Sweetcorn - what's in the tin?

Sweetcorn. Last week I was talking about the price of the canned stuff. This week I have been taking a closer look at what is actually in the cans. I have written it up on my blog, so if you want to progress from sweetcorn geek to sweetcorn nerd, you can read Part 2 HERE. It was an interesting experience, that changed my thought on the stuff.

I would be interested to see if anyone else agrees with me. I am not saying that what I have said is some kind of final answer, it is just how it panned out for me.

Ralph.

Sad as I must be,I found this interesting,not sure if it is applicable in a fishing situation mind,apart from the quality of the kernels each supplier cans and i'd imagine even this must vary,depending on the quality available and what's at the bottom of the cooking vat,When I use corn I always drain and put it in a bait box with lake water to keep it in good condition(and help keep my hands clean),added salt may well help,but so might flavourings???

Corn coloured with proper red food dye had its day, but whenever I've used it thus results have been up and down. I have also washed them thoroughly and then flavoured with pure vanilla essence (not too much, though) again with limited success.
Tench seem to like red and so it proved, but not to the extent of jumping out of the water for me!
IMO all such dyes/colourings need a good work out, and I mean a really good work out to give them any chance of working. Sticking on the odd kernel in the hope of catching something when bites are slow may just work, but having a 'single bait' session with a bit of light pre baiting could be more effective..................................Swim building, sort of thing.

I tried green coloured corn, flavoured with thin lipped mussel extract. I sacked up on roach and rudd but never seen it since.

Can't remember if it was VDE or Pescaviva, but if anyone knows of a supply give us a shout?

My recent tench session resulted in a draw between GG yellow and Van Den Eynde Strawberry red.

I must say,that although i've caught a lot of tench on corn,I wouldn't say it's been the most successful for me,I think I struggle with the idea of whether to feed loads of it,or little and often using perhaps hemp/groats,even pellets as a bed,whatever I do,there seems nothing concrete for me to work on.

I have tried red corn that I have flavoured and dyed myself and it does work in the right conditions as a change-bait. You can read the story HERE of a day a couple of years ago when I was trying out new things. I had only been fishing for eight or nine months when this was written - I was even still using pre-tied hook lengths then... Not that there is anything wrong with them but it just seems like a long time ago as you will read I was thinking about tying my own even then.

Ralph.

I recon that my attempts with corn have been limited because of my impatience.
I have limited success with corn skins but relatively very little to none with a full kernel.

rayner said:

I recon that my attempts with corn have been limited because of my impatience.
I have limited success with corn skins but relatively very little to none with a full kernel.

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Skins seem to work well for me with a strung out shot pattern either on the pole or waggler. I too have never been very successful with corn but I am now thinking it has been because I have been using corn that has been canned in water with added sugar. I am out this week and I will be trying corn canned in salted water for the first time. I will report back with the results.

Ralph.

rayner said:

I recon that my attempts with corn have been limited because of my impatience.
I have limited success with corn skins but relatively very little to none with a full kernel.

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Poor disappointed Tench - it's the stuff inside the skins they want - sweet tasty bits - which is why they don't bother too much with the full (sealed) kernels!
Probably one of the reasons that the GG & Frozen corn works well for most people - the insides are bursting out and create a good scent & taste trail.

The addition of an artificial bit of corn to 'balance' the bait and keep it above the bottom seems to be a help as well.

Tight Lines!

greenie62 said:

Poor disappointed Tench - it's the stuff inside the skins they want - sweet tasty bits - which is why they don't bother too much with the full (sealed) kernels!
Probably one of the reasons that the GG & Frozen corn works well for most people - the insides are bursting out and create a good scent & taste trail.

The addition of an artificial bit of corn to 'balance' the bait and keep it above the bottom seems to be a help as well.

Tight Lines!

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You make a very good point. The most successful corn I have used for bigger fish is fake corn.

Corn is a bait that can 'blow' if the fish see it too often. Also I reckon it's the sort of bait finicky fish don't want raining down on them. I've spooked barbel in clear water with corn yet those same fish have risen like trout when fed pellets a few minutes later. It's high visibility can be both an asset or a hindrance depending on the usual variables.

