# doughball question?



## yakfish (Mar 13, 2005)

Ok I haven't ever really targeted carp on purpose but I have caught plenty of them while catfishing. I am getting interested in actually targeting them now. pound for pound they seem to fight about as hard as anything else i have ever caught. 

I am seeing that lots of people using doughballs and I am curious about the purpose they serve? is the doughball the bait the fish is suposed to take or is it just an attractor used to chum the water aound you bait? 

I fished the other day trying to use doughballs for the first time and I think I was doing something wrong. I was hoping they would dissolve and attract the fish to my bait. but after 45 minutes I brought in my line and found it was still intact. if that is how there are supposed to work then I made them way too big (about the size of a baseball) and there really was no way for the fish to get it into its mouth. 

I was hoping that after a few minutes the doughball woul;d break down and chum the water where my bait was laying but it didn't work that way.

Thanks


----------



## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

Holy Cow! Baseball sized doughball?? Try about a double-pea sized doughball.


----------



## TimJC (Apr 6, 2004)

Doughballs, as sbreech mentioned, tend to be much smaller, generally molded to cover the hook, and be used as the main, if not only, hookbait. They do disperse attractants into the water effectively, but they are not meant to dissolve.

If you are seeing people sling bigger balls, especially if these are packed around another hookbait, they are probably fishing packbait, or method mix though this is technically packed around a sinker instead of the hookbait. Packbaits are made to pack hard enough to endure the cast, yet fall apart within a few minutes of entering the water. By falling apart they are releasing attractants into the water, and producing a localized feeding area around the hookbait without providing anything of significant value to fill the fish up.

I've mentioned it several times of the forum, but oats packbait, is the easiest recipe to get the feel for how this style of bait works. I fish it method style, by packing it around a knobbly inline sinker, and it is a great late spring/early summer bait.

To make oats pack you will need a canister of old fashioned oatmeal (not quick/instant), a can of creamed corn, a palm full of kosher/sea salt (optional), and some flavoring (optional). Empty the creamed corn into a bucket, add salt, flavoring, and mix together. Then add the canister of oatmeal and mix until it is all coated. Now seal the bucket for 10-15 minutes to allow the oatmeal to absorb the liquid. It should be pliable enough to squeeze (be sure to wet your hands first and squeeze several times) a golf ball sized lump around your sinker or hookbait so it will endure the cast, but still breakdown within a couple minutes of hitting the lake-bed. If the oats will not pack tight enough to cast, try grinding them up between your hands to break up the oatmeal flakes. To test the break time make a small ball and put it into the margins to see how long it takes.

Read more: http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?p=1237185#post1237185#ixzz1QsyGvJWJ


----------



## yakfish (Mar 13, 2005)

TimJC...
Thanks for that description. so what I was calling a doughball was really packbait. I will have to try it with oatmeal.
Thanks


----------



## TimJC (Apr 6, 2004)

What was it that you were using? If it was intended as a packbait, I may be able point you at the problem with the recipe.


----------



## yakfish (Mar 13, 2005)

I was using wheaties mixxed with canned corn I poured the corn and liquid from the can into the wheaties and rolled it around a 1 ounce bank sinker. it never broke apart though.


----------



## TimJC (Apr 6, 2004)

Well I guess it is obvious that Wheaties is the problem. I've heard from others that have tried it as a method they said it always turned into a gummy glue in their mix.

Just because it didn't fall apart doesn't mean it doesn't help attract the fish. It is common overseas to mold paste (dough) around a sinker for added attraction, without any thought as to the amount of time it will last, but we're not talking baseball sized here.


----------



## yakfish (Mar 13, 2005)

I will be trying oatmeal soon to see how that works instead. Thanks for you help!


----------



## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

i was thinking of tring so sweet horse feed wift something, an,t figured that part out yet.


----------



## TimJC (Apr 6, 2004)

I've used sweet feed to chum with straight from the bag, but never in method/packbait. However, I'm sure it will work with just a little swim (the bank you are fishing from) water to bind it together.

My go to method mix is similar to the commercially available Buckeye Blend, which was developed by Buckeye Bob Bernowski, and is sold by Wacker Bait & Tackle in Chicago.

My mix is mostly chicken layers crumble and dried molasses. I mix the dry ingredients together in a bucket and then put it into 1gal Ziploc freezer bags. I always keep one in my tackle bag and extras on a shelf in my shed.

For the wetter you can use creamed corn and/or sweet corn, but I like swim water or boiled birdseed with its juice.

I get my cheap birdseed from Tractor Supply Co (TSC) and it is mostly millet and milo. To prepare it, I add the seed to boiling water, wait for it to return to boil and boil for 3-5 minutes. Then I put the birdseed and water into sealed bucket overnight to cool. As long as the seed is covered with water in a sealed bucket, it will keep indefinitely. I have fished with year old boiled birdseed, and while it smells pretty wrank, it still catches carp.

As far as mixing the dry to wet ingredients, do it in smaller batches to start with and give the bait a few minutes to absorb the liquid maybe making changes. When I am using boiled birdseed I will add a couple handfuls with the juice to an empty bucket and*slowly add the dry mix to that.*When I am using swim water I'll do the opposite. Add about 1/3 to 1/2 of the dry mix bag to an empty bucket and slowly add water a handful at a time, mixing throughly.*You can always mix up more as you need it, so don't dump the whole gallon bag in on the first go. When I first started playing with method mix it was frustrating to get the consistency right, so it just takes time.

It is worth mentioning that I pack this mix onto specially designed method leads that I get from Resistance Tackle, so you may struggle trying another style sinker.

King's Mix (parts by volume)
8x Chick layers crumble/Purina Layena
6x Dried molasses
4x Steam rolled oats/Old-fashioned oatmeal
4x Calf-Mana/rabbit pellets or sweet feed
1x Calf milk replacer/Uni-Milk or Dried milk


----------



## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

i,ll try that, thanks


----------

