| Along with a few mates I recently answered the question of how tomake mashed bread for chub fishing and the best way of using it. I buy half a dozen loaves, break them into approximately 2inspieces, throw them in a landing net and hang it in my garage untilthe bread dries out – not hard but crumbly.
I soak the bread overnight and then squeeze as much water out as Ican. It is then mashed by hand, but not too much, for that way therewill still be a number of lumps left in the mash. These will be smallhookbait samples trundling through the swim as the finer mash getscaught in the current. Very often I add a helping of hempseed to the mash, nothingmeasured, just so that it looks liberally sprinkled with it. Then Isplit into session sizes, usually about enough to fill a 3 pintDrennan baitbox. This gives me enough for a 6 to 8 hour session. Thelot is then stowed in the freezer. But remember to take a portion out the day before you intend usingit, for it can take several hours to thaw out sufficiently. Sometimes I push a few pieces of squeezed flake into the mash whenI’m at the waterside and a dose of trout micro-pellets. The troutpellets are added at the last minute so that they stay reasonablycrisp and whole for the session. If they’re added at the same time asthe hemp, prior to freezing, they end up soggy and part of the mash.Of course, you could add a few pellets at that stage and some more atthe waterside and have the best of both worlds. Then I feed it with acage feeder and sometimes give them extra by hand if they’re wellon.
I do the same thing except that I also squirt some cheeseflavouring into it. When it’s really cold and clear I use fresh breadliquidised. This you can squeeze by hand without adding water, ballit in (small pigeon egg sized) or through a small cage feeder. Dave Cooper our ‘Purely For Pleasure’author, says: If you want much finer particles that break down into a real lowfeed cloud, break down a loaf into breadcrumbs in the liquidiser/foodprocessor and then let the crumb go stale in a bucket for a day ortwo. Add crushed hemp and then use ‘as is’ without adding any waterin a cage or open end feeder. Especially good when there is littleflow in the river as it explodes into a fine cloud. Good for roachfishing too.
I find thick sliced bread works well with those Drennan punches ifyou want a more resilient hookbait as it squeezes together more. Usemedium bread if you want a more fluffy texture. I haven’t found thatcheap bread makes any difference to catches. My near ‘5’ a couple ofweeks ago was caught using a Sainsbury’s 19p economy loaf. Eddie Bibby said: If you go to Kwik Save late on Saturdays they often have largesliced loaves for about 10 or 15 pence each. Just dry them out andthey keep for ages. Dave ‘Chub’ Johnson added: Graham’s method is spot on, plus you can add all sorts of flavoursto the liquid. I tend to use Graham’s preparation when I am using acage feeder to get the mash into my swim. However, for all round general bread work, I prefer to leave thebread to go stale, and then feed it by rubbing half a slice betweenthe palms of my hands. This way you can control how big or small theparticles are.
I fish this method on smaller rivers where using a feeder wouldspook the chub. You can add small balls of this rubbed up breadaccurately and quietly and it creates a wonderful trail /cloud as it disperses and sinks.
|
Welcome!Log into your account
