Groundbait...

[MikeT]

I have always been uncertain about how much groundbait to introduce to an active swim, and should appreciate any thoughts you may have on this.

 

I was fishing in France a couple of weeks ago, on the lovely River Lot (which is 60 yards wide and 15 feet deep, with a slowish flow. At one stage I was catching fish every cast (good chub, barbell, and bream), on a feeder under Polaris float nearside. I chucked in four orange-sized balls of the groundbait mix I had been feeding, and the bites stopped immediately! I didn’t catch a single fish for three hours after that.

 

I am pretty certain that the fish were not frightened by the commotion of throwing in the groundbait (there was plenty of splashing going on with leaping fish, and I could still see fish in the swim), so I just wonder what happened to turn them off. This has also happened on other occasions when I have been fishing on lakes.

 

Obviously, its horses for courses, but, also, does anyone have a formula for how much groundbait to put into a swim at the start of a session? I have seen people chucking absolutely TONS of feed in before they start fishing! I usually put in a couple of balls, and then small golf-ball sized top-ups every few casts when river fishing on the bottom, along with a few hookbait offerings.

[DavyR]

Obviously, its horses for courses, but, also, does anyone have a formula for how much groundbait to put into a swim at the start of a session?

 

That's a bit of a contradiction, really - you know it's horses for courses, but you're still hoping a formula might exist!

 

There are so many variables (like almost everything else in fishing) that it's an impossible question. You don't have time for trial & error when you're on holiday, but it's the only way - different venues, the same venue but different species, the weather, what other anglers are doing/have done, all sorts of things can make a difference to how and what you need to feed.

 

Sometimes it's nothing at all.

[Waveney One]

Groundbaiting onto feeding fish is always a gamble. Sometimes it kills the swim and sometimes it spurs them into more action. Certainly I wouldn't put 3 large balls onto a shoal of feeding fish. One small bal and gauge the reaction!

 

At the start of a session it is different however. Bream fishing on some lakes it works 'to give 'em some', a local lake to me (12 -15 foot deep) takes 15 balls catapulted out and withinn 3/4 of an hour, the fish are on it. I then put more food in through the feeder. Another lake you can ball it at the start on the pole line. You then normally have to top up with a pole cup.

 

On the River Yare when fishing for roach on the pole, normal practice is ball it with about 10 balls then feed a small ball every put through on the pole. We rarely ball it on the feeder line as with the flow, you don't know exactly where the balls will end up.

 

To summarise - Balling at the start is OK, after that, especially in clear shallow water, take it very, very carefully! Hope that helps.

[MikeT]

Thanks very much for the excellent tips!

 

I guess this is one of those situations where the variables preclude any formulae- it would presumably be different on each occasion if you fished the same swim a hundred different times.

 

I suppose, also, that this is really a matter of experience, and one develops a sort of instinct for how much feed to introduce. This is a damned pain, since there is already so much trial and error in this wonderful pastime as it is! Fishing is a fine art.

 

I have spent plenty of time wondering whether or not to add groundbait to a slow swim, or just to be patient and so avoid putting the fish off. I guess I usually tend to err on the side of caution, and underfeed- this approach being vindicated by my experience in France. It is plain to see that one shouldn't necessarily heap in loads of groundbait merely because the bites are coming fast.

 

Softly, softly catchie monkey...

[s_mac]

Just wondering why, when your catching fish every cast, you felt the need to add more groundbait.

 

I would have just kept loose feeding, and then go to grounbait as the bites got less dont get me wrong, im not an expert or anything, i have always wondered the same as you.

 

regards

 

smac

[Ferg]

It depend s on how you are fishing. A couple of weeks ago I was fishing for roach at lough Muchno and found that putting a small ball in with every put in worked (8 -10 ounce Roach). If you stopped putting in you would get small perch. If it went dead and you thought you had a pike in the swim a couple of big alls in helped, but thats Ireland

[Waveney One]

On the yare , in most pegs, the flow is too deep and fast for loose feed hence the groundbait. Sometimes you can loose feed hemp and casters but it depends on the peg.

Edited September 28, 2006 by Waveney One

[RUDD]

On the yare , in most pegs, the flow is too deep and fast for loose feed hence the groundbait. Sometimes you can loose feed hemp and casters but it depends on the peg.

 

A strange thing Waveney, at Beccles on the Waveney they seem to hate it being balled in!

They seem to prefer loose feed hemp and caster, but then again its shallow at beccles!

[Ferg]

i have allways been told never to ball in over feeding fish. Keep it going in little and often to keep them attentive. What I normally do is put a couple of small balls in at the start and then with each put in on the pole put in a little loose feed (hook biai and a little ball, enough to put in a toss pot on your pole).

 

it also depends of course on how many people are fishing. If you are on your own on a lake fish will come to your groundbait. If there are a lot fishing they may be spooked by a load of bait going in all at once. I found this to my cost earlier in the year when I balled in a load of bait, which I had been doing when on my own at our lake and then when I did my same in a match caught v little when the guy next to me who had just flirted in a few pinkies every cast beat me all ends up.

 

You live and learn!!