How to make winter dough for roach - Detailed review

Catching roach using dough is one of the most successful ways, regardless of the time of year. Roach is a picky fish, feeding mainly in the water column rather than on the bottom, preferring algae and insects. She bites best on dough. This type is also attractive because the dough uses a minimum of ingredients and they are available; you can diversify the taste with various flavors and additives; it is well used in both winter and summer fishing. The main thing is to follow the technology and cooking rules.

Types and features

Any dough is based on flour and water with the addition of various vegetable oils, milk, garlic, cake and other additives. Depending on the viscosity, you can make a thick, stiff dough, more like plasticine. It is convenient because it is easy to put on the hook and the dough does not stick to your hands.

Roach is excellently caught on dough throughout the summer

Cool

1. Pour flour into a bowl and gradually add water.
2. Knead with your hands, adding flour or water, until it reaches the desired density.
3. The dough should be thick and roll well into balls.
4. You can use corn, wheat or pea flour.
5. For calories, you can add milk.

One of the disadvantages of this test is that it does not stick well to the hook. To improve its shape, experienced fishermen use cotton wool. This dough is called reinforced dough.

Reinforced

• Make a thick dough, roll it out into a small flat cake.
• Spread the cotton wool over the cake in an even and thin layer.
• Carefully roll the cake into a roll.
• Knead the dough well and roll into a ball.

Chatterbox

To prepare a more viscous dough - mash, semolina is best suited. Chatterbait is good for winter fishing , when baits of animal origin are not particularly effective. It can be prepared at home for future use or directly while fishing. To prepare you need:

• Pour semolina into a container and add a small amount of water at room temperature.
• Leave to swell for 15-20 minutes.
• Shake well for 10-15 minutes. The dough should not be liquid, but viscous and without lumps.

It is best to attach the chatter using a regular medical syringe (20 mg), wrapping the dough around the hook. It is also convenient to store it in your pocket, so the dough will not freeze and will always be ready for use.

Winter secrets of roach

To successfully catch roach in winter, an angler needs to know some of the features of its behavior in the cold season, depending on the weather, pressure and wind, and use special tactics to find this fish. Among other things, when catching this fish you need to use a special feeding system. Read about the features of proper feeding of roach in winter in the article:

Supplements

The key to success in fishing using dough is the use of various additives of plant origin. The most popular are:

1. Garlic. Its aroma is very attractive to roach and attracts fish well in a large body of water. Perfect for winter fishing. Garlic must be added to the finished dough, finely chopped or passed through a press.
2. Cake, seeds. Roaches especially like the taste and smell of sunflower. To use it, you need to grind the cake well and add it to dry flour.
3. Potato. The aroma of boiled root vegetables can attract not only roaches, but also larger fish. It is used in the form of puree and added to the finished dough.
4. Sugar and salt. Any fish loves sweets, and salt preserves the dough well. The main thing is not to overdo it.
5. Milk. Well suited for winter fishing, as fish at this time require more high-calorie food, and the sweet smell of milk will attract roaches for a long time. Use instead of water when making dough.
6. Sea buckthorn oil. It is recommended by experienced fishermen. The yellow color and aroma of the oil attracts many fish, especially roach. It can be added to thick dough using wheat flour.

A few basic recipes

To the two main ingredients - water and flour - some flavoring and nutritional components are often added.

From flour

Dough for catching roach in winter using only flour and water is not very effective. In winter, the roach tries to find high-calorie food containing protein. Powdered milk is great for this. It has the smell and taste that fish need in winter.

Cake or seeds

The taste and smell of sunflower oil when fishing for roach with dough is to the taste of the fish. However, an excess of this aroma often leads to the opposite result. To add cake or seeds, they must be thoroughly crushed. Then mix the resulting powder with dry flour, and only then add water, making sure that you get the desired consistency.

Garlic

The pungent smell of garlic spreads well even in cold water. It is very attractive to roach, and with its help you can lure fish from a large area. Before kneading, pass the head of garlic through a meat grinder or garlic grinder. Then everything is the same as in the previous case.

Potato

This option is prepared a little differently. The potatoes are boiled and kneaded well. Potatoes are added to the already prepared mass. Mix thoroughly to achieve uniform viscosity. In addition to roach, bream and even carp can be tempted by this aroma.

