Solid Bags

[dayvid]

Good lesson learnt though 👍

[Carpmaster]

On 02/11/2020 at 12:05, Carpmaster said:

😂😂I’d just like to say something about solid bags I’ve been using sand with hemp oil loads of attraction no food plus casts a dream now I made about half dozen a few days before nice an solid well let’s just say how they went in the water was how they come out 4 hrs later minus the pva I’d compressed them that hard they had set like a brick 😔😔note to self do them on the day lol

That’s exactly what I done laughed my head off 😂😂👍

[elmoputney]

On 02/11/2020 at 12:05, Carpmaster said:

😂😂I’d just like to say something about solid bags I’ve been using sand with hemp oil loads of attraction no food plus casts a dream now I made about half dozen a few days before nice an solid well let’s just say how they went in the water was how they come out 4 hrs later minus the pva I’d compressed them that hard they had set like a brick 😔😔note to self do them on the day lol

Why not just use a pellet or groundbait that would still carry the liquid? 

A normal bag in the right place will still catch fish, I caught this one within 5 minutes of casting a fresh bag into the spot 

If you need to use sand why not mix some pellets in to help break it down? 

In my opinion though just keep it simple it still works 👍

[Carpmaster]

6 minutes ago, elmoputney said:

Why not just use a pellet or groundbait that would still carry the liquid? 

A normal bag in the right place will still catch fish, I caught this one within 5 minutes of casting a fresh bag into the spot 

If you need to use sand why not mix some pellets in to help break it down? 

In my opinion though just keep it simple it still works 👍

Elmo the reason I use sand and not pellets or ground bait bream and i find the sand holds the oil a lot longer plus blends into the silt that good they keep coming back and back again looking I’ve just yet to land one but getting closer   Can’t really get any simpler than hemp sand 

[elmoputney]

1 minute ago, Carpmaster said:

Elmo the reason I use sand and not pellets or ground bait bream and i find the sand holds the oil a lot longer plus blends into the silt that good they keep coming back and back again looking I’ve just yet to land one but getting closer   Can’t really get any simpler than hemp sand 

Why not just feed off the bream and use them to your advantage they will create the attraction for the carp to come and investigate, and also help clear any spots you may wish to create, I found 11mm pellets feed them off quite quickly, then the carp move in 

 

[Carpmaster]

1 minute ago, elmoputney said:

Why not just feed off the bream and use them to your advantage they will create the attraction for the carp to come and investigate, and also help clear any spots you may wish to create, I found 11mm pellets feed them off quite quickly, then the carp move in 

I’ll be there all day trying to feed off the bream the shoals are massive plus there’s some big bream double figures I don’t like the snot and slime and expensive to buy enough pellets to feed the [censored]s off elmo 

[elmoputney]

Just now, Carpmaster said:

4 minutes ago, elmoputney said:

Why not just feed off the bream and use them to your advantage they will create the attraction for the carp to come and investigate, and also help clear any spots you may wish to create, I found 11mm pellets feed them off quite quickly, then the carp move in 

I’ll be there all day trying to feed off the bream the shoals are massive plus there’s some big bream double figures I don’t like the snot and slime and expensive to buy enough pellets to feed the [censored]s off elmo 

You don't have to catch them though, use bigger hookbaits or pop ups there are ways to avoid them to a degree, you may catch the odd one or two but you don't have to catch them all, you could even fish off the main baited area, you see nuisance fish as a negative I try to use them to my advantage 👍

Blakes baits 25kg pellets £33 good deals on particles too doesn't have to cost the earth  👍

[Carpmaster]

1 minute ago, elmoputney said:

You don't have to catch them though, use bigger hookbaits or pop ups there are ways to avoid them to a degree, you may catch the odd one or two but you don't have to catch them all, you could even fish off the main baited area, you see nuisance fish as a negative I try to use them to my advantage 👍

Blakes baits 25kg pellets £33 good deals on particles too doesn't have to cost the earth  👍

