Put a loop in your snood , in though the top of the eye of the hook and trap the fillet in the loop on the back of the hook shank.
With frozen mack do not slice off full thickness (not to the backbone) of fillet, try for 3 x 1cm per side strips.
The thinner strips hold together better .
Keep as frozen as possible till casting.

 

Nothing beats bait elastic.

 

16g wire :BigGrin:

 

Bait Elastic!!!

 

If out for a whole days session then frozen mackeral wont stay frozen for long, especially in this weather, and then its consistency turns to complete turd. I would try and get fresh fillets first before frozen, they stay good alot longer just keep them shaded.

As the other guys have said bait elastic is a necessity, even more so if you are going for distance.

 

I always have plenty of bait elastic, I've a bad habit of putting it down or in a pocket or bag then can't find it. I don't really think there is a suitable alternative, though the tights idea sounds worth a try, I've used armormesh in a similar way before.

If out for a whole days session then frozen mackeral wont stay frozen for long, especially in this weather, and then its consistency turns to complete turd. I would try and get fresh fillets first before frozen, they stay good alot longer just keep them shaded.

Nope, it won't stay frozen for long but wrap it in newspaper and let it defrost in it, will draw out some of the moisture firming it up as it defrosts so doesn't turn to mush. If you leave it in the plastic bag with the defrosted liquid it won't be good for long. A silver lined cool bag or one of those small bait coolers can be a godsend in this weather.

 

You can use your wife's tights, and make small parcels.
For softer baits, that is what is used to use - mussels, etc..
Still need to tie it to hook mind, and bait elastic is best for that.

One thing, tights can be a hassle in ground with lots of crab, as they catch their shells in the mesh.

 

Before I discovered bait elastic, I used to use the elastic in my socks!

 

Never used elastic and never intend too, sorry I don't like leaving plastic in the ocean to break down and turn toxic

Often bait doesn't hold well because it's been frozen badly making it soft when defrosted. Caring for bait is very important for me, I ice my mackerel in a saltwater slurry untill ready to freeze ( seawater and ice ) then vacume pack it before freezing it. When defrosted it looks and feels firm as if it had just been caught.

I find I can re-use the vac bags several times untill they become to small from cutting off the heat seal top, first use of the bags is for edible fillets.

You can salt bait which will make even the likes of pilchards firm enough to handle being cast.

 

I wasnt entirely sure if bait elastic decomposes but it is needed for badly frozen baits just like you said.

 

I always have plenty of bait elastic, I've a bad habit of putting it down or in a pocket or bag then can't find it. I don't really think there is a suitable alternative, though the tights idea sounds worth a try, I've used armormesh in a similar way before.



Nope, it won't stay frozen for long but wrap it in newspaper and let it defrost in it, will draw out some of the moisture firming it up as it defrosts so doesn't turn to mush. If you leave it in the plastic bag with the defrosted liquid it won't be good for long. A silver lined cool bag or one of those small bait coolers can be a godsend in this weather.

Maybe, but if mackeral is the bait of the day then it won't be given chance to properly defrost. Will you wait 2-3 hours at a mark for that? I wouldn't personally.

If you have the chance to buy fresh them do it, the skin on the bait is much tougher and holds the bait alot longer. You could get from ammo baits and it is blast frozen but that is entirely up to you.

 

Maybe, but if mackeral is the bait of the day then it won't be given chance to properly defrost. Will you wait 2-3 hours at a mark for that? I wouldn't personally.

If you have the chance to buy fresh them do it, the skin on the bait is much tougher and holds the bait alot longer. You could get from ammo baits and it is blast frozen but that is entirely up to you.

There's more than one way to skin a cat mate

Anyway, the fresh mackerel you get must be better than the "fresh" stuff I've seen locally to me then which I wouldn't use as fish food never mind eat myself :eeks:. Often the frozen stuff is better quality where I am.

But yeah, many bait compainies blast freeze their bait.

 

I think it is rubber based or more of a refined rubber latex via the amount of stretch it has and it will degrade but very slowly.

 

If you cant find bait elastic, go to a sowing shop. They will have elastic sowing thread
Thicker than bait elastic but I use it for larger baits. Works well

 

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