The New/Old Wonder Bait.

I'd been planning on heading to one of my local small rivers all week, patiently waiting for the level to drop and hit the optimum point (about 18" above normal and still carrying colour).
My plan of attack was going to be bread, bread and more bread. Feeding mashed stale bread via a cage feeder, with fresh flake on the hook. The target species being chub and big roach if I could locate them.

I'd been saving and drying bread for a week plus, but thanks to Jamie (bleedin') Oliver and his bread pudding recipe, the missus took it upon herself to make one.....

.....There's my loose feed gone and with it the opportunity of drawing fish into my swim.

Thinking and rethinking my options, I tried mixing some plain flour, chilli powder with a little water, in the hope I could some how make a fluffy that could be used to bung a feeder, so clouding the water and allowing me to get small pinches of flake to where the were.

Checked said flour mix minutes before I left home, convinced myself it was going to work like a dream. Needless to say it was a complete failure, either being to dry or to clumped up into balls of dough, that'd overfeed the swim. So I kept adding a little more water until the mix was about the consistency of thick soup. Not quite the best thing for bunging a feeder!
Rooting about in my bag I found a black cap feeder, so I thought it worth a go..... Eureka!!
It was working.

I fished from about 3.00p.m til 7.30p.m, in which time I used 40p worth of flour, 20p worth of chilli powder and about 40p worth of fresh bread. Taking 14 chub from a tad over 4lb to 6lb 6oz; all for about a pound!

I don't think I could've bettered my result no matter what approach I had used. Maggots might of equalled it, but would've cost four times more. Boilies and/or pellets, I think would have caught me 6 or 7, maybe at best 8, as to provide a similar level of stimulus, I'd have landed up overfeeding the swim.
Big hi-attract hook baits might have got me 4 or 5, if I rested the swim and returned once dark, I may have got 6 or 7 in total.

nice one - get the mix marketted

Sound like you have had an awesome days fishing there bud! :w

Nice when it happens like that. Makes up for the days when you blank despite meticulous preparation

In those conditions I'd have been inclined to fish worms.

cg74 said:

I'd been planning on heading to one of my local small rivers all week, patiently waiting for the level to drop and hit the optimum point (about 18" above normal and still carrying colour).
My plan of attack was going to be bread, bread and more bread. Feeding mashed stale bread via a cage feeder, with fresh flake on the hook. The target species being chub and big roach if I could locate them.

I'd been saving and drying bread for a week plus

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, but thanks to Jamie (bleedin') Oliver and his bread pudding recipe, the missus took it upon herself to make one.....

.....There's my loose feed gone and with it the opportunity of drawing fish into my swim.

Thinking and rethinking my options, I tried mixing some plain flour, chilli powder with a little water, in the hope I could some how make a fluffy that could be used to bung a feeder, so clouding the water and allowing me to get small pinches of flake to where the were.

Checked said flour mix minutes before I left home, convinced myself it was going to work like a dream. Needless to say it was a complete failure, either being to dry or to clumped up into balls of dough, that'd overfeed the swim. So I kept adding a little more water until the mix was about the consistency of thick soup. Not quite the best thing for bunging a feeder!
Rooting about in my bag I found a black cap feeder, so I thought it worth a go..... Eureka!!
It was working.

I fished from about 3.00p.m til 7.30p.m, in which time I used 40p worth of flour, 20p worth of chilli powder and about 40p worth of fresh bread. Taking 14 chub from a tad over 4lb to 6lb 6oz; all for about a pound!

I don't think I could've bettered my result no matter what approach I had used. Maggots might of equalled it, but would've cost four times more. Boilies and/or pellets, I think would have caught me 6 or 7, maybe at best 8, as to provide a similar level of stimulus, I'd have landed up overfeeding the swim.
Big hi-attract hook baits might have got me 4 or 5, if I rested the swim and returned once dark, I may have got 6 or 7 in total.

