Luncheon Meat

...

Luncheon meat, like the sweetcorn, is one of the cheapest baits available. Unlike maggots though (thank God), you can but it in all sorts of shops, not just the fishing ones. If for some reason you have no idea about the thing I’m talking about, it’s the stuff in the tin that has a funny metal key, which you pull off and use to open it. Some people do actually like to eat it (which makes it basically the same as giving ...
...or not, the developments in luncheon meat design have strongly advanced over the last few years. I am perhaps making it sound more complicated than it really is, but what I mean is, that now, you can buy all sorts of meats especially designed to be eaten by fish.

As with the paste that I mentioned a few days ago, companies like Sensas and Van Den Eynde have been taking this stuff and making it in to something which has such strong ... more

Howdy people, today I’m gonna thrill and amaze (any human out there), search and destroy you (any fish out there). The next in line of my ‘do it Bennys way’ ‘opinions’……but not just that, is this one. Have you heard the one about the pig that got mangled up and put in a can?? Neither have I, I’m just being sick, but this is where he ended up, I’m sure!!

Luncheon meat, like the sweetcorn, is one of the cheapest baits available. Unlike maggots though (thank God), you can but it in all sorts of shops, not just the fishing ones. If for some reason you have no idea about the thing I’m talking about, it’s the stuff in the tin that has a funny metal key, which you pull off and use to open it. Some people do actually like to eat it (which makes it basically the same as giving the fish your nicely made sandwiches), so by using it as bait, I suppose those are some might lucky fish out there.

Believe it or not, the developments in luncheon meat design have strongly advanced over the last few years. I am perhaps making it sound more complicated than it really is, but what I mean is, that now, you can buy all sorts of meats especially designed to be eaten by fish.

As with the paste that I mentioned a few days ago, companies like Sensas and Van Den Eynde have been taking this stuff and making it in to something which has such strong fish pulling powers, that it really does made it easier for today’s angler to catch bulk loads of fishies. By giving it special consistencies and flavours (again I recommend the Sensas ‘Prawn and Shrimp’, and no I don’t work for Sensas:)), today’s fisherman guys will often go home with yellow fingers that stink of seafood, curry or just some total sh**ty thing, but at least they’ll be happy just knowing that they’ve managed to spend a few hours out of the house, talking to some fish (we all do that right???…….”No Ben, we don’t!!”).

I’ll start on the ordinary stuff though, even though I haven’t used it for a few years now after I found the special stuff.

You can get it from just about any supermarket I’ve ever seen (and some I haven’t seen too I should think). It’s really cheap, which it really should be considering how bad it tastes (that still doesn’t stop me nibbling at the odd bit though while I’m on the bank).

Ok, for the complete beginner, the best idea is to use a pair of scissors or a knife to chop the stuff up in to cubes. The size of which can depend upon the size of fish you want to catch. If you’re using luncheon meat, you can’t really expect to catch many small things like roach or rudd (although you will on the odd occasion). You’re gonna be after things like Carp and Tench. So, to go with your bigger fish, you’re going to need stronger tackle.

I can only really recommend stuff to those using it on lakes and possibly canals. Living in Cornwall, my closest proper fish holding river is probably about a 3 hour drive away, so I don’t have much experience with all that stuff (sorry carolinesite).

I fish it most often on the pole, although I do also often have a go for the bigger stuff on rod and line (get to that in a mo).

Ok, so you’re after carp and Tench on your local lake. You’ve got your pole fitted with a 10 elastic (or whatever you want, but nothing under 8 normally). You can attack it in 2 ways; with your bait on the bottom, or further up at maybe around only 2 or 3 feet.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NON-FISHER(WO)MAN PEOPLE IGNORE!!!!!

