Bread, Dough & Pudding Rigs

In the saltwater areas I have used flour-based baits to catch garfish, mullet, bream, drummer, and blackfish with a high success rate. So why not try using flour-based baits when targeting freshwater fish species like freshwater mullet, carp, black bream, herring, trout and many more.

When using bread as bait I will only use white bread as I get better results than with brown or multi-grain. You can either cut small square pieces from the white section of a slice of bread (no crust) or use a length of the crust with some of the white part attached. You can also add a bit of water to the white part of the bread and mould it into a tear-drop shape on the hook.

One of my favourite pudding mixtures is a kilo of sausage mince, one tin of sardines and one tin of cat food, mixed. You then apply plenty of flour to the ball of ingredients and roll it until the mixture doesn’t stick to your hands. Divide this into for equal portions, around the size of a tennis ball, and freeze for a later date.

When you get to use this bait, you will pull off enough to form a tear drop shaped bait that will cover the whole of the hook, except for the point and the barb of the hook. It can then be suspended underneath a stem or bubble float, lightly or unweighted.

Technique 1

If you are fishing where there is a bit of current, I would mould the bread (no crust) around the whole of the hook, covering the point, barb, and eye of the hook. Before doing this, I would grab the Pro-Cure scent of your choice (I prefer Garlic Plus or Aniseed) and warm the bottle up so that it is a bit on the runny side. Then I would pour it over the bread and mould it around the hook.

This can then be either used unweighted, with a running sinker, on a long leader, or suspended under a float or bobby cork. What tends to happen is that the fish will be attracted to the bread and start picking at it. Once it gets a taste of the bread and the scent it will tend to swallow it.

Technique 2

Cut the bread into a rectangle shape of about 4 x 2cm. Place the hook, with the line attached, onto the bread and fold it over so that the square is now 2cm square. Pinch the bread together for 1cm of the bread and mould it to the eye of the hook. Leave the bottom half untouched.

You will find that when you cast this unweighted bait into the water it will either float or very slowly sink. This is great to use when you have used either white bread or breadcrumbs to bring the bream to the top.

Technique 3

Mix a can of cat food with some white bread, then add plain flour, Garlic, Aniseed and Shrimp Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent, with a small amount of water. Mix until the ingredients are like plasticine. When putting it onto the hook just use enough to cover the hook from the adjoining knot to the bottom on the bend in the hook, making sure that you leave the point and the barb protruding.

Suggested Combos

Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-702NT, X-Light, 7'0" Nibble Tip, 2-4kg rod, matched with an Okuma JAW-30 spinning reel, spooled with 6lb Platypus Pulse Mono or 6lb Pulse X4 Braid, for either out of a boat or off the shore.

Okuma Barbarian Spin Rods - BN-S-1162NT, Med/Light, 11'6" Nibble Tip, 2-6kg rod, matched with an Okuma Epixor XT 20, 30 or 40 size reel, spooled with 6lb Platypus Pulse Mono or 6lb Pulse X4 Braid.

Okuma LRF Gen2 Spin Rods - LRF2-S-742L, Light, 7'4", 2-5kg is great for when you are getting those very sensitive bites. Matched with either an Okuma Epixor XT 20, 30 or 40 size reel.

Try an Okuma Ceymar baitcast combo if you prefer fishing baitcast tackle.