Groundbait by fishing method
A mix isn't made ‘for bream’ or ‘for crucian carp’. It's made for the way it will enter the water — and that, not the species, is what decides what it will be like.
Three ways of delivery
A feeder carries the mix through the cast and has to release it on the bottom. A hand throws a ball that has to reach the spot without breaking up in the air. A hole in the ice has no horizontal distance at all: the feed drops straight down through an opening about the size of the ball.
Why the requirements don't fit together
A mix that survives a feeder cast is packed tighter than the bottom actually needs. A mix that balls up well for a hand throw would fall apart in a feeder before reaching bottom. And a winter mix doesn't need to fly at all — it's asked for the opposite: not to shed dust on the way down.
Why the species decides less
It changes the coarse fraction and, sometimes, the mix's food value — but it doesn't change how the mix has to travel and open up. The delivery method sets the mechanics, the species sets the filling, and mixing up these two levels means making a mix that never reaches the bottom at all.
What carries the mix there
A hand only reaches so far, and something goes in between the hand and the water. A catapult adds range. A cup on the end of a pole adds no range at all — it's about precision: the feed is lowered into the exact same spot without slapping the water. A spod carries a large volume out to range.
Each of the three changes the requirements for the mix, and differently: for a catapult the ball has to be dense enough not to break up in flight; in a cup, firmness doesn't matter at all; in a spod, the mix has to empty itself once the spod tips over.
What this adds up to
The same bag of dry mix is prepared differently for the three methods, and the difference isn't in the composition but in the moisture and packing. That's why the three cards in this section read as three different answers to one problem.
Three cards
Feeder groundbait, groundbait for float fishing, and winter groundbait.