Thanks elmo I have used particles and have found them to work on other waters but this water they seem to hold off the baited area for days I’ve found a single bag an hookbait the best approach so far plus I’m not competing with the 8kg bait boats that every man and his dog seems to be using an not catching that was another reason just the attraction no food

[elmoputney]

13 minutes ago, Carpmaster said:

Thanks elmo I have used particles and have found them to work on other waters but this water they seem to hold off the baited area for days I’ve found a single bag an hookbait the best approach so far plus I’m not competing with the 8kg bait boats that every man and his dog seems to be using an not catching that was another reason just the attraction no food

OK if you are hell bent on using this method, I would use a different liquid that won't just float straight off out of the area like a hydro for instance , and also why not just spomb the sand out or make groundbait balls with it, and create a bigger area of attraction 

[Carpmaster]

1 minute ago, elmoputney said:

OK if you are hell bent on using this method, I would use a different liquid that won't just float straight off out of the area like a hydro for instance , and also why not just spomb the sand out or make groundbait balls with it, and create a bigger area of attraction 

At the moment elmo I just set my alarm and recast every half hr with the weather cooling down I change slightly I heat the sand up in a pan then add the oil I find this a massive edge this time of yr if you can find where they are lol 

I am abit set in my ways and do fish my way I can’t help it elmo I find being different to everyone else works for me 

[salokcinnodrog]

On 05/11/2020 at 10:58, Carpmaster said:

At the moment elmo I just set my alarm and recast every half hr with the weather cooling down I change slightly I heat the sand up in a pan then add the oil I find this a massive edge this time of yr if you can find where they are lol 

I am abit set in my ways and do fish my way I can’t help it elmo I find being different to everyone else works for me 

Being different to what others are doing can be a good edge. 

 

Bream can be a right pain, but the areas they feed on can be carp spots. The only thing I have found is bream tend to vacuum an area of the food, eating everything, including big boilies, tiger nuts etc. 

You end up using massive baits to avoid them. On Ardleigh, most nights if I had bream I wouldn't get carp, although there was one exception, strangely from the same swim John Wilson had a carp in the middle of a day's bream fishing. His was a mirror, mine was a common. That same swim did give me some good carp normally a night or 2 after prebaiting with groundbait and boilies. The day I baited was bream, 2 nights later the carp were there. 

I was using groundbait moulded around my lead 'Method style' rather than PVA bag. 

[salokcinnodrog]

I thought I'd bring this up again as I'm using solid bags again myself.

I'm still using soft braid, Kryston Merlin and that looks like a VMC hook

The whole lot is going in the bag, multi-rig, hooklink and running lead.  

 

The hook is pushed through the PVA in one corner, the lead into the opposite corner and then the bag is filled with a mix of pellets, chopped boilies and dry Vitalin, and licked and sticked.

 

 

[elmoputney]

I've been thinking about getting back into solid bag fishing again, I'm going double ring swivel on a lead free leader, drop off inline style, nice and simple rig with just a bit of shrink tube for a kicker, just think it's the go anywhere, quick bite set up for next season, I've been too preoccupied finding perfect spots this year, next year, simple again 

I need to think of a hookbait that I can leave in a bag for a bit, as I want to pre tie them but don't want to use plastic incase I crack off hmmm, something to ponder I guess 

[ouchthathurt]

Funnily enough, I’ve started using solid bags again on a new days only water I’m playing around on. I’ve been using the fox system which works really well, can make lovely tight bags. I tied up a load with home made Polaris pop ups flavoured with a slight dash of cherry flavour and then soaked in different goos, one batch being orange goo and one in the red factor (I think it’s called) goo both bright coloured and smell lovely and fruity. One thing I noticed when leaving the pop ups in the ready made bags was that sitting in the pellet mix, the baits became dehydrated and shrank ever so slightly, which affected their buoyancy and as I was lassoing them on with floss, they would fall off! Hair rigging them solved this problem as well as over weighting the pop up to take in the effect of the dehydration of the baits. I never worried about the baits going off, when I had left over bait - I make all my own baits at home - I never refreeze baits - I used to either use them to prebait before heading for home, or I’d chuck them in a bucket of pellet. They would dry out, become rock hard but not go off. Then they would end up in my spod mix next session. 
 

