out with the wheat again

[TrentFisher]

Well done Nige.

I took some wheat to a farmers pond last week, and had a few roach (about 20) and about 6 crucians. Took about 15 minutes to get first bite, and 1 hour for them to settle - but an enjoyable morning. Have you tried pearl barley. You bought a few memories back about fishing punched bread on the Trent - had a few enjoyable days with that.

I haven't tried pearl barley so far this season.In the past I have had some good days on the Trent taking roach.chub and bream.
The punched bread has worked very well for me over recent seasons .
Warburtons medium slice for the hook.Normally cheaper stuff for the liquidised ground bait.I am always looking at the reduced rack in the shops for reduced loaves!

I use it throughout the season on the river.I have a number of different sized punches from 6mm to 25mm .Made from broken rod sections which then have a wine cork fitted to make a nice handle.A slit is cut in the side of the tube to help extract the bread disc.Very often I will pre punch the discs prior to a trip and store them in grip seal bags.
Still messing with this bait including flavours and mixing brown/white bread for the feed.

I will also add flavour to the wheat in the flask......endless this fishing lark!

The wheat and punch has taken over from maggot for me.
When October arrives it will time to seek out a big chub,sausage meat paste,luncheon meat paste and the killer cheese paste and crust combo (thank you to Archie Braddock for first putting me on to this via his book and articles) Again flavours will be all part of this.
Flavoured wheat will be added to the feeder if being used.

All these baits freeze well and some benefit from being thawed out and the frozen again.

Enjoy your outings.
All the best
Nige.

Totally agree

Out here maggots are about 10c each and pretty poor specimens. Stewed wheat and banded chicken pellets are great for mini species and roach. I add vanilla essence to the wheat. Maize whole and milled is a staple for carp and barbel. Luncheon meat and home made meatballs or sausage sticks and cheese paste with or without a bit of salmon cat food can be used to avoid smaller species. I can get most of my bait ingredients from the supermarket.

Hi Clive,
I agree supermarkets are a great resource for all sorts of items.Its a trip on its own when stocking the bait cupboard!
All the best
Nige.

[Paul W]

I had a chance to get out again today for a another session using wheat on the Trent.
I did have a quick look at my local stretch this morning to find it carrying a little extra water and some colour.
This didn't put me off as I had caught in similar conditions over the years.

I arrived at around 2.00pm and settled into the long glide swim I had previously fished catching a nice number of chub.
After a slow start and bumping off two fish,the bites started to come .
The result was a steady flow of roach up to 12oz.
All in fabulous condition.
During the session I had some run through's with punched bread and picked up a bonus bream of around 3lb.
The punched bread also accounted for some nice dace and a couple of better roach too.

Throughout the session the wheat was trickled in along with hemp and this kept the bites coming apart from one quiet spell.

I called it a day at around 7pm with around forty fish accounted for.

This bait has more to offer and I will be planning further sessions .It was interesting to note only one chub today.

So far my five sessions on the Trent has resulted in variety of species for very little outlay.(I get about two pints of bait from a mug full of seed this is prepared in a flask)

I will keep you posted.

All the best
Nige.

Lovely story
Where do you get your wheat from ?

Hi Paul,
I bought a smaller quantity off a well known auction site.I just ordered a 20kg bag from the same site for £11.99 inc delivery.....fingers crossed its OK when it lands.
Just search whole wheat.
All the best
Nige.

Many thanks

[RobGoodwin]

Just seen this thread so apologies for such a late reply. However, Rob's top tip is that you can get a big bag of bird food from bargain stores like B and M for about £1 and this is often around 90% wheat. There are some suet particles and other seeds in it, but the wheat cooks up nicely and catches roach for me in my local Trent strteches. For someone wanting to try wheat on a budget you could do a lot worse than using this stuff. As has been previously mentioned you have to patient when fishing wheat - it takes a while to get the roach going. I've found mid August to end of October the best time to use wheat. I've never tried it in winter but wouldn't be suprised if it still works.
Regards, Rob

[Michael]

Another vote for wheat, barley, though this summer I was having good success with tares & urid beans..

[Old Man River]

I like this thread, I am learning all sorts of thing about alternative baits, having been almost exclusivley a Barbel , Chub and Pike angler for many years , I will be looking to expand horisons next year. I can see the dragon in laws birdseed bin being raided tomorrow.

OMR

[Michael]

I like this thread, I am learning all sorts of thing about alternative baits, having been almost exclusivley a Barbel , Chub and Pike angler for many years , I will be looking to expand horisons next year. I can see the dragon in laws birdseed bin being raided tomorrow.

OMR

Bird seed and pidgeon conditioner is a classic in particle feed, mixes & dare I say boilies
Like I say I've a thing for tares when roach fishing, but urid beans are now my preference, and just as easy to prepare...

[TrentFisher]

Evening Gents,

was it really July when I posted this!

In summary to my season on the Trent using wheat,it was very similar to my early years back in the 70's fishing the Trent at Clifton.
The roach caught in numbers with the some chub thrown in for good measure.
A little time to get the fish interested ,but once feeding a good rate of bites and fish to boot.
It was interesting when I did run the float through using punched bread discs of around 12mm resulted in bream,but no bream where taken on wheat.
When I use corn the bream can go on a frenzy,especially when liquidised corn is fed.My corn is liquidised just enough so there is a good mix of particle pieces.
I will be experimenting next season with liquidised wheat.....that's for another day.

I am glad the post has been of interest and thank you for your posts which have presented more food for thought.

All the best
Nige.