Bait

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 79, 80, 132, 133, 200 & 201

Baits

… in any town in which there is a merchant in shell fish, or, in less grandiose language, a whelk shop, there bait is likely to be obtained - first-rate mussels, large and luscious; delicate little cockles; periwinkles; and sometimes limpets; while for the long line which requires a good tough bait there are the whelks. In not a few places the proprietors of these useful establishments, having of late years been patronised by anglers in salt water, very sensibly also keep a small supply of lug and rag worms; the first mentioned being one of the best possible baits for ground-feeding fish, though odious to use. My advice then is, when visiting new regions, hunt up the shell-fish shop (it will probably be down a side street in a more or less slummy neighbourhood), and see what that will bring forth. Even if mussels, and whelks, and the commoner kinds of bivalves are not procurable, we can throw thrift to the winds and utilise cheap oysters as baits for our hooks; some of the large and high-flavoured members of this family which come from foreign parts are fit for little else. It should also be remembered that sea fish are fond of the beards of oysters.

For lugworms and ragworms we must go to the sands and muddy estuaries. Where much line fishing takes place, the lads are practised in the art of catching these objectionable-looking baits, and will keep up a daily supply for a small consideration; but if there be neither sands, nor mud, nor shell-fish shops, then, unless we import worms from more favoured localities, we must, if mussels also fail us, seek mackerel, sprat, herring, or pilchard at the fishmonger's. He may perhaps have some grey gurnard, and will most surely be able to supply us with sole-skin with which to make small baits for bass and other fish. Almost any bright, shining skin which is sufficiently tough may be used for this purpose. Smelts, too, are to be had at the fishmonger's, and these are serviceable on the bottom for whiting and cod, besides making very good spinning baits for bass or pollack. If there any trawlers about they will generally bring home in the early morning some squid or cuttlefish; but these curious creatures are so plentiful on some parts of our coast that they can be easily caught by means of a bait …

Thanks to the liberality of gentlemen living at Plymouth, experiments, which were continued for some time, were made under the auspices of the Marine Biological Association with the object of discovering some chemically prepared bait for sea fish. Those who know the difficulty there often is in obtaining a few baits for a day's fishing with the paternoster, can well understand that professional fishermen, who deal with thousands of hooks and miles of line, must be from time to time seriously hampered by want of bait. For while there is often a great abundance of sprats, pilchard, herring and mackerel, in some seasons next to nothing is to be obtained suitable for the purpose. It was thought possible an oily extract of pilchard could be produced, with which some substance in common use and easily procurable could be flavoured. It can hardly be said that any success attended the experiments. The extract was certainly made, but no substance has yet been discovered which, when flavoured with it, will keep on the hooks and be acceptable to fish. Possibly some angler of the future will make the discovery; for sea anglers are not less ingenious than other members of the craft. One medium which I suggested to the then director of the M.B.A. was macaroni. If the hollow centre could be filled with the extract of squid or pilchard and the ends sealed, the whole would be permeated with the strong-smelling liquid. From the mullet-fishing experience … it seems that at least one sea fish favours this bait even without the essence. If a quasi-artificial bait of this nature can be discovered, the fishermen will benefit to the extent of many thousands pounds annually.

Artificial Baits

Those who possess the least ingenuity need never be at a loss for a bait for sea fishing, or, at least, for so many of the sea fish as will take an artificial bait. A piece of white rag on a hook, the stem of a tobacco pipe threaded on the shank, a three-penny-bit hammered out with a hole bored in it, a teaspoon or dessert spoon bowl bored with a hole and decorated with a hook or two, a piece of tin from a sardine box cut to the shape of a fish and given a twist to make it spin, a piece of india-rubber band or tubing, a few feathers and wool from an old rug these and many more simple and easily obtained materials can be made up into killing sea-fish baits. The things that anglers should never be without are hooks and leads of various weights, swivels, gut, and gimp. With these, he ought to be able to make almost any tackle he may require, perhaps not so neatly as that which he can buy, but certainly more lasting. Not that I wish to disparage bought tackle, though the fastenings-off are not always the best, and hooks not always tested. But in outlandish places, hundreds of miles from tackle-shops, the exercise of a little ingenuity and trouble on the part of the angler will often make all the difference between a good day's fishing and a bad one, between a full and an empty creel.

