How do you use yours?
It's been a long time since I've read anything about it.Do I prepare it by just pouring near-boiling water over it and leaving overnight?
What consistancy should it be for using,sloppy? binding?
How much should I throw in to a swim?(margin fishing).
Is it worth it?


Jollop rules.

Hello mate, I've used this quite a lot over the last few years, here's what I've found.

I have never found a need to add boiling water to it, I just add lake water/particle juice to it,and leave it for about 15 minutes to absorb liquid.I tend to mix it quite dry and it breaks down quite quickly.

It binds like sh*t to a blanket and you can add whatever you want to it at about 50% and it will bind.

All in all its a superb ingredient and cheap as well, well worth experimenting with.

Rob.

Thanks Rob,at my 1'st attempt with it,it was like concrete,added more water,but was not confident with it. Made some up sloppy,and caught 2 fish over it Wednesday night,but that may have just been coincidence.


Any more offers?

Mix it as you need it Manager and don’t make the mistake that I did and be tempted to mix a batch for a two nighter, It goes off really quickly. Bacterial action in my bait bucket was so high that my method mix was red hot and smelt like something had died.
I know we sometimes think Hmmmmm bacterial action = free amino’s but this really stank nasty.

Thanks Andy.
What quantities are you 2 putting in?
I'm dropping 3 or 4 handfulls around the hookbait,should I put it in by the bucketfull and try to attract the bream etc,to create a mini feeding frenzy?

Went over to Ireland in 1980 and fished a place called Loch Bran. The locals informed us that if we went to the bran factory at the top of the loch we could buy a sack of it (like conflakes) and use it in the ground bait. We did and bagged up. Since then I've been using Vitalin (its nearest equivalent).

If you fish a water with Bream in, then it will attract them so bare in mind (for quantity) if there is a good head of them because they will devour it.

As Robber has said I have never boiled it the night before I prefer just to use lake water. I do a very wet mix, leave it a couple of minutes then stiffen it with some brown crumb to suit depending on application.
You can literally mix in anything with it depending on your situation. I like putting in pure hemp oil (helps as a binder) or liquid pellet / csl or molasses. I have also used it with success as a method mix. I have often thought about preparing it the night before with boiling water and pellets but to be honest I couldn't be arsed

Give it a whirl its cheap and useful plus it will boost your Bream catches

To be honest I have only used Vitalin once or twice on waters where PVA bags have been hammered. I knew the fish were used to feeding on tight little piles of bait but wanted to do something slightly different. My method rod was used as a rover so the only method I used was on the feeder. It did catch me one or two fish on a packed out water, when all around me were blanking. When adding water I have found it best to err on the side of dry as you can always add a little water but you can’t take any out. Once the Vitalin has soaked up liquid to saturation point it only takes a tiny bit more liquid to make it soggy. My mix is more like breadcrumbs in texture but it balls up like concrete. What I like about Vitalin is that it binds so well that it can be crammed with all sorts of goodies.

Try it with hemp and tip it in water and all. Works a treat.

Andy please explain the the mixing it dry bit. I have always given mine a pretty ample soaking as it is very hard & dry, albeit not for long as when I reach the bank I am always keen to get the bait in, hence the brown crumb. I feel I am pretty much an expert on this stuff having used it for so long and in countless different situations. So I would appreciate alternative angles of use as I am always willing to change.

Depends on the head of Bream, Manager but you are spot on, get them all going the carp just rip it.

I add any liquids I want to include and then pour on enough boiling water so as to just wet all the Vitalin and then a little bit more. I then leave it to stand for a while until the liquid has been soaked up. If any of the Vitalin is still un-swollen and hard I add a little bit more water and allow this to be soaked up. This is repeated until I am happy that all cereal is completely swollen and soft. At this point the Vitalin should still essentially be particle but just starting to get a little doughy and clump together. I then take an handful and see if it will ball up, if it won’t ball up I add a tiny bit more liquid and repeat the process until I am happy that it will ball up and withstand a cast. I try and aim for a situation where the Vitalin will crumble if rubbed between my fingers but it will ball up easy with a little squeeze. It sounds like a lot of messing about but it is fairly easy to achieve you just have to be a little patient between each step. You could even do the first couple of steps at home so as to have the minimum of messing about upon arrival on the bank. Please don’t take this as the correct way of preparing Vitalin I have only dabbled with the stuff. This just felt like the right approach to me and produced a very stable method mix that could withstand a fairly hefty cast and produced fish the first time of asking.

Been using a fair bit of it on a prolific 30 acre local venue.
Tend to stuff it full with the same goodies that i put in my base mix and then load it with enough particles so it`ll bind and still withstand pulting out but breakdown quickly.
As Andy has stated above it won`t keep for very long during the warm summer months so i`ll be mixing it all up on the bank this summer as the syndicate leader has banned me for nipping home to make fresh batches up each day....

I used vitalin a lot, in fact I don't very often go without it.
Always mix it fresh on the bank( I take a small caravan washing up bowl which fits nicely in the bag) and I've never had a problem with breakdown as I add as much corn and hemp to it as it will take. Also usually add plenty of mixed halibut pellets.
If you can, pile a bit in a margin and keep checking it. It attracts everything that swims nearly not just Bream.
As said above it goes rancid really quickly, just make small batches to avoid this.
Both types work ok but the gravy added one smells quite different.

In my fishing over the last two years , I have always fished one rod with a Korda method feeder.Vitalin is a vital ingredient I always use.
If mixed too dry it is difficult to bind so does need a bit of experience/experimentation.Experience will tell you the correct concistency.
It will bind at about 50/50 with anything you put with it.It is cheap so a bag will last a while depending on how much you use.
It does break down pretty quickly but a ball in the margins will tell you exactly.
I tend to cook some particles(hemp,tiger nuts, maize,)and add pellets and vitalin to bind into balls of method mix/groundbait.
If you use anything with a colour in(robin red/super red), the vitalin takes this very well.
It if is too difficult to bind it needs more liquid but should not be stodgy, although it does break down quite quickly anyway.
Give it a try with a small bag(2/2.5kg) and take it from there.

Regards,
Rob.

its worth it! all the pros above are good advice!works a treat!everything has its disadvantages,unfortunatly! sinmply,carp love it ,\its fact!