its that time of year again

[jasonbean1]

well with the first proper frost this morning, my local small rivers almost running dry and last 2 times out fishing fish meal paste only resulting in one chub and a few plucks it may be time to change plan of attack.

bread flake I've always fished directly onto the hook and done ok with but I must admit to missing too many bites for my liking. I have dabbled with quick stops for hair rigging worms and found them very good...improving the bite to fish ratio.

so other than hooking flake directly to the hook what other ways are you using and does it help with converting bites to more fish?

 

[associatedmatt]

I know I'm not got alot of chub experience but you tried a more smelly paste like cheese?

Bit of cork threaded onto the hook and paste wrapped around with point showing ?

You using bigish hook with flake ?

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[puffer_]

Quick stop with worm like you've been using, or meat is always pretty good, again on the hair with a stop (or bit of grass!).

 

[Alan Tyler]

Wet, pressed bread is less prone to bunging up the gape of the hook than a rubbery bit of freshly-pinched flake, though the latter can be banded, or rolled up and tied with some biodegradable thread which is then just nicked onto the hook. Search "wet bread" with the quote marks to find Keith Speer's epic post on the subject.
If you drop a bit of bread in a glass of water, wait a few minutes and taste the water, you won't worry anymore about the chub not being able to find bread in coloured water, or at night.

Edit - that search didn't work. Bugrit. Try "Challah".

 

[rayner]

If you are missing bites with flake then it could be smaller fish like roach.
I would stick with flake for now, usually cheese paste was left in my airing cupboard until January. That was because I had the notion that bread was best at least till the really cold weather settled.
Paste will stop smaller fish if that's what you want, I on the other hand had the idea that action in the swim from any smaller species attract chub which as we know are predators.
Always dependant if we fish in the right areas.

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

I like using flake this time of year (particularly below a feeder full of liquidised bread) but I think there is definitely something in Rayner's comment that rings true, i.e. small fish can pluck away at it giving lots of un-hittable raps, plucks and trembles.

If I'm looking exclusively for chub (and let's face it, we've got about four or five months coming now when they're our best bet from the rivers) then I'd prefer to use cheesepaste. I make it from a block of shortcrust pastry mix from the supermarket, then grate a 250g block of Danish blue and about the same amount of really strong cheddar and combine all three into a paste. A bit of a messy job but more often than not, that one mix will see me through an entire season. I tend to bag that up in to five or six individual balls in the freezer, then just take one out the night before I go fishing.

I have fished on a couple of occasions where I was getting the taps and knocks on flake where I've then changed to a lump of paste resulting in a proper big smash of a bite - which leads me to believe it's a better chub bait.

That said, I will keep using liquidised bread in the feeder. Though if I was super-confident that chub were present, I might just loosefeed three or four lumps of paste at the start of a session, then the same with each bite. Not always possible to do that fishing a far-bank swim on a windy thames though!

 

[greenie62]

.....Search "wet bread" with the quote marks to find Keith Speer's epic post on the subject......

I think this is the link to Keith's post https://www.fishingmagic.com/forums/1282207-post1.html

The rest of the thread is worth a glance or two as well!

 

[mikench]

Thanks for that greenie! I have some Challah in the freezer but my first efforts were not entirely successful( nothing new there then) and i had trouble keeping it on the hook.

I do intend to persevere with bread!

 

[Alan Tyler]

One of the joys of chub is that you can either fling a big bait as close to their home as possible, with or without a feeder, and wait for a bite, or you can dribble feed in to draw them out to where you can fish for them on your terms - as Rayner points out, a horde of feeding tiddlers will attract the chub, and they may feel safer feeding on multiple small baits than one big lump... until it all goes wrong, and there's that pause as an indignant chub tries to work out how this maggot was any different from the last forty, concludes that it's just random bad luck and nothing to do with maggots, and comes wallowing in to be unhooked ASAP so it can get back to the serious business of eating more maggots.
Other particles are available, including small bits of bread; and I have high hopes for barley, which I can actually afford.

 

[mikench]

I like using flake this time of year (particularly below a feeder full of liquidised bread) but I think there is definitely something in Rayner's comment that rings true, i.e. small fish can pluck away at it giving lots of un-hittable raps, plucks and trembles.

