• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Paste

Graham Billingham

Graham Billingham

Senior Member
Mixed some ground pellets and water to make a paste, put it in a screw top jar. came to use it the following week there was a mould starting to appear on the top. Is there anything that can be added to make it like a shop bought shelf life paste. i didn't want to freeze it if i can avoid it.
 
Its difficult with any baits to preserve once you have added water. The very essence of the bait will always lend itself to bacterial/fungal attack as some of the ingredients included will be simple nutrients that will act as the perfect agar jelly for their colonisation!

Apologies in advance for the areas you probably thought about.

Make less paste in the first place. On leaving the swims, bait up remainder for the next session. Place in the fridge (double wrapped for the mrs' benefit!)

To preserve the bait
Refridgerate
Mould paste into a ball & try heavily coating paste with a heavy oil - salmon oil for instance, cling film wrap & refrigerate.
Increase the pH of your paste with the likes of Ascorbic acid
Increase the salt content
Dessicate the outer layers of the ball via air drying & add the likes of CC Moores Bait liquid bait preservative (http://www.ccmoore.com/liquid-bait-preservative-p-896.html) or Nutrabaits†new versions of ‘preservabait’ (tried to quick search this to little avail).

Please report back on any solution/product used.

Cheers, Jon
 
Some cheap flavours contain formaldehyde type substances. Some cheap flavours contain preservatives that are repellant to fish, but many catch due to ‘curiosity’ behaviour!
 
I'd just freeze but preservatives used in baits are usually sorbic acid/sorbates.
Cheers
Bob
 
Nice one Bob - any tips on the inclusion rate or is it trial & error dependant as to the concentration of the preservative or nature of the bait?

Sorry to pry on such knowledge...

Cheers, Jon
 
Jon,
Potassium Sorbate is the most water soluble compared to sorbic acid and sodium sorbate. Effective 'preservation' will depend on the nutrient type and content, moisture level in the bait. In my past days as a research chemist then 1% was a good starting point, but it's a balancing act of achieving 'preservation' at minimum levels of preservative. High levels of sorbate are thought to have some negative effects regarding attractiveness.
Would tend to try and avoid any preservatives and stick to freezing or keeping the ingredients dry as long as possible.
Effective pastes can be formulated from a number of ingredients where you can take a bag of dry mix to the river and mix with river water as required.
I'll try a do a more detailed post later.
Cheers
Bob
 
Julian Griffiths said:
Graham.

I once had my best ever Barbel session on mouldy freezer baits!!;)
Click to expand...

Hi Julian,

I have no idea what your level of experience with boilies is, but just in case you were not aware, it may be of interest to note that many freezer baits that have been thawed and then left out for several days go through a stage where the outside turns white and mouldy looking. This is not in fact mould, it is the sugars in the bait coming to the surface, and many baits seem to fish best once they have reached that stage.

Once they have REALLY gone bad, I doubt you would want to handle them, but I doubt the fish would be worried even then. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some crafty old lumps would prefer them like that, as they are unlikely to have a hook attached :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Reminds me when I used to prat around with pastes before I really started using boilies for carp in early 1980s.
Found bag of really green mould paste (possibly kit-e-kat pilchard) in rucksack. Emptied into the lake margin. Surprise surprise when about two hours later, one of the largest fish in the lake spotted at my feet in 2 foot of water eating said bait.
Having written that - I still always prefer fresh (or freshly frozen).
I just make the paste (with no preesrvatives) and roll into small balls freeze (in resealable freezer bags) and take one or two for a session. Minimal waste and takes about 30 minutes to do a full 6 egg equivalent paste mix.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top