Bait Tips for Sea Fishing

March 04, 2019

There are different types of bait available for sea fishing. The particular bait type that you choose will depend on the particular fishing type and the season. Most of the different choices of bait can be used not only on float fishing but also for bottom fishing.

Some of the popular bait choices include:
• Mackerel Strips
• Peeler Crab
• Lug Worm
• Rag Worm
• Live Prawns
• Sand Eels
• Squid

If you happen to be just starting out sea fishing, I would advise that if you want to catch mackerel, you just get some float fish and mackerel on mackerel strips. It is also advisable that in your freezer you have some extra bait in case that you may want to go fishing one night and the shops selling the baits are closed. Keeping half a dozen mackerel bait frozen will spare you the disappointment often experienced when no tackle shop is operating.

For float fishing, you can use some of the common bait choices such as ragworm, mackerel strips, squid, and sand eels. On the other hand, for bottom fishing, you can choose from peeler crabs, ragworm or squid. 

Setting up Mackerel
In our waters, this type of fish is very common and it is a good fish type that is normally used as bait. Once you have managed to catch your mackerel, you are supposed to kill it immediately and set it up to be used as bait. It is really cruel of you to leave mackerel to die on its own, besides you or on in a bag. Since it takes a long time for the fish to eventually die, you should help it avoid the suffering. 

There is one common kind way to kill a mackerel. You are simply required to place or rest your thumb on the fish’s head and your index finger should be placed inside its mouth. The teeth of mackerel cannot hurt so do not worry about the safety of your index finger. You are then required to pull the head of the mackerel in reverse towards its body. Breaking the neck will instantly kill the mackerel. 

Setting up Peeler Crab
This choice of bait is not often used by most people because adding the bait to a hook requires extra effort and cost but it is well worth the trouble. Peeler crab is meant for baiting bigger fish. To use this bait, you have to remove the claws, legs, and even the shell. To have two pieces of the bait, you have to cut the peeler crab in half, through the middle with its legs on either side. 

You can also choose to cut the peeler crab half way long, with the legs on whichever side of the cut. This will give you sausage-shaped bait which is advantageous since it slides in a better manner on the hook apart from leaving the tip of your hook more exposed.

Since this bait made is soft and feels like it will not be able to remain intact when you cast, you should add bait elastic string. The string should be wrapped around the bait and only ensure that the hook is not in any way obstructed. 

Setting up a Ragworm
Ragworms are also a popular bait choice since they are loved by fish. Since worms have two pincers, it is important that you are careful during the process of preparing them. While cutting the head off gives a much better blood trail, the disadvantage is that the ragworm will not be properly secured on the hook. If you decide to keep the head, you are able to hook the worm securely through its mouth. 

Dipping your hook replete with ragworms before you cast can help you reduce the loss associated with the worms unhooking from the line. Just ensure that the worms are securely hooked. Moreover, it is important that you cast in a careful manner to avoid the chance of the worms flying off the hook. You should have more than one ragworm on a hook and also add a small piece of squid or mackerel to avoid the flying off of the ragworms from the hook. 

The main disadvantage of ragworms is that small fish also love eating them. Small fish are able to remove the ragworms without hooking themselves. If your worm is being eaten instantly, you should have more than one worm and cast your hook a little further in the hope that the larger fish is baited first. 

Sand eel
You should use squid and sand eel together since the latter likes breaking off most of the time. Remove the tail and head of the squid and then place them aside to be used for later bait. Slice the squid from its top to the bottom so that the result is a flat and square piece of squid. Cut the piece lengthways so that two even squid pieces fashioned. Now, use a piece of the squid to wrap around or cover a sand eel. Using some elastic will help you to lock the squid piece to the sand eel. You will see that this bait will be able to last longer.

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