.So I'll share my experience with you.
The purpose of pre-baiting is to establish a safe,nutritious food source that the carp will visit on their daily patrol route.So my advice would be to spend some time observing the lake without actually fishing,especially early mornings and late afternoons.Let the carp tell you where they want to feed.Start feeding your bait in a few different spots,so they get used to it,they see it everywhere.I see that you mention public lakes,so if you want to concentrate your effort on a specific spot,your pre-baiting must be done very unobtrusively.If the wrong person sees it,they will poach your spot,guaranteed.If the spot is very weedy or silty,you can initially include a lot of small seeds with your bait,as the carp root around they will clean your spot for you,this should help your presentation tremendously.Over time reduce the particles and just feed your boilies.
As for the actual choice of bait,I have never been scared of fishy baits.Fish them all over,any time of the year.I admit that some venues have a serious barbel infestation,so fishmeal boilies may not be feasible in summer.I see you mention Florida,that lake gets fed with a lot of boilies,so you should be safe.I don't have any knowledge of Emmarentia.I would be very careful of baits with any artificial flavours,that can be a real lottery.Carp can be very fickle,their preference might change from day to day.If you know for certain that a particular flavour catches carp consistently on your lake,by all means use it.I only fish baits that are based on natural attractors,where soluble food ingredients are the only source of attraction.I have found that such baits tend to outfish any and all artificial flavours,all the time,anywhere.
As for hookbaits,I have found that you should fish what you feed.Boosted/glugged hookbaits don't really work after pre-baiting as their nutrient profile is too different.They do well as singles though...The only changes I can recommend is size,shape,bouyancy or colour.Make some of your baits with about 25% pop-up mix,mixed per volume,not weight.That should give you an almost perfect wafter.Presentation of said bait can vary from day to day though.I would start with one bog standard bottom bait,one balanced bait and one pop-up.The wafters tend to catch out some of the bigger fish,since they look and behave like freebies,snowmans can sometimes be too obvious or different.And always remember that carp spend a lot of time off the bottom,so zigz or floaters can be an option for a bonus bite,when they are not feeding on the bottom.
Final food for thought.After the recent rains,there is a real abundance of natural food for the carp to eat.They will always prefer naturals over our bait.So even with pre baiting,you might struggle.I tend to campaign from autumn to spring,when your bait might be the best available food source...
