Beans

[jh92]

Just wondering which ones are safe and if anyone has tried the butter beans, black beans or kidney beans?

[Golden Paws]

A good few years back I was fishing a small river for barbel that ran like tap water in late autumn when the algae started to die back. After getting caught on sweetcorn a few times they got a bit suspicious and so I went through a stage of trying to catch them on every bait I could think of, maize chick peas, black eyed beans, adzuki, berlotti, lupins, harricot and probably a few more I forgot. They all caught! The first time I tried chick peas, I bumped the dropper on the gravel and several barbel attacked the dropper to get every bit of free feed. I was using loads of hemp and it didn't really matter what you used with it. I did try a broad bean once but the barbel didn't seem too keen but a 4lb chub scuttled across the gravel from depression at my feet, made an immediate beeline for it from 20 years away and took it without hesitation.

As for preparation, if it was tinned it was OK to use straight away but raw beans were soaked for 24 hours, boiled and left to stew in the hot water. As long as you can squeeze them between your finger and thumb, there are OK. I did borrow an old Rod Hutchinson trick and simmered the black eyes in some oxtail soup which brought them up a notch.

[jh92]

11 minutes ago, Golden Paws said:

A good few years back I was fishing a small river for barbel that ran like tap water in late autumn when the algae started to die back. After getting caught on sweetcorn a few times they got a bit suspicious and so I went through a stage of trying to catch them on every bait I could think of, maize chick peas, black eyed beans, adzuki, berlotti, lupins, harricot and probably a few more I forgot. They all caught! The first time I tried chick peas, I bumped the dropper on the gravel and several barbel attacked the dropper to get every bit of free feed. I was using loads of hemp and it didn't really matter what you used with it. I did try a broad bean once but the barbel didn't seem too keen but a 4lb chub scuttled across the gravel from depression at my feet, made an immediate beeline for it from 20 years away and took it without hesitation.

As for preparation, if it was tinned it was OK to use straight away but raw beans were soaked for 24 hours, boiled and left to stew in the hot water. As long as you can squeeze them between your finger and thumb, there are OK. I did borrow an old Rod Hutchinson trick and simmered the black eyes in some oxtail soup which brought them up a notch.

That's awesome mate I got tins of black beans, butter beans, chick peas and sweetcorn, gonna mix them into vitalin for a mix to send out in the boat 👍👍

[salokcinnodrog]

4 hours ago, jh92 said:

Just wondering which ones are safe and if anyone has tried the butter beans, black beans or kidney beans?

I never found butter beans particularly successful unless they were flavoured, don't know why, but a spicy flavour in as you soak them worked.

Kidney beans I've done well on, both tinned and soaked and boiled.

Black eyes, great bait, although the tomato soup method is messy. You don't need that many and tench love them too. The more you bait, the more tench...

 

Like @Golden Paws I've used loads of beans, and caught on most, chicks, haricot (and baked beans, Heinz for freebies tipped in, cheap own brand for hookbaits), mung beans (beansprouts).

 

I think it was Chris Yates who reckoned broad beans were rubbish, but he occasionally caught on them (The Secret Carp, I seem to think).

 

Maize, probably the best known particle, can be brilliant, yet other waters almost nothing. Often fed to the fish during winter. I've found maize can be hit and miss, but when the fish get on it, they get on it big time.

 

 

[jh92]

10 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

I never found butter beans particularly successful unless they were flavoured, don't know why, but a spicy flavour in as you soak them worked.

Kidney beans I've done well on, both tinned and soaked and boiled.

Black eyes, great bait, although the tomato soup method is messy. You don't need that many and tench love them too. The more you bait, the more tench...

 

Like @Golden Paws I've used loads of beans, and caught on most, chicks, haricot (and baked beans, Heinz for freebies tipped in, cheap own brand for hookbaits), mung beans (beansprouts).

 

I think it was Chris Yates who reckoned broad beans were rubbish, but he occasionally caught on them (The Secret Carp, I seem to think).

 

Maize, probably the best known particle, can be brilliant, yet other waters almost nothing. Often fed to the fish during winter. I've found maize can be hit and miss, but when the fish get on it, they get on it big time.