Flavors

Flavors or attractants are another important point in fishing, because their correct use promises a good catch. When fishing for roach, you need to take into account its gastronomic preferences and fishing conditions. It is necessary to study the feeding habits of the fish, the depth, current, and purity of the water. Since flavorings affect not only the thickness, color, and aroma of the dough, but can also affect the behavior of the fish.

For roaches, one of the most attractive aromas is vanilla. A sweet smell combined with bait or dough will attract and activate fish. It is best to purchase it at a fishing store, since food vanillin can be bitter, thereby repelling the fish. Vanilla is preferable to use in the summer. Among sweet aromas, roaches also prefer chocolate and almonds.

Universal flavors are anise and coriander. Their spicy smell attracts fish even from long distances and whets their appetite. Suitable for both winter and summer fishing. Can be used in dough and bait with the addition of breadcrumbs.

Dough (chatterbox) - catchable winter bait

The tactics for catching roach in winter using dough and semolina are no different from the usual ones - all the same principles and rules are used. The peculiarity is that it is difficult to predict the tastes and preferences of roach in an unfamiliar body of water. In one case, it may not react to this bait at all, in another, you can unexpectedly catch a lot of large roach, to the envy of the nearby fishermen who only fish with bloodworms.

Making dough for catching sorog in winter is very simple and quick at home. In fishing stores you can also find this bait ready-made, in syringes or tubes. It is not advisable to go fishing with one test (unless it is known that the roach in this body of water bites on this particular bait). But it doesn’t hurt to always have some in stock.

Magazine attachments

Features for winter fishing

Dough is rarely used for winter fishing , because fishermen prefer animal bait at this time. Although using the dough can bring a rich catch. The main thing is to study the behavior and preferences of fish in a particular body of water.

In winter, the dough is made with more calories in nutritional value. Roaches will prefer bait with the addition of natural ingredients: milk, sunflower oil, seeds, sugar or honey. The ideal dough for winter fishing is a chatterbox that will not freeze if you keep it in your pocket. It’s easy to prepare a winter mash:

• Mix semolina and milk powder.
• Add the required amount of water.
• Mix a few drops of unrefined sunflower oil, honey or sugar.
• Stir for 10-15 minutes, bringing to the desired consistency.
• The correct dough should stretch like strings.
• Fill the dough into the syringe, breaking off the needle in advance.

Bait for roach for various tackles

Bait for fishing with a float rod

Roach prefers to be in the middle or upper layers of water. Therefore, you need to catch it on these horizons. If the bait quickly sinks to the bottom, then fishing is unlikely to be effective. In any case, it should leave behind a muddy feeding trail. Very often, baking powder is added to the bait, in the form of sand.

A similar effect can be achieved if you use store-bought bait such as “volcano” or “geyser”. Add just a little bit of it to the bait. This contributes to the formation of a feeding cloud, which will certainly attract roaches. If you don’t want to spend money, you can get by with additives:

• milk powder;
• semolina.

How to prepare bait

Have to take:

• semolina;
• breadcrumbs;
• flavoring

Cooking technology:

• pour semolina with cold water;
• mix and place in a nylon stocking;
• the stocking is placed in cold water for half an hour;
• crackers are added here;
• everything is mixed with the addition of flavoring.

Groundbait for bottom fishing

It sounds strange somehow - the dough, and even washed... And they called it because during the cooking process the dough should be thoroughly soaked or rinsed, as you wish, under a thin stream of water.

Tackle

The most popular tackle for catching roach remains a float rod with a fly rod of about 6-7 m . This length is enough to fish from the shore and cast short distances, because roach, as a rule, stays at a depth of 3-4 m not far from the shore.

On such fishing rods, the length of the fishing line is short, which makes it easier to take the fish in your hand and more effectively realize bites. The diameter of the main line is approximately 0.14 mm, and the diameter of the leader is from 0.18 to 0.1 mm. The main thing when fishing with dough is that the leash should be no more than 15 cm.

It is better to choose a hook that matches the color of the dough, is small in size, and made of durable material. Thin and elongated floats, with a hollow antenna and a graphite keel, work well. Such floats have less mass than metal ones.