ive found that if I make the bags up on the morning of the session, rigging and balancing each pop up before dropping the entire rig in some groundbait to dry it off, before making up the bags, they would be fine for a day or so but leaving them in the air tight bait bucket for a week or more, the pellet would dehydrate the pop up - not an issue per say if you overweight them, but then they will take in water once submerged, making them heavier which could lead to them being too overweighted, if that makes sense! 
 

if you’re planning on using a bottom bait, then this wouldn’t be a problem, the boilie would just dehydrate, shrink and harden off on the hair of left for a while in a pretied bag of pellet, which wouldn’t bother me unduly. Or you could tie up a load with a couple of drilled out larger pellets as hookbaits? Or a single 21mm halibut pellet? They won’t be effected sitting in a pva bag of pellets for ages! Obviously, drilled pellets won’t last long as a hookbait though, I’d only give them 30-40mins initially until I could get a bead on how quickly they were softening up and dissolving. When pellet fishing with pellet hookbaits years ago, (mid 90s) I’d take a jam jar, fill it with lake water, then bait a spare rig with pellet hookbaits, then drop it in the jar as I cast out, then when they softened up, I’d reel in and rebait! - very few pellet pecking roach in my jam jar though, so probably not very accurate! 

[newmarket]

What do we feel the advantages are of solid bags over , say , funnel web/sticks/stringers that I tend to use ?

[commonly]

I'm a funnel mesh user. Simple and quick to do. 

I'd use a bag if I was on a new water, unsure of the bottom, saw fish show and didn't want to spook them too much. Or trying to get really tight to an overhang. 

I did use stringers when I first started, but the mesh came out and I didn't see the need to risk stabbing my hand with a needle. 

[salokcinnodrog]

2 hours ago, newmarket said:

What do we feel the advantages are of solid bags over , say , funnel web/sticks/stringers that I tend to use ?

I use all at various times.

Stringers for just boilies when I want a varied presentation; I can push boilies close together, touching, to slow down dissolve time and have 2 baits  (or more) away from the hookbait, looking like a hookbait.

35 minutes ago, commonly said:

I'm a funnel mesh user. Simple and quick to do. 

I'd use a bag if I was on a new water, unsure of the bottom, saw fish show and didn't want to spook them too much. Or trying to get really tight to an overhang. 

I did use stringers when I first started, but the mesh came out and I didn't see the need to risk stabbing my hand with a needle. 

I do use mesh for just boilies, but I can also add chops, pellets, dry or dampened Vitalin etc. I can tie it off at both ends, one end to the hook, and the other to the line above the lead, or just attach to the hook.

 

I prefer bags around weed, when I'm not 100% sure that it will be right on the lakebed. A solid bag will, unless mega thick weed, get to the bottom and 'push' the weed down giving a presentation. This is where a small pop-up in a bag works.

[B B]

14 hours ago, newmarket said:

What do we feel the advantages are of solid bags over , say , funnel web/sticks/stringers that I tend to use ?

I can’t remember the last time I cast without some form of pva around the hook..if I’m casting to infinity and beyond I just use a pva nugget around the hook helps with tangles.

 I use bags because I like you using liquids in a bag and helps if I’m not sure of the bottom, pva web for pellets chops etc and maggots in the winter esp web iv found the best it’s got a tighter weave helps against the mags escaping. If it’s raining I use a oil spray pump you get for frying in the kitchen couple of squirts around the pva helps keeping the moisture away  If it’s very cold I leave the oils out as it slows down the pva melting 

[salokcinnodrog]

10 hours ago, B B said:

I can’t remember the last time I cast without some form of pva around the hook..if I’m casting to infinity and beyond I just use a pva nugget around the hook helps with tangles

Casting to infinity and beyond  is about the only time I will go PVA free. I may use a single bait stringer, but when I am going for maximum distance I rely on knowing my rigs will be tangle free, and I can do that with uncoated braid, or any other hooklink material.

