PASTE - Preston Innovations

UKM PASTE EXPLAINED / Andy Findlay
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Andy on mixing and fishing the stuff!
For big weights of carp there’s
nothing to beat paste. It’s
taken the current UK match
records and accounts for
countless tons every weekend.
Andy Findlay has an awesome
commercial fishery record
that owes a lot to paste, so
who better to talk about THE
bait to be fishing this summer?
UKM
Did you Know
Andy actually made his name
on rivers and canals with
Leicester Sensas in the 1990s
before switching to
commercial carp and never
looking back!
Andy
Findlay
Midlands carp king
UKM When does paste
really come into its own?
AF I guess that we’re right at
the start of when I think paste is
at its best. From July until
September are the times when
it’ll catch best. Like any bait it
will work all year round, but in
these warmer months when the
fish are more active and feeding
strongly, and the water
temperatures are at their peak,
paste is pretty hard to beat –
especially when it comes to
consistently catching big fish.
All you need to
know about…
PASTE
UKMATCH MAGAZINE
12
JUNE 29TH 2010
UKM Is paste an instant
method?
AF Unless I know that a venue
is an out-and-out paste water
then I wouldn’t start by fishing
it. Instead I would feed the line
but probably spend the first
hour or so fishing other
methods like the feeder or a
separate pole line. One thing
you do get a lot of when fishing
paste is fizzing, so if you see
bubbles on your chosen line
then have a go. Otherwise, I
would wait at least an hour.
Once the fish arrive and settle
down, it can be a bite a chuck.
UKM There are
hundreds of pastes out
there. What’s best?
AF Each type can have its day
UKMATCH MAGAZINE
13
JUNE 29TH 2010
UKM PASTE ExPlAinEd / Andy Findlay
of course, from a ready-made
version to pellets soaked and
pressed together. i honestly think
to be efficient a purpose-made
paste is your best bet because it
will bind together correctly and,
more importantly, allow you to
alter the consistency depending
on the reaction of the fish.
i fish two pastes, both from
Sonu Baits. i helped develop these
so i know that they’re absolutely
perfect for what i want. the first is
the One to One variety for fishing
on the deck, and the second is the
new Fibre Paste for those
occasions when the fish come
shallow in summer.
UKM What sort of paste
consistency is right?
AF that will all depend on the
fish. i tend to use either a sloppy
fast-breakdown mix or a stiffer
soft version for when i want the
paste to stay on the hook a little
longer. the decision as to which
one to use is based on how
quickly you are getting bites or
numbers of small nuisance fish in
the swim.
For example, if i am dropping in
and getting a bite immediately
then the sloppy mix will be
perfect. i should be striking within
30 seconds so it doesn’t matter
how quickly it all breaks down.
however, if it’s a longer wait or if
little fish like roach and skimmers
are pecking at the bait, the stiffer
mix will be ideal.
UKM Does paste fishing
need ‘animal’ tackle?
AF not really. You are fishing for
bigger than average carp so tackle
must be sensible to let you get
them out. My basic paste rig has
0.17mm Powerline fished straight
through to a size 10 PR36 hook.
this is a big hook but i fish big bits
of paste with the hook fully buried
inside. elastic is the Preston hollo
17h which is the yellow grade.
this is powerful stuff, but with
enough softness to allow me to
strike hard and not bump fish off.
to attach the elastic i use a
swivel rammed into the end of the
elastic. i secure this by tying 4lb
line around the end of the swivel
inside the elastic and attach the rig
at the other end. i’ve never had
one of these pop out, nor does the
elastic get damaged from the line.
this is miles better than a crow’s
foot attachment or Dacron.
UKM Do you fish paste
floats with long bristles?
AF Yes, i use the self-cocking
Preston PB Paste float for deep
water but i leave around half the
bristle showing so i can see when
the paste has come off. this float is
attached right at the top of the
bristle, which allows a more direct
strike, but my all-time favourite
paste float for margins or
shallower swims is the Durafloat 9
which doesn’t have an attachment
at the top. to fix this i use the
heated tip of a Quick Stop needle
to burn a small hole in the side of
the bristle to let me pass the line
through. Don’t worry! these
bristles are hollow so you aren’t
affecting their performance by
doing this.
“ConSiSTEnCy of
PASTE dEPEndS
on your biTES!”
UKM Shot or no shot on
the rig?
AF no shot. this makes the rig
tangle-free, and by relying on the
piece of paste as an anchor the rig
isn’t affected by tow or drift as
much as it would be if shotted.
there’s also less resistance to a
biting fish and the float is self
cocking anyway – so i don’t rely on
the paste alone to cock the float.
UKM Do you only need to
lift to set the hook when
striking?
AF no, it needs a full-blooded
strike, almost like zorro! You need
UKMatch Magazine
then it could be that paste won’t
work, but i will wait longer if i’m
getting indications but bites are
taking a little longer to develop.
this is when a stiffer mix that
won’t break down as quickly can
score well.
big fiSh CiTy
Paste has the
knack of luring
bigger than
average carp.
ANGLER FACTFILE
Name: Andy Findlay
Lives: Leicester
Age: 41
Occupation: Bricklayer
Sponsors: Preston Innovations
& Sonu Baits
to pull the hook through the paste
and set it properly so a little lift
will only prick the fish. For this
reason i fish quite a long line
between float and pole-tip, which
also helps to prevent tangles.
UKM Are line bites
and foul hooked fish
a problem?
