WHAT BAIT TO USE WHEN YOU CANT GET WORMS,CRAB ECT

[eel]

I recently went fishing and left my bait at home.I went spinning and used a pollock for bait.But out of interest is there a good bait you can buy in tesco or super value etc.I heard raw chicken can work.

[Donagh]

Whiting is supposed to be a great bait for whiting though I've never had any luck with it. Also popular pike bait due to its easy availability down here. Only thing I can think worth getting from tesco are mussels.

Donagh

[Read]

I'm trying out frozen tiger prawns and calamari bought in the English market in Cork. It's a bit early to judge at the moment as I have only used them at well known crab marks. Of the two I think the calamari is marginally better. It's not like the bait squid but is about 15 cm by 8 cm with two sides forming a pouch with no tedrils or head. The two sides are 5mm thick. It is excellent for tipping because of the tough texture. The pin whiting and crab I have encountered so far with it have a real hard time with it.

They worked out quite good price wise with about 3 doz prawn and 1 doz calamari @ EUR12 each.

I'm going to try them again at a beach mark soon that shows for varied baits and will keep you posted.

[drseafish]

I have herd of all sorts used as bait. Overall I think that Mussel is a very underrated bait and will catch codling and flounder. Squid works but not very well by it self. If your after bigger coddling (>3lb I wish) it can be good to protect a softer smelling bait in a wrap of squid, such as lug or mussel.
I have herd of earth worms catching plaice from a boat and flounder in an estuary especially during and after a flood (its makes sense when you think of it). Razor fish definately works and is especially good as a tipping off bait, some smell and great visual attactant properties. I think that when you think of other baits away form the norm you need a combination of smell and colour (white). Few baits offer this so its best to combine, therefore next time your shopping think along those lines and you never know what baits you might come up with that are sucessful. In relation to prawns I think that its best to get them unshelled as they havn't been blanched which removes a lot of the volatile flavour & aromatic compounds reducing its effectiveness. I know of someone who increased codling catches when he accidently spilt herbal air fresherner over his crabs in the back of the car. Experimentation is the key.

[The Dirty Fecker]

While in Florida I was shore fishing this year and went into the 'bait shop' to get some bait and asked what was on offer? He listed off all sorts of small fish such as sardines, prawns and of course squid. Florida fishing being completely different to ours, I was looking for a little advice and so asked him what he would recomend... He answered that squid was best. I took his word and bought some even though I am not the biggest fan of squid as a bait regaurdless of what 'Sea Angler' will tell you... I also bough some prawns. Anyway, on opening the box i found the obvious looking Calamari type squid. and baited up with some prawns with which i caught some small fish such as groupers etc. Then out came a squid. onto a pennel it went and I sliced it open. To my amazement out oozed red blood like the juices of a ragworm! These squid were full of this thick gunk! I blasted the bait out and a few minuites later i had caught an 8 lb Stingray! The prawns caught very little but this squid caught me a Ramoray, Grunts and counless white catfish to about 4 lb! It is obviously a different type of squid but this stuff really works. If I could get it over here i would use it all the time. The squid we have seems to have a bit of white juice inside but this species was obviously different. If only tackle dealers over here could start getting it in... My faith in squid was suddenly founded. As i say, i've little faith in the stuff we get here other than as a tipping bait but on its own, this stuff was as good as fresh mackerel!

[Donagh]

I've found squid on the rougher marks of the estuary top notch. Some say it has no sent but someone should tell the conger that. Bloke I fish with tells me his cats go mental when hes defrosting it. Not much rough ground on the east coast so better off just using it as for tipping or wrapping.

One I said before was sweet corn works for wrasse. You need to wash it out to stop your hands sticking. Bloke that fished the cornwell rock marks showed me that one.

Donagh

[Jon Moloney]

Some fishmongers sell crabsticks 2 euro a pack, plenty for a session. Anyone tried them??

[liamd]

surely arnt those artificial strips worth having in ur tackle box for emergencies. they may not b the best but if the fish are biting they are better than nothing.

[gowerray]

Calamari Squid? Over here in the UK you can get a 5lb box of frozen Calamari for around £7. ('Baits direct' do them for £7.15p). Bought one a few weeks ago, partially defrosted it to seperate them and ended up with 62 whole Calamari 8" or 9" long. Apart from Winter fishing when they're excellent for Cod/Codling, Whiting etc they're also good for Bass in late Summer after the baitfish have gone. Just make sure they're not pink or starting to turn pink. Good value and a great attractor especially if used as a wrap for Mussels or Lug.

[Donagh]

Another one to consider (though I haven't tried it ) is liver. Its used in England as a top notch bait for Whiting.

Donagh