smelly baits

does anybody on the furum use old smelly baits that are way past there best i know it is written in the mags the importance of useing fresh baits , but surely pike are oppotunist feeders they will pick up most free meals no mater how old the bait is plus an old bait would give off more sent .The reason i thought of this i was reading an old article in pike lines this guy swears by really old herring and caught some good fish on it

In my opinion the smellier the better, however how do you go about getting an old smelly fish for bait. Obviously we all freeze our bait but if we where wanting it to decompose to a certain level its gonna stink. The smell of rotten fish lingers for a lifetime lol. If you where to store it in a shed then it would attract rodents and cats etc. So yeah i think they would work fine and maybe be better but seems to much a hassle when you can just buy fresh frozen

i use smelly baits alot i just take out of freezer wat i need 2 days before i go fishing and leave them in a sealed bucket in my shed ive never had a problem with rodents or cats.the results on the smelly baits are better than fresh baits with the most success on smelly whiting

Interesting this one.

I went sea fishing last Winter and so have got a few rockling in my freezer. These stink and feel slimy even when frozen yet I've never caught on them.

Any idea why?

I will only use fresh bait old bait gets to soft and dont stay on the hooks that well also you have the change of getting food poisioning

psion wrote:I will only use fresh bait old bait gets to soft and dont stay on the hooks that well also you have the change of getting food poisioning

you could use them frozen but you would probably only get the first cast and i was thinking of useing them in the margins the good thing about useing a soft bait is that it will strike out easy into the fish it just might give you the edge this guy who swears by them said his baits were rancid and i think he did mostly boat fishing so casting was not a problem .I allways carry some anti bact gel wash when handling fish baits anyway or you could wear the disposible rubber gloves

Lefty wrote:Interesting this one.

I went sea fishing last Winter and so have got a few rockling in my freezer. These stink and feel slimy even when frozen yet I've never caught on them.

Any idea why?

another good pike bait is the launce the greater sandeel caught a few good fish on them they pop up easily should use them more really

Lefty wrote:Interesting this one.

I went sea fishing last Winter and so have got a few rockling in my freezer. These stink and feel slimy even when frozen yet I've never caught on them.

Any idea why?

lefty rockling are that bad that nothing in the sea will eat them mate throw them away and get yourself some whiting ive caught loads on whiting

my mate caught a very large rockling last summer which he took home and fillited and scoffed it he said it was tasty but thats nothing to go buy he would eat his own unwashed underpants he is a animal.........

Bait elastic is great stuff for soft baits..... Herring, smelt sardines anything like that needs to be defrosted to release all the juices.

pikeslag wrote:Bait elastic is great stuff for soft baits..... Herring, smelt sardines anything like that needs to be defrosted to release all the juices.

have you tried the dead bait casting clips they are the dogs mate just need the trebles lightly nicked into the bait mate since been useing them i get better hook up results

Seen them in magazines but never seen them being used. Will see someone using them someday. I know they use them alot in sea fishing with impact sheids for casting soft baits.

pikeslag wrote:Seen them in magazines but never seen them being used. Will see someone using them someday. I know they use them alot in sea fishing with impact sheids for casting soft baits.

fox tackle do them great for really soft baits