Hi All,

Bit of a long shot and it may not be possible

I'm fishing a fairly strong tidal river (in Australia where I can't use anything fish based)
Problem I'm having is with any particles, nuts or beans etc within a couple of hours my groundbait is all over the place

Any ideas people may specifically have regarding the preparation process that may help the aforementioned heavier / less boyant would be greatly appreciated

Best

Jon

In reply to Post #1
Try a big cage feeder with a groundbait plug at each end. It's what they were invented for. Old school but it will work. Do some reading and pick up the tips and wrinkles.

In reply to Post #1
Bucket of particle and a baiting spoon, bait a few meters upstream so it drops over your spot with the flow

Used to fish the Trent and a few other rivers when I was younger, you could tell where the bait was on the bottom when running a stick float down, it's where the bites were if they were not up in the water. Same as, just allow for the flow. If it's that strong your bait is just going to get washed away anyway

Fill it in Jon

In reply to Post #1
Vitalin or similar will help get it down quickly Jon and in one lump... But in terms of holding the bait in a flow it's all about what you are fishing on bottom wise. Look for gravel. In a fast flow if you're fishing on mud or clay everything will get washed away,,, But if you can find large patches of gravel or broken ground, these will hold your bait for you past the point where you can physically fish and hold bottom yourself.

In reply to Post #1
Bait little and often rather than lumping in... A trickle of bait down the flow can be very effective in pulling fish...

In reply to Post #1
Why don't you use vitalin/groundbait then freeze them as they are made into balls and when you throw them in frozen they settle on the bottom and slowly disperse leaving piles on the river bed,you could even use an old pva tube and put liquid in and reply's hole before freezing them that way you've got loads of flavour and attractants in the water and water columns

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies.
Bite time is just before and just after high tide at the moment so the flow strength is constantly changing as is the direction which is what's spreading it all over the place.

Little worried about about the meat content, but I'll deffinately give the vitalin a go and see what happens, might try playing around with some method style balls or patties as well

Deffinately got me thinking about the problem in a different way, so again, Thanks

Best

Jon

In reply to Post #6
Water, when frozen, tends to float! Thus, large balls of bait, dampened with or soaking in water, will be semi-buoyant and will end up way downstream of where you intended.

Giant bait dropper is the answer. There is a guy on here who has found the answer, attaching a drop-down lid to a large saucepan. The lid is held in place by a 1lb lead on a steel rod, in exactly the same way as a standard bait dropped works. The lead hits the bottom which pushed the rod up and this opens the lid when the pan hits the lakebed. It works a treat, even in fast flowing rivers.

John Baker demonstrated his monster bait dropper on his Korda podast,I think it could take a kilo at a time or there is the old method Frank Warwick spoke about,a football sized method ball dropped over the side of the boat if you could do that.

In reply to Post #7
I would just focus on getting them used to finding it and eating it Jon. Once they know what it is you can catch them anywhere on it providing they are around

In reply to Post #1
I know you said particle, but have you looked at making some heavy boiled baits that would stand a much better chance of holding bottom ?

In reply to Post #7
"Thanks for the replies.
Bite time is just before and just after high tide at the moment so the flow strength is constantly changing as is the direction which is what's spreading it all over the place."

However you choose to get it down through the water column, what you are describing you really need to find some gravel to hold it Jon. Tidal rivers can be a git, for exactly what you are describing. When the flow only goes one way... There will always be food traps created somewhere where it's easier to fish and hold bottom. When the flow goes both ways, it really makes it challenging holding bait on an area as you are describing, if it flows really quickly both ways. Fishing over gravel will hold it there for you unquestionably better than anything else.

It took me a long time to learn this on the Thames. Often the fastest flow goes over the gravel runs... Which is why the gravel runs are there in the first place. But... It holds food particles large and small incredibly well, even when that flow is raging. In even a moderate flow, fishing over a smooth bottom... All the bait is gone very rapidly. You need something there that can physically hold it all in place. Gravel will mate.

Hi All

I'm boating out

So the inverting plastic bag trick gets it down there fast and I think I've done up to about 3 kilos per drop before with that

Tcarper
I'll have a lead about for gravel, but it's mainly sand I've found so far

Thank

Best
Jon

In reply to Post #13
If there's sand, you'll find gravel Jon. It helps massively holding the leads as well as the bait. You'll find no amount of lead (10oz+) will stop the flow moving it if you are fishing over a smooth bottom... Yet fish over some gravel in the same flow and a 5oz lead will keep it pinned to the deck easily.

You'll find it Jon. Good luck.

In reply to Post #14
Hi Mark

I'm drilling out small rocks and gluing in half swivels to use as weights (about 5_6 oz)
Cheap, do the job no problem and they drop off 90% of the time as well, so that parts no problem, even in sand

Best

Jon