Marukyu Tanago Gluten
Marukyu Tanago Gluten is pretty much the standard bait in Japan for Tanago fishing. Marukyu is the leading producer of baits for all kinds of fish, and powdered gluten is the leading bait used for tanago fishing.
Mixed 1:1 with water, the powder becomes a sticky paste that will stay on the hook. A measuring spoon is included with each container. The gluten contains a garlic scent which supposedly draws tanago from quite a distance (although probably not all the way from Japan - there are no tanago in the US).
I have not yet had a chance to try the Marukyu Tanago Gluten, as it only just arrived and besides, I am convinced that NY and NJ micros spend their winters in Miami. No point micro fishing here when the snow flies.
I've used a paste bait before and have caught dace and chubs, so I know that paste baits do work for species other than tanago (at least when the weather is not bone-numbing cold).
Update
Since I no longer import the Marukyu Tanago Gluten, I should at least tell you about the paste bait I did use that did work (Trip report 9-10-16). It is a simple mixture of egg yolk and all purpose flour. Start with the yolk (if you don't know how to separate the white from the yolk, just crack the egg into your hand, and spread your fingers a little. The white will fall through the gaps between your fingers but the yolk won't). The recipe called for
one teaspoon of egg yolk, two teaspoons of flour and three drops of vanilla extract. I didn't have vanilla extract so I used Grand Marnier. Hey, ya go with what ya got.
It did work, though. I guess micros like Grand Marnier.
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For my micro fishing exploits I’ve used the gluten bait you used to sell that worked OK but it lost its holding power the following day although my most successful bait is tiny balls of store bought white bread but it doesn’t stay on the hook very long so I figured I’d give your paste bait recipe (flour, egg yolk, vanilla extract) a try.
However I modified the recipe by substituting “Tipo” or Italian “00” flour which has a higher gluten content for “all purpose” flour. I also reduced the amount of flour in the recipe and added a teaspoon of pure gluten flour which is sold in many places as “vital wheat gluten flour” and I added a little more egg yolk because there was more total flour in the recipe.
I don’t know if the extra gluten made the difference, but when I tried it for the first time the stuff is like GLUE and stays on the hook even when lobbing multiple casts and it can be rolled into a tiny ball if you wish. The fish liked it too!!
I put the leftover paste bait in the fridge and a few days later other than getting a bit darker, it appears to have retained its stickiness so the next time I go out I’ll take it along and see if there is any difference in performance and fish catching ability.
Bottom line, some more experimentation is in order but you may want to try MY recipe and see what you think.
Nick P, Pennsylvania