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Is it still ok to just use pellets?

Conrad Farlow

Conrad Farlow

Senior Member
Been reading the titles of a few posts - my goodness I feel that I have an inadequate knowledge of baits. Is it still OK to use the humble pellet and some crushed hali groundbait? I'm worried that I won't catch owt next season.

Conrad

PS My post above may have a tinge of irony ;)
 
lol - like it Conrad! As per your previous advice in the archives, I will still be carrying my standard halli's with simple paste attached. It works... Or there's the veritable bread flake!!

However, I will be testing a mix with the principle of that with respect to bait, some of the most effective attraction is from water soluble fraction of the ingredients utilised. So rather than just using pellets, a fixed known unknown ie for most its 'I know they're pellets but I ain't got a clue wot's in them or wot exactly triggers feeding!'

I want to try & get closer to the essence of pellets, give a simple addition of seeds & 2-3 oils (v. small amounts), some additives & bung together with 1-3 binders that have some pulling power; & it has to be cheap. Conrad, how much bait did you get thru across the season fishing the northern rivers?

So far I have made a 5kg ground bait mix that has 16 ingredients in - all known ingredients & additives, which equates to £1.53 a kilo
 
Cheap, is Music to my ears Jon, bulk buying is the way ahead, just need to find a wholesaler nearer to Barnsley. Conrad, you dont do too bad, and you do use a good mix....
 
The Chairman on Wednesday


Strictly between ourselves, but I hear that young Paul is "on" a flavour for the coming season that makes Rod's original Monster Crab smell like Chanel No. 5 in comparison - "Fermented Otter".


As ever,

B.B.
 
like it Paul, 'fermented otter' sounds like a winner! What's the inclusion rate?

Another way of looking at a broad ground bait mix is to hit barbel senses in so many ways simultaneously if possible with my homemade baits and adapted readymade baits. This is so that if for any reason one aspect of my baits is not attracting fish or triggering feeding behaviours to the degree necessary then other methods or substances of attack or seduction in the baits probably will!

Fermented otter - is that the trade name for Trigger...

Cheers, Jon
 
Jon Whelan said:
lol



I want to try & get closer to the essence of pellets, give a simple addition of seeds & 2-3 oils (v. small amounts), some additives & bung together with 1-3 binders that have some pulling power; & it has to be cheap.
Click to expand...


The magic ingredient already exists in the form of Vitalin original dog food.

On hard waters I whiz it till it will pass through a maggot riddle in an old food processor, (£3.00 from a boot sale), mix it 50:50 with 8mm pellet and scald the lot......This makes a rock hard mix which moulds round a frame feeder, leaves a low food value, high flavour trail and provides a different presentation to the normal paste wrapped pellet over a pva bag. On large waters I use it straight from the bag mixed with pellet and dampened then fish it through the standard open end feeder with double pellet on the hair.

If you want to personalise it you can add any flavour you like, I use liver, lamprey and scopex.
 
Jon W - let me see now there are 6 white 5 kilo buckets in my garage (Don't worry Jon F I'll fetch you one as promised - might pong though) and I have bought 3 individual one kilo bags so that is 33 kilos in a season, including the bait that I provided for 'guests'. So that is about £100 for the season - convenient and I'm happy with that. I very much doubt that I'll be doing quite as much fishing next season as my good wife will not be studying so hard so I will be spending more time in domestic bliss dreaming about going fishing. However Jon W if you wish to make me some of your new wonderdrug for 'Field Trials' I would be happy to collect data for you - I'll buy it at cost ;)

Conrad
 
Conrad - 33kg and some for friends, £100 for the season & the amount of fishing you've done - good value there matey.

There's nothing wondrous re my mix - its very simple so far. 33% pellet derivative, 45% grain/seed. There's a couple of other trace ingredients, additives & 3 oils which will be in very small quantities & whose ratio's will vary across the seasons (most additives/oils are already included in a variety of pellets we buy).

All of these are written about in great detail in the archives here with a couple of trial additions. Just ordered three bait books from the net to help minimise conflicts & optimise dosing. Not reinventing the wheel, just making the most of a lot of its best features.

Similar to you, my fishing will be curtailed a little. I won't be on familiar stretches of the Middle Trent as much, so a newish river, bait trials & confidence - not expecting miracles.
 
Conrad , have you been drinking ???

Irony is that like goldy or even bronze-y or maybe tin-ny !!

by the way ive landed my first 3lb perch today no more than 2 miles from home. My ambition achieved..

life isnt so bad...

IRONY .... MMM

andy
 
Nuts - Now that's a different can of worms altogether isn't it?

Andy - congrats on the Perch. A proper chunky fella...
 
Purely a thought !
Have we become obsessed buy Fishmeal/Fishy/Meaty type baits ?
When was the last time you tried a 'sweet' bait for Barbel !?
Myself ? I can't remember it's that long ago !
 
pellets are cool, a great bait, but not for chucking out 2 kg a session, its not on,
people that do that are just idiots.
 
Dave, it depends how long your session is;)
 
Seriously i couldn't agree more Dave, to much feed going into the rivers!!! Lets not spoil sport for ourselves and other anglers, most times less is more..
 
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