Red Dog method mix...

Two Dog groundbait - my first method mix...

If you have been reading my blog from the beginning you will know I am no expert at any of this but I do like to experiment. Back in April I made some groundbait as a bit of a joke. Made using dog biscuit and hot-dog sausages, I called it 'Two dog ground bait'. The recipe is HERE. To my surprise it made a brilliant method mix, after a few passes through groundbait riddle. The turmeric makes a nice yellow cloud as it disperses in the water. I have used it several times now, matched with punched Hot Dog or bacon grill as hook-bait.

With this success in the bag, I am encouraged to experiment further. There is lots of discussion regarding colour of bait both on the bank, the internet and in the fishing press. My plan is to create some more method mix but this time in red. Working on the if it is not broke, don't fix it theory, I plan to use the same basic recipe as before and just substitute the turmeric with chilli-powder.

My modified savoury groundbait/method mix Recipe 

• 800g Breadcrumb
• 800g Rich Tea biscuits
• 350g Wagg
• 50g Chilli-powder
• 1tsp red powdered food colouring 
• 400g Can of Hot Dog sausages 

 
My breadcrumb is a combination of leftovers from the kitchen topped up with cheap sliced bread from the supermarket. If you shop around it is possible to find an 800g sliced loaf for 40p. This time the bread came from a Sainsbury's supermarket. Last time I bought any, I found it in Aldi but this time it was nowhere to be seen. The supermarket price war that seems to be constant is doing us a favour! A 800g sliced loaf will usually render 600g+ of dry crumb. The Rich Tea biscuits are Aldi's own brand and seem to be a stock line as they always seen to have them - at 23p for 300g they are the cheapest I have found. Both dry bread and biscuit is 'processed' to a fine crumb.

The Wagg dog biscuit is ground to a fine powder in a coffee grinder - that is the only smelly bit! You can buy Wagg (and other brands) in huge bags make a saving but It would take me a month of Sundays to use 17kg of the stuff, so I usually buy a 1kg box from Poundland - for a pound! 

Chilli powder and other spices are much cheaper if bought in larger quantities from the Asian supermarkets. I managed to buy a 400g bag of Chilli powder for £1.99 - a massive saving over buying small quantities from the mainstream supermarkets.

The quantity of red food colouring is a guess and I might have to add some more once I get to try it out this week. I use little 25g pots of food colouring powder (59p), from the same Asian supermarket I buy the spice.

Hunt around for the Hot Dog sausages as they are often on offer in the pound shops, multiple tins (2 or 3)  of six sausages for the pound. 

After mixing all the dry ingredients together, the can of Hot Dog sausages is 'processed' to a gritty soup. This is added to the dry mix and thoroughly mixed using a plastic spoon. The mix is left to stand for a couple of hours, remixed, bagged and labelled before freezing. 

The mix is still very dry at this stage but the freezing will preserve the meat and prevent any mildew from forming. I will take the mix out of the freezer the night before I go fishing. At the bank, lake water will be added as required and after standing for a while the mix will be passed through a groundbait riddle several times before use.  As the colour is dry powder, it has only partially been activated by the small amout of liquid in the tin of Hot Dog sausages. I will be interesting to see how red it will become, and how red it will make my hands, once the lake water is added on the bank.

Red Dog method mix bagged and ready for the Freezer. Not looking very red...Yet!

The next job is to die some meat to match the method mix and see if that makes any difference to its appeal to the fish. All good fun and I will let you know, later in the week, how I get on...

...Now, what day shall I go fishing? I had better go and have a look at the weather! 

Ralph.