Fishing with tinned meat

[tiddlertamer]

I spent a pleasant afternoon on the Upper Lea today trotting maggots on the centrepin. As darkness fell I switched to quiver tipped lumps of tinned spam.

 

Perhaps because I am a touch ham fisted and also because it was dark, I found hooking the spam quite tricky and often lost any that I did hook up when casting.

 

Is there a brand of tinned meat which works particularly well as a hook bait?

 

Are there brands which work better than spam or should I persevere with spam and find I have a bit more luck with it next time I use it...especially if I can see what I’m doing...

[davedave]

My meat rating:

 

1) I find 'bacon grill' stays on the longest and has a strong scent. Overall my favourite meat (about £1.20 from lidl)

 

2) Sainsburies chopped ham and pork is quite strong as well, worth a try (can't remember the price, i only tried it once)

 

3) Have had a lot of luck with 'Ye old oak chopped ham', it's pretty good but only for short casting because its quite soft

 

4) Picked up a tin of lancaster chopped ham because it was only 50p, havent tried it yet but at that price you cant go wrong!

 

 

 

Overall i would go with bacon grill, especially for river fishing, its firm, oily and smelly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http...=1t:429,r:0,s:0

 

 

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http...=1t:429,r:0,s:0

 

 

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http...=1t:429,r:0,s:0

 

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http...=1t:429,r:0,s:0

[grumpybum]

Slice the block then fry lightly. This will skin the meat.

 

Cube the meat and leave in the sun when fishing this will again put a skin on it.

 

To hook the meat push the hook bend thru the meat twist a 1/4 of a turn then gently pull the hook back. A short piece of grass or a piece of spaghetti in the hook bend will help hold it on.

[davedave]

Or you could use a bait band, or even fake meat if thats up your street?

 

Grumpybum is right though, leaving it in the sun for half an hour is a great way to toughen it up, i once caught bream all day on hardened meat pellets that i punched out and left on top of a bait box in the sun for a bit!

 

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http...=1t:429,r:0,s:0

[ayjay]

Spam has always been a bit soft for my liking although with a good smell and quite a salty taste, I do use it in large chunks on a size 2 in floodwater but for more general fishing I prefer the cheaper brands which tend to have a higher fat content anyway, (more representative of old baits like greaves and tallow).

 

Brands do vary over the years and some are not always available in all parts of the country, some of my favourite brands are Tulip, Celebrity, Co-op's own brand and Bacon Grill (now only a shadow of it's former self). One to steer clear of is Princes, it's always been too soft.

 

Edit: What size hooks and pieces of meat were you using? (some anglers seem to have a complete aversion to anything larger than a 16 or 14).

Edited March 12, 2011 by ayjay

[SpecimenSean]

get ur meat, cube it, roll it in something nice like curry powder or cinamon (experiment) and then flash fry it to seal it and make it a bit tougher. Also if you can, hair rig it, dont hook it.

Edited March 12, 2011 by SpecimenSean

[larsagi2010]

For long distance casting on stillwaters, or waters with moderate/heavy flow I often use ''Dynamite Baits Luncheon Meat'' I have had a lot of success on it but with a price tag of £2.99 its pretty expensive!

[gozzer]

I've never had a problem with keeping meat on the hook. I think a lot of that comes down to what ayjay says, the right sized hook for the size of bait.

I've always hooked it (a cube), by pushing the hook through, turning 90 degrees, and back into the meat. On softer meats, or very hot weather, I have added a small piece of grass as a 'stop'. I tend to judge mine on how buoyant it is, and how much gristle is in it. The former, can depend on how I want to present it, and the latter, gristle can mask the hook and stop penetration.

I don't always cut it into cubes, sometimes it's a ragged piece, and sometimes I like to cut a thin strip a couple of inches long, so that it wavers in the current.

 

John.

[Andy_1984]

get ur meat, cube it, roll it in something nice like curry powder or cinamon (experiment) and then flash fry it to seal it and make it a big tougher. Also if you can, hair rig it, dont hook it.

 

sounds a bit too tasty for the fish i think ill have that myself

 

larsagi: £2.99 for Luncheon Meat ffs ive seen luncheon meat for as little as £0.59 no way could i justify paying £2.99 thats just a pure rip off!

[SpecimenSean]

yea John makes a good point, sometimes making things look natural and rugged works best. I even shave my boilies these days.