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thats the beauty of working for a bakery :thumbs:

andy

I worked in a bakery for a short time after I left school, the "sawdust" from the slicer was one of the best breadcrumb's I ever used.

chav professor said:

Sound like you have had an awesome days fishing there bud! :w

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It was a great day, when I left home I knew it was potentially going to be good. That's why I was so desperate to have a bait that could draw fish.
The stretch of river I was on is a complex of pools and riffles for about a 100m, with excellent far bank cover. With the conditions being optimal it gave a rare opporunity to draw fish up from 4 swims downstream.
In normal conditions, I'd be looking to get perhaps 3 or 4 fish (in total) on my first rotation through the swims and 2 or 3 more on a second rotation, using only high attractant hook baits.
But the flow was perfect to allow a scent trail to sent through the whole length; any higherand it'd push the fish further into the far bank cover; any less flow and the scent trail woudn't have reached the fish beyond my swim.

My reason for this thread is to highlight too anyone thinking that bait is the most important criteria.
Location is the key, followed by reading the conditions (both basic but essential watercraft), andone thing that was really hit home, it's more about how you apply your bait, than what it actually is.
Bread is a known fish catcher but plain flour, well not my first choice and despite my success, I still won't select it in preference to bread.


Just my thoughts

---------- Post added at 23:42 ---------- Previous post was at 23:35 ----------

nicepix said:

Nice when it happens like that. Makes up for the days when you blank despite meticulous preparation

In those conditions I'd have been inclined to fish worms.

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Yep, it gives the session an extra edge - success in the face of adversity.

If I had some worms, they would've been used long before the flour, but I'm not sure if they'd have got me anymore fish, as though chopped worm is one of the best fish attractors, it may have fed them a bit much?

How big was the bread pudding Colin?
Joking aside you could have liquidised a couple of fresh loaves and got the desired effect but 10/10 for initiative.

Titus said:

How big was the bread pudding Colin?
Joking aside you could have liquidised a couple of fresh loaves and got the desired effect but 10/10 for initiative.

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I never even looked at the pudding, can't stand the stuff. I liked the traditional mix with sultanas in but Oliver's revamp has marmalade in it, just ain't the same.

Living in the arse end of nowhere makes getting a couple loaves of bread a right chore, so thought I'd give flour a bash, thought it'd be easy to mix it into a fluffy damp mix - wrong!

The use of flour is of interest... I know a well known angler who states its pointless putting pastry in cheese paste = Chub don't eat pastry.

On the other hand, I think it is an important component. I don't think they (Chub) obviously realize it, but Carbohydrates are a great energy source and I am certain this is in high demand in winter conditions. This is why I quite like to sweeten baits this time of the year.

As you say, i am not certain i would emulate the approach - in preference to using bread crumb or liquidized bread. BUT having said that.... flour, water and chilli.... how did you mix it? lightly moistened? A cloud effect would be very useful - just attracting and not feeding... very interesting! There is something subtly intriguing about you idea.

It is an approach i do not do often enough - drawing fish up from down stream... I usually, fish to the Chub - which as you indicated limits the catch as other factors kick in.

This post has inspired me to at least give this a proper go this season - at least when the conditions suit (as they rarely do). Just out of interest - i would use a keepnet as this would limit the disturbance of returning 'distressed fish'.

My landlord farmer has several 20 tonne hoppers of wheat, maize, etc along with other animal feeds like soya, pellets and molasses. He also has an industrial mill and mixer that he uses to prepare and combine the grains and other ingredients. I can help myself to whatever I want. This year I've been using 'flour' made up of ground wheat and maize along with additives - chicken pellets, cat food, stewed wheat, chopped maize and flavourings from the supermarket baking section. Vanilla is particularly good. The ground flour makes a good base for the mix as it binds well after it has been soaked in boiling water and left for a few hours as this releases the starches. You can find similar products selling cheaply at animal feed wholesalers.

Nicepix, be a little wary of farm feed pellets. My BIL works for an agri feed company. He can get me sacks of most types of feed. However, on him making enquiries, he was advised by the lab types that none of their pelletized feeds should be deliberately introduced to a watercourse as they were likely to prove toxic to fish.

chav professor said:

The use of flour is of interest... I know a well known angler who states its pointless putting pastry in cheese paste = Chub don't eat pastry.

