To really understand how paste works you need to make it yourself and modify it for all year-round use.
I wrote a draft article ages ago and was meaning to send it to Ian but never got round to it (might post it as a new thread?), but if making your own scares the hell out of you then buy some and either add a little oil to make it thinner for use in cold conditions, use it as it is for average summer temperatures or make it stiff by adding lard which will be more suited for higher temps and rivers.
You can also make it stiff by adding cheese (not the crumbly type) as every chub and barbel angler knows.
Oil is generally added to increase the binding properties of paste along with gluten depending upon the ingredients. Example a dough paste contains more gluten than most and a halibut paste, made principally of halibut pellets contains more oil. However its worth remembering that too much oil will make the paste thin and sticky. In summer oils are very attractive to carp and less so in colder conditions particularly in the depths of winter when metabolism is at an all time low.
The opposite may be true for chub and barbel who prefer a higher oil content such as a full fat cheese paste for example.
You can can also make your paste thinner by adding water, as some of us may have noticed... hands up if you ever accidentally left your paste out in a shower?
mg: it may lose binding properties - its going to get wet anyway so adding too much means it may well come off the hook before it hits the bottom.
There are a few trade secrets that goes into making a good shop-bought paste but if your willing to experiment a little it can be very rewarding catching on a home made concoction... just remember to accurately weigh and write everything down so you can repeat the process according to conditions/type of venue. :w
