Cloud Bait Recipe? Ingredients?

[peterjg]

I use a homemade cloud bait sometimes. Although it works ok it is a very wet and sloppy mixture. Does anyone know of a homemade cloudbait which is not sloppy but breaks up when it hits the water? Thanks.

 

[rich66]

I’ve never tried it but I’ve heard dried milk in your ground bait will make a cloud when it hits the water. So you could adjust the water content to suit .

 

[rayner]

Used to use Litou mixed with surface leam, both Sensas products. The surface leam is yellow in colour, the Litou is a pinky colour.
I can't think of a product you could make your own from. I suppose you could colour the mix how you like.
I'm a fan of tackle shop groundbaits and additives such as leams. I reckon the time spent trying to formulate your own it's cheaper to buy ready-made from your local tackle shop.
Companies put a lot of effort to make their products the best they can.

 

[nottskev]

What happens with you current home made mix if you barely damp it? Many fine groundbaits can be mixed sloppy or dry, with different effects.

 

[peterjg]

What happens with you current home made mix if you barely damp it? Many fine groundbaits can be mixed sloppy or dry, with different effects.

Thanks for your reply. If I make my existing mix drier it doesn't hang in the water it just sinks. If I make it sloppy it hangs in the water but is very messy to use and I am greatly limited in how far it can be flicked out. I suppose that's there's an answer but I can't think of it?

 

[nottskev]

Ok - so you've tried that. I think I'd be doing as Rayner suggested and going for shop-bought groundbait.
Everyone has their favourite "light" mixes. I've always like VDE Supercup as a dry, soft mix. A while back I bought some Sensas Black Magic, and found it refused to do anything but make a slow-falling cloud. I don't know how far out you're fishing - I've gathered it's all roach - but loose dampened groundbait - ie not squeezed into a ball - makes a very effective cloud if cupped in with a cup on the end of a pole. I believe some carp, or even ex-carp, anglers have cheap poles for putting baits in positions you can't cast to? Just a thought.

 

[Mark Wintle]

In the old days Sensas did groundbaits for bleak called, appropriately, Ablette, that were used to create a cloud. There are additives that will give this but as I lost my French match fishing books decades ago I can't remember, possibly very fine ground rice.

 

[Philip]

Sensas Ablette ...still available were I am ..looks like its a mix of biscuit meal, bread crumbs, maize, rice flour, chalk and ash.

Heres another one recommended for Bleak...

1 Part Wheat flour
1 part Rice flour
1 Part Maize flour
1 Part Red breadcrumbs
Add some Coco or Vanilla flavour.

 

[markcw]

I used to put either condensed milk or evaporated milk into brown crumb and custard powder groundbait , or brown crumb and angel delight groundbait ,ideal feeding from pole mounted cup or cupping kit,

 

[rayner]

The Litou and leam mix I used was a team tactic that worked very well for bleak on the Trent.
It was a very good mix that held in the surface with no feed apart from the very small particles from the Litou, Litou is a flour. The surface leam was the thing that caused the cloud.

 

[peterjg]

Rayner, thanks for your reply. As soon as I can I will try leam.

I usually mix ground up cornflakes with sieved layers mash. Condensed milk works but I have found milk powder to act too much like a binder. I haven't yet found anything (yet) that just hangs in the water. Long life milk colours up the water nicely but soon sinks.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I've never had any problems using Sensas Ablettes. You can still get it if you shop around and it comes in natural or orange too.

It is best used close in when whip fishing for bleak but if you add a little leam you can lob it further if needed.

Okay, granted that is costs a little more than home made (£3.99 a pack) but it works and is tried and tested; maybe not so much in the uk but definitely in Europe and Scandinavia, so much so that, personally, I'd not waste too much time trying to emulate it myself . . . .


PS: At £3.99 it is just 99 pence more than a Waitrose Chicken salad sandwich . . . .

 

[nottskev]

I know from your HDYGO posts that you're a born-again roach angler (no offence to carp anglers, Christians or anyone else) so I'm wondering what you want your groundbait to do. Are you wanting a cloud to colour clear water because the fish or so spooky? Or draw fish up in deep water because it's easier to catch them there? Or something else? I'm no expert with big roach, but when I'm after decent roach (my idea of decent roach, fish of 12oz to 1lb might fall short of yours) in deep water, it's often a case of using a heavy'ish groundbait to bring some fish, of any size, into the swim, and then feeding eg seed baits like hemp and tares and trying different depths, to try and encourage and pick out some of the bigger ones that eventually come in.

 

[peterjg]

Nottskev, I fish all sorts of waters for roach but in the early mornings on the canals (Basingstoke Canal and the K&A canal) the water is very clear before the boats stir it up - then I move to the river Kennet or nearby pits. The bigger roach are definitely encouraged to investigate and feed if the water is coloured. I usually lay on at the bottom of the near side with big lumps of flake or gungo peas.

 

[trotter2]

Bran and condensed mink would give a good cloud effect the softer you mix the bigger the cloud effect. Died blood powder would also do a similar effect just red.
Other things which work are powdered malt, ground rice,milk.

 

[rayner]

Rayner, thanks for your reply. As soon as I can I will try leam.

I usually mix ground up cornflakes with sieved layers mash. Condensed milk works but I have found milk powder to act too much like a binder. I haven't yet found anything (yet) that just hangs in the water. Long life milk colours up the water nicely but soon sinks.

If you're to use leam make sure you buy surface leam, Terre de river sinks like a brick.

 

[Mark Wintle]

Given that it's designed for the job I think you'd do better with a proper roach groundbait like Sensa Gardons rather than trying to concoct a cloud bait.

 

[peterjg]

Thanks Mark but I have a really good homemade ground bait for roach which works well. I have compared several times Gros Gardons on one rod and my own mix on the other rod and my own mix is definitely better.

All effective cloudbaits (that I know of) work best when wet and sloppy. It would be great to find a mix which was fairly dry but immediately clouded without it all just sinking to the bottom. I am probably asking the impossible?

 

[markcw]

Bran and condensed mink would give a good cloud effect the softer you mix the bigger the cloud effect. Died blood powder would also do a similar effect just red.
Other things which work are powdered malt, ground rice,milk.

Condensed Mink...??? That should give it a meaty flavour,Do you skin it first for gloves in the winter. ?
Try Ground almonds and chapati flour, experiment with various mixes

 

[peterjg]

Markcw, chappati flour - I'd forgotten all about that! I used to include it in homemade boilies around 35 years ago.