Here is my guide to mixing perfect groundbait everytime!
Click the pictures to see an enlarged version of them
A)
Firstly,
here is everything you need.
1) Groundbait 2) A round mixing bowl or bucket 3) Water 4) Hookbaits: Maggots, Casters, Sweetcorn etc etc
B)
Firstly
tip the dry content into your round mixing bowl.
If you are using more than one type of groundbait mix the baits together to blend the dry content.
C) Add a LITTLE amount of water whilst mixing the groundbait with your
hand.
Remember
to go around the whole of the bowl to make sure that all groundbait gets
mixed.
Keep
adding water until the bait can bind together (See right) Remember it is
VERY important not to overwet the mix. The mix should still feel light and
fluffy at all times!
D)
Now
let the mix stand for 15 minutes to let the groundbait soak up any water
that is left. This is a good time to start making up your rods etc. If its
raining remember to cover the bowl to avoid overwetting the mix.
E)
If section D has been done correctly the mix should have soaked up any
remaining water and is probably a little harder to bind (It falls apart).
Add a drop of water to make the mix bind again.
It is important to remember that the amount of required water at this stage depends on how you are going to use the mix. If you intend on throwing groundbait balls out to your float this will require more water than if you are going to use a Swimfeeder. For throwing groundbait, the ball needs to be able to stay together without falling apart during the throw or being a wet messy and unattractive lump. When you can make a firm ball that can be thrown the distance required without breaking up you have added enough water. For a feeder mix very little water will be needed at this stage. Just enough so that it can stay in the feeder during the cast.
Top tip: The deeper the water you are fishing, the more water will be required to get the ball down to the bottom before it breaks down into a flat bed of feed. This is also the same for feeder fishing. By not adding enough water the groundbait will break up as soon as it hits the water meaning that all those lovely particles will take longer to get down to the bottom possibly resulting in the fish moving upto the surface.
F)
At
this stage you will have small lumps in the mix. These need to be "taken"
out of the mix, but I don't mean one by one as thats a waste of bait and
would take a while!. You can get rid of them in a few ways, firstly you can
rub all lumps out of the mix with your hands or you can buy a "Maggot
Riddle" which would work in the same way as a sieve. In the summer months
its not as important getting the lumps out entirely because the fish are
more active and will feed more regular. Cooler winter months when the fish
do not feed its extremly important to get the mix as fine as possible to
avoid overfeeding. Remember in the winter months fish can go days without
feeding!
G)
Although not entirely nessacary you can add colouring to give the mix a
colour that is similar to the bottom of the lake. Instead of using
colouring (Which don't come cheap!) you could also buy ground baits that
are of a darker colour such as red or even black. Remember that
if you do use a coloring you dont have to add too much, mix it in well with
your hands and just a light sprinkling will give you the results on the
right!
(More on ground bait colour coming soon!)
I)
By
adding samples of you hookbaits you give the ground bait that little extra
pulling and holding power. Be careful here as it is possible to add too
much, especially when you want to throw balls of groundbait in to your
float. Adding too much and too many different types will result in it being
harder to bind the bait good enough for throwing. If you intend on float
fishing and feeder fishing then have 2 mixes, one for each. The feeder mix
could have that little loose feed in. Mix the feed in to spread it around
the mix!
J)
If you have followed my advise correctly you will
have
the perfect groundbait mix.
This one is my float fishing mix and as you can see the end result was a perfect SPLASH right next to the float!
Come back soon for more important information on groundbait!