To answer two points here.
Richworth sticko bond, although a great product (powdered pva glue?????) you cannot really use it in a concerted particle attack.
For small quantities of pellets or pellet and hemp together, in a match style, then it is fantastic.
Large quantities of wet particles would take absolutely weeks to dry out and then dampen correctly to stick properley.
For John,
I ball my groundbait in whilst it is still frozen.
Last year I prebaited the lower Stour with 20 frozen, cricket ball sized lumps of vitalin/seed/pellet mix.
The swim in question was about 6 feet deep, with a clear gravel run between two weedbeds.
I was baiting from atop the bank directly above the gravel (about 8 feet above the water level) and was abviously not too worried whether the fish saw me or not as I was going to prebait for 4 or 5 days anyway.
Cricket ball sized lumps of frozen vitalin hitting the water from a combined height of about 12 feet or so do not enter the water gently, but by the 5th or 6th ball, the chub were actually attacking the balls in midwater to free any loose items from them.
If you ever need a confidence booster for your bait, then it must be seeing 'the wariest of fishes' going totally bonkers for it.