Fishing in winter with dough

The fact that in winter the dough loses its significant spring-summer position seems quite justified for a number of reasons. During the ice-covered period, the number of fish that gravitate towards the dough decreases significantly. Of those who lead an active lifestyle, the only remaining species are roach and bream, and less commonly, silver bream. Even with such a lover of dough as bleak, problems arise on frosty days. In addition, in winter it is difficult to catch fish with a passive bait that is simply lowered into the hole or barely moves. Play is required, and the dough is not intended for such manipulations. There is also a subjective factor - the reluctance of anglers to tinker with delicate bait in the cold, which requires preparation, careful placement on the hook and forces them to wash their hands almost after every change of bait.

In such a situation, a reasonable question arises: does the dough deserve attention in winter? I believe that in certain cases it is still worth betting on it. For example, in reservoirs where the fishermen themselves hooked the fish onto the dough. What a dough there is - I know lakes where the key to winter fishing is steamed wheat, which is taken by measured roach (at the same time, it does not react at all to bloodworms or “no baits”). However, in principle, it is rational to use dough when it comes to targeted ice fishing for roach and rudd. These fish are extremely picky and are often more willing to bite on soft dough than on other baits.

Sometimes I use dough as an experimental bait for seemingly traditional fishing. In this way, I very successfully seduce even white breams at great depths. Moreover, on those days when the fish reacts very sluggishly to bloodworms. So, I believe that all the possibilities of the winter test have not yet been studied and the field of activity for those who like experimenting is wide.

What should the dough be like for ice fishing? If you study this topic from scanty publications on the Internet, it is not difficult to notice the unity of opinions of almost all authors: the dough needs to be sufficiently thick and viscous, with an abundance of flavors, in order to easily form relatively strong odorous balls from it and place them on a hook. I won’t argue, but I assume that the majority simply picked up someone’s idea and spread it throughout the information space. I myself hold a different point of view.

I make winter dough liquid in consistency and as simple in composition as possible. It is this “soft”, digestible option that most often attracts fish.

Read: Bait of animal origin for fishing in spring

I usually use flour, and when catching bream, I use semolina. I mix directly on the pond. The procedure is not particularly troublesome, but justified. I don’t use flavorings, because during a comparative analysis in winter I didn’t notice any tangible benefits of dough prepared with vanilla, honey and other fragrant ingredients. I also don’t add any dyes to the mass for visibility, much less cotton wool for viscosity. Unlike open water fishing, the dough is dropped vertically into the hole on a hook or jig. It transforms minimally and hardly moves out. In addition, it is inevitably caught by frost, so such an attachment holds up quite well.

I place the resulting mass in a disposable plastic syringe. For the uninitiated, I’ll explain: this is easy to do - by sucking the kneaded mass into your mouth through a cone tip. The procedure is similar to filling a syringe with medicine for injection. Only the fisherman himself acts as a piston, which must first be removed from the cylinder. He turned the syringe over without a piston, placed the open cylinder in the dough, clamped the cone tip with his lips and pulled it in. The dough instantly fills the container, but does not enter the mouth, since the hole in the cone tip is too small. All that remains is to put the piston in its original place and use it. You can only add one thing to what has been said: the syringe must be clean so that you can safely clamp its plastic tip with your lips.

To avoid squeezing out excess dough by inertia after insertion, I previously broke off the medical needle, separated the plastic conical cap from it (called a “cannula” in medicine) and closed the hole with it. Now I do it differently, because the previous option turned out to be inconvenient: the small cap, as a rule, flew off and disappeared. I made a special cap from a piece of plastic tube, melting one end and cutting the other into a cone. He goes all the way onto the “cannula” and sits firmly. And so that the cap does not get lost, I connected it to the syringe barrel with nylon twine. I determine the amount of dough with which I wrap a hook or jig based on what kind of fish and what size is most likely to be caught. For bream and crucian carp, more dough is required; for roach, rudd, bleak - less. Accordingly, I select the required size of hooks in advance. I don’t try to cover the hook completely with dough. The main thing is that the entire hook with the sting is hidden. In the case of jigs, I cover the visible part of the hook with dough without touching the body.

Read: Three ways to prepare bait for fishing

I keep the syringe with the dough in the inner pocket of my winter jacket so that the dough does not freeze. If you fish exclusively with it, then usually two full syringes with a capacity of 20 ml are enough for one fishing trip. Therefore, it is worth filling two syringes with the mixture in advance, especially since they do not take up much space.

