Eeek, hope someone is still up! My bait floats

[Angly]

Thought I'd do a quick check of my rig and PVA dissolve times etc., only to discover to my horror that the luncheon meat cubes/chunks float!!!!! I'm using a recommended brand (Celebrity Grill if I remember correctly), they’ve been frozen and defrosted, what's gone wrong?

[Dick Dastardly]

Are they completely defrosted as frozen stuff often floats?

[Angly]

Hmmm, think so, I threaded on to some PVA string easily enough. Hang on, I'll double check...yup, even when broken down into small pices they still float! Obviously I can just make a detour in the morning to pick up a fresh can, but I'd still ove to know what's gone on here. I've never actually used any of this meat fresh yet, so maybe it floated then too?

[Dick Dastardly]

Dont know then mate.Maybe it did float fresh (very high fat content?) or maybe the frezzing process has changed it.Why did you freeze it anyway? Worth checking a new lot before using fresh just in case its the brand. Be interesting to hear.

[Angly]

Well thanks for the ideas anyway Budgie. I froze the meat to soften it and get some flavouring into it after reading an article by Archie Braddock. I'll obviously choose a different brand tomorrow, as a Google search shows that some brands do float (as you say, high fat content), although, like I said, I did buy a fishing recommended brand. Oh well, just glad I checked now, wouldn't have been at all funny at the waters edge!

[Dick Dastardly]

Dont worry mate you wouldnt have looked as silly as I did in mt early breaming days.Thought it would be good to pre mix. ball up and then freeze my groundbait................................after a few minutes chucking it out the swim resembled one of those "ball pond" things the kids love!

 

My old mate Stu also mixed,rolled and boilled up a whole Dutch trips worth of boillies to find they all floated (to high a quality and percentage of shrimp meal)!

[Newt]

Best way I know of to add flavour is with a vacuum sealing rig.

 

Put bait & flavour into as suitable bag.

 

Draw a vacuum. Release.

 

Repeat.

 

You can either keep it sealed to preserve it or release the vacuum. I like to leave it sealed until I need it although I do put the sealed bags in the fridge.

 

You can usually convince wife person that she would really love to have the unit and you can just sorta use it occasionally. Unlike a blender, nothing nasty (wife talk for bait) ever gets into the machine itself.

[tincatinca]

Thought I'd do a quick check of my rig and PVA dissolve times etc., only to discover to my horror that the luncheon meat cubes/chunks float!!!!! I'm using a recommended brand (Celebrity Grill if I remember correctly), they’ve been frozen and defrosted, what's gone wrong?

 

Could it be possible that you have mixed up Celebrity grill with Bacon grill. Luncheon type/ chopped pork meats can vary tremendously with both density and fat content. In the past I have tried many brands, often with similar results to what youre getting but I have always found that Bacon grill works ok as does the original Spam.

[Waveney One]

I have noticed that after the process of freezing then thawing out tinned sweetcorn tends to have some grains that float. It certainly makes for a nice soft piece of corn but attracting sea gulls is not what I want on clear waters.

Edited December 9, 2008 by Waveney One

[Angly]

Thanks for the tip Newt, I might give that a try.

 

Tincatinca, yup, certainly possible, the tin was recycling many moons ago so no way to tell now.

 

The same happens with casters I've been told Waveney One. I've got some in the freezer for use next year.

 

 

Well, in the end I got a cheap tin from a Co-Op on the way. First thing I did upon opening the tin was to check it sunk, which it did. Game on!. Unfortunately, whilst making a brew, one of the swans I had been feeding bread to nipped under one rod waddled out and took what was left of the can, opened tin and all! I’d only used one chunk! So not only gutted that I’ve lost my barbel bait, but I’ve just added more anglers rubbish to the environment.

 

Anyway, another lesson learnt.

 

Oh, blanked anyway, but assessed swims, tested new methods/rigs, and enjoyed the wildlife and scenery, so all good.