Bread punch,

[dicky123]

How are people making their bread punch hook baits please?

Thanks.

Rich.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

I still use a set of Middy punches as I’ve never found anything better. They are sharp and the ones in foam jackets also float if dropped in the water.

For larger pieces of read I also still use the Drennan bread flake punches (the green ones) and I’ve had mine for many years.

 

[markcw]

Do you mean are they Microwaving the bread for 10 seconds then putting in ziplok bag ,
Holding bread over steaming kettle, rolling bread flat with rolling pin or just using straight from the bag ?
Or do you mean what bread punches are being used, ?
I use punches with sharp edge and decent slot in the side for the hook, also various size meat punches are used
and for extreme bread punch discs I use an apple corer, the bread is used straight from the bag with no micro wave etc,
I also have a set of Drennan flake punches that are years old.

 

[daniel121]

Straight from the bag and with some old bread punches I've had for 30 plus years, god knows what brand they was, they actually look like a bic biro

 

[nottskev]

People have mentioned most things already, but the thread reminded me of my fishing mate's unorthodox "punch" fishing. I don't fish punch often, and I find the method a bit fiddly - prep'ing the bread, keeping it from drying out, punching bits on a hard surface, knocking odd bits off shipping out etc - so I walked down to see how he was doing with it. He was taking his bait out of a lidded box, which was tiny squares or triangles of rolled bread cut on a breadboard at home. He was catching roach every put in. Typical triumph of skill over equipment - I'd watched him bag up on the stick for years before I noticed he'd snapped a couple of inches off his rod tip, and the second ring was now the tip ring.

I've just bought the cheap winter card for a club that has some good canal roach fishing at Loughborough, and I gather you need to fish bread in the clear water, so I'll have to brush up on it, if anyone has any good tips.

 

[mikench]

I will take some bread tomorrow weather permitting for the roach! I normally microwave and flatten with a rolling pin but will take a plain slice as well and see if it makes any difference !

Just in case I will have some maggots and casters!

If I can come up with a cunning plan Kev , I will reveal all! Perhaps punch soaked in F1 glug may just be what the roach are waiting for!!!!

 

[peter crabtree]

Top tip Kev, not this ....

Perhaps punch soaked in F1 glug may just be what the roach are waiting for!!!!

 

[mikench]

Well what is your top tip then Peter? My comment about the glug was tongue in cheek! Do fish have tongues?

 

[peter crabtree]

My comment about the glug was tongue in cheek!

So was mine...

 

[wetthrough]

Not that it's the way to do it, I'm not that experienced but you asked so here goes. I use Image punches but haven't used anything else, they seem to work. One slice Hovis Soft White thick. Half of which I use for flake and the other for punch. Crusts off, the half for punch I very lightly steam on one side then press lightly with the palm of my hand. The only reason for the steaming is so that one side sticks to the ZIP drive case (old computer storage thingy) I keep it in. Pressing it lightly helps to stop it sticking to the top of the case. It's the first time I've used Hovis Soft White thick, just finished the loaf. For punch it seems OK but for flake it's a bit thick on an 18s hook IMO.

 

[markcw]

People have mentioned most things already, but the thread reminded me of my fishing mate's unorthodox "punch" fishing. I don't fish punch often, and I find the method a bit fiddly - prep'ing the bread, keeping it from drying out, punching bits on a hard surface, knocking odd bits off shipping out etc - so I walked down to see how he was doing with it. He was taking his bait out of a lidded box, which was tiny squares or triangles of rolled bread cut on a breadboard at home. He was catching roach every put in. Typical triumph of skill over equipment - I'd watched him bag up on the stick for years before I noticed he'd snapped a couple of inches off his rod tip, and the second ring was now the tip ring.

I've just bought the cheap winter card for a club that has some good canal roach fishing at Loughborough, and I gather you need to fish bread in the clear water, so I'll have to brush up on it, if anyone has any good tips.