When fishing with dough, I consider baiting to be an obligatory part of fishing. I don't use a feeder. I simply pour a handful of semolina or specialized winter bait into each of the holes drilled close to each other. Particles floating in the water column collect, attract and retain fish.

When fishing for bream in lakes, I use exclusively dry semolina. Its grains that swell in water and slowly sink to a depth of 6-7 m attract breams better than more complex complementary foods. In addition, if you catch half-water in this nutrient column, you can also pull roach out of the holes. Breadcrumbs, coconut flakes, ground cookies such as “Lemon” or “Orange” are also very good complementary foods. I like it when fishing at shallow depths. It collects roach and rudd well.

Above I touched upon the issue of the influence of aromatics on the bite. I'll try to explain my point of view. Previously, I thought that the smells of bait and dough were definitely important, but repeated experiments showed that if you pour ordinary semolina and a dry mixture rich in aromas into two adjacent holes, then this will not particularly affect the bites. The fish will react in much the same way. And if you overdo it with the aroma, you can completely ruin your fishing. Fish do not like strong odors in winter. Low-calorie fine groundbait is preferable for her.

I sometimes observed certain changes in the spring, in March, when flavored mixtures gave a slightly greater effect than during the winter. In general, the most universal option for winter bait is bloodworms, which are served in a “dump truck” feeder. However, when fishing with dough, you should refuse it, because bloodworms can kill the fish’s interest in the dough and attract not the desired roach, but perches to the hole. As fishing progresses, you need to supplement the fish by pouring a few pinches of the mixture into each hole. Supplementary feeding intervals are determined experimentally.

When using dough as bait, there are two fishing schemes.

The first is passive, using static equipment. In this case, two or three fishing rods are used. The equipment is a float (nod), a sinker and a hook without a leash on a thin main line. The distance between the holes is approximately 1 m. Equipment with a nod and a jig is adapted to the same scheme. The dough is lowered to the bottom on the hook - all that remains is to wait for the bite. This scheme is effective for catching all “peaceful” fish that are active in winter. White bream, silver bream and rudd react best to the dough with a static rig. Only occasionally, when there is no bite, is it appropriate to raise a nod or a float rod with your finger to attract the attention of the fish.

Read: Where to look for pike in winter

The second option is wiring the rig with a hook and sinker. It is generally accepted that such a fishing scheme is more suitable for shallow depths (usually up to 1 m). However, I was personally convinced that it is no less catchy at great depths. Moreover, sometimes it outperforms absolutely any bait on a variety of equipment, especially when catching bream. Considering the delicacy of the bait, “active”, so to speak, winter fishing with dough does not accept intense, aggressive play. It should be slow and smooth according to the “rise-lower” pattern with alternating pauses and stops, or be limited to swinging the bait.

Some fishermen note that the batter gets wet and slips when fishing as a disadvantage. I, on the contrary, attribute such slippage to advantages. Contrary to logic, even after idle hooking of a carefully pecking fish, you should not rush and change the dough that has been lowered from the hook and even the dough that has exposed it. It is more useful to perform smooth lifting and subsequent lowering of the bait several times, and if using static equipment, simply put the fishing rod in place. If the dough has not completely fallen off the hook, the fish will certainly be attracted to it, trying to at least pull it off. So it is advisable to select thin, sharp, “stingy” hooks, including jigs.

You should not combine fishing with live baits and fishing with dough. When other baits and the frequency of their movement in the water attract the attention of fish more, this is where you want to stop. There is no point in resisting if the fish does not like it.

In terms of external expression, fish bites on dough usually look like timid tremors of a nod or float. A short, not too sharp hook in such cases should follow immediately.

Storage

Any dough does not last long . When using it for fishing, it is necessary to properly preserve the properties of the dough so that it remains viscous and has the desired consistency. It is best to wrap the dough in cotton cloth or put it in a paper box.

Under no circumstances should you keep the dough near odorous products: cigarettes, kerosene or gasoline. It is better to keep the dough in your pocket and break off small pieces from it so that the whole dough does not dry out and become unusable. If the dough was prepared at home and for future use, the best storage option would be the freezer.

How to make semolina dough

Catching roach using dough in winter is quite effective using semolina. This ingredient attracts fish well and stays on the hook.

