Wednesday, 29th April 2015
To pinch a phrase from a mate of mine: it’s blog time! This month I’m going to run through my spomb/spod mixes; everything that goes into these mixes is tried and tested individually, over many years, but when added together they bring a whole new dimension to fishing with particles. Read on and I’ll explain what I mean by that…
First into the burco boiler (and always will be) is Hemp seed. I’ve been using Hemp seed for carp fishing since the early 1980s and it’s still attracting fish today.
Next into the burco is Red Band Pigeon Conditioner. There are, of course, other Pigeon Conditioners on the market but - believe me - there is only one Red Band Pigeon Conditioner and it stands head and shoulders above the rest of them, and it comes a close 2nd to Hemp seed in the fish attracting stakes.
Next is another particle that has banked loads of fish - but one that I see rarely used - and that is Tares. Although Tares aren’t really in the same league as the first two, they can be used to get total preoccupation of the fish.
Next is another great particle that I rarely see used in this form, and that is mini maize/popcorn maize. Yes the standard maize and red maize does get used a lot - but not the mini maize from what I’ve seen on my fishing travels. I use two lots in my mix, one is standard yellow and the other is the same, but with red food colouring added, and it is kept separate until the boiling stage.
The last particle for the soaking stage is one I have only just started to use and have had some good results with - BUT you will need to check with your lakes’ management team to see if it can be used: they are Peanut Granules. Some lakes have total nut bans, whilst others have whole nut bans, and some just ban the use of peanuts. If they are banned on your waters, then a good alternative to use is Buckwheat. (Editor: Ken Townley has blogged extensively about peanut preparation – see: www.haiths.com/haiths-baits/preparing-peanuts-for-fishing-bait.
All these are added to the burco and hot water added to soak in overnight.
After approximately 10 minutes boiling, I add some more particles: namely groats, and then turn off the burco (making sure there is still plenty of water in there for the groats to soak up and swell).
Tiger Nuts that I explained how to prepare a few months ago www.haiths.com/haiths-baits/preparing-tiger-nuts are then added as well having defrosted them from the freezer the night before boiling. You can add them whole or ground up, or, a mixture of both (which is what I tend to do).
The whole lot is then left overnight for the Groats to take on all the juices from the boiling and swell up so none of the goodness is lost. If you find that the mix is still a little wet for using in a spod, add a small amount of Haith’s NaturalRed, SuperRed, HoneyRed or even the SuperTench red ground baits.
AMOUNTS:
The amounts all depend on how YOU want the mix to work. They can be used in equal amounts or in parts. For this blog, the amounts were:
- Hemp seed 500gms
- Red Band 500gms
- Mini Maize 400gms (200gms natural, 200gms coloured)
- Tares 200gms
- Peanut Granules 100gms
- Groats 200gms
- Tiger nuts 250gms (150gms crushed, 100gms whole)
And there we have it, my spod/spomb mix.
Hope you have enjoyed this piece and I’m sorry that it’s a bit longer than my others.
Written by Brian Mills
