Load-Up! Bag-Up!

There’s nothing new about fishing with solid PVA bags. It’s something that’s been around long enough to own an 80’s Walkman, 90’s Nintendo 64 and an original noughties iPod, but there is a very good reason for that: it’s a bloody good tactic!

Having never come close to ‘blowing’ as a winning method, solid PVA bag fishing has caught countless carp over the years, and yes, we all want a bit of that, but there’s just one problem: they can be fiddly to tie and put together quickly. Add a rainy day into the equation and tying solid bags can be as frustrating as a game of Twister with a drunken octopus.

Luckily there are a few products about these days to help get your bags emptying in the feeding zone instead of your bivvy floor, just like the extensive PVA Breakdown range from Taska…

The big questions

Yes, I’ve tried (and given up) using solid bags a few times, so what’s going to help me get to grips with tying them?
One of the key products in the Breakdown range is the Bag-up Loader System. Designed to make the construction of solid PVA bags a whole lot easier and therefore quicker to put together as well. They come in a bright red colour so you won’t be scrabbling around your bivvy trying to find them and there are three in pack: Small, Medium and Large.

I’ve heard about them – how do they work?
It’s not a complicated process, simply add the Compression Collar included in the system to the Bag Loader so its diameter is reduced and you can easily insert the Loader into a PVA bag. Remove the collar to expand the Loader, which then grips the bag under tension and it can easily be loaded with pellets and your rig. Once loaded, twist the bag and lightly lick the PVA around the top. Push down and the moistened excess PVA at the top of the bag is sealed against the main body of the bag and it’s ready to go.

Sounds straightforward enough, but what about the PVA bags? How do I make sure I’m using to right ones?
If you have an idea of which size(s) of Bag Loader you’ll use most, you can buy that size separately in a kit. There are four sizes available, with each kit including the Bag Loader System and 25 Taska PVA Breakdown Bags, all packed into a handy, waterproof tub so you’ll be sure of using a suitable bag and avoid them getting damp or wet, which obviously renders them useless.

Okay, but what happens when I’ve used all the bags in the kit?
No problem. Taska also produce a range PVA Breakdown Bags sold separately in five sizes: XS, S, M, L and XL. These bags can be used in conjunction the Taska Bag Loaders and kits or any preferred method of tying-up solid PVA bags. Sizes Small (S) to Large (L) contain 25 bags per pack, with the Extra Large (XL) bags available in packs of 20 bags priced at £2.85 per pack.

That’s good value for money, but how strong are the bags?
The Breakdown bags are extremely robust; you can easily give them a good stretch when loading them up and use them with oil-based liquid attractors. Best of all, this bag strength and durability doesn’t have a negative impact on the breakdown time of the PVA. On average the bags will melt in 10-15 seconds from casting out, fully dissolving in around two- to three-minutes without leaving any trace of residue. Something else that makes these bags pretty damn good is the textured coating that makes them dead easy to open and load.

Great! Anything else I need to know?
That pretty much covers it for PVA bags, although it’s worth mentioning that Taska also produce PVA String and Tape on 30m spools which are ideal for tying off solid bags or forming small baited stringers. There’s also an interesting PVA Tube product, 65mm wide in 5m and 10m lengths that allows you to cut and make bags of any length you wish. All in all, the Breakdown range provides everything you could possible need for solid bag fishing.

“GIMME”: PVA Bag-Up Loader, £3.99; PVA Breakdown Bag Kits, £6.49; PVA Breakdown Bags, £2.85; PVA Breakdown String, £4.95; PVA Breakdown Tape, £3.75; PVA Breakdown Tube, £5.99

Good advice

Taska angler, Gary ‘Milky’ Lowe reveals a few edges when it comes to using solid bags
“Choosing a hookbait to go inside your solid PVA bag is down to personal preference. Personally, I will always use balanced hookbait because most of the time I will be using a super short rig. When using a short rig, the movement of the hookbait is somewhat restricted so I want it to fly into the carp’s mouth as soon as it begins grubbing around on the content of the bag. Lots of anglers opt for hi-viz pop-ups, but I tend to use a hookbait that closely mimics the contents of my bag. When I’m using a bag of pellets, I usually use standard bottom bait but I will tip it off with half a Taska Wazzup Foam Barrels.

“Lots of anglers layer their bags with a whole host of ingredients, but I genuinely don’t think that it catches you any more fish. It may look nice in the bag before you cast, but when the PVA dissolves the food items will disperse and the layered effect will disappear. If I’m fishing at range or with large leads, I will layer the top and bottom of my bag with a few handfuls of dry groundbait. It acts as a buffer so that the lead doesn’t crash through the bag as it hits the water at speed. A small layer of groundbait also creates a mini explosion as the bag dissolves making the contents of the bag spread a little bit further. This creates a slightly different presentation on the bottom, making your bag look a little bit different than everybody else’s.

“The sky really is the limit when it comes to the bait that you use inside your solid bag. As long as the ingredients are PVA-friendly, you can chuck them inside the bag. For me, there’s no better bait than pellets. They are easy to use, full of attraction and carp of all sizes absolutely love them. I prefer to use smaller pellets because they allow you to get your PVA bags much tighter and compact.”