Sweetcorn is sweetcorn right? Well no, it’s not actually! If you open a dozen cans from a dozen different suppliers from any supermarkets you will find a massive variation in quality.
Some cans contain predominantly small grains, others a mixture of sizes, some have plump grains, others less so. Some grains are ‘crisp’, others soft and when you add frozen corn into the mix you get another dimension of difference. It’s not all about price either, some of the more expensive brands are notorious for offering inconsistent grain sizes and when you are fishing it can be a pain to have to sort through to find suitable hookbait sizes.
Does it really matter? Well, as far as loosefeed is concerned if you are looking to use large amounts of corn in, say, a spod mix for bream, with a higher quality hookbait over the top then possibly not but if you are looking for highly attractive hookbaits and smaller amounts of feed then yes, it most certainly is. As far as bait is concerned going for quality will always pay in the long term.
If you want to take canned corn a step further you can colour and flavour it yourself but a) Life’s too short and b) The results are often inconsistent. A few bait companies have started offering canned corn both in its natural state and in various flavours and new for 2012 Bait-Tech have entered the market too.
They claim it is ‘Grade A sweetcorn, the biggest and best available’ and opening up a few cans at random showed that their marketing blurb was spot on. Every grain checked was large, plump and crisp with the kernel still intact and the colour and flavour combos were excellent with a really deep hue penetrating right through the grain and deep, hi-attract flavours with a vibrant orange tutti frutti; A deep red strawberry and a buttery yellow Scopex.
[As an aside why are strawberry flavoured baits ‘always’ red? Banana-flavoured baits yellow etc. Just because strawberries are usually red it doesn’t follow that the bait has to be – why doesn’t someone bring out a strawberry-flavoured bait that is yellow, or a red coloured banana-flavoured offering?]
Cooked fresh without preservatives the 300g ring-pull handy cans certainly prove that all sweetcorn is not the same; these are a bit special and it’s well worth having a couple in your bag throughout the year.
