The preoccupation of fish with large quantities of very small food items is well known, and occurs naturally, for instance when they feed on bloodworm colonies.
To obtain the same effect with anglers' baits means saturating a small area with a sufficient quantity of particles so that the fish switch on to them exclusively.
Particle baits are those big enough to be used on their own or with two or three others on a big hook, and include sweetcorn, chick peas, maple peas, peanuts and tiger nuts.
Mini-boilies are also considered particles from an angler's point of view.
Cooking Particle Baits Particle baits must be used responsibly and you must always ensure that seeds, peas, nuts and beans are soaked or cooked well before use, so that they do not swell after they are consumed by fish, thereby causing distress.
Cooking also prevents germination of naturally sprouting particles, but you only need to cook for a few minutes after pre-soaking.
Overcooking will spoil the bait's attraction and negate the whole point of the exercise.
Always keep the baits in the water in which they were prepared, as this maintains and progressively increases the flavour, but be careful to discard them if the baits start to smell sour.
Particles can be coloured and flavoured during the soaking and cooking process, by flavouring the water.
As many synthetic flavours evaporate during boiling, it is best to stick to natural flavours and syrups, such as maple syrup, molasses, curry sauce or oxtail soup.
Using Sweetcorn Sweetcorn is one of the most popular particles for many species, and there is little to be said about its preparation.
Tins are better than frozen packets, as the sticky liquid enhances the attractiveness of the bait.
Sweetcorn, if used in large quantities, is a bait that can become less effective for some species, such as tench, barbel and carp.
When this occurs, changing the colour and/or flavour can give the bait a new lease of life.
Corn takes flavours well, and a wide range of superb coloured and flavoured corn is available commercially from tackle shops.
Making different particle rigs 1.
A pop-up rig with two kernels of sweetcorn with small pieces of sponge to float the rig off the bottom.
2.
A slow-sinking rig mounted with one medium-sized tiger nut to explore various depths 3.
Particle rigs using sweetcorn as the basic ingredient: clockwise from the top; sweetcorn and red worm; dyed sweetcorn grain and maggots; four grains of sweetcorn on a hair rig; sweetcorn and luncheon meat; dyed sweetcorn and bread flake; centre, single grain of sweetcorn with casters.