CHEESE PASTE in my opinion is one of the best winter Chub bait. Its quick and easy to make, it doesn't really go off (the older and smellier, the better), and its cheap. I've tried several different recipes, but this is the one that I've settled on. 

Cheese Paste Recipe:
- 500g frozen shortcrust pastry
- 500g mature cheddar
- 450g of blue cheese
- Shortcrust pastry packet mix

How to Make
Grate the frozen pastry and cheese into a bowl and knead, then sequentially add the shortcrust pastry packet mix until you reach plasticine like consistency. The recipe works fine by itself, but you can add whatever you want to it to give you an edge on those bitterly cold days. I have read articles where anglers have added cinnamon, and banana flavourings to a cheese paste mix! Chris added curry powder to his (and it smelled delicious!). I opt for several cloves of grated garlic and 4/5 table spoons of turmeric, which makes mine a bright yellow colour.

MY METHOD for fishing cheese paste is simple. I use a Drennan Medium Feeder with 6LB Maxima Chameleon fished straight through to a size 4 Drennan Specimen hook (in my eyes the best "Big Fish" hook on the market). Using 2 Drennan Float Stops I thread a length of 20LB line onto the mainline to allow me to attach a swan shot. The beauty with using the float stops is that you can move the weights as far away from the hook length as you want. Fishing straight through to the hook gives you the extra strength needed to stop chub from diving into snags.

The proof is in the paste
Cast to over hanging trees, undercut banks and just wait for that heart-stopping pull on the rod.