is fresh bait,or frozen bait best???
07-11-2009, 02:50 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 3
is fresh bait,or frozen bait best???
hello all,
im still classing myself as a beginner,and have been a dozen or so times on blackpool seafront where i live,but have only caught one flounder,and am wondering,what i am doing wrong.
ie when is best to go,and what should i be looking out for,also when i have cast off,how long do i leave the rod there before reeling back in and putting fresh bait on.
im a bit thin on advice,and would appreciate any of your opinions on lugworm.
should it be fresh,or frozen,and also is it adviseable,to load my rig with a couple of worms or,maybe mackerel would be better,i dont know really,
as i say any advice at all on any aspect of sea fishing would be greatly received.
cheers everyone
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im still classing myself as a beginner,and have been a dozen or so times on blackpool seafront where i live,but have only caught one flounder,and am wondering,what i am doing wrong.
ie when is best to go,and what should i be looking out for,also when i have cast off,how long do i leave the rod there before reeling back in and putting fresh bait on.
im a bit thin on advice,and would appreciate any of your opinions on lugworm.
should it be fresh,or frozen,and also is it adviseable,to load my rig with a couple of worms or,maybe mackerel would be better,i dont know really,
as i say any advice at all on any aspect of sea fishing would be greatly received.
cheers everyone
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07-11-2009, 06:59 PM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
cant really help with flounder fishing, that location, or that bait...
but i prefer my bait fresh...as in freshly caught that day if at all possible.
to freeze bait and get the most out of it, it needs to be sealed in a bag and on good ice...preferably bagged ice so the ice stays on top and the water drains out...
bait that is in ice/water will "wash out" and all the good blood and oils and juices will wash out of the bait really quickly...to have the best bait, it needs to be fresh and ON ice quickly...
as for checking bait, it depends alot on the bait and the area...ive fished a bay where crabs where EVERYWHERE...a decent hunk of cut bait didnt last 20 minutes... ive fished the surf where a hunk of bait could last all day...but within 30-45 minutes or so, i find its usually best to rebait as most the good oils and blood etc wash out...depends on the bait as well...
after a while you can look at a bait and tell if its still fresh or if it been out long enough...it will look totally different..some of it turns white and mushy..some just loose all its color..really depends on the bait...
im no expert ocean fishermen...but im slowly learning and learned fresh bait often makes the difference between fish and no fish....ive fished RIGHT NEXT to guys using store bought menheden while i was fishing menheden i JUST caught right out of that water...long story short, they kept asking me what i was using as bait and didnt wanna believe i was fishing the same bait as they were and i was catching fish and they werent...their store bought menheden werent cared for properly..probably from the time they were caught as bait...when buying bait at a shop, you gotta learn what shops stock good bait and care for it properly...ive seen some bagged and in a cooler that looked and smelled awful...
most the stuff im talking about is talking about cut bait...but also would apply to shrimp and other baits that are fished dead or cut..
ocean fishing seems to have a serious learning curve...from bait, to rigs, to reading the water to finding the fish to understanding tides etc etc...if you rely on luck and just toss out some bait you may get lucky...but to be consistent, ive found it takes knowledge and time on the water...
but i prefer my bait fresh...as in freshly caught that day if at all possible.
to freeze bait and get the most out of it, it needs to be sealed in a bag and on good ice...preferably bagged ice so the ice stays on top and the water drains out...
bait that is in ice/water will "wash out" and all the good blood and oils and juices will wash out of the bait really quickly...to have the best bait, it needs to be fresh and ON ice quickly...
as for checking bait, it depends alot on the bait and the area...ive fished a bay where crabs where EVERYWHERE...a decent hunk of cut bait didnt last 20 minutes... ive fished the surf where a hunk of bait could last all day...but within 30-45 minutes or so, i find its usually best to rebait as most the good oils and blood etc wash out...depends on the bait as well...
after a while you can look at a bait and tell if its still fresh or if it been out long enough...it will look totally different..some of it turns white and mushy..some just loose all its color..really depends on the bait...
im no expert ocean fishermen...but im slowly learning and learned fresh bait often makes the difference between fish and no fish....ive fished RIGHT NEXT to guys using store bought menheden while i was fishing menheden i JUST caught right out of that water...long story short, they kept asking me what i was using as bait and didnt wanna believe i was fishing the same bait as they were and i was catching fish and they werent...their store bought menheden werent cared for properly..probably from the time they were caught as bait...when buying bait at a shop, you gotta learn what shops stock good bait and care for it properly...ive seen some bagged and in a cooler that looked and smelled awful...
most the stuff im talking about is talking about cut bait...but also would apply to shrimp and other baits that are fished dead or cut..
ocean fishing seems to have a serious learning curve...from bait, to rigs, to reading the water to finding the fish to understanding tides etc etc...if you rely on luck and just toss out some bait you may get lucky...but to be consistent, ive found it takes knowledge and time on the water...
07-13-2009, 03:25 AM
#3
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 39,049
I always prefer fresh over frozen but at times you deal with what you got. I've had some success with blood worms, squid, and shrimp. However, if I'm using shrimp, I won't use it without squid. Slide the shrimp up the hook and attach a sliver of squid, hooked no more than one or two times, about 1/2 inch wide at the hood to a point and the end of the tail about 2 or 3 inches long. Don't let it sit. Cast it out and bounce it along the bottom as your retrieving.