AF the fish can take a while to
settle down when paste fishing
because each blob of paste that
comes off the hook is in effect a
little ball of groundbait on the
lakebed. this causes the fish to
graze as they feed, and as a result
you get a lot of fizzing in the swim.
Paste fish are also big, and it’s very
common for them to swim into
the line as they feed, so reading the
bite is as important as any other
factor when paste fishing.
UKM What bites do
you hit?
AF i want a sharp tug on the line
– it’s a very quick bite but doesn’t
always bury the complete float tip.
You’ll get liners that very slowly
pull the float under so ignore
these, striking only when the float
snaps under. to use an old cliché
it’s like turning a light off! even
then you will have your fair share
of foul hooked fish doing this, but
when the fish do settle every bite
should be perfect and every fish
hooked in the mouth.
even when the bristle has been
pulled under the water you can
still look for bites. i have a decent
14
jUne 29th 2010
bit of line between float and pole
and keep this slack so that with the
float submerged i can keep an eye
on the limp line above the float.
When this straightens sharply
then it’s a bite and a strike.
in a way it’s like fishing with a
swingtip.
UKM How do you know if
the paste is still on?
AF there’s an easy way to check,
and that’s to pull the rig to one
side a few inches. if the paste is
still there then it will pull the float
under. if it’s not then the float will
pull across the surface with the
bristle standing proud. i also fish
with no shot on the line, the paste
acting as the weight, so if it comes
off the float will pop up.
however, sometimes a fish taking
the bait can do this so always
strike before unshipping because
you never know!
UKM What if small fish
are a problem?
AF Roach and bream love paste
but if you’re being pestered by
them don’t worry, as the carp will
shove them out once they turn up.
in the meantime it’s a case of ‘grin
and bear it’, but what can help is
fishing a stiffer paste that will be
more resistant to little fish. in this
situation i would add more
powder to my stiffer paste mix to
give me a tougher bait that breaks
down more slowly.
in fact, one of my tricks is to
actually alter the consistency of
the paste particles. One to One is
a paste with quite large particles, if
you look closely, but by taking
time to mix it quite vigorously
you break these particles down
into a finer blend. this sticks
together better and doesn’t break
down as quickly.
UKM How long do you
leave the rig in?
AF no more than a minute in
summer. You should be getting
bites or at least indications in this
time. if you’re waiting any longer
UKM What sized piece of
paste is best?
AF Match this to the size of the
fish, but for carp between 5lb and
8lb, which is the average ‘big’ fish
on commercials, then a piece of
paste around the size of a 50 pence
piece (above left) will be spot-on.
however, if the carp were of
Drayton sizes then a piece twice
this size to really stand out might
work. if little fish are a problem
then a bigger piece can also get rid
of them.
UKM Feeding is key –
what do you feed, how
much goes in and when?
AF Because you’re always
feeding the swim by striking paste
off the hook, you are building up a
little bed of feed on the bottom
but this alone i think isn’t enough
to hold a group of 6lb carp. as a
supplement i’ll pot in a small
handful of 4mm soaked feed
pellets on each drop-in, my
job donE!
Four big carp for
Andy, the ‘lumps’
from a 70lb haul.
opening feed being half a large
pole pot on pellet.
this amount of pellet is just
enough for me to stop the fish
going potty and bringing them up
in the water, and by using a
Preston Paste Pot, which has a
measurement scale on the side, i
can regulate how much is going in
each time.
Up to the first line on the pot is
my typical feed, but if i need to
make things happen (such as
getting rid of small fish or
attracting a few bigger carp
into the peg) then i will double
this amount.
i do go to pains to make sure the
feed goes in at the same spot as i
want to present the paste. Because
the rig is set at dead depth, any
deviation in depth can cause the
float to pull under, a problem
especially common on silty lakes.
a far-bank marker such as a tree or
a bush will let you do this.
UKM is it worth fishing
paste shallow?
AF When the sun is shining and
temperatures are on the up then
carp will come off bottom and
there’s no reason why you can’t
cash in fishing paste. this is the
reason i developed fibre paste,
which is a stringy mix with a lot of
gluten in it that can be fished
shallow or even on the feeder.
i’ll fish shallow using a small
blob float with a decent-sized
piece of Fibre Paste and keep
dropping it in with a slap on the
surface to make a bit of noise. in
conjunction i’d ping in a few 4mm
pellets to keep the fish interested.
UKM Do you flavour or
colour your paste?
AF not really, but what you can
do is make the ball of paste itself
attractive and i do this by dipping
the ball of bait in a bait tub of
water before shipping out. this
helps to start the breakdown
process a little quicker and give off
that cloud, especially good when
fishing a stiffer paste mix.
Mixing paste
1
Here’s how I
knock up the
paste I fish with.
It’s dead easy
to do and you
can also alter
the consistently
in seconds by
adding a little
more water or
dry paste mix
as required.
2
You
need
an equal
measure
of powder
to water
to get the
perfect mix
and I use
a cup to get
the amount
right.
3
The
same
measure
of lake or
tap water
goes in. If
you want to
use a liquid
additive,
put it in
with the
water now.
4
With the water poured evenly
over the dry paste it’s time to
start mixing.
5
Using two fingers, the mix is
then agitated briskly to get an
even distribution of liquid. The mix
will look watery at this stage.
6
Thirty minutes later the water
has been absorbed and the
paste is perfectly usable. To adjust
the mix, add a trickle of water for
a wet paste or a touch more dry
powder to stiffen things up.
UKMatch Magazine
15
jUne 29th 2010