 

 

I've just used them to bulk the vitalin out a bit, I'm down to about a kilo of dry mix left 🤦‍♂️

I've never caught on home prepared maize. Not sure if they wasn't having it or if I messed it up somehow lol.

Anyway the mix seemed to of worked, bagged a 20lber 👍

I see they've discontinued vitalin, do you have any suggestions for something similar?I've got about a kilo of dry mix left 🫤

[salokcinnodrog]

7 hours ago, jh92 said:

I see they've discontinued vitalin, do you have any suggestions for something similar?I've got about a kilo of dry mix left 🫤

I was upset and annoyed that Vitalin was discontinued, it was my base for baiting up for years, probably since around 2005, and I can remember my Nan used to use it for her dogs back in the 1980's when I lived with her.

 

My alternative is Molassed Rabbit Mix, which I get from Gladwells, its 10minutes from me.

https://www.copdockmill.co.uk/our-brands/small-animal/

 

Skinners dog foods also do a Muesli based Field and Trial dog food that I think could be a decent alternative, but I have not yet tried it. 

7 hours ago, jh92 said:

I've never caught on home prepared maize. Not sure if they wasn't having it or if I messed it up somehow lol.

Unlikely you messed it up, soak and boil, but I recall Bryan Jarrett saying it was better sprouted.

When I do maize I do add sugar to the soak, preferably brown sugar, roughly 2teaspoons per kilo of maize.

 

On the syndicate a few years ago maize was fed during the winter, the spots fed with maize weren't 'dug up', yet spots baited with pellets were.

I have a feeling, not 100%, but I think tufties were eating a fair bit of the maize rather than carp.

 

[jh92]

10 minutes ago, salokcinnodrog said:

I was upset and annoyed that Vitalin was discontinued, it was my base for baiting up for years, probably since around 2005, and I can remember my Nan used to use it for her dogs back in the 1980's when I lived with her.

 

My alternative is Molassed Rabbit Mix, which I get from Gladwells, its 10minutes from me.

https://www.copdockmill.co.uk/our-brands/small-animal/

 

Skinners dog foods also do a Muesli based Field and Trial dog food that I think could be a decent alternative, but I have not yet tried it. 

Unlikely you messed it up, soak and boil, but I recall Bryan Jarrett saying it was better sprouted.

When I do maize I do add sugar to the soak, preferably brown sugar, roughly 2teaspoons per kilo of maize.

 

On the syndicate a few years ago maize was fed during the winter, the spots fed with maize weren't 'dug up', yet spots baited with pellets were.

I have a feeling, not 100%, but I think tufties were eating a fair bit of the maize rather than carp.

 

Yeah same as that, when I first started carp fishing some guy took the time and showed me how to set up and fish off the bottom with a method feeder and gave me some vitalin to use and it caught me so many carp on that session, probably what got me hooked to begin with. I use it pretty much everywhere I go unless I'm fishing with just boilie. 

I will have a look mate, I was doing a bit of research earlier and looks like flaked maize mixed with meat and bone meal is pretty close.

If I find anything that works I will keep you updated 👍

 

I tried adding sugar to the soaking stage and swear it didn't swell up like it normally does lol

What does sprouted mean? Is that just leaving it to soak for ages or?

[salokcinnodrog]

7 hours ago, jh92 said:

What does sprouted mean? Is that just leaving it to soak for ages or?

I think he was soaking it, then placing it on kitchen tissue in trays in the airing cupboard like growing cress or mustard.

 

[crusian]

Nick has just beaten me to it .

Sprouted means encouraging the bean ( whichever it is) to germinate .

I used to use sprout Chick Peas , and also colour them when the standard Chick Pea was losing it's edge .

😃

 

[salokcinnodrog]

On 14/08/2023 at 21:41, crusian said:

I used to use sprout Chick Peas , and also colour them when the standard Chick Pea was losing it's edge .

😃

I do think that flavoured Chick peas definitely work better than standard just soaked and boiled

A nice yellow colour, actually caused by soaking in water with added turmeric and cumin.

 

[jh92]

16 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

I do think that flavoured Chick peas definitely work better than standard just soaked and boiled

A nice yellow colour, actually caused by soaking in water with added turmeric and cumin.

