Using the right groundbait can make or break your fishing on rivers, especially when silverfish are the target. What is needed is a mix that acts as a magnet for the fish, concentrating them where it is most efficient to fish, but without filling them up. The key elements are attraction, colour and composition. Get these factors right and you will maximise your catches on each line.
I use a dark mix that the fish are willing to settle over, even when the water is clear. Champions Feeder Black Roach is perfect for this job, having a lovely dark colour and being very attractive to all silverfish, but particularly roach. You might be surprised to learn that I add Champions Choice Canal to the Black Roach to ensure that the balls hit the bottom before breaking up. Remember though, that the continental canals where the Canal mix was developed are much deeper and often have a quite significant flow than our canals, so they are more akin to our slow-flowing rivers and larger drains.
Follow these simple steps to get the mix just right.
Andrew ‘Mossy’ Moss
1 – Start off by adding a full bag of Champion’s Feeder Black Roach to your mixing bowl.
2 – Next add a bag of Champions Choice Canal to the bowl and mix the two groundbait together well.
3 – Slowly add water to the groundbaits. I use a large pole cup to do this so that I can control the amount of water added precisely.
4 – Keep mixing the groundbait, ideally with a whisk, all the time.
"I use a dark mix that the fish are willing to settle over"
5 – Leave the groundbait to stand for at least ten minutes so that all of the water is absorbed.
6 – Riddle the groundbait to remove any lumps and to aerate it. Discard any lumps, do not try and force them through the riddle.
7 – That’s about it. You might need to add a tiny amount of extra water with an atomiser through the day to keep the consistency just right.
8 – Add some dead pinkie, finely chopped worm and a few casters as feed to the groundbait.