BAIT PRESENTATIONS BY DEAN DICKSON RASSPL Red Bait: The Blue cheese of the see Red bait must be one of the most commonly used bait along our coast and has been a favorite of mine during the winter months since I started fishing for Galjoen in my early teens It’s that time of year again when we start chasing those winter species like Galjoen, Mussel Cracker and Steenbrass. Walking along the beach to picking up pods of red bait that have spent a few days in the sun to ripening like mature cheese only they smell a little more untidy. Getting rid of the smell from your hands is probably harder that getting blood off white sheets. I have tried everything from Coke to toothpaste including lemon juice, brake fluid, car grease hand wash cleaner, Handy Andy, vinegar and almost every hand soap available to man. Nothing really works so just accept it as a trusty Galjoen fisherman your hands are going to have that lovely cheesy red bait smell following you around for the next few months whilst you hunt the elusive Galjoen. Over the years I have heard of several species being caught on red bait including some of the uncommon ones like Steenbrass, elf, Kob, Baardman and gully sharks. The more common species you will expect to catch are Galjoen, white and black cracker, Blacktail bronze bream, zebra, Streepie, Hottentot, Jan bruin, Santer and red roman. It’s probably safe to say that most species will have a go at a piece of well presented red bait. Step 1 Find some red bait either on the rocks in the tidal zone or preferably washed up on the beach. The older the red bait is the faster the fish tend to eat it. As long as you have the stomach for it as it’s not good to use after a good night out with the boys as the smell might get the better of you. Frozen red bait has never been very successful for me but if you must you can freeze it but I prefer to let it ripen in the garage for best results. My neighbors don’t agree though. Step 2 Cut open the pods an remove the flesh put it in a bucket with the rest some of the riper pods season the fresher ones sharing the more mature flavour as they lie in the bucket. Step 3 Cut the flesh into thin strips and cotton it on flesh side facing out this exposes the soft inside flesh part and releases maximum smell from your bait. Make sure you don’t put too bigger piece on when fishing for Galjoen so as not to cover the point of the hook. If you are fishing for mussel cracker you can use bigger sized baits but I have always caught cracker on a smaller bait using a 2/0 hook whist fishing for Galjoen. Fisherman’s tip Galjoen have small mouths so use a smaller hook for best results and don’t over bait your hook keep the point exposed for a better hook up rate. Cut thin strips to make a worm thickness bait if you keep missing the bites. Use a bait float to float your bait it minimizes your hook getting from getting stuck in the rocks when reeling in.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:30:31 +0000
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