Is It Chum, or Cornbread?

    Being as interested in the history of fishing as I am with the latest trends, I was pleased to discover passages in Pliny The Elder’s, ‘Natural History’ that describe early, "fish aggregation devices (FAD's)".
    What this fancy term describes is the practice of floating object in the water, which then attracts fish to gather around the object. In this way they become, "sitting ducks," and can be more readily taken.

    One ancient version of the FAD technique included placing feeding baskets in the water at a particular spot, with men venturing out everyday to feed the fish via this device. Eventually, so many fish gathered that it was easy to capture them with net or spear.

    At this point my memory was jogged to remember our own Southern version of this very thing. It is best described by this old maxim:

"The best place to catch fish is under a piece of cornbread."

Cornbread? That's right - cornbread.



photo courtesy of Betty Crocker, Inc.

Not The Good Stuff

    So when if we are to speak of cornbread for attracting fish, lets first address just what we mean.
    First off, I don't mean the best "eatin'" cornbread - that is a Southern delicacy, and should be reserved for the table and the stomachs of decent men.
    But should there be leftover cornbread, the stuff that ends up stale and maybe a bit moldy... that's the cornbread fit for feeding fish

    However you get it, though, a hunk of stale cornbread, floating in the water is an instant lure to the small minnows and fry that seem always to be lurking nearby.

    I've heard of barefoot Southern boys pokinge a few holes in an old  bucket or pan, then floating it between a few boards. Into this makeshift FAD, they drop their cornbread and push it out from shore. An old basket might work as well, but the end result is an honest to goodness Fish Aggregating Device!

Let Them Eat Cake
    As the cornbread begins to soak in the water, it sheds bits and pieces of itself.

- First comes the small grains of ground corn from whence it is made. These drop away and float down in the water. Their bright color and tiny size is a natural lure to voracious small fry, and they swarm around picking these off on the fall.
- There is also the "cloud" of finer particles that balloons around as the cornbread decomposes in the water. 
- Finally comes the "slick," the oil sheen that drifts off from the cornbread.

Don't Be Afraid Of Cornnbread
    Good cornbread is made with whole milk, eggs, and plenty of rendered bacon fat or salt pork drippings. Some people make it with vegetable oil, and talk themselves into calling it cornbread.
    But real Southerners know better - that's a cruel joke made all the worse for playing it on yourself. No, real cornbread is not for cowards, or the modern-day health conscious.
It is made with pork fat drippins', plain and simple.

How It Works
    In the water, it is this combination of grainy bits, the dispersal cloud and animal proteins from the pork fat that creates a zone of fishy yumminess that disperses upon the currents around the cornbread. No matter which way the wind blows or where the water moves, it is a natural scent attractor that sends out its siren call to the fish.

    But lets be clear here and reiterate the point of this exercise:

    None of this is intended to attract big fish, right off - no sir.
The aim here is to create a frenzy of noisy feeding activity beneath the surface of the water AROUND the cornbread FAD. It is THAT action that ultimately draws near the larger game fish.

    Sounds travels more efficiently and farther in water than it does in air. Because the fish is IN the water, and its own body is 90% water, it essentially "hears" much better in water than we do in air. 
    Therefore, as the small fish dart to and fro in the dispersal cloud, gorging themselves on the floating kernels, they set up a symphony of raucous sound that other fish may hear at a great distance.

    Next comes the scent of fatty fried bacon goodness, borne far and wide.
    In time, the smaller fish and their rowdy activity draw bigger fish that come to investigate the commotion. They instinctively recognize these sounds as feeding fish, and they want to feed, too - not so much on the cornbread itself, but on the small baitfish that are themselves busy with their frantic feast.

    Basically, your cornbread FAD has created a  rambunctious crowd-fest of feeder fish, which no self-respecting game fish can resist!

In Closing
    Let us return to our original thought, and ask...
"Does this match Pliny The Elder's description of a 'fish aggregation device'?" I say it most definitely does, and besides, doesn't sound much better than the commonly used phrase, "chum bucket?"

    But no matter what you call it, or more importantly - how you slice it - the best place to fish may very well be under a piece of cornbread!

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Dave Hutton

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