One of the things I have been trying over the last two seasons is the use of wheat as an alternative loose feed. I bought a sack (25kg) for about £14 including delivery (would have been less than half if I could have picked it up!) and after two seasons I still have half a sack left! So what myths and questions arise with wheat, as it is not a common bait.
1. Preparation – there are a lot of myths and legends but preparing wheat can be very easy if you are able to boil a kettle (more later in a separate blog with pictures on how to prepare it!)
2. Storage – “it doesn’t freeze well”, I keep being told – wrong! If prepared sensibly it freezes well and can be used on several trips if placed back in the freezer.
3. “It is easy to over feed it” – so is any bait!
4.”It is mainly for pre-baiting for bream or roach fishing” – it can be used in those ways but I have caught carp, bream, tench, roach, rudd, gudgeon, chub, dace and perch on wheat !
Preparation I will deal with as previously stated. Some people swear by stewed wheat, I have had plenty of success with my method but I will at some point try some stewed just to see the difference.
Storage – I put approximately 2 pints of prepared wheat into a large freezer bag and seal- the key with this is that the wheat needs to be damp/wet and the sealing takes most of the air out of the bag. A bag can last me 2-3 sessions and is resealed and put back in the freezer each time. I simply take the bag out the day before or sometimes on the morning I am going.
Feeding – I will loose feed about 6-10 grains every couple of minutes If I am after anything that swims, if i am targeting bream, tench or carp I will put in the equivalent of a large pole pot (250ml) and spread it in a line over a metre or so, then loose feed 10-20 grains every 5minutes or so.
Hooking – I will start off with a single grain on an 18 or 16 hook. The way I hook the grain is by the thicker end so the point of the hook comes out on the side the kernel is split on. If I suspect there are bigger fish present I will go up to a size 14 with 2 grains.
Venues – I have used wheat on all types of waters- canals, rivers, commercials, natural lakes and have always had a response from fish – they like it even if some people think they don’t!
Sometimes it is worth trying something different- you may be pleasantly surprised!
(When I do my next lot of wheat for the freezer I will do a follow up blog with pictures so you can see how easy it is!)
