We are racing towards the time of year when paste baits really come into their own. These soft baits create more instant attraction in the water than almost any other, making them ideal for attracting fish and stimulating them to feed.
In fact, in tests I have found that a simple paste wrap can almost double my carp catches. Whether you are looking to put together a big catch of small carp, aiming for specimens, or looking for a mixed bag of fish, pastes should have a place in your bait bag.
There are loads of different types of paste. Some are very specialised and need practice to get right. Others are much easier to use, although limited to certain applications, so it’s essential to pick the right ones and use them correctly.
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Ready made paste
If you’re new to paste fishing, start with a tub of ready-made bait. This takes all the guesswork out of getting the consistency right.
Most ready-made pastes are quite stiff, and can be used with both running line and pole tactics. Some might argue that a stiff paste leads to fewer, or fast, unhittable bites, but this isn’t always the case, especially when the carp are of a reasonable size.
Most bait companies produce pastes to match other baits in their winning flavours, and Scopex, Source and Halibut are among my favourites. You will find pastes for both specimen carp and match fishing, the former tending to be tougher for moulding around boilies. Try both to see what works best for you.
Start by using a fingernail- sized piece on a size 12 hook. A big hook is key to keeping the bait in place. Try feeding a dozen 6mm pellets every put-in. The larger paste hookbait acts as a focal point in the centre.
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Paste powder
If you want to be able to modify both the flavour and the texture of your paste baits, using powdered pastes is a great option. Adding water turns the powder into a great paste, and the more liquid used, the softer the finished product will be.
Take your time when mixing these baits. Ideally, leave them in the fridge overnight in a sealed bag to allow the paste to properly form. If the paste doesn’t have a strong flavour already, add half a teaspoonful of concentrated flavour, or a tablespoonful of liquid food to the water before mixing. Fish and crustacean liquids are favourites of mine.
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Stringy paste
You can turn almost any powdered ingredients into a fine paste simply by adding a small amount of wheat gluten.
The protein found in flour, gluten, is a powerful binder – you can see that it forms strings in the finished bait when you pull it apart. Baits containing a lot of gluten are very tough, and can even be used when legering. These baits do have the disadvantage of drying out quickly, though, so don’t add too much gluten.
Wheat gluten can be bought from specialist carp bait suppliers and in some health food shops. As an alternative, just adding a couple of tablespoons of strong white flour to your paste will have a similar effect.
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Groundbait paste
Many Method groundbaits can be made into a soft paste, suitable for pole fishing, simply by adding more water to the mix. The water activates the binders in the bait and helps hold it together. Even so, these baits are often very soft and quickly melt away when dunked in water. They often need to be potted out and fished with the rig set to dead depth, so the bait is resting on the bottom.
One of the big advantages of using such a soft paste is that there is no need to feed. Even if you don’t get a bite, the bait will be left on the bottom as a little pile of particles every time you lift the rig out. You can make a stiffer groundbait paste, that can even be used to fish shallow with.
It can take some getting used to mixing paste baits properly to get the perfect consistency for how you want to fish, but they are well worth the effort. Not only do pastes catch a lot of fish, but they have the knack of sorting out the bigger ones, too.
THE BEST FEEDER FISHING GROUNDBAITS CAN MAKE A FANTASTIC PASTE HOOKBAIT.
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