Yep, start of with the smallest punch you can get away with, if the fish are "having it" ,up a size of punch. You can wrap the bread in foil to keep fresh,cut a slice into 4 so you have 4 individual small slices, so if one does dry out slighty you are not wasting a full slice. As I have mentioned I never prep it, just use straight from the bag, it is softer that way, If using liquidized bread as feed, prepare about 10 days beforehand, Liquidize, riddle, freeze. Keep doing this to same batch it will become very fine and will act as an attractor and not feed the fish off, Feed a small nugget and fish for bites, only re feed when bites dry up. Use Warbys toastie . and fish as fine as possible, as you know cold weather can mean clearer water,it does round here, you can see part way across one of the canals in winter. You can feed a few grains of hemp with liquidized bread ,that gives you the option of fishing hemp later on in the session. And have 2 swims going so you are not plundering one swim all the time. Good Luck. Others may give you different advice, the above is the way I do it on the canals around here. @mikench a sonubaits F1 goo works in the summer on bread, it gives off a haze as it dissolves in the water,

 

[Richox12]

Get some medium & thick cheap 'value' bread (nice and 'rubbery'), microwave on full power for 30 seconds put straight into a poly bag. It makes it very tacky (steams inside the bag). Then you can compress different slices and vary density

 

[markcw]

Rich, do you not find it can be to tacky to "strike " off the hook after a while to leave a small pellet on the bottom,
I have tried micro method but for 10 seconds and into ziplock bag, this has been for fishing 3 or 4 large discs on a quickstop when fishing either method feeder or bomb.

 

[Richox12]

Mark, I know what you mean but I don't experience any problems at all if you use slices of differing thicknesses (you probably only need 2 or 3 of each). If you punch a thin slice it will be much less compressed than a thick slice punched with the same punch. Sometimes I will 'double' punch to get a really dense hookbait.

I don't roll my bread. The punch compresses it.

We use maggots & Pinkies etc and don't strike them off. If you've hooked a dense hookbait on correct size/shape of hook and left the point out enough it's not really any different.

 

[markcw]

Rich the silvers round here seem to want to slurp the bread of the hook, sometimes I have to add water to the liquidized bread I put in a cad pot and pour it in over bread punch, A mate I fish with uses a method similar to yours, and has decent results. I think its down to how they want it on the day, I have compressed by hand or sitting on it straight from bag, and also let the punch compress it, depending on how they want it. I strike off regularly on venues where you can fish bread but not feed it in any way, Its a way of putting a bit of feed on the bottom and in a way stay within fishery rules.

 

[Richox12]

Can you thread 3 or 4 lightly compressed 'natural' pieces up the shank/hooklength and strike all off ? Or is that feeding ?

 

[markcw]

Can strike off when it softens up,also depends on size of punch and hook, the fishery says no feeding of bread , which in general means no potting bread feed in or throwing it in like groundbait ,by striking it off we are not seen to be doing that. we class it as a "missed bite" . Its a way round rules on feeding bread, Another fishery has a rule of no floating bread, if you can balance hookbait and hook so it starts just under the surface and can sink very slowly after a while , that is fine. As long as it is not floating on the surface, This method is deadly in the summer fishing for carp against the rushes on an island or in the margins using as short a line between pole tip and float you can get away with,a couple of 8mm discs on quickstop balanced by a stotz on the line works,

 

[dicky123]

Yes, I was talking about the bread HOOKBAIT preparation rather than anything else.

So microwave a slice or two for 10 seconds, and also have a slice natural too. I'll give to a try on Friday.

I did see one chap have his liquidise bread so sloppy it was like soup, but worked as it gave off a cloud but feed little.

Thanks.

 

[markcw]

@****y123 I mentioned I have watered liquidize bread down to a slop, so its a cloud but no feed as such,
What I forgot to mention is that sometimes I will put powdered milk in with to give a better cloud in the water,
Or desiccated coconut in ordinary liquidized bread, the flakes act as an extra attractant.

 

[Richox12]

......sometimes I will put powdered milk in with to give a better cloud in the water,
Or desiccated coconut in ordinary liquidized bread, the flakes act as an extra attractant.

Same as above