I’ve had most success by fishing at full-depth, but I have witnessed some amazing catches with it fished shallower.

~~~~ For your BOTTOM approach (which is nowhere near as rude as it sounds), you’ll need a float with a fairly thick bristle, 3 or 4lb mainline with a lighter hook-length if you wish (but still not much less than 3lb (make sure the mainline is heavier than the hook-length by about 1lb)), a bulk of shot or an olivette (don’t ask :)), and a size 14 (ish) hook. I normally set the rig a few inches (4-6) over-depth, but that can be increased by as much as it takes to keep the bait still (IT MUST BE STILL!!) - on windy days for example when there’s a strong undertow. Shot the float so that the whole bristle is showing (unlike the corn that I mentioned yesterday). You will notice that once fishing, the float will move up and down a lot as fish drag across the line. It is very important to ignore these small indications. If you did shot the float right down, you’d miss bite after bite, simply because the fish hasn’t actually got the bait in its mouth. I was surprised when I first read about that, but it really does work. When the carp do take your bait, the float really shoots under. Try it and see!!

Of course, you do have to get the fish there though before you catch them. Normally, al you need to do, as with the paste, is to fire out a couple of large pouchfuls of trout pellets to form a bit of a bed for them to feed over. A few large balls of groundbait at the start can often kick-start the whole thing, with the splash often attracting them rather than scaring them away (TIP: try giving them half an hour to settle before fishing over them. The fish will gain some confidence in this time and will be feeding more freely so you can catch em more easily). Once they’re there though, all you’ll need is the pellet. 20 or so every few minutes should keep them happy. If they’re feeding well (or not at all), you’ll have to adjust that accordingly though. VERY important that this feed keeps going in though.

SIZE OF BAIT??? Well, I’ve found a roughly 1cm cubed bit just about right for this method. It will compliment the hook size (which you of course can change if you want to use bigger or smaller pieces of meat) and allow all sizes of fish at least some chance of being able to take it properly.

HOOKING LUNCHEON MEAT: Everyone does it differently, which basically means that it often just doesn’t matter. As long as the hook point can escape from the bait on the strike, and the bait stays on the hook while it’s in the water, you’ll be ok. I normally just push the hook as deep in to the bait as I can, but bend it round towards the end so that I can be sure that the hook point is showing.

You’ll be glad to know that’s all I have to say about that one. It’s a brilliant summer method on all but the hottest of days. By feeding the pellet in larger but less regular loads, you will hopefully keep the fish down on the bottom, right where you want them. If they do come up shallower though, it won’t be much of a problem for you, cos I can solve it for you (cheer cheer yippee!!!)………………….

~~~~ When the fish come up SHALLOW, the non-fisher person may not understand just how busy a boring looking old fisherman can really be. Feed must be regular, but in smaller doses than before. Again, pellet is normally all that is needed, this time smaller though. OR – TIP: Cut your tin of meat in to slices and then push it through a maggot riddle. This will give you large amounts of tiny meat cubes. They’ll sink slower than the pellet, therefore look more enticing to your carp, and they’re heavy enough for you to be able to fire them from a catapult. You can actually sometimes squeeze them in to balls as well (like groundbait). Good for if you’re fishing at full-depth actually, they normally break up on the way down. Whatever I’m feeding with the meat, I just try to introduce it about every 30 seconds to keep the fish searching the upper layers. As with before, carp bites in shallow water are often pretty damn mental!! They will often hook themselves, either pulling the elastic from your pole, or pulling you rod-tip right round before you’ve even noticed the float disappear.

Tackle for fishing shallow on the pole (but basically the same for rod and line) is very simple. As before, you want a 14 (ish) hook, 3 or 4lb line (straight through with no hooklength). A light dibber type float (no bristle, just a bulbous body with a bright tip) with a string of small shot, evenly spread down the line to allow the bait to sink slowly. I won’t go in to explaining any more about how to fish cos that’s going off the subject of the meat (email me if you have any questions – bjeee@outgun.com).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If you can’t be bothered to cut it up in to cubes, just tear bits off. This I think kind of looks more natural, which I suppose is a good thing (also gives the bait a bigger surface area so it gives off more smells). It often becomes harder to hook this way, but you can normally find a way. If you’re having trouble, just push the hook right through the meat and place a blade of grass in the bend of the hook and pull it back through. This will then normally stop the meat from flying off, but still (if you use a bendy enough piece of grass) allows the hook to pull out on the strike.

Basically, meat is an excellent SUMMER bait, which is ideal for bigger fish (Carp, Tench, Bream, Barbel and Chub). It’s easy to use, cheap and catches you loads of those lovely fishies.

It normally think it looks funny when people thank you for reading their stuff, but in this case I must thank you myself. 1700 words on luncheon meat huh!! I really could have written twice as much, but as I said, just email me if you think I missed anything :)
 

...less