Groundbait. What do you do?

[wetthrough]

I haven't the faintest idea what I'm doing when it comes to groundbait on stillwaters. General approach is chuck some loose in then some solid balls to get to the bottom, hopefully breaking up shortly before hitting the bottom. The idea to get some of the smell/taste to get carried by any surface tow, some to get carried by the undertow, hopefully in opposite directions.

Because I don't know what I'm doing I tend to hedge my bets when it comes to the mix, it's a mish mash of everything. Roughly 1:3:1 of Sensas red lake:Black crumb:white crumb. Handful of crushed and chopped corn. Handful of cooked and crushed hemp. Some whole corn, whole hemp, micro pellets, porridge and dead pinkies. Mixed up at home using the water from boiling the hemp plus some from the kettle once it's cold.

The only logic applied being to keep it fairly dark. It seems reasonable the fish would avoid going over anything that might make them more visible from above.

The mix is one thing but it's more about how much and when, time of year etc. Bream apparently don't like having balls of bait raining down on top of them. So what do you do? Chuck it all in at once? I think the hardest part for me is measuring the effectiveness. It's easy with hook bait. Put one bait on catch fish. Put a different bait on, don't catch fish, simple. With GB you can't take it out and try something else.

What do you do and why?

 

[markcw]

Gordon go easy on the white crumb, it can make your mix stodgy, At this time of the year I would more than likely fish liquidized bread that has been frozen and through the blender a few times,
If you are using ground bait ,go easy on the free offerings you put in, to me there is to much of a choice going in, corn,pellets,pinkies,
I would try one mix with no offerings mixed on a fluffy side so it breaks up in a cloud on the way down, and another with say hemp in it,
You could try just using corn and hemp or pellets mixed together without groundbait, If using groundbait or just loose offerings I would put a small amount in and fish for bites, as bites dry up put another small ammount in, this is why I said fluffy mix, or even a slop mix, leave white crumb out.Try Sensas black on it's own or a Dynamite bait mix straight from the bag, Whatever you do dont forget to riddle it to remove lumps.
As for a dark mix and fish prefer being over the top, .I have fished clear canals and put a bed of liquidized bread down and caught roach and skimmers over it.
You could try knocking some up when you get to the venue using canal/lake water and some water from hemp. It will be ready to use by the time you have set up and ready to fish, Again riddle it before use.

 

[mikench]

Those fish are far too picky; I know it's delicious. I can't comment as I rarely bother with GB but I am tomorrow. I have whisked it and it's ready to go. I never give it a Nelson.

 

[wetthrough]

Thanks Mark. I know liquidized bread is a favourite on canals but hadn't really considered it for stillwaters/lakes. And yes, I think I need to simplify things. You've given me plenty to think about. I need to take a more measured approach.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

With groundbait remember it is there to, entice rather than to feed, especially in winter so more attractants and colour than feed.

For those fish like bream that dislike having the balls constantly raining down try this:

Make your mix a little drier than usual then make three sets of balls.

Set one compressed as usual, so it will break up soon after entering the water but only once on the bottom.

Set two, compress much harder so it takes longer to break up.

Set three, as per set two, but, wet your hands and add a shim of water to the outside of the ball, this will prevent it breaking up too soon.

What you have in front of you now is sets of groundbait that will entice over a much longer period and NOT scare off the fish after the initial barrage.

You can add your usual quantities of freebies and hook samples to each set too.

 

[john step]

I like to add Sensas worm extract and a few chopped worms to a dark groundbait which is introduced in very small pieces 50p size in cooler water.
The other way/type is if I use maggots in an open end feeder where I bung the ends with method feeder mix to allow it to reach the bottom before falling out.
In summer I find for a full day fishing I can play the long game and use hard pellets via catapult to do the same job as a small bed of groundbait. Not quick enough for the matchmen though.

 

[rayner]

I rarely rely on groundbait through warmer months, mostly because all of my fishing is up in the water. The only time I fish on the bottom is with paste.
Colder months I tend to use groundbait more often than not. I prefer a cereal base rather than a fish meal with only a few chopped worm with a pinch of dead maggot and a couple of pinkies, I like to feed hemp but not seeds just ground hemp that I soak the night before to prevent it coming up off the bottom, soaking makes it inactive. I never use white crumb if I do use crumb it's only brown, That's mostly with feeder fishing.
Pole fishing I feed a few balls then fish them out, the milder the weather the more balls I feed, up to ten balls that I have to make in a pole cup to form a tightish ball. I try not to let my groundbait break up before it hit the bottom, roach in particular love to be up off bottom even on the coldest days.
Feeding more than one line gives the chance to feed a swim whilst fishing another one so as not to disturb feeding fish. I still like not to feed too many particles in groundbait just a few to interest fish without overdoing it.

 

[rayner]

I forgot to mention leam, I normally mix my groundbait with leam in cold weather.

