How to make PVA bags and sticks more attractive

PVA: I suspect most anglers take it for granted, as it’s so readily available in all tackle shops today and in so many forms that we are almost spoilt for choice, but it hasn’t always been like that!

I suspect most anglers will buy PVA thinking that the properties are the same regardless of make or type but nothing could be further from the truth, and so the first thing you need to ascertain is how quickly the PVA will dissolve, and its dissolve rates in various water temperatures. This is easily achievable by leaving water in the fridge, then getting warm water out of the tap, with something in between. It’s always best to test each batch you buy, as there’s nothing worse than reeling in a solid Stick or bag in the depths of winter or to find the bag hasn’t even got to the lakebed! Incidentally this also applies to nuggets, which aren’t PVA, so check your nuggets otherwise you might just be covering the hook point!

The match anglers who bag fish will make all their bags up at home before they fish and indeed this is a simple and great method to use in everyday angling situations, however, that is all well and good when you’re using bag feed that won’t go off quickly, but when you are using fresh additives then you need to prepare things somewhat differently.

Again, before you make hundreds of Sticks or mesh bags, check they will melt properly with the ingredients you have used. In the winter months reduce oily products as they really do slow the rate of dissolve down, and aren’t particularly effective anyway. If you want a fish oil then probably the best is cod liver oil – think fish health not the other way around – and buy it from Tesco as it’s nice and cheap and very refined with a shelf-life on it!

Right, make your Stick mix up and then fill the mesh sticks to the size you want, small for range work, larger for close work etc. Lay the Sticks on a baking tray and once they are all made up put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen they can be put in small bags ready to take out for your fishing, fresh as the day you made them.

One of the other ways that PVA can be used and one which doesn’t seem to be so in-vogue these days is freezing your stringers. As a result, they cast even better done this way and again are so easy to prepare using the same method as before.

Finally, this is my favourite and involves using liquids and sometimes the odd boilie. You need solid PVA tubing for this and the reason I like doing most of it at home is that it tends to be messy! Seal one end of the tube by either heat sealing or tying off with PVA thread (it needs to be tight) and then fill with your chosen PVA-friendly liquids, tying off with thread so the tube is tight and full, thread is the best way to achieve this. When you’ve tied them all up, lay on a tray and freeze as before. Take the PVA goodie bags out and either put in your bucket of pellets, groundbait or even maize meal to catch any residue moisture as they thaw.

So there you have it, a few simple ways of having a nice supply of PVA goody bags ready for the next session. Oh, and one final top tip: don’t forget your rock salt!