So many seeds, so much goodness! |
There is a lot of bad press about incorrect
preparation of particles, and rightly so! Uncooked particles are as dangerous
as fishing baits gets. They can swell up in the fish’s stomach and cause all
sorts of nasty implications to the health of the fish – including death.
With that out of the way, correctly cooked
nuts/seeds/pulses can be a very effective bait in your armoury.
This will swell up so leave space or it gets very mucky. |
Many online tackle/bait shops sell prepared and
un-prepared particles. Although, particles bought in the shop ready-to-go are
generally more expensive. On the other hand, they’re awfully convenient and you
are safe in the knowledge that it’s safe for the fish. However, uncooked and
un-prepared baits like these are much cheaper and you can add what you like to
your desired mix. Many particles need at least a 24hr soak. This doesn’t have
to be just plain water, adding sweeteners, liquid foods, flavours and other
additives – but not salt (explained later on) – will greatly enhance the
pulling power of them. It’s always safer to soak them longer than the minimum
amount of time. Hemp, for example, apparently only needs a 24hr soak, I tend to
allow a 48hr soak instead.
Mmmm, tasty! |
Making PVA friendly particles is easy – if you know
what you’re doing – soaking the particles in salt will seriously work against
you, as this dehydrates them even more. This, intern, makes them almost
impossible to cook to a safe standard! I tend to soak the particles in a mix of
lake water and chilli powder, this impregnates a spicy taste to the bait
throughout the seed. After the cooking process I will drain the mix off fully,
leaving no juice. I then add the damp – not dry – cooked mix to a super salty
mix of water, chilli and any other water soluble additives. After 36 hours I drain
the mix off – keeping the liquid to be used as a PVA friendly glug or an additive
to other mixes.
Home-made PVA friendly particles work. |
Not only that, the high salt content makes the mix
last a little longer than a normal fresh mix. Hopefully you can apply this to
your own fishing. It’d be great to see the results, send in your catch via the
e-mail on ‘Links’, to be up here on the pictures tab.
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