Matt1979

Im tackling a water this sunday that i have not fished before and im told paste is the way to go, can anyone help on how to prepare my paste from the fisheries own pellets? or shall i just buy some ready made paste? if so please advise brands which you would recommend

Many Thanks

Matt

john r

the choice is yours mate you can either as you said soak your pellets and make your own paste which will save you a few quid why not try meat paste which is very easy to knock up failing that buy the ready made depends how confidant you are making it and fishing with it all the best regards john rhodes

BREAMSTER

Matt, if you can fish your own paste then get a bag of dynamite meaty marine halibut groundbait. Its superb for paste and for bigger carp. Just mix on the bank, its so simple. I have used this for years and won lots of club matches.
Put a pint into a bait tub and add water. Stir round till almost sloppy and leave for 5mins. It will absorb water and be stiffish.
Now, depending on the depth of water!!(vip), you can now add more water for a softer mix, again stirring and leaving for a few mins to absorb. Do this until you have the desired texture. You can make it really soft and it will still hold together well

you can get a really soft paste with this bait. I use a size 10 hook where allowed. I feed quite a bit of hemp or pigeon seed mix but not many pellets. I will feed odd pieces of paste if getting lots of bites, but often just use the hookbait.

Preton durafloats are excellent for depths up to 5ft, for paste fishihg as are maver, but i only use these in 1 gram plus, for slightly deeper water or when theres a good tow.

Fishery pellet paste will be cheaper and you will have to scald them in hot water at home but this is a quality paste for bigger fish

Matt1979

Thanks for the reply lads, its a smallish pool the depth is 5ft all over, whats your theory on fish what your feeding thats why i mentioned making my own paste out of the fishery pellets, the carp very from 2lb to 28lb! rules state fishery`s own pellet but hookbaits can be anything bar cat meat and dog meat.

ralphs1985

i would get some of there pellets blend them down and make your paste out of that

BREAMSTER

Consider the weather etc first. Dont get blinkered into using one bait. The weather is so changeable at the moment. Ive caught on paste on some cold days but there are other baits that work better in the cold. Paste is often a quick working bait so you will soon know if any fish are around .

I feed hemp or pigeon mix seed to merely hold the fish. I agree that it makes sense to feed pellet and use the same pellet as paste. I am just suggesting that ive had lots of good fish on the tactics and bait i use and have confidence in it.
Good luck

vidas

hello mate dont buy the ready made its to dear, only if uve got to use there pellets and paste then soak there pellets if you can use your own i use either dynamite or fin perfect in the 2mm for feed fin perfect do a paste mix as well, but i use the koi green swimstim its a 1kg bag it is a groundbait but can be mixed for paste as well you will get loads out of a bag for many matches, put about half pint of water in your tub keep addin the swimstim just mixin with your finger keep mixin it till its still sloppy but not to sloppy leave it to soak the water up after 5 or 10 mins it shud be ready depending on how deep it is if its to wet add a little more mixture to make it stiffer, i always set out to fish 3 lines 5meters, 10meters, and the weeds, on the 5meter i always put half pot of 2mm feed pellets and 2 or 3 10p size lumps of paste in at the start and leave it for half hour while im fishing corn or pellets at ten meters, keep feedin little kinder pots of pellets while waitin to go on it wen you go on the paste line they shud be waitin, the only float i wud ever use is the maver paste floats half gram max only put 4 number 8 on it so its under shot all the bristle will be showin so dont worry now plumb it dead depth so wen you lower your float in the plumbet will pull it down to half inch of your tip showin now put the paste on wen it sinks it pulls the float down like it did wen plumbin if you dont get a bit and the paste comes of the float will rise so you no the paste is of thats why you under shot it oh and dont strike at every little pull wait for possitive bites either shoot under or it will shoot straight up as for hooks i use a preston pr 21 size 12 its a bigger hook than others in the same size and it will hold double figure fish easy mate hope it helps if not look on youtube or the maver site jammie masson paste fishin that will help mate

cornerstone

Some good posts on this subject,the trouble with paste is hitting the bites.If your not confident then it can be so frustrating.I have messed for 2 years now and im confident in my paste mix even though it is so simple.Method mixes are normally approx 70% ground pellet,20% fishmeal,10% brown crumb.[brown crumb can act as your binder]I personnally use egg binder in my method mix.I normally use natural coloured ground pellet unless i know the fish want a greenish mix then i would use green ground up pellet.The reason i am harping on about the method mix is because that is what i feed,then fish the paste over the top,or around the edge of the mix if im getting liners.Loose feeding pellet will bring the fish up in the water resulting in foulhooked fish.But dumping in a ball of g/bait should keep the fish down.As for adding hemp or anything similar,i dont bother.I want an inert mix[static]not a lively mix that could push the fish higher up in the water.So thats my feed sorted,nice and cheap ingredients and easy to mix.My paste mix will consist of 50% of the ground pellet thats in the method mix,and 50% natural coloured expander pellets.I want the colour to match the method mix feed.Finally i add flour glutten which is a brilliant binder and gives it the stretchy feel.This means i can mix it wet if needed without it falling apart.Dont use normal flour as it makes the mix too stiff.The amount of glutten to add is trial and error,but personnally i use 25% added to 50% expander and 50% ground pellet.If you mix it a bit stiffer than you normally use,put it in a plastic bag in the fridge overnight then it will soften up by the morning.If too soft then take some out of the bag and the air and wind will dry it out nicely.The glutten is white and so it will make your paste mix slightly lighter than your feed[method mix]but ive had no problems.You need to invest in a food blender with a mill attachment to crush up your pellets,but it will save you a lot of money in the long run.Tackle wise i use 0.16 genesis line,12 b911 EYED hook,and i like the smaller maver paste floats.Put a rubber on the end of your float to stop any tangles when shipping out.I use eyed hooks as it gives the paste something extra to cling to.But as mentioned by breamster paste isnt a wonder bait.On its day its unbeatable,but in the colder water like groundbait,you can struggle.Bite wise i tend to let the bites develop as hitting them too early means missed bites.But that really is trial and error and comes with experience.Finally i think we need a period of dry fine weather to see the benefits of paste,this changeable cold weather is hopeless,role on the SUMMER!
Good luck
cornerstone.

Ian.B

What is the best way to keep paste on, just wrap it around the hook or use a paste spring or similar gadget ?
Also, is paste a bottom only bait or is it sometimes effective up in the water ? & what is a good float pattern to suspend it in the water if it is ?

Thanks
Ian

stevelockett

Most of the best match-style paste anglers just use groundbait of some type mixed with water. No need for binders as it should fall apart very quickly, that is part of the attraction.
To get it into the swim, you will need to cup it in. If you can cast it or swing it (assuming you're pole fishing), the mix is too stiff.
After mixing, you can add extra water at any time to soften it, you can also add extra dry groundbait to stiffen it. Have both water and dry groundbait in tubs on your bait table with you.
I have never got on with no shot rigs, but they are superior if you can make them work. Slim, long tipped floats are best. Make sure you have a piece of silicon with the main line running through over the very tip of the float to stop the line tangling around when you cup it in.

The paste is simply wrapped onto the hook, there's no need for springs or anything to hold it on.

Ian, you can fish paste up, you just need a decent sized dibber to suspend the bait. The bigger blobs are very good as well, in fact they are what Andy Finlay uses, I believe.
If you are having trouble with the float sinking due to the weight of the paste, use a pole rest/spray bar set so the pole tip is about 12" off the water and wait for the elastic to be ripped out!

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