 

I stopped using foam nuggets after watching them in the lake water, and dissolve times in a bowl of water.

Putting the hook through the foam, piercing it,  when the actual dissolve time can be over 12 hours is fishing a foam pop-up. 'Lick and stick' a squashed nugget around the hook could effectively blank the hookpoint stopping hook penetration. 

You have to watch to check the foam nugget surfaces!

[B B]

5 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

Casting to infinity and beyond  is about the only time I will go PVA free. I may use a single bait stringer, but when I am going for maximum distance I rely on knowing my rigs will be tangle free, and I can do that with uncoated braid, or any other hooklink material.

 

I stopped using foam nuggets after watching them in the lake water, and dissolve times in a bowl of water.

Putting the hook through the foam, piercing it,  when the actual dissolve time can be over 12 hours is fishing a foam pop-up. 'Lick and stick' a squashed nugget around the hook could effectively blank the hookpoint stopping hook penetration. 

You have to watch to check the foam nugget surfaces!

Lick and stick for me and not to much pressure when I fold the nugget. Iv cast out at distance to showing fish and had a take within minutes on several times as has my mates,  also done the rig in a tall jar with ice cubes and the pva has came away from around the hook. Imagine the force of a 3 1/2 ounce lead smacking into the water that would also help in removing the PVA. I would have to hire out the Hubble telescope to see the form nugget hit the service  😂  When the chod rig ( don’t hear much of that rig now ) came out I thought il give that a go didn’t use a nugget around the hook and had the  occasional fish on it, then il reeled in one time and the hook had pierced the lead core so a nugget was used after that. 

[salokcinnodrog]

On 05/11/2020 at 09:50, elmoputney said:

Why not just use a pellet or groundbait that would still carry the liquid? 

A normal bag in the right place will still catch fish, I caught this one within 5 minutes of casting a fresh bag into the spot 

If you need to use sand why not mix some pellets in to help break it down? 

In my opinion though just keep it simple it still works 👍

The Method ball moulded around the lead works, PVA free, and is an underrated and underused tactic in todays fishing world. I caught all of my carp except one like that on Ardleigh reservoir, and that one was the smallest when I saw fish starting to group  up in an area, so just cast a pop-up to them.

I'm still using PVA bags, the whole lot going inside; hook through the bottom corner, adding crumbed boilies and liquidised breadcrumb and Vitalin.

I've also got a supplier of PVA bags I'm comfortable with. I bought the Gardner ones a couple of weeks ago, out of courtesy from Bex, but I get most of mine in person from https://www.alacarp.co.uk/a-la-carp-shop/Terminal-Tackle-c107009585 

Lick and stick, and compared to the Kodex ones I was using, the taste is bearable.

 

[Carpbell3]

,me and PVA have fell out had fast melt bags still on the lead come reel in and a foam nugget that spent all night on the hook. Stick mix only for me or whole baits in PVA netting.

[elmoputney]

On 16/02/2023 at 22:19, Carpbell3 said:

,me and PVA have fell out had fast melt bags still on the lead come reel in and a foam nugget that spent all night on the hook. Stick mix only for me or whole baits in PVA netting.

If I use nuggets I always stick 1 each side of the hook, they usually seperate then and you can usually see them hit the surface, if you don't consider a rechuck 

[elmoputney]

I also now like to tie up my bags fresh, I now use the korda bags, I think they are great tbh, I like the little yellow scoop makes it a nice easy way to do a bag, once I am about half loaded I whack in a load of goo or other liquid then fill it up, tie it off with tape, I tried the easy loader licky licky type ones like fox but I think you get a better bag when tied up neatly, 

[framey]

The carp tart bagless wonder is a game changer 😉😉😉😉