Bread Punch bait

Branching out from always carp fishing i am trying Match Fishing now where in carp fishing our baits never masked the hook, i have tried bread punch but find that when the bread swells in the water it masks the small hook will i miss bites and lose fish through this or is masking the hook normal for this brand of fishing
Cheers
terry

Bread punch quickly swells to be a very soft bait in the water that the hook should pull through easily. I've never had a problem with it masking the hook. It is vital to match the hook to the bait and it is surprising how big a hook you can use but also it is best to use fine wire hooks.

As for missing bites/masking the hook, it is, in my experience, actually better than maggots and casters in this respect.

Whatever you do DON'T compress fresh bread onto hook with your fingers as that is the way to get a hard lump of bait, though I have seen taht work in circumstances where there are lots of tiddlers with the hook point proud (forerunner of a boilie?).

Thanks Mark
Much appreciated response
Terry

Not too sure if Mark will agree, but my experience is that bread punch, and punch crumb, always seemed to be a more or less an 'instant' bait and using it ensured that you can catch right from the 'off'

Mind you, after about 20 or 30 minutes the bites dried up and we usually ventured further out on the pole or running line.

That is a fair comment, Peter. The challenge with bread punch is to keep it going longer than twenty minutes; it can be done with a lot of experience. Being frugal with the feed is sometimes the answer as it is all too easy to keep piling it in only to quickly overfeed the swim.

Terry,
Going back to your original query on masking of the hook by the breadpunch.
This may also be a case of matching up the the hook size and design to the size of punch you're using as well.
Anyone that enjoys this terrific method of fishing will probably have their own favourite combinations - you may have to do a little experimenting yourself, which is always a good way to learn a new method (and when to use it or not!)
I think Mark's point about frugal feeding is a really important one. You will be amazed how a thumbnail-sized pinch of crumb will dissipate in the water and how quickly you can overfeed the fish in your swim and kill it if you're not careful.
If you're fishing for larger fish such as tench, chub or carp with bread you might want to look at the Drennan Breadflake punch sets. They are pear-shaped and mainly compress the bread at the narrow end of the 'pear'. This gives a denser point for the hook to go through whilst leaving a more full flake at the wide end.
If you hook it in the same spot every time you get really good, consistent presentation that doesn't shroud the hook point.
Dirt-cheap and very effecvtive!