Luncheon Meat and Robin Orange

Today I want to show you a neat little trick with good old luncheon meat...You remember luncheon meat, don't you? Yes, that's right, the stuff the old boys used back in the day, before boilies came along and made everything so much more complicated!

This is one of my favourite brands of luncheon meat - and there are many! I like this one as it is cheap - £1 a tin from Lidl's. It is also tough so it stays on the hair better.

Depending on the species for which you are fishing, dice the meat into cubes. Small cubes give better pre-occupation but leave a few larger ones to use on the hair.

Now comes the first really crafty part! Take a tablespoonful of Robin Red or (as shown here) Robin Orange, and add it to the cubed meat which has been placed in a mixing bowl.

Give the bowl a good shake so as to ensure each of the cubes acquires a decent coating of Robin Orange.

Now for crafty bit number 2. These are the Enterprise Tackle Meatmates. The kit comes with a few lengths of tubing and some well designed gizmos that help attach the meat to the hair, The idea is that the tube prevents the hair itself from cutting through the meat while the gizmo stops it sliding off the hair. back in the day we would use a piece of twig or grass, but this is a much neater system.

This diagram shows how to use the Meatmates to their best effect.

Here's a cube of the Robin Orange-coated luncheon meat on the hair. The tube is ready to be pushed into the meat, and the gizmo stands ready to be hooked into the eye or the hair.

Here you can see how the Meatmate sits nicely against the meat holding it firmly in place while the cast is made.

And here is the completed set up ready to catch a carp!

Written by Ken Townley