Recipe one

Of the components that will be required to prepare the test for roach and sorog for ice fishing, use:

• semolina (1 heaped tablespoon);
• water (1 tbsp);
• flavoring (vanillin, finely ground cake, cocoa powder, cinnamon with sugar, roasted crushed sunflower seeds).

This simple test option involves the following sequence of actions:

1. In the evening before going fishing, pour the semolina with water so that it swells well within one hour. In this case, it is recommended to close the container. Ideally, you should use water not from the tap, but from the reservoir where you plan to fish for roach.
2. Bring the swollen mass to a dough that is very reminiscent of rubber. To do this, mix it thoroughly with a spoon.
3. When mixing semolina for fishing, add flavoring. If fatty ingredients are used, they must be used in small quantities, otherwise the strength of the bait will decrease.
4. Place the mixture in a syringe and place it in the refrigerator until the morning. If you need to stock up on dough for future use, fill the syringe to 2/3 of the total volume and keep it in the freezer.

Bait talker in a syringe

The storage time for semolina mash is two months.

Recipe two

To make semolina dough, you need to prepare:

• container (pan);
• spoon;
• 2 glasses;
• semolina;
• flavoring;
• water.

The algorithm for preparing semolina dough for roach in winter involves performing the following steps:

1. Pour semolina into one glass, and pour water into the second.
2. Pour the water into a container and put it on the fire until it boils.
3. Add semolina in small portions and stir, creating a whirlpool. This way there will be no lumps.
4. Remove the pan from the stove, wrap it in a blanket, and put it aside for half an hour.
5. After cooling, the mass is kneaded to obtain a dough-like mass.
6. At the end, add any of the flavors, but in small doses.

Dough recipes for fishing

Sunflower dough

With sunflower oil

This dough perfectly collects fish at the fishing point. After all, sunflower oil is an excellent attractant that affects the taste buds of fish.

How to make dough for fishing with sunflower oil? Just add a few drops of unrefined oil (fragrant) to the prepared lump and knead the dough thoroughly with your hands.

Oil binds the structure well, makes the dough elastic and does not stick to your hands.

With ground sunflower seeds

According to the principle of action, this fishing dough is similar to added oil. Sunflower seeds are used, which are dried and ground in a coffee grinder or twisted in a meat grinder.

Large fractions of seeds in the bait can be washed out in the water, which further attracts fish.

They add it to the finished lump, or do this - scatter the whisper on paper and roll a ball of dough over it, then knead it.

Dough with egg

A very effective way to make the dough elastic and easy to release from your fingers. In addition, the egg adds to the attractiveness of the fish bait. It's very easy to prepare. One egg is broken into a heap of flour, mixed and then kneaded, usually without any water at all, since there is enough of it in the egg.

In order not to use water, you need to follow the proportions: 2-3 tablespoons of flour per 1 egg.

Unkneadable dough (with cotton wool)

This effect can be easily achieved by adding pieces of cotton wool when kneading the dough. Cotton wool has a denser structure and holds well on the hook along with the dough.

Enough for 3 tablespoons of flour 10 - maximum 15 small pieces.

The main thing is not to overdo it with the quantity and not to squeeze the cotton into lumps. The pieces should be “airy”.

Anise dough

Preparing dough with anise oil is similar to the first recipe - a few drops into the finished lump. All white fish simply “love” the smell of anise.

Bleak, roach, rudd, silver bream and white bream will not pass by; they will definitely bite after tasting this dough.

Garlic dough

Adding crushed garlic or garlic juice to the dough makes it attractive primarily to crucian carp, tench and other fish.

A few drops of squeezed juice or a mass of garlic twisted in a meat grinder or crushed in a crusher are mixed with the dough, and that’s it... the attachment is ready.

Potato dough

The potatoes are boiled and mashed until pureed, then mixed with the dough.

If the fishing dough turns out to be somewhat viscous, you should add a lot of flour. Dough with potatoes is attractive for catching crucian carp, carp and carp.

Dough with semolina

Semolina is the main ingredient in mastyrka, which is very popular with small fish - bleak, silver bream, roach, rudd. Semolina is mixed with flour and only then water is added.

Usually they take the following proportions: 1 part semolina to 3 parts flour.

Pea dough

Pre-cooked peas are kneaded into porridge and mixed with the finished dough. The dough is rolled into balls and hung on a hook. Proportions may vary.