 

[peterjg]

I have a bait freezer in which I save up all the old left over bread, be it white, brown or homemade by the wife (boss). Every so often it is ground up (including crusts) in a food processor, bagged and refrozen. When needed it is thawed out and mixed with about a quarter of sieved layers mash and a big dollop of Sainsburys Dark Brown Sugar. In summer drinking chocolate powder is added and in winter mixed spices are added. Don't put to much spice in or you will wreck the mix! Put some filtered water into your ground bait container, add 6 drops of geranium oil and 5ml Morrison's Salted Caramel flavouring then add groundbait mix. The amount of layers mash is determined by how you want the GB to break up, it's a matter of trial and error. In winter replace the geranium and caramel with robin red flavouring. This groundbait works well and is really cheap! It is easy to make to suit your requirements. Can be used when float fishing or in a cage feeder or if made wet as a cloud bait. The layers mash is around £7 for 20kg from Mole Country Stores.


Months ago my son gave me a bag of 4mm Sonubaits Feeder Pellets which I have used recently. They are supposed to be soaked, drained off and then used. I sometimes use them straight out of the bag as ground bait. They are very light, land gently, sink immediately and break down in just a few minutes. Unlike groundbait they don't seem to attract the tiddlers?

 

[markcw]

Thanks Mark. I know liquidized bread is a favourite on canals but hadn't really considered it for stillwaters/lakes. And yes, I think I need to simplify things. You've given me plenty to think about. I need to take a more measured approach.

Gordon, try liquidized bread on Lymm Dam, from the Church Shallows and along the Stones length before the Nook and at the top left hand side and top right hand side where Rhodendrams are , it works a treat on the right day, a little and often,

 

[wetthrough]

I've got some whizzed and ready for tomorrow although not on the Dam. Not 100% sure where yet

 

[mikench]

I'm expecting great things tomorrow Gordon.

 

[markcw]

I've got some whizzed and ready for tomorrow although not on the Dam. Not 100% sure where yet

Try sprinkling some ground spice on some,
I have used turmeric, coriander and a spice mix, had some nice roach, Another is to put some desiccated coconut in a groundbait mix, as the mix breaks up the coconut starts to rise to the surface and can act as an attractive.

 

[john step]

This thread has reminded me of something I used to do. I can't think why I have let it lapse. Maybe cod liver oil got expensive?
I used to use standard brown crumb and mix in a good portion of cod liver oil.
I got a surface slick exactly where it landed.
I think ordinary fish oil would be as good.
Must try it.

 

[markcw]

This thread has reminded me of something I used to do. I can't think why I have let it lapse. Maybe cod liver oil got expensive?
I used to use standard brown crumb and mix in a good portion of cod liver oil.
I got a surface slick exactly where it landed.
I think ordinary fish oil would be as good.
Must try it.

I am going to try fry lite, cooking oil in a spray on crusts for floating bread to flatten the surface,

 

[108831]

Groundbait should be darker the clearer the water gets,apart from punch crumb,which should only be fed a ball at a time and fished out,only feeding another when bites cease,as for feed within groundbait,bream,tench and carp like some crumb that has filling qualities in it,mixing grounbait is a decision based often on depth and where you expect/want to catch your fish,in my experience bream need balling,it is when you need to add more that care needs to be taken,Mark Pollard used to chuck five or six jaffa sized hard balls into the canal when fishing for roach,no paticles,I often throw seven or eight tangerine sized balls of brown crumb,maybe with two thirds of dark mixes such as Sensas black lake if necessary,mixed on the damp side and squeezed hard,with maybe,casters,dead maggots and micros in it,loose feeding if possible over it,if I get the feeling they want some more pudding I add another golf ball sized ball,maybe two,but i'm very careful to suss their response...

 

[peter crabtree]

At this time of year and forward to late spring I’d be very wary of using any gb at all. If I did it would have the lowest feed content possible. Dynamite F1 cold water gb in the dark version for instance. The only food I’d want the fish to find is my hookbait.

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[rayner]

When fishing deep water which the colder the temperature the deeper water I fish, normally up to ten feet deep, I always feed groundbait.
The mix I prefer is Van Den Eynde super black it's a very fine mix with not too much feed, I mix it 50 50 with Sensas damp leam if I can't get molehill.
If the water is coloured then I would swap VDE black for Sensas lake with the same leam/molehill.
Ten balls fed at the start then see how it goes, the balls I make are around the size of an egg-formed in a 125ml pole cup.

 

[markcw]

At this time of year and forward to late spring I’d be very wary of using any gb at all. If I did it would have the lowest feed content possible. Dynamite F1 cold water gb in the dark version for instance. The only food I’d want the fish to find is my hookbait.

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Buy Dynamite Baits Swim Stim F1 Sweet Cool Water Mix 800g from Tackle Up. Dynamite Baits Swim Stim F1 Sweet Cool Water Mix 800g

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Simon try fishing the Dynamite baits F1 sweet durable pellets over it,
I have had some decent fish just fishing the pellets over soaked 2mms flavoured with the liquid flavour,

 

[108831]

At this time of year and forward to late spring I’d be very wary of using any gb at all. If I did it would have the lowest feed content possible. Dynamite F1 cold water gb in the dark version for instance. The only food I’d want the fish to find is my hookbait.

Dynamite Baits Swim Stim F1 Sweet Cool Water Mix 800g

Buy Dynamite Baits Swim Stim F1 Sweet Cool Water Mix 800g from Tackle Up. Dynamite Baits Swim Stim F1 Sweet Cool Water Mix 800g

www.tackle-up.co.uk

The only trouble with that groundbait is it is fishmeal and in my view not so good for roach etc,but as you say groundbait is iffy,but if it is the right choice a mug full for a days fishing can get great results...