It seems to me that bait works on so many levels. I am certainly no expert, but during my extensive experience over the years - all two and a half of them! - I have come to the conclusion that most fish will 'try' anything that fits in their mouth and that is fine as it is as the fish reject it, or as we pull it out (by striking) that the fish is hooked. I do wonder is it is more about what they don't like, rather than what they do. I make my own ground bait mixes, just for myself, I am not planning on selling them. I publish all the recipes on my blog if any one want to try them. I have one I call Two Dog Groundbait that I use on the method and it will catch carp and F1s all day long with only the occasional bream or tench. I also have an other one called Surf 'n' Turf that will do the complete opposite in the same water on the same day. I am sure it is because they are repelled by the one they don't like as opposed to being attracted to the one they do like.

I sometimes wonder if the fish sometimes attack the bait because it is irritating them; something flapping around in their space. Whatever it is I do like to try new baits and methods. Some work and others don't but it is fun trying. and to coin a football phrase, at the end of the day, it is only a game.

Ralph.

There are a lot of things that will repel and spook fish. Knowing what they are is important, just as important than what attracts them imho. This is especially true when using an 'attractive' hook bait amongst 'something' contained within a ground bait or method mix that can potentially repels/spooks them. Far safer to make up your own feed and test to see if you can catch fish on each individual ingredient before combining.

Also worth considering are the metals used, hooks, leads, swivels and clips. Okay on their own but dissimilar metals in close proximity will spook fish if not masked.

If sweet corn is BBQed it's lovely. Apart from that it's useless.

Thanks for that, fishplate. I think you've set the benchmark for consumer bait reports. I've been using corn more than ever lately, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened a tin of Batchelors Sweetcorn (3 x 198g tins @ £1 in BM stores) and found the quality - size, firmness etc - as high as in those expensive marketed-to-anglers brands you find in tackle shops. These small tins have ring-pulls, which saves opening tins you might not use or carrying a tin-opener.

Has anyone tried some of the other tinned corn in the Green Giant range, such as Super Sweet White Corn, Mexicorn or Cream Style Sweet Corn?

I cannot say I've seen any of them on the supermarket shelves, so maybe only sold I Europe, or online.....?

The all sound interesting.

laguna said:

There are a lot of things that will repel and spook fish. Knowing what they are is important, just as important than what attracts them imho. This is especially true when using an 'attractive' hook bait amongst 'something' contained within a ground bait or method mix that can potentially repels/spooks them. Far safer to make up your own feed and test to see if you can catch fish on each individual ingredient before combining.

Also worth considering are the metals used, hooks, leads, swivels and clips. Okay on their own but dissimilar metals in close proximity will spook fish if not masked.

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I have two favoured groundbaits I use. My Two Dog for carp and F1s and my Surf 'n' Turf for bream and tench. I am suer that Two Dog puts off bream and tench and Surf 'n' Turf will deter carp. I was in a match at Beaver a month or so ago and I was using my Two Dog. By mistake I over-wet it and did not have any more with me, having picked up a spare bag of Surf 'n' Turf by mistake. Deciding that all this talk of one groundbait being better than the other was just that, I mixed the two together, riddled it a couple of times to get to the consistency I wanted and proceeded to fish.

In six hours I did something I did not think was possible on Jeff's Lake - I blanked. Not even a line bite. Nothing. I am now sure the combination of the two groundbaits put all the fish off. Suggesting that my theory that the groundbait selectively repels rather than attracts may have some merit.

rayner said:

If sweet corn is BBQed it's lovely. Apart from that it's useless.

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Not a fan then?

nottskev said:

Thanks for that, fishplate. I think you've set the benchmark for consumer bait reports. I've been using corn more than ever lately, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened a tin of Batchelors Sweetcorn (3 x 198g tins @ £1 in BM stores) and found the quality - size, firmness etc - as high as in those expensive marketed-to-anglers brands you find in tackle shops. These small tins have ring-pulls, which saves opening tins you might not use or carrying a tin-opener.

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I found that some of the cheaper brands can vary quite a bit from one tin to another, and I hat to say it because I was convinced it was a con, all the Green Giant tins I opened all seemed to be consistent.

Tee-Cee said:

Has anyone tried some of the other tinned corn in the Green Giant range, such as Super Sweet White Corn, Mexicorn or Cream Style Sweet Corn?

I cannot say I've seen any of them on the supermarket shelves, so maybe only sold I Europe, or online.....?

The all sound interesting.

Click to expand...

I did not include anything but the 'standard' sweetcorn in my tests as it was getting far too complicated as it was. I could have found twice as many own-brands out there but it would have got silly (okay, sillier!). I did notice all the tins of added stuff and I suspect they might be worth a try, but you could just make your own mix...

...I did not look at the tackle shop stuff as that is a totally different ball-game.

Ralph.