bread 2

Jackson

<P>bread (2)</P>
<P>polythene wrapper for days. Freshness, more
than anything else, is the key to successful
flake fishing. It is simply impossible to put
flake on the hook successfully if the bread is
in any way stale. Certainly, to leave the loaf
out in the sun on the river bank for even an
hour spells absolute disaster.
Simply pull the crumb genltly from the loaf
and lay the hook in a fold around the size of
an old 10p piece. Carefully but firmly press
the bread over the shank and the eye of the
hook. It should not be moulded in any way
for if the bread is fresh enough it Will cling to
the hook through the casting and for at least
tWenty minutes in the water. Once the flake is
in the water it tends to expand, an important
considerahon when deciding upon the size of
the bait. However, thoroughly wet flake is a
very soft, soupy bait and a roach or even a
dace can suck in a surprisingly large amount
at one go. Bites tend to be very definite
indeed and the strike should be firm and
steady. Generally I fish flake on hook sizes 8
or 10, only going to a 12 or 14 for dace and
down to a 4 or a 6 for carp.
Flake can catch virtually any species in any
conditions: it can be trotted for chub, legered
for carp, float fished for tench, quiver-tipped
for barbel or fished on the drop for dace. It is
light enough to rest off top of weed and Will
not sink into the finest of muds or silt. It was
once considered to be a bait of the
summertime but this is nonsense. In fact,flake
probably works best on both rivers and still waters
in mild, cloudy winter conditions. It is truly a
bait for all seasons and for all species.</P>
<P>(to be continued)
</P>

hailizi

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