Hi men,
Stocking stick type bags do work . We use them as much for their help in preventing tangles as much as putting a bit of bait in the swim . Tied to the lead they make a different type of splash when going in , but I do experiment a bit with feeder , mix moulded around the lead . The key with stick pva is to get the end that you nick the hook into to melt last . If you put a retarding pva friendly liquid ( barbel pro , or simular ) onto 1/3 - 1/2 the stick , and hook that bit when it melts in the swim the untreated section peels back like a banana depositing / releasing the bait before the stick breaks away . It's a good method , don't overlook it , watching underwater videos on any form of fishing shows just how poor we are at hooking fish / times they pick baits up !, and could effect your confidence in the way you fish .
Me and Sue do a lot of sight fishing , and in clear water have seen it all go on . Popups in one of the vids caught fish , our tap clear water observations showed us that on the Teme especially they scared the bloody life out of them ! , but others catch on them . We found as a snowman presentation they worked , and even better trimmed down as a balanced presentation caught some bonus fish for us last winter . The same goes for X-line , slaughtered on the vid , but did not match out findings / eyes , and we used it unchanged for 4 seasons .
As for groundbaits one thing that I like above the actual mix itself is to get alot of food liquid/ oils into it . Soluble food liquids work really well , and you can't really mess up the amount you put in , but again compared to advice we have found CSL not as great attractor on its own , but does come in very usefull blended with other attractors . Any of the multi mix pellets , and crushed pellet / hemp a good place to start .
Hatter