Cheap groudnbait for silverfish

[antiquea]

Can anyone please recommend me a cheap groudbait to use when fishing for silvers? I use Vitalin for carp fishing, but I believe that it would be massively overkill for silvers. I normally just buy groudnbait, but as I fish multiple times a week, I am finding that my wallet is taking a bit of a hit.

I was thinking of maybe using brown bread put through a food mixer, and then mixed with hemp and corn.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[sam vimes]

Simple white or brown crumb, bought in bulk somewhere other than a tackle shop, should be an awful lot cheaper than buying loaves to put through the blender.

 

[antiquea]

Simple white or brown crumb, bought in bulk somewhere other than a tackle shop, should be an awful lot cheaper than buying loaves to put through the blender.

Would I just use the breadcrumb as is, or mix it with something?

 

[sam vimes]

That's up to you and the fish. Crumb can be used on its own or mixed with whatever else you want.

 

[Jim Crosskey 2]

How are you fishing? Float? Feeder? I do find that liquidised bread can be a very effective bait, and at under 50p a loaf in my local aldi for an 800g loaf, that's plenty for a day's fishing. The way I'd use it is to liquidise it at home, then dampen it very slightly when I arrive where I want to fish... then feed a ball the size of a walnut each cast. This would then sink very slowly (and the reason I'd dampen it at the start is to try to make sure it all sinks as opposed to floating. Then I'd fish a slow sinking bait on a float - maggots, maybe a single grain of corn as a change bait.

All of that said, I don't know if you're intending to fish like that, or rather put a bed of bait on the deck... you can still get liquidised bread to do that (just make it damper) and yes to adding hemp, corn, a few small pellets?

Chris, just curious on what you mentioned above about bulk bait - what would you be expecting to pay for crumb for (I'm guessing) 5 or 10 kg?

 

[sam vimes]

Chris, just curious on what you mentioned above about bulk bait - what would you be expecting to pay for crumb for (I'm guessing) 5 or 10 kg?

Jim,
as I'm a very irregular user of groundbait (if I use more than a couple of Kilos of gb per year it's unusual), it's been years since I looked for, or bought, crumb in bulk. I've no idea on current prices.

 

[peterjg]

The ground bait that I make is similar to the above posts. It sounds complicated but it is easy to make and cheap.

I have an old fridge/freezer in the garage for bait. I either buy cheap sliced loaves or save bits of old loaves. Fifteen slices (inc. crusts) to a bag which is liquidised and then frozen in readiness. To the thawed liquidised bread I add about a third of previously seived layers mash which is bought from Mole Stores for around £7 for 20kgs. Also added is cup full of Sainsburys dark brown sugar and a dollop of drinking chocolate powder. This is mixed into filtered water into which a flavour has been added.

Make it the day before fishing. The length of breakdown can also be adjusted by altering the amount of layers mash so that it releases easily from cage feeders or method feeders depending on your requirements. I have tested this an awful lot, it is cheap, easy to make and it actually works!!!

 

[nottskev]

The ground bait that I make is similar to the above posts. It sounds complicated but it is easy to make and cheap.

I have an old fridge/freezer in the garage for bait. I either buy cheap sliced loaves or save bits of old loaves. Fifteen slices (inc. crusts) to a bag which is liquidised and then frozen in readiness. To the thawed liquidised bread I add about a third of previously seived layers mash which is bought from Mole Stores for around £7 for 20kgs. Also added is cup full of Sainsburys dark brown sugar and a dollop of drinking chocolate powder. This is mixed into filtered water into which a flavour has been added.

Make it the day before fishing. The length of breakdown can also be adjusted by altering the amount of layers mash so that it releases easily from cage feeders or method feeders depending on your requirements. I have tested this an awful lot, it is cheap, easy to make and it actually works!!!

Sounds more appetising than my muesli! Thanks for the Layers Mash suggestion. A cock-up with an order for a couple of kilos to feed my worms left me with a 20 kilo bag sitting in a the shed. Maybe I can get rid of some that way. And if you're anywhere nearby......

 

[antiquea]

I'm fishing on the pole for skimmers and roach.

 

[Richox12]

Brown crumb about £24 per 20kg sack. Crushed hemp about £28 per 10kg sack.

Then molehill soil which is free. Gravel for when it’s flowing ?? Grey leam £2.50/kg - you don’t need much but binds molehill mixes very well.

Food colouring to dye the g’bait from supermarket or Sensas Tracix at £5/100g (you don’t need much).

Fishmeal to be added for skimmers ?

So 1kg bag pre-mixed variety in shops about £4/kg or make your own basic G’Bait £1.50+/kg (4 parts crumb to 1 part crushed hemp).

 

[chrissh]

White crumb 5kg £12
White Bread Crumbs 5kg Bulk - Buy Whole Foods Online Ltd

Golden crumb 5kg £14
Golden Bread Crumbs 5kg Bulk - Buy Whole Foods Online Ltd

 

[antiquea]

I feel breadcrumb and fish meal could be just the ticket, with some ground vitalin for particles.

 

[peterjg]

Nottskev; re the layers mash I forgot to mention that the seive I use is a Seymo maggot riddle - the holes are larger than a normal seive. I think that the layers mash is a really good ingredient, I have read that both Terry Lampard and Jim Gibbinson used it.

If you want a cloud bait mix with a tin of condensed milk and then add water so that it is a bit sloppy. I have found though that cloud bait is a hit and miss!?

 

[rich66]

I pay 90p for 500g of white or brown crumb at my local tackle shop.
I mix it with commercial ground baits or chick crumb and particles, hemp, wheat etc

 

[markcw]

If you have a proper bakery nearby, pop in and see if they will sell you left over bread,
it doesn't matter what kind if you are going to liquidize it or freeze, but if you are getting a few loaves
then one day you are offered 20, still take them, because if you refuse you may appear ungrateful, you
could offload some to your friends. I find if I liquidize a large Warburtons loaf I will get 3 pints from it.

 

[antiquea]

Do I 100 percent need to add fish meal to my ground bait? I hear bream love it.

 

[markcw]

Don't use white crumb on its own, it will end up like stodge or slop, it is a different consistency to
liquidized bread, use brown crumb with a touch of white as a binder, I add custard powder or nesquik plus brown sugar
and desiccated coconut for attraction, I have found round here bream prefer sweet groundbait compared to fishmeal based.

 

[flightliner]

Most have mentioned the simple and well proven examples with the odd extra trick thrown in for good measure the only one I can add to the "mix" would be to save your eggshells and grind them small to add to your basic mix, only in case you want to use it as a cloud to take fish "on the drop".
Well known when I was a young angler when "pimping" for silvers was a well practised art form .
Maybe keep it in a seperate container and add to your base mix only when needed ,that way you have more options.

 

[markcw]

I missed powdered milk out as an additive, Would it be worth throwing the eggshells in the blender to "liqidize" them ?

 

[flightliner]

Yes, by all means do.
In the old days blenders were a luxury or non existant.
They were usually placed in a cotton bag and belted with a hammer.