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Spam - or not?

N

Neil Kirk

Senior Member
I have just about recovered from no more Garlic Spam but found I caught just as well on standard Spam. Now I can't get my head around how expensive Spam is in the supermarkets.

I therefore bought a tin of Aldi's Bramwell Chopped Pork and Ham before Christmas and I used it yesterday . It worked - I had a chub , a brown trout and 3 barbel to 9lb 14oz.

It looks like Spam and smells and tastes similar (I don't think its quite the same) but the fish like it and I will be buying it in future unless I find seriously discounted Spam.

I also had a productive session at the beginning of the season using Bacon Grill.

Its very easy to keep using the same old proven baits...

Neil
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Plumrose or tulip are better than spam in the respect they are firmer and stay on hooks and hair tackle longer.
and cheaper too. They’ll take any fatty tinned meat with absolute confidence. So much pulling power in that bait, the name on the tin from my experience is irrelevant.
Click to expand...
I don't have a proble with spam coming off because I use a meat coil on the hair rig and it holds really well.
 
As said on another thread.
Barbel imo are the garbage rats of the river systems, they will eat anything on the right day. Why do we spend money on spam, then fry it in god knows how many spices ? I would think that destroys or masks most of whatever attractant the spam gives off anyway.

We chuck goodness knows how many different baits into the river after our whiskery target species,and I would bet any of the baits we throw in will be snaffled either on or off the hook by something.

I wont go into the science behind all the man made boilies etc, as I dont really hold much faith in any of them, but I do know that as Richard and Julian say above , other brands of messed about meat products work just as well, fried, flavoured or just plain .
Polish sausage is good, Pepperoni is good as well,I have not tried black pudding but I would guess it would be fine once I had worked out how to hook it , armamesh probably would be a good start there. Something to think about for the next season.

I must admit that recently I have been experimenting with chickpeas and they seem work as well as the spam, amd we all know that sweet corn is always a good standby bait . It has got to the situation where I really think that a trip to the tackle shop for bait is more or less a thing of the past for me, except for the odd half pint of maggots for that warm snap in the middle of a winter cold spell .

A supermarket dash will provide more than enough variety of baits for me for probably most of the year , and I am not a “brand follower “at all.

David
 
as mentioned Barbel eat anything when on the feed, so any meat you can present well will be taken…..I’ve also used chunks of spicy chorizo, stays on the hair forever and keeps its smell, I’ve caught 3 Chub and 2 barbel on the same piece on the Severn…and it was still intact!
 
Neil Kirk said:
I have just about recovered from no more Garlic Spam but found I caught just as well on standard Spam. Now I can't get my head around how expensive Spam is in the supermarkets.

I therefore bought a tin of Aldi's Bramwell Chopped Pork and Ham before Christmas and I used it yesterday . It worked - I had a chub , a brown trout and 3 barbel to 9lb 14oz.

It looks like Spam and smells and tastes similar (I don't think its quite the same) but the fish like it and I will be buying it in future unless I find seriously discounted Spam.

I also had a productive session at the beginning of the season using Bacon Grill.

Its very easy to keep using the same old proven baits...

Neil
Click to expand...
That Aldi spam is very good stuff...
 
Cheapest price are the Twin pack 200g tins of Spam at the cheap shops like B & M. In summer it can go soft so I then use the cheaper brands of CHWP which are firmer but much less fat content. All down to personal confidence and I always use spam straight from the tin when it has that strong, meaty smell. When out of the tin keep in sealed poly bags to keep the flavour in as when it is exposed to the air it turns a greyish colour and loses that meaty smell.
 
David Craine said:
As said on another thread.
Barbel imo are the garbage rats of the river systems, they will eat anything on the right day. Why do we spend money on spam, then fry it in god knows how many spices ? I would think that destroys or masks most of whatever attractant the spam gives off anyway.

We chuck goodness knows how many different baits into the river after our whiskery target species,and I would bet any of the baits we throw in will be snaffled either on or off the hook by something.

I wont go into the science behind all the man made boilies etc, as I dont really hold much faith in any of them, but I do know that as Richard and Julian say above , other brands of messed about meat products work just as well, fried, flavoured or just plain .
Polish sausage is good, Pepperoni is good as well,I have not tried black pudding but I would guess it would be fine once I had worked out how to hook it , armamesh probably would be a good start there. Something to think about for the next season.

I must admit that recently I have been experimenting with chickpeas and they seem work as well as the spam, amd we all know that sweet corn is always a good standby bait . It has got to the situation where I really think that a trip to the tackle shop for bait is more or less a thing of the past for me, except for the odd half pint of maggots for that warm snap in the middle of a winter cold spell .

A supermarket dash will provide more than enough variety of baits for me for probably most of the year , and I am not a “brand follower “at all.

David
Click to expand...

Careful David, I believe a lot of early experimenters with chickpeas went on to make other funny round balls. Without realising you might be turning in to Rod Hutchinson 😂
 
Morrisons Bacon Grill is now my go to meat bait. If I am using a static bait I cube it up in advance put in a zip lock bag, chuck in some garlic granules and give a good shake. For float fishing I use it naked and it stays on the hook when retrieving saving having to rebait after every trot.
 

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My arms still aching on the first run out of Aldi's brand of spam......
 
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