Coarse
Probably one of the commonest seed baits around is hemp, it is used in almost all aspects of coarse fishing. From specimen hunting carp anglers, to a father
& son out on a canal fishing for Millers Thumbs
. It also has a lot of myths that seem to follow it around, like "the fish
will get addicted!" Well it is the seed of a drug, scientists and anglers have proved however it is NOT addictive in any way.
Anyway onto how to prepare hemp seed.......BUY A TIN!!!
Or do it to your own personal preference, with a bit of a twist perhaps?
When you've bought your raw hemp the first thing to do is wash it. Just give it a good rinse through, you can do this by putting the hemp into a sieve (watching that the spouse doesn't see!) and then put the sieve and hemp under the cold water tap (whilst water is running) for a couple of minutes. You then need to put the seeds into a large pan, making sure the pan is big enough to hold twice as much water as hemp, because you need to soak the hemp for around 24 hours. After soaking the hemp comes the cooking, this is where you can do it with a twist. The seeds may have swollen a bit, absorbed some water, so add a small amount of water. The water needs to cover the hemp by half the depth of the hemp, i.e. if you have two inches of hemp in the pan you need to have one inch of water on the top of it. Now add some flavours, a good flavouring is plain old sugar, just add a couple of teaspoons per pound of hemp. The liquor that is left after cooking makes a great additive to ground bait. Another extra is salt, which can sometimes give you the edge on hard fished waters. Some others are:- strawberry flavouring, tutti fruitti, brasem, curry or anything else that you think might give you the edge over the rest.
Cooking the hemp can be done in several ways. One way is to bring it to the boil and then remove it from the heat, and leave it to cool in its own time. Another is to bring it to the boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Then after 5-10 minutes it will split (watch for it splitting). Once it has opened, strain off the liquor, and put the hemp into a bowl of cold water. Whichever way you choose, save the liquor for use later. When the hemp is cooked it can be used straight away, or frozen to use at a later date.
Tares are the perfect hook bait when using hemp as loose feed, and are prepared in a similar way as hemp, an exception is that when they are soaked you can add some bicarbonate of soda (about 1 teaspoon per half pound of tares), and they need to be cooked for a little longer. Tares are cooked for 10-20 minutes, you have to keep testing them, to see when they soften. Because you do not want tares to split, as they will just go to a mushy pea consistency. So once the tares have softened you need to strain the liquor off, and put the tares into some cold water. Then you HAVE to freeze the tares before they are ready to be used as hook bait, otherwise they will not be soft enough to hook, whilst being tough enough to hold on the hook. Adding sugar to the tares, prior to cooking, will give them a nice sheen.
Some people add bicarb to their hemp as well, but it can lead to the hemp overcooking very easily!
. It also has a lot of myths that seem to follow it around, like "the fish
will get addicted!" Well it is the seed of a drug, scientists and anglers have proved however it is NOT addictive in any way.
Anyway onto how to prepare hemp seed.......BUY A TIN!!!
Or do it to your own personal preference, with a bit of a twist perhaps?
When you've bought your raw hemp the first thing to do is wash it. Just give it a good rinse through, you can do this by putting the hemp into a sieve (watching that the spouse doesn't see!) and then put the sieve and hemp under the cold water tap (whilst water is running) for a couple of minutes. You then need to put the seeds into a large pan, making sure the pan is big enough to hold twice as much water as hemp, because you need to soak the hemp for around 24 hours. After soaking the hemp comes the cooking, this is where you can do it with a twist. The seeds may have swollen a bit, absorbed some water, so add a small amount of water. The water needs to cover the hemp by half the depth of the hemp, i.e. if you have two inches of hemp in the pan you need to have one inch of water on the top of it. Now add some flavours, a good flavouring is plain old sugar, just add a couple of teaspoons per pound of hemp. The liquor that is left after cooking makes a great additive to ground bait. Another extra is salt, which can sometimes give you the edge on hard fished waters. Some others are:- strawberry flavouring, tutti fruitti, brasem, curry or anything else that you think might give you the edge over the rest.
Cooking the hemp can be done in several ways. One way is to bring it to the boil and then remove it from the heat, and leave it to cool in its own time. Another is to bring it to the boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Then after 5-10 minutes it will split (watch for it splitting). Once it has opened, strain off the liquor, and put the hemp into a bowl of cold water. Whichever way you choose, save the liquor for use later. When the hemp is cooked it can be used straight away, or frozen to use at a later date.
Tares are the perfect hook bait when using hemp as loose feed, and are prepared in a similar way as hemp, an exception is that when they are soaked you can add some bicarbonate of soda (about 1 teaspoon per half pound of tares), and they need to be cooked for a little longer. Tares are cooked for 10-20 minutes, you have to keep testing them, to see when they soften. Because you do not want tares to split, as they will just go to a mushy pea consistency. So once the tares have softened you need to strain the liquor off, and put the tares into some cold water. Then you HAVE to freeze the tares before they are ready to be used as hook bait, otherwise they will not be soft enough to hook, whilst being tough enough to hold on the hook. Adding sugar to the tares, prior to cooking, will give them a nice sheen.
Some people add bicarb to their hemp as well, but it can lead to the hemp overcooking very easily!
