markg....I think you're correct in that soaking them in a solution of honey ( or even a weak solution vanilla extract, for example ) is the only way to see if they take on flavour if that's what's needed to make them appealing. Ditto with colouring....
Like all potential baits, I suppose it all comes down to making enough time to fish them to death in various conditions/depths, and at the expense of not catching anything !! If elderberries are anything to go by it would need a serious amount time to gauge effectiveness.
Regards the bigger blackcurrant ; To the touch ( when just ripe ) they have a lovely firm texture so if they took on flavour perhaps a nice light hair rig would be a way of presenting them........?
Anyway, let's hope that in the coming weeks/months this thread will come back with talk of 2lb roach, monster crucians and tench....along with big chub, of course !
In the meantime I shall continue to enjoy the very,very intense flavour of blackcurrants, which when cooked in ' sufficient ' sugar, can almost take your breath away - just delicious with a decent, plain ice cream..
ps Strawberries, unlike blackberries in the raw state, have very nice strong smell, so I'm not surprised they catch fish. Cost of enough for a day's fishing might be prohibitive though !!
It just so happens, I have planted 50 strawberry plants this spring, the perpetual variety so they produce fruit all summer to the first frosts. Although I scoff them like smarties, I should have a few spare. Little bits of strawberry on a 14 hook, might give that a go as well.
Just happen to catch a bit of that spring-watch program last night, this bloke was trying to film 54 different species of coarse fish, just happened they showed a clip of chub feeding on blackberries quite avidly. I have plenty of them as well, wild and a commercial variety where the fruit are very large.
Looks like a fruity summer for me. All free bait, just don't know why I have not thought of using it before. I will report how I get on when I start trying it out. And thanks for the tips, I am not a hair rigging angler but, I will try that along with a bit of flavoring and colouring, I think the whitecurrants will be a good fruit to try that with.
I think what I will do is set up with my normal gear and bait and set up a couple of fruity swims. Then at least I will be able gauge if the fish are feeding and see how the fruity swims compare. Be interesting to see which species I get, my rivers are fairly mixed, chub, bream, roach, a few river tench, mullet, there's a thought, unlikely I would think,-no barbel though.
Going a bit overboard with my imagination - I just thought of cubes of melon- some of these varieties are soft and juicy. What got me thinking was how some of the varieties have a very perfumed smell and if fish would find that attractive. Perhaps I should rein in a bit however, for a different untried bait !
