nice and fresh

talking to an older piker and he was saying he prefers bait that has been in and out of freezer or used a cpl of times.I tried one rod and left it out constantly on a 4 day trip was stunned to get run and 13lb girl after 36 hours of bait been out so do you use the freshest bait and change often or older baits ?

well they do say the smellier the better.not to sure about the freeze defrost then refreeze bit.leaving bait in the water for long periods, is good though obviously all that lovely smell seeping out plus u gonna get little bait fish nibbling on it which releases odour a bit quickerplus theyle be jossling youre bait about which is bound to attract a pikes attention.well thats what i think lol

Come to think of it, I've sometimes had success on a deadbait that has been refrozen after not being used on a trip.

Maybe it's right about your bait being 'too fresh'.

As chris says, smelly, decomposing fish should work as a pike will have this naturally on it's menu day in day out.

Maybe you stumbled on something we could all benefit from there matey

I only worry about things like the freshness of the bait when I am not catching. That'll be most of the time then
My last deadbait session was a bit of a disaster for me as I didn't get a sniff and three guys around me were in the fish. I know I made some mistakes and I am sure that one of them was my baits were yellow inside. Stupid really as I had a brand new pack of smelt at home but I took out the old stuff to use it up.

The dilema I go through when selecting bait to take is always the same;

Do I have enough bait if I have a red letter day?

Should I chuck in unused bait or take it home?

I bet I have had bait in the freezer that has been frozen and thawed several times. I don't have many red letter days and I am from Yorkshire

The other consideration that bothers me is how fresh are baits when you buy them either from the Supermarket, Tackle Shop or Fishmongers?

The supermarket stuff has to be fit for humans.

Tackle shop bait is blast frozen and I'm sure they will say this preserves the quality quicker than sitting on the counter at Tescos.

Doncaster has an excellent fish market but are they selling yesterdays catch or older?

Pike eat fish as John Watson once proclaimed and pike will eat pretty scabby offerings at times as most of us can testify. Would a pike swim past fresh bait to eat an old one? Carp anglers will use washed out boilies so maybe pike will too but are pike as cute as carp? Would a pike swim past an old bait an eat a fresh one? Well they did.

Andy Webster
Keeping It Fresh In Future

as andy says pike will eat anything.but i prefer fish from donny market to packed frozen,to be honest it works out cheaper and the fish are miles bigger.when you think you pay over 2 quid for 4 small mackeral they sell huge uns at a quid a piece also herring you name it they got it.if you want something smelly to work the pikes senses get a box of squid that stuff bloody stinks.dont know about fishing it on the hook by its self but a strip added to you hook bait may just give that edge.

bigchris wrote: i prefer fish from donny market to packed frozen,to be honest it works out cheaper and the fish are miles bigger

Got my last lot of bait from Donny fish market. Sprats £3.00 for a kilo - got bloody loads. 80 odd of the little blighters if I remember correctly.

That was at the beginning of summer and still got about a dozen left.

yeah my freezer full of the little buggers dont rate them much.piranah seem to like em though.so not atottal waste

Are these under the counter specials?

Which stall do you rate best or are they all part of the same company?

Andy Webster

dont know name of the stall.its the second one in on corner if you standing superdrug side.il find out tmo cos ive got to pick sum up for weekend

I can't remember the name of the stall Andy but it was in the middle of the stalls.
I could take you to it, but I'm useless at trying to describe without a map

any of you lads out fishing this weekend?

bigchris wrote:any of you lads out fishing this weekend?

Don't think so, our lass got plans for Saturday and on Sunday I'll hopefully have a hangover due to being out for the last and final time with fellow workmates. Hold on to your hats Donny town centre pubs!!!!

nice one matey thats they way to spend the weekend

well just bought me bait for weekend.thought id try summat differant for a change.bought sum blueys,eels,brown trout and a load of squid just to give it ago lol.just be my luck wont catch a bloody thing

Sounds like quite a cocktail Chris

Can I come round for tea?

just hope the toothy buggers have the same idea

I just judge my baits on merit. If they look, smell, feel and seem OK, I'll use them. I do love a freshly killed Brownie (not the wee Girl Guide type) though.

Andy Macfarlane wrote:I do love a freshly killed Brownie (not the wee Girl Guide type) though.

Lefty wrote:

Andy Macfarlane wrote:I do love a freshly killed Brownie (not the wee Girl Guide type) though.

went to donny market today to get sum bait for outing thursday,would you believe it not one stall had any mackeral or herring.apparantly they havnt been catching them.it says alot for our coastal waters if they aint catching them!!!!!!!so i had to buy frozen baits cost me a bloody fortune.

A 'Baitbox' cooler bag, lined with newspaper, then a further lining of "Techni-Ice" or "Chillerz" as it also known. I then double bag my frozen baits ad place them in the centre of this multi-layered cocoon that will keep baits frozen for upto 36 hours.
'Chillerz' is a polymer based sheet that is allowed to absorb water, which makes it expand and then it is frozen. As long as it is insulated as described, it will stay frozen for upto 36 hours, which means your baits also stay frozen for upto 36 hours, which is ideal for long trips, overnighters, saving money, re-storing undamaged baits and basically they make the whole affair of casting baits a long away simpler because all the baits are solid. they're re-usable too. You take them and your still frozen baits home at the end of your session and put everything back in the freezer. Brilliant! I HIGHLY recommend them....

click *HERE* For 'Chillerz' Homepage

well peel my tangerines them chillaz things look the bulls dangly bits think i will be buying some do they realy last 36 hrs andy ?