If I'm looking exclusively for chub (and let's face it, we've got about four or five months coming now when they're our best bet from the rivers) then I'd prefer to use cheesepaste. I make it from a block of shortcrust pastry mix from the supermarket, then grate a 250g block of Danish blue and about the same amount of really strong cheddar and combine all three into a paste. A bit of a messy job but more often than not, that one mix will see me through an entire season. I tend to bag that up in to five or six individual balls in the freezer, then just take one out the night before I go fishing.

I have fished on a couple of occasions where I was getting the taps and knocks on flake where I've then changed to a lump of paste resulting in a proper big smash of a bite - which leads me to believe it's a better chub bait.

That said, I will keep using liquidised bread in the feeder. Though if I was super-confident that chub were present, I might just loosefeed three or four lumps of paste at the start of a session, then the same with each bite. Not always possible to do that fishing a far-bank swim on a windy thames though!

I have bought all those ingredients Jim and plan to make some cheese paste for next time out! Thanks!

 

[binka]

I've been doing very well on 'wet bread' as recently as yesterday morning with some nice chub on a river that was fishing quite hard in general.

I tend to buy a large farmhouse loaf and slice off both crust ends quite thickly at around an inch and a half before soaking them and compressing them in newspaper overnight.

If ever you're stuck for a heavy enough weight to stick on top, just fill a bucket with water

 

[associatedmatt]

If you are missing bites with flake then it could be smaller fish like roach.
I would stick with flake for now, usually cheese paste was left in my airing cupboard until January. That was because I had the notion that bread was best at least till the really cold weather settled.
Paste will stop smaller fish if that's what you want, I on the other hand had the idea that action in the swim from any smaller species attract chub which as we know are predators.
Always dependant if we fish in the right areas.

May I ask why in the airing cupboard?

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[mikench]

I've been doing very well on 'wet bread' as recently as yesterday morning with some nice chub on a river that was fishing quite hard in general.

I tend to buy a large farmhouse loaf and slice off both crust ends quite thickly at around an inch and a half before soaking them and compressing them in newspaper overnight.

If ever you're stuck for a heavy enough weight to stick on top, just fill a bucket with water

You inspired me Steve! I knew those weights and dumbells my son asked me to look after 10 years ago would one day be useful!

Do you hair rig it or just attach to the hook?

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

I have bought all those ingredients Jim and plan to make some cheese paste for next time out! Thanks!

Good stuff Mike! My usual construction method is to roll the pastry out a bit, so its the size of a big plate - then i'll sprinkle on one cheese and combine back in to a large ball - then I'll roll that out again, sprinkle on the second cheese and then just combine it all again. Best to start with the cheddar, followed by the Danish blue. I'm not looking to achieve a perfectly smooth mix either - I think it's all the better for having very small morsels of cheese intact in the paste, some of which may detach whilst the bait is submerged to drift downstream as an attractor.

The one thing I will say is that the bites I receive on cheesepaste tend to be a bit more walloping than those I get on either maggots or bread. My theory on this is that unlike either of those other two, a chub has to really commit to a lump of cheesepaste, whereas a fluttery piece of bread or maggots can be played around with much more.

 

[mikench]

When my wife sees me rolling out pastry for fish she will know that i have truly lost the plot!!

I assume you just add the recommended amount of water to the packet mix and knead away!

 

[associatedmatt]

When my wife sees me rolling out pastry for fish she will know that i have truly lost the plot!!

I assume you just add the recommended amount of water to the packet mix and knead away!

Just get just roll ready made pastry . From fridge or freezer in supermarkets. Or get a big block of stilton cut of the rind heat it up so it melts add a big dolop of Marge and add breadcrumbs and stir one goes like pastry start to kneed until smooth

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[mikench]

Thanks Matt. I will try Jim's method first as i have bought the ingredients!

 

[associatedmatt]

Thanks Matt. I will try Jim's method first as i have bought the ingredients!

Method I said is easy . If I can do it you can fella !

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[jasonbean1]

so which way we going then....bread or cheese paste

 

[mikench]

cheesy bread! If the fish dont like it i will eat it! Maybe not!