Here’s a different bait that’s worth a try!
Exotic wheat bait empties lakes
FOR pleasure anglers, kitchen cupboard baits are extremely popular – but on the match scene, turning your back on reliable maggots and pellets is seen as too much of a risk.
Middy ace Steve Gregory’s run of results through the autumn and winter might just make you rethink that gamble – he’s been emptying commercial fisheries using nothing more than a couple of bags of couscous!
These tiny grains are dried durum wheat which, when added to hot water, soften and swell up considerably. They’re popular in North African cuisine but not so far, it seems, on the match fishing front. Yet the carp and F1s where Steve has been fishing seem to love the stuff. How can this be?
Well, when soaked, couscous resembles micro pellets very closely in terms of size, weight and texture, so it doesn’t take too much of a leap of faith to understand why you’d catch fish by presenting a bait over it.
It’s equally productive when
fished on the hook. In this instance, the Lincolnshire fishery owner seeks out a bag of giant couscous that again, when soaked, ends up as a 4mm or 6mm pellet lookalike.
Simply potting in small helpings of standard couscous then fishing a giant piece over the top comes into its own in winter. Steve believes this is down to the inert nature of the bait and feed. Once fed, the couscous sits on the bottom and won’t go anywhere. It’s also super-soft and easy for fish to hoover up and digest.
“I’ve told people that I use couscous and they either laugh or shake their heads – but the stuff really does work,” Steve said. “It’s also very good when the fish are spawning, which is only a few weeks away now. I think the stuff resembles spawn, which carp eat lots of, so if you are struggling using pellets perhaps making a change might just solve your problems.”
To put it all into action, Steve pitched up on the Canal Lake at his Rushfield Fishery complex near Lincoln. This lake regularly sees full-house 26-peg matches, but Steve’s fine track record using couscous speaks for itself. It can’t be luck or coincidence!”
COUSCOUS PREPARATION
“To prepare the bait I first make a trip to Asda to get the couscous. I’ll buy a standard bag and then a bag of giant couscous and some gelatine sheets. It’s then back to the kitchen to get sorted.
“For feed, preparation mirrors what I’d do with micro pellets. I cover the couscous with boiling water and let it soak for five minutes, then drain, bag and refrigerate the stuff. Couscous can also be frozen and thawed out to use again without losing its shape or consistency.”
‘JELLY’ HOOKBAITS
“Preparing the giant couscous for the hook follows the same principle, and while it’s okay to just soak and use I find that it tends to be fragile and can fall off the hook.
“To make the couscous tougher I soak it and then drain before adding a sheet of gelatine mixed with a little hot water for another five minutes. This is just enough for it to take on some elasticity.
“After five minutes, run the couscous under the cold tap to halt the gelatine process and it’s done! Bag it up and pop it in the fridge and it will stick together a little, but a quick loosen up with a shake of the bag will sort it into individual grains.
“You can also colour couscous for fishing in warmer water, and to do it I simply add dye to the liquid gelatine.
“When fishing I generally start with single hookbaits, but double couscous can be very selective for the bigger fish.” The F1s came thick and fast to couscous!