PVA Mesh

I have a Korda Funnel Web system and was wondering if all mesh type pva was the same or if you have a favourite brand / type, or don't you rate it at all. I know not all are continuous but I've seen the Korda refil and Graham did a review on the Gardner one, they cost the same for the same amount and they look practicaly the same . Are there any others I should look at, are they all the same mesh (size of holes), do they disolve at the same rate or are they temperamental like the solid bags can be. Any opinions welcome.

I prefer the pva bags, far cheaper, you get alot more and it's amazing to put particle bait in.

Not having the smoothest or the most delicate hands in the world, then I much prefer the Gardner continuous stocking.
The Korda stuff ladders too easily and splits if I try to tighten up any 'bags'.
I haven't noticed any difference in the dissolve rates though.

The Korda stuff (which I use) is much the same as Nash, but I echo "Carp angler's" remarks. If you have gnarled hands, its distressing, when your beautifully crafted bag gets a ladder when knotting it (I always make mine up at home, to avoid hassle on the bank). As for bags, well yes, brilliant for particles, but what a pain in the arse when you find out they've all gone damp, and are insepereable. Still, brilliant in heavy weed though!

Thanks for the input guys, I've not been able to get on to check for replies until now.

I did notice the mesh caught on the slightest thing like rings, nails or even hard skin, it even catches on the tube sometimes but I thought it was something that would happen regardless of the make due to the way it's constructed. Is the Gardner one tougher (how tight are the bags meant to be, I usualy leave them quite slack so the mesh doesn't open too much then tighten it on the hook by twisting it around and re hooking to keep it in place, does that make sense?)

I tried the solid bags a few times and they were good on the water I fished previously but I am going to try on the canal for a change and I wanted the contonuous bag so I could feed small amounts at a time, I tried cutting the bags I had into smaller sizes but it takes a while to get it right, so now I'll use a solid bag as the initial feed (2 or 3 loads most times is enough) then the mesh is used on each cast after that.

Simon,
When you make up the bags at home do they last indefinately or do you make just enough to get you started. I'm asking because I wondered if they begin to melt after a while holding the pellets or whatever.

Rodney - I find quite the opposite of what you suspect actually. I make up Korda mesh bags for abrbel fishing and leave them in the bucket of loose pellets for ages without any breakdown. As long as they stay dry they are fine and pellet is great for keeping any moisture to a minimum anyway.

Cheers Dave,
I think I'll make up a batch and keep them in a tub for next time I'm out. Does it matter what pellets you use, I've noticed that when I mixed some pellets (hemp, trout and csl) the light coloured trouties went very dark and the hemp pellets went shiney. They looked like they were full of oil.

Hows Rodney ?

Rodney,
I've been using the korda funnel web system for a while now, and also find it catches on knuckles, fingertips etc, etc, but having said that, it does the job. I make up a whole unit and keep then in a zip lock bag. I have found, though, that the dissolve rate does change, the longer you keep the bags.

For instance, I was playing around with bags I have had made up for a couple of months, and comparing them to bags made up there and then.Both bags contain a mix of trout and CSL pellets.

The older bags, take on a brown tint and dissolve slower than the new bags, sometimes up to a minute longer. However, these experiments were carried out on the bank, in February, in low temps.

What I'm not sure of , is this. Do the older bags 'dry' out, or do they take on some oil from the pellets, and this increases their breakdown time. Certainly they take on some element of the pellet, because they discolour.

I was under the impresion, that oils would melt the PVA, but haven't done anymore experimenting on that.

Another thing you can consider, is that you can make 35-40 small bags of pellets up, and the overall cost will be roughly 15p per bag...
Cheers
The donkey walloper...
(no answers, only more questions) ;-)

I've used them up to six weeks after being made up and stored in a baitbox of mixed pellets, broken boilies, etc. The oil that the PVA draws in definitely increases the meltdown time.

Hi Cakey,
Just Dandyoh, Howz yer self, any more fishing/wind up sessions with Stuart lately?

Paul & Graham,
That's exactly what I was worried about, I thought the oils would have melted the bags eventualy. If you and Graham are using bags made up 6 weeks or more previously then I'll definetly make up a load as I would hope to use them within a couple of months.

Do you all refill with the Korda version or have you switched brand for the reason C.A. gave in his post.

Rodney
I'm off on Tuesday to a new fishery Stuart and I have joined .
Watch this space..................

Rodney, I've actually poured oilbased glug into a pva bag to get more a smell out there. I don't know about breakdown times but I do know that pva is only water soluable.

Rodney
glugged bags take a lot longer to break down and if used in the winter they dont breakdown at all !
If your fishing a water where you can get instant bites then dont do it!

Cakey,
I just saw a spread in this months Coarse Fisherman about using the Korda pva and they say that for fishing in deep water you can dip the bags in fish or vegetable oil which will allow you to reposition a bag if you overcastor fish deep water. I'm now wondering how warm the water needs to be for the pva to melt, I tried putting cold tap water (yeah, I know scientific it aint) into a tub and it took over a minute for a ping pong ball sized bag (without oil or anything on it) to melt, infact the csl pellets had almost broke down before the bag exploded, (it was leaking a brown discharge within seconds) with the pellets expanding they were thrown into quite a large patch. This also made me wonder about the amount of feed I'd been using previously as a solid bag takes about 15 - 20 times as much dry feed. The bottom of a tree lined canal whith an average deapth of 5 foot would not warm up that much even in summer would it? and what about some venues people fish with deapths of 15 feet +, do the bags really need to be soaked in oil. The venues I fish aren't that deep so I think I'll take your advice and just use dry pva (no oil).

Hi Mike long time no see,
I see the difference in what you did with the glug being on the inside of a solid bag this wouldn't effect the breakdown of the pva, doesn't all the glug just rise to the surface though? I now realise that the pva won't melt with oils, but before this thread I wasn't sure how long it would stay that way. It's a bit like a waterproof coat, fine in a shower or when the rain is intermitant but when it rains continuously some gets through eventualy.

Waterproofs????(Got to go time for my medication). ;o}~

I've used both bags and mesh with some success. The mesh is pretty delicate, as pointed out, and whatever you do, don't get it anywhere near velcro! Strikes me though, that a lot of anglers are parting with a lot of money for the latest fad when, in reality, in some situations a good old cage feeder would do the job just as well and for a few pence rather than tens of pounds.

Rodney,
I have been using the refills and they've been fine. Interesting about the oils too..
The donkey walloper....

Korda refills that is..