Use fresh baits and fishing in the mud!

GET FRESH!
During a recent night session in South Wales I was standing amongst maybe 30 other anglers, none of us getting much in the way of bites. The fish, mainly cod and whiting, were coming through in short bursts with long periods of inactivity.

I was double patting exchanging a ready baited rig immediately for the one with the fish on and quickly recasting as soon as my fish hit my feet. The two anglers to my right were also double patting.

I was watching carefully and all three of us got at least a couple of fish hooked up with each passing shoal. The guys to my left were not double patting and were leaving their baits out there a good 30 minutes or more. They often got no bites even when the fish were in front of us. It was nothing to do with distance casting either, as the fish were running both close and far.

Always use fresh baits

So what's the real story here? Simply to make sure that when things are slow you don't lose heart and keep working at trying to catch fish. Putting fresh bait out there every 15 minutes will keep scent gushing out and give the fish something to follow up. Remember that your bait will be most effective for the first couple of minutes when there is an explosion of juice fanning off downtide. After 5 minutes at least 50% of the available juice will have gone. Longer than 5 minutes and the scent trail will y weaken rapidly the nearer to the bait the fish gets. Some fish chase down a strong scent, but when it weakens to a high degree they may lose interest and look elsewhere, especially if you're fishing alongside numbers of other anglers who have fresh baits in the water giving a stronger path to follow.

If it's raining heavily while I'm fishing, I even go to the trouble of putting waiting baits on ready to swap rigs in to a plastic Chinese takeaway container with a lid. This stop the rain washing juices out of the bait while it's hanging from the square rig hook on my rod rest. Something small in the whole act of fishing, but a trick that can add a few more fish to the overall catch if you take the trouble to get in the habit of doing it. The other advantage with this is that all the blood from previous baits collects in the container and adds a hint more scent to the bait.

TIPS AND TRICKS
Climber's shops are a happy hunting ground for anglers these days. Nosing about in one the other day I spotted some security straps with a quick release buckle on them. They are polypropylene webbing and designed as additional straps for rucksacks for securing bedding rolls and the like, or for holding suitcases together.

I've used lengths of string and cord and tried Velcro straps too for holding rods and rod rest together for years when walking to far off rock ledges and marks when rod holdalls are too cumbersome, but the cord often comes undone and the Velcro quickly wears out. These straps though are ideal and as cheap as a couple of quid a pair. They save time unpacking and packing rods and are totally secure.

MUD FISHING TACTICS

How to fish in the mud!

Choose leads like flat watch leads or the Breakaway flattie leads. These will sit on top of the mud, but stick as if in glue and anchor the tackle tight unless you're fishing a really fast tide run.

The main problem is baits being covered by moving mud sediment disturbed by the tide. Make up two or three hook rigs longer than usual, say up to 4ft long, and with the hook snoods positioned in the upper half of the rig body. Position your rod at a steep angle in the rod rest and keep your line tight and you'll have the snoods and baits bouncing the seabed or just slightly up in the water.

Another dodge with the hook snoods is to add either Booby Beads without the ball bearing in or a couple of float beads. The Booby Bead is bigger and gives more lift and buoyancy helping to keep the bait away from the mud. Position these about 9-inches away from the bait, though the float beads can be tight to the hook without problems.

When fishing over really glutinous deep mud also try moving the bait back towards you every couple of minutes. This stops the bait being buried by mud sediment as the tide flows over it.