Breadflake

I have heard people saying that breadflake is good to use in a cage feeder near me (apparently it catches lots of bream, which is the main fish that's in the lake). I don't really know much about breadflake, how you use it or what it is.

I think it's bread that's been blended and then soaked and put in a feeder. Is this right?

Any tips or anything about breadflake will be good.

Hi BapAndFuro, what you mention is commonly referred to as liquidised bread or mashed bread. It works very well in a cage feeder but care needs to be taken to not make it too sloppy if fishing a deep swim or the mashed bread will wash out of the feeder before it hits the deck, an open-ended feeder would be my choice in deep swims. The term breadflake is more commonly used for a piece of bread which is squashed onto a hook as the main bait, and is very effective as a bream hookbait when used with mashed bread in the feeder. Breadflake can be tricky to keep on the hook when feeder fishing, my advice would be to press it onto the hook as hard as you can until you get used to using it, then concentrate more on pressing it around the hook shank while leaving a nice fluffy section at the base of the hook. You can of course use any hookbait you like when using mashed/liquidised bread in the feeder, experimenting with different combinations will produce a win. Hope this helps, tight lines.

Thanks for the tips, very helpful. I use breadflake with a float and always struggle to get it to stay on the hook/around the hook. I generally fold in round the line and slide it down onto the hook shank. Any other ways?

Thanks for the tips on mashed bread. Do you need a blender/liquidiser for this or can you do it another way?

I've found that the best way is to push the hook through the middle of the bread then turn the hook 90 degrees, then fold the bread round the hook shank and press it firmly around it. Anglers are often put-off using breadflake because it rarely comes back on the hook when pulling in for a re-cast, this tends to reduce the persons confidence in using it because they feel unsure if it has come off the hook while casting or sinking. This loss of confidence is a bad thing because breadflake can be deadly on most venues, and in most cases the bread comes off on the retrieve not on the cast. Both my PB bream and roach were caught on breadflake and its cheap. I tend to favour a 'doughy' bread like warburtons or mothers pride for fishing breadflake as it grips the hook well.

Mashed bread can be made without a liquidiser, just soak the bread in a cupfull of water then mash with a fork or spud masher. Don't be too concerned about getting it smooth a few lumpy bits in it is a good thing. Liquidisers make it easier but I prefer doing it by hand as you can better judge the texture to your liking, i usually make it slightly stiff and loosen it up with a little water at the bank depending on the depth of water I'm fishing. As always experimenting is where you learn the most.

Bites tend to be quick on breadflake and don't be scared of scaling up if you get pestered by small fish. You can also add colourings and flavours if you want to try something different, molasses or liquidised sweetcorn work well for bream.

Yeah I think the confidence thing is a bit part in it. You don't want to cast out a feede of bread with breadflake on the hook and be worrying that's it's fallen off, and reeling it in again.

Thanks for the tips. I'll try it on Sunday when I'm going fishing.

I found that blended bread dosen't need to be soaked but mashed does . If you are using a feeder then blended is perfect if feeding by hand then use mashed , it's to do with getting the bread to the bottom .

Completely agree with Chris; I'd just like to add that ideally, you need two different loaves: a really fresh, premium one (Warburtons if poss) for hookbait and a slightly stale cheapie (at the "toast or discard") stage for mash. Trying to mash fresh bread gives a ghastly lumpy mess; trying to keep less-than-fresh bread on the hook will drive you mad.
Being broke and mean, I usually split a good loaf into bags of four or five slices and freeze them, each for a day's hookbait.
I think that a fresh, cheap loaf is best for "liquidising" in the blender, but I don't use it as much, so I'd be happy to learn otherwise. This is funny stuff: the harder you squeeze it (to throw), the more it floats before breaking up and sinking - so it's best delivered in a feeder or a pole cup "as is", or wet, in tiny balls, thrown in when fishing bread-punch for bits (a whole subject in itself).
As you're after bream, it's probably worth mentioning the value of "cocktail" baits - maggots, corn, white fishmeal boilies or whatever on the hook, with a veil of fluffy flake pinched on at the eye of the hook. Bream will whittle away at the bread, then take the goodie -and the hook - rather than leave a bare hook which they drop.
It's probably also worth mentioning a few things you can add to mashed bread -it's very versatile - DAMP bran helps it break down; brown crumb helps it bind for throwing, and gravel gets it on the deck pronto. Hemp pulls roach and chub, in particular, and "Brasem" and/or molasses pull(s) bream.
Experiment, enjoy, and ,please, report back!

Fishing bread flake is a confidence thing because it looks very fragile on the hook....SOOOO......I have bought one of those Mosella magic bread loaves and hopefully I will be able to report after using it that it is ideal for newcomers to flake fishing and a bonus for more experienced users like myself.

Liquidised bread with no dampening i find best for the feeder,but it seems imperative to keep it in a closed plastic bag,out of any sunlight.Baiting the hook,i use a decent fresh medium sliced loaf,rip a piece suited to your hook and species choice,pull the hook through the centre(disc shaped approx.),fold,and gently squeeze near the eye.My golden rule is if your bread gets to where you cast then it will be there until you retrieve and really you dont want any on when you reel in,apart from maybe a little dough where it was squeezed(apart from persistant pestering from small fish),confidence is everything as previously posted.

i find the kingsmill 50/50 a good make for hookbaits.

I'm going to try some mashed bread in a feeder on Monday on a lake I haven't fished before. Hopefully I'll get some fish on it. Thanks for all the tips. =D

Graham Whatmore said:

Fishing bread flake is a confidence thing because it looks very fragile on the hook....SOOOO......I have bought one of those Mosella magic bread loaves and hopefully I will be able to report after using it that it is ideal for newcomers to flake fishing and a bonus for more experienced users like myself.

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Have you tried it yet Graham??

I liquidise a cheap Morrisons loaf in a food processor and put it in a gripmesh feeder. I find that I can block the bottom of the feeder by using it like a bread punch and the liquidised bread is sticky enough to fill the end. I then put in a few grains of sweetcorn and a few bits of hemp then block the other end with the bread.

For the hook a chunk from a cheap loaf is fine as long as you press it tegther hard around the eye of the hook. Putting the sweetcorn in makes an instant change bait.

Works very well for chub and barbel on the Ribble.