My favorite thing to use for flounder is a small 1/8 oz jig head with white skirt hair. They come in green pink or white heads. Different colors work on different day and conditions as usual. Tip it with squid as described above. You will find that casting such a light jig head difficult so I use the following rig. Take 30lb test or so, cut it about 3 ft long. About 1 foot above the end tie a figure 8 knot that leaves a loop about 6 inches long. Tie another knot in the middle of the loop and then attach a 2 oz bottom weight (not a surf weight) just by looping it on. Then attach the jig to the end. Cast this out as far as you can and bounce it off the bottom as you retrieve. The weight kicks stuff up like a fish picking through the bottom stuff and will draw attention. The jig is the trailer the will draw the strike.
Let me know if this helps and you can follow how to make the rig. If your having trouble, I will post pics, step by step.
Update: It's not a figure eight knot, my bad. It's a dropper loop. Make this knot with a loop about 6 inches long and then tie a simple knot in the middle of the loop. ie 3" away from the drop loop and three inches away from the end of the loop. then attach the sinker.http://www.animatedknots.com/dropper...matedknots.com
Good luck
My favorite thing to use for flounder is a small 1/8 oz jig head with white skirt hair. They come in green pink or white heads. Different colors work on different day and conditions as usual. Tip it with squid as described above. You will find that casting such a light jig head difficult so I use the following rig. Take 30lb test or so, cut it about 3 ft long. About 1 foot above the end tie a figure 8 knot that leaves a loop about 6 inches long. Tie another knot in the middle of the loop and then attach a 2 oz bottom weight (not a surf weight) just by looping it on. Then attach the jig to the end. Cast this out as far as you can and bounce it off the bottom as you retrieve. The weight kicks stuff up like a fish picking through the bottom stuff and will draw attention. The jig is the trailer the will draw the strike.
Let me know if this helps and you can follow how to make the rig. If your having trouble, I will post pics, step by step.
Update: It's not a figure eight knot, my bad. It's a dropper loop. Make this knot with a loop about 6 inches long and then tie a simple knot in the middle of the loop. ie 3" away from the drop loop and three inches away from the end of the loop. then attach the sinker.http://www.animatedknots.com/dropper...matedknots.com
Good luck
Last edited by Fieldmouse; 07-13-2009 at 05:55 AM.
07-15-2009, 01:14 PM
#4
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 39,049
My above rig also works great for several other types of fishing as well. If your going after Tog in the jetties. Used that same rig but tie two used spark plugs on the end of the line for your weights and put a single hook at the end of the loop. This allows you to fish up close to the rocks and is you loose the rig, your out the cost of the hook.
I will also sometimes use this rig with two drop loops and a wire leader hooks at the end of the loops and a surf sinker at the end for surf fishing. Put a swivle between the rig and your line to keep it from twisting. This is a very cheap surf rig.
I will also sometimes use this rig with two drop loops and a wire leader hooks at the end of the loops and a surf sinker at the end for surf fishing. Put a swivle between the rig and your line to keep it from twisting. This is a very cheap surf rig.
07-15-2009, 02:23 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Wilmington NC
Posts: 4,919
Ok, fresh bait is always better, and live is even better than fresh dead bait. If you are flounder fishing I would use a simple carolina rig with a 3/4 ounce egg sinker (heavier depending on the current) and swivel connecting the main line to a 30 or 40 lb test leader, flouro is nice, but mono will work fine. A size 1 or 1/0 kahle hook at the end of the 12 to 16 in leader. Take your bait of choice ( I assume it is a baitfish such as mullet or menhaden) and hook them right through the lips from bottom to top and cast out and drag back on the bottom slowly. When you feel the thump of a flounder, let him sit as he will have hold of the bait and wait for him to eat it, I like to wait at least 2 minutes after the bite. Set the hook hard and set your drag right, hopw this helps some, but the best is hands on experience, this is easily some of the most difficult fishing to learn and it usually takes a few months to develop your own style and then years to master.
Brent
Cape Fear Coastal Charters
Brent
Cape Fear Coastal Charters
07-22-2009, 01:06 PM
#7
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: the woods of NJ.
Posts: 5,643
You talking flounder or fluke? Since your posting in july I'll assume fluke aka summer flounder. Catch a sea robin and use the white belly strip on a 3/0 gami. . Or a 2 oz white spro jig on 20 lb flourocarbon leader tipped with a 4" gulp white mullet .(Gulp Alive is the best)
07-24-2009, 05:44 AM
#8
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: corpus christi tx.
Posts: 7
flounder fishing
when the flounder are running they take fresh or frozen bait.(at least where i live in south texas) i like to use the flounder pounder, with a bright green 3" shad attached to it.(artificial) drag it across the bottom. remember flounder are kind of tricky. their mouth is on the top of their head, so in order for them to swallow there meal they must turn the bait. therefor when you feel the bite don't set the hook right away. you want to count to at least 30 before setting your hook. practice makes perfect. practice fishing for flounder, and before long you will bring home a stringer full of saddle blankets. good luck
