A extract from Coarse Angler August 85

[The bad one]

Sorry not getting involved with the squabbling of who following who, but whoever said about Wilton’s bait and the post reading like he was claiming he was involved in its development. Did not read like that to me, it read like MG had been involved.

To Witon’s bait HNV baits and skinning them by boiling, eg, the birth of boillies in the UK.
Wilton achieved this by making them out of wheat gluten, casinate (can’t just remember whether it sodium or calcium) a milk protein, and PYM Phillips Yeast Mixture, there may have been one other ingredient to bulk it out, can’t just remember and 6 eggs to a 10 oz mix of the above. How he arrived at PYM, which is and was a bird tonic for cage and aviary birds to bring the colours out in their feathers I really don’t know. But it was a stroke of genius that’s for sure because he took apart every water he fished with it. Much to the annoyance of the Kent carpers around him, as did many other anglers up and down the country who got to know this very secret bait.

Wilton first disclosed this secret bait in the BCSG mag circa 1973 and then the article was also published a year or so later in Angling Magazine in 1974 under the title “I Wish My Bait had Remained Secret.” It should also be remembered that hair rigs hadn’t been invented at this point and baits were presented direct on large hook 4s and 2s generally. So the bait had to be soft enough for the hook to pull through on the strike, but hard enough to resist the attentions of what were termed at the time “lesser, nuisance species.”

 

[tiinker]

Sorry not getting involved with the squabbling of who following who, but whoever said about Wilton’s bait and the post reading like he was claiming he was involved in its development. Did not read like that to me, it read like MG had been involved.

To Witon’s bait HNV baits and skinning them by boiling, eg, the birth of boillies in the UK.
Wilton achieved this by making them out of wheat gluten, casinate (can’t just remember whether it sodium or calcium) a milk protein, and PYM Phillips Yeast Mixture, there may have been one other ingredient to bulk it out, can’t just remember and 6 eggs to a 10 oz mix of the above. How he arrived at PYM, which is and was a bird tonic for cage and aviary birds to bring the colours out in their feathers I really don’t know. But it was a stroke of genius that’s for sure because he took apart every water he fished with it. Much to the annoyance of the Kent carpers around him, as did many other anglers up and down the country who got to know this very secret bait.

Wilton first disclosed this secret bait in the BCSG mag circa 1973 and then the article was also published a year or so later in Angling Magazine in 1974 under the title “I Wish My Bait had Remained Secret.” It should also be remembered that hair rigs hadn’t been invented at this point and baits were presented direct on large hook 4s and 2s generally. So the bait had to be soft enough for the hook to pull through on the strike, but hard enough to resist the attentions of what were termed at the time “lesser, nuisance species.”

A good friend of mine who was a BCSG member was supplying me with the mix in 73 and swore me to secrecy One of my other friends asked me about it and I told him I could not help him. He said in a huff I know what it is anyway .It is Pomateg yeast and milk PYM. As you more than likely remember pometeg was a brand of ground bait carrying R. Walkers name. I was using PYM in paste form some time later my friend gave me six boilies the first I had ever seen and showed me how to side hook them. I thought silly idea and de-skinned them silly sod . A the same time we were fishing the Blue in Kent and one of the group was using maggots threaded on to cotton and wound around the hook shank then tied off. A few times when he wound in the cotton had come undone and he would swear and curse without knowing he was fishing a hair. We had a lot to learn in those days but boy was it interesting finding out.

 

[The bad one]

Much the same experience for me as well, got to know about it through a mate I worked with in the BCSG. He was lived when the article appeared in Angling, as until then the water we were fishing we'd been cleaning up on with it.

Had a good laugh about this this summer when I met a guy I hadn't see for nearly 40 years on the river barbeling. He and his two mates were our rivals so to speak on this water and they were desperate to find out what we were using.

But agree it was interesting times learning back then.