Booking a day off work recently for a mid week sesh... and then finding my local tackle shop was out of lug, a drive to tescos (or any supermarket of your choice) was the only option.
thought id take a few piccys to help anyone that hasn't tried mussel yet, an under-used... but cheap and highly effective bait!
you can buy them in bulk to save money from fishmongers, or kilo bags from your local supermarket.
if you are really lucky, you might find them fresh on the shore, or piers locally.
1 kilo will bait around 30 hooks, more if you want to tip with squid.
pour half a kettle of boiling water slowly over some live mussels, then pour a pint of cold water over them... to stop them cooking too much.
although the mussel will be slightly par-cooked around the edges of the shell, they will be easier to hook. the inside will remain raw...
the easiest way to remove them intact, is to use an empty shell as a scoop.
a close up of the snotty bits...
once the mussel's have been removed from the shell, you can thread 3-4 on a baiting needle, once you have used a needle for worm, sandeel and mussel... i doubt you would go back! very clever, but simple bits of kit. the best i have used are gemini, with a slightly blunter nose, so less piercing of the bait/s when you use it, for example threading a whole lug or 2-3 in a string on a pennel.
here i am using sakuma manta 4/0, wide gape.
once the mussel's have been threaded on the shank, i have fairly loosley boud them on with elasticated ghost coccoon. you dont want to over do it... as ill explain later.
(see bottom reply)
make shure the hookpoint is well exposed, hence the wide gape style being used. if you are un-familliar with this expression, the gape is the distance between the shank (bit the eyes on) and the hookpoint.
once you have completed enough pre-baied hooks, i work on three per-hour, per-rod. place them into a take-away tub with enough space to keep them seperate from each other.
you can now freeze the prepared bait. all you have to do is add some genie mini snood clips to a basic clipped up rig, or to the end of your running ledger.
being frozen will protect them on impact, and the elastic will hold bait to the hook.
when changing, remove/unclip the old hook and simply replace!
i normally leave them an hour in the freezer, then pour over a little of the juices left remaning, adding some to each bait.
this allows a nice waft of scent, as the bait hits bottom.
if you dont use all the pre-made hooks in one session, simply re-freeze. the smelly'er mussel gets... the more it attracts!
just wash the empty hooks in cold fresh water when home and re-use.
you can also purchase various fish to use as single baits or cocktails... here i have prepared some herring and mackerel. if you are fishing an estuary, you may find sections of trout work well! as scavengers will feed on anything washed down from the river beyond.
another highly under-rated bait is the humble prawn. whenever you have caught cod on the bristol channel, you can be rest assured their stomach will be full of small prawn, shrimp and brown crab.
you can get 1kg bags of raw black prawns from lidl's but they are available most places. shop around for the best price.
if you are on a budget, splice them in half, or use chunks as cocktails/tippets.
they work out at the same price as a worm, but lots cheaper than crab, and can match, or outfish peeler from time to time.
here i am using langostines, two quid for ten. thread the hook through the flesh at one end, and the prawn will convenently bend around the shank as you thread them. just bind well with bait elastic.
hope this post helps... dont be afraid to try something different when fishing, choose something as an alternative and fish it on a seperate rod to worm baits. you may just find something special, that outfishes the worms, and other anglers!!
you just never know whats out there! (apart from ships LoL :laugh: )
tight lines, al.
thought id take a few piccys to help anyone that hasn't tried mussel yet, an under-used... but cheap and highly effective bait!
you can buy them in bulk to save money from fishmongers, or kilo bags from your local supermarket.
if you are really lucky, you might find them fresh on the shore, or piers locally.
1 kilo will bait around 30 hooks, more if you want to tip with squid.
pour half a kettle of boiling water slowly over some live mussels, then pour a pint of cold water over them... to stop them cooking too much.
although the mussel will be slightly par-cooked around the edges of the shell, they will be easier to hook. the inside will remain raw...
the easiest way to remove them intact, is to use an empty shell as a scoop.
a close up of the snotty bits...
once the mussel's have been removed from the shell, you can thread 3-4 on a baiting needle, once you have used a needle for worm, sandeel and mussel... i doubt you would go back! very clever, but simple bits of kit. the best i have used are gemini, with a slightly blunter nose, so less piercing of the bait/s when you use it, for example threading a whole lug or 2-3 in a string on a pennel.
here i am using sakuma manta 4/0, wide gape.
once the mussel's have been threaded on the shank, i have fairly loosley boud them on with elasticated ghost coccoon. you dont want to over do it... as ill explain later.
(see bottom reply)
make shure the hookpoint is well exposed, hence the wide gape style being used. if you are un-familliar with this expression, the gape is the distance between the shank (bit the eyes on) and the hookpoint.
once you have completed enough pre-baied hooks, i work on three per-hour, per-rod. place them into a take-away tub with enough space to keep them seperate from each other.
you can now freeze the prepared bait. all you have to do is add some genie mini snood clips to a basic clipped up rig, or to the end of your running ledger.
being frozen will protect them on impact, and the elastic will hold bait to the hook.
when changing, remove/unclip the old hook and simply replace!
i normally leave them an hour in the freezer, then pour over a little of the juices left remaning, adding some to each bait.
this allows a nice waft of scent, as the bait hits bottom.
if you dont use all the pre-made hooks in one session, simply re-freeze. the smelly'er mussel gets... the more it attracts!
just wash the empty hooks in cold fresh water when home and re-use.
you can also purchase various fish to use as single baits or cocktails... here i have prepared some herring and mackerel. if you are fishing an estuary, you may find sections of trout work well! as scavengers will feed on anything washed down from the river beyond.
another highly under-rated bait is the humble prawn. whenever you have caught cod on the bristol channel, you can be rest assured their stomach will be full of small prawn, shrimp and brown crab.
you can get 1kg bags of raw black prawns from lidl's but they are available most places. shop around for the best price.
if you are on a budget, splice them in half, or use chunks as cocktails/tippets.
they work out at the same price as a worm, but lots cheaper than crab, and can match, or outfish peeler from time to time.
here i am using langostines, two quid for ten. thread the hook through the flesh at one end, and the prawn will convenently bend around the shank as you thread them. just bind well with bait elastic.
hope this post helps... dont be afraid to try something different when fishing, choose something as an alternative and fish it on a seperate rod to worm baits. you may just find something special, that outfishes the worms, and other anglers!!
you just never know whats out there! (apart from ships LoL :laugh: )
tight lines, al.