On the other hand, I think it is an important component. I don't think they (Chub) obviously realize it, but Carbohydrates are a great energy source and I am certain this is in high demand in winter conditions. This is why I quite like to sweeten baits this time of the year.

As you say, i am not certain i would emulate the approach - in preference to using bread crumb or liquidized bread. BUT having said that.... flour, water and chilli.... how did you mix it? lightly moistened? A cloud effect would be very useful - just attracting and not feeding... very interesting! There is something subtly intriguing about you idea.

It is an approach i do not do often enough - drawing fish up from down stream... I usually, fish to the Chub - which as you indicated limits the catch as other factors kick in.

This post has inspired me to at least give this a proper go this season - at least when the conditions suit (as they rarely do). Just out of interest - i would use a keepnet as this would limit the disturbance of returning 'distressed fish'.

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I can't really understand the logic behind the 'well known' angler's conclusion, unless he either has a vested interest in the bait industry?

The evidence that pastry 'should' work is plentiful - Soaked and boiled whole grains of wheat is a known fish catcher, roach, carp and tench are especially fond of the stuff.
Bread, enough said....
pastry, though I've never used it on its own, IMO it certainly doesn't reduce a baits effectiveness. Cheese over cheese paste - I'd always opt for paste!

I know flour is a broken down constituent of wheat, bread and pastry. But I think that it must have some appeal?
Pastry (shop bought) is about 40% fat - which fish love.
Bread has yeast added - again, fish love the stuff.
Wheat has great nutritional value than flour, as plain flour often has the bran and germ removed.

I honestly think we're overthinking it all - wheat in its various guises works.

As I said earlier; I do believe the result could've been replicated using different baits - It's more about application, than anything else. There's no doubt in my mind flour on its own offers limited appeal, but the chilli would've certainly helped there.
My thinking (probably wrong) is the near constant stimulus (albeit limited in nature) of flour and chilli, simply triggered them to feed and pretty much the only large enough to be picked-up item was the bread flake (which had my hook in it).

The carp in Llandod lake used to eat all the crusts off my pasties back in the 80's, they were so keen to get at them they would lift the ducks out of the water, until you put a hook in one, then they would not go near it; You cant draw much of a conclusion from that though as they were just as cute with a floating crust.

sam vimes said:

Nicepix, be a little wary of farm feed pellets. My BIL works for an agri feed company. He can get me sacks of most types of feed. However, on him making enquiries, he was advised by the lab types that none of their pelletized feeds should be deliberately introduced to a watercourse as they were likely to prove toxic to fish.

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Thanks for the info'. I don't use the sheep and cattle pellets, but have been buying chicken layer's pellets at about £3 per 10g. They are about 3mm and fit nicely on a micro bait band and make good loose feed as well as spicing up the flour. The ingredients in the label would seem to be OK.

I used sacks of ewe nuts (csl) in a local lake years ago, the carp went 'nuts' for them. I never saw any fatalities in there though.

Titus said:

The carp in Llandod lake used to eat all the crusts off my pasties back in the 80's, they were so keen to get at them they would lift the ducks out of the water, until you put a hook in one, then they would not go near it; You cant draw much of a conclusion from that though as they were just as cute with a floating crust.

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If nothing else; it tells us carp eat pastry, so it's a fair bet chub will.

If it is a free and easy to get food (bait) it will be taken, no matter what species! As in any form of angling, location is the key!
The best bait in the world fished in the wrong place will never catch, a basic bait in the right place, at the right time will always catch, the art of watercraft!

If we lived in a world where baitmakers/sellers had 'discovered' bread and cheese I wonder what the marketing garb would be to sell it?

Titus said:

The carp in Llandod lake used to eat all the crusts off my pasties back in the 80's, they were so keen to get at them they would lift the ducks out of the water, until you put a hook in one, then they would not go near it; You cant draw much of a conclusion from that though as they were just as cute with a floating crust.

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Those same carp would take food from your fingers......but try it with a rod in your hand!