Vitalin

[Steve Burke]

I've used Vitalin Original as groundbait, but has anyone any experience with other Vitalin products? I'm thinking especially of Vitalin Original with Gravy and Vitalin Royale.

[jeepster]

do they do royale with cheese?

[dizidave]

No, Thats a Quarter Pounder

[Mark Ramsden]

Last i heard they are re-introducing the lemon and scampi flavour in june

[jeepster]

do you mean those scampi fries you get in pubs, now a couple of those hair rigged and you're catching fish!

[Dunk Fairley]

Steve,

Yes, I've had experience with all the vitalin products (and many others with varying success levels).

 

The only difference I've found, is with the price really. As I primarily use Vitalin as a medium to produce a feeding area, as you would with groundbait, I'm not sure it's worth forking out on the more expensive Vitalins.

 

You can have the same effect with the cheaper one, but up the attraction levels with the addition of things like bisto, marmite, marvel milk or some other form of edible attractor (things such as Ambio, Multimino or Nutrimino do the same thing, but in a slightly different and more expensive way.

 

One of the best (and cheapest) things I've found, which will work well if you use it in the same way as Vitalin, is Mollassed Winter Mix Rabbit food. This contains grains and seeds (and vegetable matter such as grasses etc, which are all nutritious to different levels), but most importantly, Mollasses, which we all know fish LOVE.

 

My advice to all who use Vitalin is, if your standard Vitalin appears to slow down in effectiveness, pay a visit to a Horse feed supplier and buy a gallon of Mollasses (it's very cheap at such suppliers. For those who live in town, order it over the net). Add a cupfull and stir in to about a gallon mix of Vitalin, allow to soak in before you add the water, then use as normal.

 

After this, try adding other stuff like I described ealier.

[Steve Burke]

Many thanks for that detailed answer, Dunk, it's just what I wanted.

 

An angler on the Vitalin staff is calling me back - he's at a major dog show at present. However, I've already established that Vitalin with Gravy contains aniseed.

 

I'll almost certainly stay with the ordinary Vitalin, which as you say is the cheapest. You can now order it direct at £10.49 delivered for 15kgs, although a pet food/grain suppliers near Wingham does it for £9.99 compared with £14.99 in my village.

 

Thanks for the excellent tip about mollasses but I'll be using Vitalin with Archie Braddock's additives as usual. If I complicate the mix it's more difficult to work out what's most effective. Other than these additives the only other ingredients I use in groundbait are hook bait samples plus, on occasion, Frenzied Hemp.

 

The Vitalin is for prebaiting to increase the food content. I'll leave it out when I bait up at the beginning of a session to avoid overfeeding the fish.

 

The basic ingredients in my groundbait are white and red crumb plus sausage rusk. The latter put dry into a feeder with the ends plugged with wet groundbait makes a fantastic explosive effect!

[Dick Dastardly]

Only used Vitalin (origonal)as a groundbait for carp whilst in France Steve.Very effective it is to.Used it both in still water and the river.Vitalin Royale has a lot more "lumps" in it.Recently on various forums it has been debated as to wether these extra food items found in Royale would be benificial or detrimental.I dont know as I have said I've only used the origonal.Never used it for Bream and wouldnt be too keen on doing so as I think it would be a bit to filling.Strangely when used for carp I have not found it to be as atractive to bream as my normal crumb/mash type mix.But untill you try?

[Steve Burke]

Thanks, Budgie. I'll let you know if it works out well.

[Vagabond]

Dunk Fairley:

1/ up the attraction levels with the addition of things like bisto, marmite, marvel milk or some other form of edible attractor

 

2/buy a gallon of Mollasses (it's very cheap at such suppliers.)

1/ Back in the 50's I used to use brown bread crusts soaked in Bisto gravy and dried in the oven (that was before the advent of mixers) - it worked very well

 

2/ Paid £4.95 for a gallon can this week at my local horsey shop - good value, and lots of interesting feed mixes were available there too - will be trying some out.