Golden Paws

I was having a play in the shallows this weekend as one of my rigs came in with pva blob still attached,(mesh stick) the actual mesh broke down pretty quickly but the knots stayed intact for a long while. 
I wonder if it is because you are using powders, because it is packed it might not be that soluble thus delaying the breakdown. Maybe try just some pellets or boilies or something that leaves gaps and see if that makes a difference against your bags. 

I used to test and time my PVA bags, string and mesh so I had an idea of breakdown time of various brands in the water winter and summer.
The bags I use now are either Rod Hutchinson or Alacarp, run by Dave Goring on my syndicate.
I just hand him a £10 note and he fills my hand with packs of PVA bags. Both brands break down within a couple of minutes.
I know one thing, 15years ago, Nash PVA bags used to be awful, with a breakdown time of over an hour in the side pocket of a pair of combat trousers that have gone through a 60⁰ wash
The outer plastic bag was unsealed, and the bags themselves were still complete despite the bag being full of water.
 
Knots do take longer to break down than the rest of the PVA

Interesting post, have to say last week i wound in to cast to a showing fish, nicked on a mesh bag of pellets and boilies but "old clumsy" here dunked it before lining up the cast, whipped it out double quick expecting my wife to be showered in salmon pellets but it made it on target, no fish though

Had to do another post due to file size. The bag on the left is the side hooked version and the "fuse" on the right. Obviously the fuse wouldn't be any good for long casting.

For the last couple of seasons, I've put a small PVA mesh bag of powder on my hook before every cast. (Currently a mixture of CreAmino Bag and Stick Mix as I'm using the boilies and Sonubaits Krill Groundbait and also their Explosive Fishmeal Groundbait Mix.) Most of my fishing is done by dropping from a bait boat or on my local water, fishing in the margins. I make up about 30 bags at home and store them in an old ice cream tub to speed things up on the bank and to stop wet hands making holes in it.
I was watching a video on YouTube the other day and there was a bag that was absolutely fizzing. To replicate it, I added a bit of baking powder to my mix and dropped a bag of with and without  in a tub of water to see the difference. The baking powder bag definitely gave off a stream of bubbles but the most interesting part was just how long it took for the bags to breakdown, both at least 5 minutes. I made the bags up fresh so there was no oil rendering the PVA impervious to the water.  A piece of the mesh only shrivelled up within seconds.
I've always side hooked the bags and was confident I would be fishing within 30 seconds, not I'm not so sure. I always laughed at people who double bagged "because they were fishing in 10 foot of water", they could be delaying their next bite by half an hour!
I prided myself that I could tie the 2 knots so close together, I could only just get the scissors through .(I know, tight!) Since watching the bags, I've include a "fuse" of about an inch and hook this on as I'm convinced it will be fishing properly within seconds. (Long enough to hit the bottom.)
In the photo, the Baking Powder bag is on the right which is why it is a bit lighter.

This was yesterday afternoon. By morning it looked just like the posts above. Glad to get home for once.

Re-booked for Sept 2026 👍

Tough week in France, Brothers Lake.  Weather was all over the place but not really doing anything, light winds going all over the place and temps freezing one minute, warm the next and regardless of that the fish seemed to migrate into the 2ft shallows every night - so odd.  Was expecting to smash it on the dam wall in the deeps 🤷‍♂️. Stupid fish - anyway ended up with 7 to 45 which I said i'd be happy with before the trip.  Nice lake and surroundings, would go again, recommend having 2 anglers although you can have 4.








Special thanks to our Yonny for the camera advice, the final pic is my last self take with max blur it really pops, thanks mate, getting the hang of it slowly 😎👍

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

The boy got in on the act 
11lb mutant 
12lb mirror, one of only half a dozen in the pond 

A few from last night 
26lb 2oz 
23lb 5oz 
23lb on the nose 

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Congratulations on your PB  👍

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Just the name annoys me, they could be the best boilies in the world and I wouldn't use them. 
 

Surely you can't judge a rig by one lost fish???? I've had my best ever season, regularly catching 6 to 8 fish in 8 hour morning or afternoon sessions on a days only water. Although the water is prolific, I've been getting amongst the better fish and managed a brace of 20's a few weeks ago, not bad seeing as I had only caught 2 previously in the last 10 years.
The slip D and the Ronnie aren't a mile apart but I prefer the more subtle way you can tweak it to make the last inch flexible and make a more balanced bait. To me, the Ronnie seems a bit too blatant.
That said, confidence is key and  if you're sat behind rods expecting to lose fish, it can be hard work.