 

I get paranoid about stuff to my mix, I'm sure I always over do it and it's the reason I blank 🤣

[salokcinnodrog]

3 hours ago, jh92 said:

I get paranoid about stuff to my mix, I'm sure I always over do it and it's the reason I blank 🤣

A teaspoon of each to 1kilo of Chick peas, stir in the water as you add it to soak them

[jh92]

43 minutes ago, salokcinnodrog said:

A teaspoon of each to 1kilo of Chick peas, stir in the water as you add it to soak them

I'll give it a go next time I use them mate, reckon it would be good with butter beans?

[salokcinnodrog]

3 hours ago, jh92 said:

I'll give it a go next time I use them mate, reckon it would be good with butter beans?

I've never done well on butter beans, it could only improve them.

[jh92]

14 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

I've never done well on butter beans, it could only improve them.

I will give it a try soon mate, I think my mix for the reservoir I'm going to keep simple, 1 part tigers, 1 part hemp and 2 parts maize. 

I like your idea of blending some of it up to make it cloudy so will add that once its prepared. 

I was thinking of adding a small bit of salt and possibly sugar. 

Would it be worth adding a drop of hemp oil or wouldn't there be any need because I'm adding hemp anyway? 🤔

[salokcinnodrog]

22 minutes ago, jh92 said:

I will give it a try soon mate, I think my mix for the reservoir I'm going to keep simple, 1 part tigers, 1 part hemp and 2 parts maize. 

I like your idea of blending some of it up to make it cloudy so will add that once its prepared. 

I was thinking of adding a small bit of salt and possibly sugar. 

Would it be worth adding a drop of hemp oil or wouldn't there be any need because I'm adding hemp anyway? 🤔

I actually add a bit of olive, sunflower or rapeseed oil to the liquidised particles. As that mixes in and clouds I think it can only benefit, hemp wouldn't be any different.

 

My tigers and maize I used to save my salted pasta water and soak them in. (I eat loads of pasta, and put the liquid in an ice cream tub, freeze it and take it out the day before I soak my particles).

I don't soak hemp in salted water as it prevents it splitting when boiling.

I do soak a kilo of hemp with 2 teaspoons of brown sugar though.

 

I'm still not sure on salt in particles though. I'm not 100% sure on whether it increases attraction or does any good, or even if its healthy. Too much salt can reduce the utilisation of proteins.

 

Another very good addition to particles, condensed milk.

[jh92]

1 hour ago, salokcinnodrog said:

I actually add a bit of olive, sunflower or rapeseed oil to the liquidised particles. As that mixes in and clouds I think it can only benefit, hemp wouldn't be any different.

 

My tigers and maize I used to save my salted pasta water and soak them in. (I eat loads of pasta, and put the liquid in an ice cream tub, freeze it and take it out the day before I soak my particles).

I don't soak hemp in salted water as it prevents it splitting when boiling.

I do soak a kilo of hemp with 2 teaspoons of brown sugar though.

 

I'm still not sure on salt in particles though. I'm not 100% sure on whether it increases attraction or does any good, or even if its healthy. Too much salt can reduce the utilisation of proteins.

 

Another very good addition to particles, condensed milk.

Awesome mate, I will ditch the salt and add some hemp oil and condensed milk 👌

Any reason for using brown sugar instead of white? 🤔

I think what I'm gonna do is blend some of prepared particle with hemp oil and condensed milk and add it to the spod mix on the day because I think to save space once its prepared I'm going to drain most of the liquid off when I bag it to go in the freezer, when defrosted on the bank, I'll add the blended mix to it then 👍

Over thinking all of this, using boilies with some pure krill liquid is so much simpler 🤣

[salokcinnodrog]

1 hour ago, jh92 said:

Any reason for using brown sugar instead of white? 🤔

White sugar is washed a number of times in series and has had the molasses removed.

 

Brown sugar is just washed to remove solid grit.

The more sugar is washed the less molasses in it, and the lighter it gets. White sugar is just 'sweetness' not taste.

 

1 hour ago, jh92 said:

condensed milk and add it to the spod mix on the day

Add the condensed milk on the day