Bread
Bread, and all of its derivatives. As I mentioned earlier, bread has been used as bait for ever and a day. It can and will catch most fish that are available to be caught. I personally would not use it for either pike or perch, but you can rest assured that there is someone somewhere who has caught these fish on it. Unfortunately in this day and age of high tech solutions to simple problems, the humble loaf of bread is almost forgotten. If you are fishing for roach or rudd, a great attractor can be made from a simple white loaf from one of the Super Markets (18p from Quick Save). At the bank side, put the loaf into a bucket and cover with cold water. Leave to soak, and then get your hands into action. Squash up the bread in the water to make a slop. Throw in a handful and watch as the large white cloud spreads out, and slowly start to sink. There is very little food value in this cloud, but it does make a very effective attractor. Another bread attractor is to take some slices of fresh bread, tear into bits and put into a food processor. Mix them for about a minute until you have small even sized bits. Put in a polythene bag and seal. At the water side, just take a small hand full of the bread and lightly squeeze together. This has more feeding power than the slop variety, so a bit more care will be needed especially in the winter not to overfeed. Purchase a set of bread punches, and fish a tiny piece of bread punch on a size 18 hook. Years ago the trick to making good bread ready to use with a punch was to cut off the crusts and then to hold the slice over a steaming kettle. A much simpler way now is to put each slice (minus its crusts) into a microwave and cook for 30 seconds. Take out the slice and wrap in cling film. Do this with as many slices you think that you will need for bait. When the fish arrive in your swim, use one of the bread punches to make a small pellet. The sport can become fast and furious. If your hook is bare when you reel in, do NOT think that you have been fishing with a bare hook, the small piece of bread is on your hook until you either strike or reel in. Have confidence in this simple but effective method. I have had many large carp take this very small piece of bait, and it never ceases to amaze me that such a massive fish, has seen fit to go for such a minuscule morsel. Bread flake is a great bait when fishing for tench or bream. A size 14 hook baited with a big piece of flake from the inside of a loaf works wonders. Take a good pinch of bread from your loaf, and fold it over the hook, and squeeze it tight around the shank, trying not to mask the point. Only take out one slice of bread at a time, so that the slices stay as fresh as possible. Any pieces that start to dry out, put into your bucket of slop. If you are float fishing, then the occasional dollop of slop can be thrown around your float, to keep the fishes attention. A piece taken from the rubbery section of the crust, makes a wonderful floating bait, for both carp and rudd. To watch a piece of crust disappear in a swirl of water is guaranteed to make the pulse race. All bread baits can be flavoured or coloured at will. Stick to food colourings and flavour's from your supermarket. They are considerably cheaper. The only possible downside to the supermarket flavour's is said to be that they are not as strong as the proper fishing ones.
Paste. As a youngster, the very first special that I made was to create cheese paste. A few slices of stale white bread, with the crust removed, were dampened with water, and about a third of grated cheddar cheese was added and kneaded well. Peter Stone and co were using such baits to catch chub with great success. I used it on the river Lea, and was able to catch all manner of fish with it. Since those days, the recipe has changed some, and the latest method is to go to your supermarket and purchase some ready made, frozen flaky pastry. Take 2 parts flaky pastry (not frozen), 1 part Stilton cheese (any blue cheese for cost reasons), and 1 part cheddar, a pinch of salt and a couple of drops of vegetable oil. Grate all of the cheese and mix well with the flaky pastry, add the pinch of salt and the oil, and knead. Can be used as it is, or frozen for later use. Gets better as it gets older. But beware of the diminishing effect. As the paste gets older your friends become less. Another really good paste, that is both cheap and easy to make, and which I have had good success, is peanut butter. Buy a large jar of smooth peanut butter from Quick Save, or Summerfield. Put a large blob into a bowl, and then add a teaspoon at a time of Richworth 50-50 base mix. Keep mixing until it is a creamy smooth paste of the correct consistency, and there you have it, yet another good paste bait. With paste the list of ingredients is endless. If you use things other than creamy peanut butter, you will have to add an egg to the mix to get it smooth. Try and stay away from the exotic and expensive ingredients that are available in tackle shops. If you look around your local supermarket, and use your imagination, the range is immense. Paste is a much better bait than a boilie, and the reason for this is that because you have not cooked them, the leakage is much better, and hopefully it is the leakage of flavour and oils that will attract the fish to the bait.