Luncheon Meat / Spam
Luncheon meat has been used as a fishing bait for many years and is a fantastic bait for chub, barbel and carp. Feeder fishing is the usual way to fish with Luncheon meat but it can also be used when float fishing or on the pole. As a bait it can be used straight on the hook or hair rigged.
Luncheon meat as a fishing bait generally sorts out the larger fish and prior to boilies coming onto the scene some specimen anglers considered Luncheon meat to be one of the best and most versatile baits available for big Carp and Barbel. Luncheon meat is freely available from your local corner shop or supermarket and no preparation is required as it can be fished straight from the tin.
Luncheon meat comes in different varieties by different manufacturers and choice is individual to each angler. Some varieties have more fat content than others so you will have to experiment a bit with different brands
To use luncheon meat as a fishing bait is a simple case of cutting the meat into cubes or breaking a piece off and putting it on your hook. Meat cutters can be found for sale in tackle shops or online and these cut the luncheon meat into many equally sized cubes in one go. Placed the cut meat into a container to keep them from drying out.
The size of the piece of luncheon meat bait depends on the size of hook you are fishing with and the fish you are targeting. Some anglers fishing for Barbel on the river Severn remove the luncheon meat from the tin and cut it into 4 pieces, piece being a hookbait. This of course needs a large hook but has accounted for some fine specimen fish. Depending on the fish you are fishing for, choose the hook you are going to use and then match the size of luncheon meat to the hook.
Flavouring and colourings
Luncheon meat can be made more attractive by flavouring and or colouring it. This is easily done. First put some of the cut meat cubes into a plastic bag and add some flavouring and or colouring. Holding the bag, blow it up like a balloon and then shake it about for a few seconds. Depending on the flavouring or colouring used the ratio is around a teaspoon full to a tin of luncheon meat.
Flavourings and colouring to use are the choice of the angler. Flavourings can be sweet and fruity in the summer or spicy in the winter.
As with all fishing baits, don’t be afraid to experiment.
Feeder fishing is the usual way to fish with Luncheon meat but it can also be used when float fishing or on the pole. As a bait it can be used straight on the hook or hair rigged.
When fishing for chub on small streams or rivers where there is little flow on the water free-lining with luncheon meat can be exciting. Depending on the speed of the current attach a swan shot about 12 to 18 inches up the line from the hook and fish a large piece of luncheon meat or bread. Cast the bait out, leaving the bail arm open if using a fixed spool reel, and it will tumble along the river bed and hopefully be intercepted by a chub. You don’t want your fishing line to be too slack or you may miss a bite but you do need to feed it off the reel steadily otherwise if it tightens up it will start to pull the bait into the side. If the meat bounces through the water at a fast pace try adding another swan shot to slow it down a bit.
Tips:
If you find the luncheon meat cubes are to soft to stay on the hook try pushing the hook through the meat and pull it back onto a boilie stop or small piece of grass. Another tip is to push the hook through and put a maggot, hooked through the middle, onto the hook. This last tip may attract smaller fish and give false bites though.
Another tip is to leave some of the meat cubes in the open and let them dry out for a bit. This gives the luncheon meat a harder skin which will help keep it on the hook. On hot days this also draws out some of the fatty content and makes the outside of the cubes greasy which can sometimes attract the fish.
If you have some luncheon meat left over after your fishing trip, don’t throw it away, take it home, put it into a plastic bag and freeze it.
Leaving the point of the hook exposed is said to help with hitting more bites.
Luncheon meat loses a certain amount of moisture as it is being frozen and when you defrost it if you add some flavouring to the bag with the frozen meat cubes some of the lost moisture will be replaced with the flavouring.
Note:
Please DO NOT leave empty tins on the bankside, take them home and dispose of them sensibly. Empty luncheon meat tins, or any tins for that matter, can be a hazard to wildlife, make the bankside look disgusting and give anglers a bad name.
