Uses for maize flour?

[GlennB]

Apart from kepping maggots happy, and boilie-making, are there any angling uses for maize flour? Several bags of well-past-its-best-before stuff here in our house, going to waste otherwise

I've tried making a paste with it, but it doesn't seem to get sticky like wheat flour does.

 

Adding it to crumb groundbait looks promising in a kitchen experiment. Anyone tried this?

 

cheers

[Newt]

Note that all the following make fairly large quantities of bait but you can just use as much as you need and keep the rest for another trip.

 

Note also that there are lots of other ways to use it but most use items I'm not sure you have available in the UK.

 

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1 cup wheat flour

2 cups maize flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons sugar

1 packet strawberry gelatin

1 pint water

 

- Mix wheat and maize flour together.

- Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in all except the flour mix while the water is slowing from a full boil.

- Add enough flour mix to cover the surface. When a bubble appears, add more and continue this until all the flour is gone.

- note that toward the end when the water is mostly absorbed you may have to dump in the remaining flour and stir.

- remove from heat and stir well.

- after it has cooled some, remove the paste from the pan, roll it into a large ball, cover with waxed paper, and put in the fridge until you need to use it. DO NOT FREEZE.

 

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2 cups maize flour

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 pint water

1/2 cup molasses

6 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon vanilla.

 

Put water, salt, molasses, vinegar, vanilla in a pan and heat it to a slow boil.

 

Add the remaining items and stir until you have a thick dough/paste.

 

Remove from heat, let it cool, roll into a ball, place in an airtight container. No need to refrigerate.

 

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2 over-ripe bananas (where the outer skin has turned dark)

1 cup sugar

2 cups wheat flour

3 cups maize flour

 

Mix in a bowl then slowly add water until you have a nice paste.

 

Roll into a ball then flatten slightly. Place in a cloth bag and then into boiling water for 20 minutes.

 

Remove and cool the dough then into an airtight container and into the fridge until ready for use.

[Newt]

Well shucks - I was hoping others would jump in with ideas for using the maize flour but here are a couple more.

 

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1 plug chewing tobacco

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup wheat flour

1 cup maize flour

 

Shred tobacco into fine pieces and put in a bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over the tobacco and let it sit for 24 hours.

 

Add the remaining dry items and mash together well to form a paste. If you need more water, it should be boiling when added.

 

You might find the paste is too soft and in that case, mash in some cotton fibers or similar to give it more body.

 

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1 cup wheat flour

1 cup maize flour

1/2 cup powdered eggs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon sugar

1 medium onion chopped then crushed

 

Mix the items in a bowl and add enough cold water to create a thick paste.

 

Pinch off small pieces and roll them into a ball then boil until they just float to the top then remove, cool, seal, and place in the fridge.

[kleinboet]

In South Africa it is an accepted coarse fish bait and is cooked very unscientifically. Pour about half to a pint of water into a LARGE saucepan and bring to boil. add maizemeal until it can no longer be stirred. put lid on pan and SIMMER for about 15 - 20 mins. take out as much paste as you can, whilst leaving the burnt skin in the pan. knead the paste and you will find it becomes quite smooth and sticky, ready for use! Take the saucepan with the burnt "skin" stuck on it and fill it with cold water. leave for about 12 hours and the skin should just 'float' off, leaving the saucepan clean.

[GlennB]

Newt, er, thanks.

I'm still trying to work out if you're taking the mick.

Vinegar? Onion? Tobacco??? Do fish like that stuff? Thought I was getting adventurous with curry powder

I might just dry out those banana skins and smoke 'em. Did you?

Recipes 1+3 look good tho - will give them a spin.

 

cheers

[Newt]

GlennB - all are absolutely legit ways to use corn meal (maize flour) as part of baits.

 

I'm not familiar with most of the UK species so I posted ways to prepare baits that carp enjoy but my guess is that most fish that feed in a similar manner will like them too.

 

I have used and have caught on all the ones I posted.

 

And yes, fish do seem to like Tobacco, onion, vinegar, and quite a few other seemingly strange items. I never go heavy on the tobacco but in moderation, it can really jazz up a bait.

 

I think a big advantage of these mixes is that your fish will not be familiar with them so not wary. And the all fall into the 'instant bait' category since I never fish waters that have ever seen much prebaiting. Most of my fish have never seen a hook before.

 

US carpers tend to use lots more corn products in baits than UK carpers. Unfortunately we prefer grits and as far as I can tell, it isn't available over there. Grits differs from normal finely ground corn in that the corn is pre-treated with a lye solution to remove the skin and cause the grain to swell. It is then dried and ground.

 

I avoided all mixes calling for grits since they don't behave quite like normal maize flour in baits.

 

[ 04. June 2004, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Newt ]

[MickJ]

Adding Maize meal to crumb creates a good cloud bait, simple and effective.

 

Seems to work with most species on the local canals and stillwaters, especially Bream and Roach.

[Newt]

Here are more mixes for you if you still have maize flour left over. Not positive you have all these items or if you do, that you use the same names but be happy to try and clarify on any that you don't recognize.

 

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8oz can of creamed corn

1 packet of pectin

3 tablespoons salt

1½ cups maize flour

1 cup wheat flour

½ wheat germ

 

Put salt, corn, and ¾ of the packet of pectin in a pan and bring to a low boil. Add maize flour (amount will vary based on how much liquid is in the creamed corn) and stir with a WOODEN spoon. You want the mix to become thick enough to ball up on the spoon. Keep adding maize flour until it does.

 

Remove from the pan and after it cools a little, begin to knead in the wheat flour. It will seem that the mix is too dry to take any wheat flour but it will.

 

Add in the wheat germ and knead some more until it is all well combined. Then into an airtight container and into the fridge.

 

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1½ cups maize flour

3 tablespoons salt

8oz water

1 cup wheat flour

½ cup alfalfa meal

(note: probably find it at a feed store as pellets for swine or rabbit food)

 

ix cornmeal, salt, and water in a pan then heat to a boil. After it begins to boil, stir until well mixed.

 

Add alfalfa meal and then enough wheat flour to make a stiff paste.

 

[ 05. June 2004, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: Newt ]

[Newt]

I'm gathering from the lack of responses that Maize flour (corn meal) isn't much used as a part of paste baits.

 

Any ideas why not? I know it is effective and it should be inexpensive and easy enough to get.

[GlennB]

It's a fairly rare beast in general over here, Newt.

About every 5 years or so my darling wife and friends decide to place a bulk order with a whole food co-op. We get endless bags of lentils, soy beans etc etc., plus maize flour (wife used to live in S.America and has great plans to cook great stacks of arepas and tortillas or whatever). 5 years later we stil have loads of untouched, expired maize flour hanging in a carrier bag on the back of a door The lentils all got used for curry-parties tho.

 

p.s. how long would those pastes keep in a fridge?

 

cheers

 

Glenn

 

[ 05. June 2004, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: GlennB ]