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How to Make Free & Easy Homemade Fishing Bait

How to Make Free & Easy Homemade Fishing Bait

cutting bait image by jedphoto from Fotolia.com

Fishing bait gets expensive, especially if you're an avid fishermen. Spend even a few days a week on the water and you'll spend hundreds of dollars every year or even more. While some fishermen still swear by white bread or the night crawlers they dig up in their own backyard, you may want something a little more complicated. Make your own free and easy homemade fishing bait with just a few products you may already have in your house.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:
  • 1/8 pound Velveeta cheese
  • Bowl
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1/4 white granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • Pot
  • Strainer
  • Newspaper
Step 1
Cut off 1/8 pound of Velveeta cheese into a bowl and place in the microwave for three minutes. Remove from the microwave and stir before placing it back inside for another 60 seconds. The Velveeta will retain its gooey consistency until you're ready to mix it with the other ingredients.
Step 2
Create a dough by combining 1 cup warm water, ½ cup flour, ½ cup cornmeal, ¼ cup white granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon garlic powder in a bowl. Use your hands to incorporate all the different ingredients. When the dough is finished, it should look thick and feel slightly heavy in your hands.
Step 3
Place a pot filled with water on the stove and wait until it's boiling. Form small balls from the dough by pulling off a piece the size of your thumb and rolling it between your hands until it forms the ball shape.
Step 4
Set the balls directly into the water and let it cook from one to two minutes. The balls roll to the top of the pot when fully cooked.
Step 5
Use a strainer and gently remove the cooked dough balls from the water. Set the balls on newspaper and let dry. The bait lasts for one week fresh or several months frozen.

Tips & Warnings

 
Don't use fresh garlic or garlic from a jar, as this has a strong flavor that overpowers the rest of the ingredients and may turn off the fish.
 
If you aren't using the bait within the next week, place the bait balls in a freezer proof dish, with a layer of wax paper in between each layer of bait balls before putting in the freezer. If you use the frozen bait, let it thaw completely before using it on the lake or in the river.

Article Written By Jennifer Eblin

Jennifer Eblin has been a full-time freelance writer since 2006. Her work has appeared on several websites, including Tool Box Tales and Zonder. Eblin received a master's degree in historic preservation from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Write for Trails.com

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