Some fishermen add 1 part of porridge, while others, on the contrary, add half or even 2/3 of pea porridge.

Peas attract bream, crucian carp, carp and other fish of the carp family.

How to get gluten from dough

Fishing for gluten is also quite successful. This substance is found in all cereals, especially in their flour.

Gluten can be obtained from flour or semolina. To extract gluten from the dough, you just need to rinse it with water for a long time. As a result, all loose suspensions (starch) will be washed away and only gluten will remain.

[THERE IS AN ANSWER] What kind of live bait should I take for catching pike perch?

In composition and sensations, it is similar to chewing gum or rubber without taste or smell. There is an opinion that it is gluten that attracts fish to this bait. And most importantly, it is impossible to let her off the hook.

Next, we suggest watching a video on how to properly prepare the dough and obtain gluten. And also visually consolidate and understand (especially for beginners) how the process of preparing a catchable bait goes.

It is the dough for roach fishing that is recommended to be tinted with various food dyes. The most favorite color shades of this fish are yellow and scarlet. Adding a chicken egg to the dough has a very positive effect on the fish’s response to bait, as it helps to create a very thick, dense, protein-rich and yellow (thanks to the yolk) consistency.

“Opening” the fishing test

While fishing on the river, I caught bleak. At first there was a maggot on the hook (the bleak does not knock it down and this is convenient for frequent bites), and the fishing went on as usual. But after some time the flock moved away, and I had to move a little to the side, closer to the fallen tree, where there was a circular slow current and, no, no, interesting splashes appeared on the surface.

I threw out the tackle, but there was no bite, although there was clearly fish. I landed a caddisfly, and a minute later the float shuddered, and then somehow suddenly almost all of it went under water. Hooking and in the hands of a beautiful roach. So I caught 5 fish, and then the caddis flies ran out. Looking for new ones means wasting time and walking almost 300 meters to reach them, to the area where we usually look for this larva. I planted maggots again - silence. Well, for the sake of experiment, I decided to put a piece of dough on the hook that was left in my jacket from yesterday’s fishing (catch crucian carp). Casting - silence. And then the thought came to me, what if we stretch this piece of dough a little and give it a dark color. I completed the first task easily, but how to tint the dough?

Without thinking twice, I picked up the mud near the shore with my boot, and smeared the dough a little, realizing that at the very first cast everything would be washed away. But the float stood in the water for no more than 20 seconds, and then there was a bite, so sharp, as if a crocodile had sat down there. It turned out that it was a roach. That's how it goes. Previously, roaches did not take the dough on the river at all, but here it is. I don’t know what this is connected with, maybe the shape had some influence. After the bite, I decided not to get the dough dirty in the mud, so I stuck the dough with a tube. And again there was a bite. In general, I caught almost a dozen fish with the dough, and then the bite stopped, and until the evening I was unable to catch anything else, during which time (I went out to the river for the night) I went after a caddisfly, hoping to catch it in the morning.

Corn flour dough

This homemade roach dough in winter is somewhat more difficult to prepare, but this only increases the effectiveness.

Corn flour dough recipe

To prepare you just need to follow a few steps:

1. Soak the water-flour mixture, where four parts of corn flour are added to 5 parts of water. The composition will reach its condition after 10-12 minutes of boiling over low heat.
2. Kneading is done until the bait stops sticking to your hands. Additives in the form of egg whites, rye or barley flour will help increase efficiency.
3. The following flavors will be added to the treat: honey, vanilla, olive oil or a few drops of valerian. The fish will appreciate your efforts, and you will feel it in the heaviness of your catch.

What flavorings to add?

To quickly attract roach and other peaceful inhabitants of the reservoir such as bream and bream into the working zone for fishing in winter, additives are added to the dough. With their help, you can increase the nutritional value of a mixture of flour or semolina, as well as attract potential prey to the fishing point. Here are working options for flavorings for preparing dough:

Additives and flavorings for roach and sorog

• crushed roasted seeds;
• cake;
• garlic;
• vanilla sugar;
• honey;
• Boiled potatoes;
• condensed milk;
• chocolate;
• olive/sunflower oil;
• powdered milk;
• cream.

Flavorings are added in doses. In winter, the principle “the more the merrier” does not work. This is only appropriate for summer fishing.