From Land and Pier

Sea fishing does not only consist of personal skill. Success depends in a great measure on your fishing at the right time and in the right place, with the right baits. These three things are all important; but above all use your own brains, and if you are not catching fish try to puzzle out the reason for your failure … There was an old and very successful fisherman who was once asked what he used that enabled him to fill his creel so fully and frequently, and he replied, "Brains".

"Modern Sea Angling" (1921) Francis Dyke Holcombe at page 9

Introductory

As many a sea angler knows from unhappy personal experience, the matter of bait is often a veritable thorn in the flesh to him, for it sometimes happens that none of the usual baits is obtainable. In such cases the novice may be counselled to display a little resource and initiative, and try experiments. Even if he catches no fish he will be no worse off than if he stayed ashore bemoaning his fate. Two examples may be given. On one occasion a sea angler, confronted with the "no bait" difficulty, gathered some garden snails, with which he went afloat. With the snails he caught pouting, some of which he cut up and used as bait to catch other fish. The other instance occurred many years ago at Ballycotton … The men in question went to sea one day with no bait, and apparently no possibility of obtaining any, but overcame the difficulty by putting over a piece of bread on a small hook. With this they caught a whiting, and with pieces of the whiting many more of his brethren. Anchoring on different ground, they got among the hake with whiting bait and made a great catch. Many of the hake, on being hauled on board, vomited up herrings, so that in the end the fishermen had plenty of bait - both whiting and herring. The moral of experiences such as these would seem to be that lack of any of the ordinary baits need not necessarily cause the sea angler to despair.

"Sea Fishing Simplified" (1929) Francis Dyke Holcombe & A. Fraser-Brunner at page 15

Chapter II

It is a sound general rule in all sea fishing that, under normal conditions, the bigger the bait the larger the fish caught - within reasonable limits, of course. It is also a rule of equal - perhaps of greater - importance, that if the water be very clear and bright the size of the bait used should be reduced, while you should also employ finer tackle than you would if the water was coloured a little. Very thick water is not an advantage, for the fish cannot see the bait so well.

"Sea Fishing Baits: How to Find & Use Them" (1957) Alan Young at pages 78 to 90

CHAPTER X

FISH FOODS AND BAITS

The following list is not exhaustive and is intended only as a general guide. Food differs with locality and season, and it is best to offer, where there is a choice, the food likely to be found in the place concerned at the time, but if this proves unsuccessful, try any other baits available.

The diet of several species is made up largely of plankton (very small floating plant and animal life) and by creatures too small or too soft to be of use as bait. These have been ignored. Squid, where mentioned, applies equally to cuttlefish and octopus.

ANGLER FISH

Food. Live fish of any species.

Bait. The angler fish is not an angler's fish, but it will take almost any large bait that passes near its mouth.

BASS

Food. Small bass: prawns; shrimps; hoppers; brit. Large bass: crabs; sand eels; prawns; any fish small enough to be swallowed; worms. Some large and very large bass seem to be habitual bottom feeders.

Bait. Small bass: prawns; shrimps; slaters; strips of fish; small brit; pieces of worms. Large bass: crabs (peeler or hard-back, whole); sand eels; prawns; small fish; hermit crabs; fish liver; lugworms; ragworms; squid; sand-hoppers. The habitual bottom feeders will take any bait, even if far from fresh.

BREAM, BLACK

Food. Seaweed (probably for the minute organisms living in it); worms; and small shellfish.

Bait. Ragworm; pieces of fish.

BREAM, RED

Food. Shellfish; small fish.

Bait. Pieces of herring, mackerel or pilchard; crab meat; worms.

BRILL

Food. Small fish, especially sand eels, sprats and brit.

Bait. Sand eels and any small fish. Many brill have been caught on lugworms.

COALFISH

As for pollack.

COD

Food. A cod will eat anything eatable, alive or dead.

Bait. Every standard bait is likely to be taken by cod, but mussels are particularly successful.

CONGER

Food. Fish, squid, all species of crab.

Bait. Fish, from sprat to herring size. Fillets from larger fish. Whole squid. Herrings and mackerel are good, but conger bait must be fresh, and a fresh-caught pouting or whiting, for example, is likely to be a better bait than a slightly stale herring bought from a fishmonger.

DABS

Food. Very small crabs of all species, including hermit crabs; sand-hoppers; mussels; and any creature likely to be found in sand or mud.

Bait. As food, and ragworm and lugworm.

DOGFISH

Food. The spur dog is in the main a fish eater. The smooth hound and the lesser spotted dogfish live mainly on hermit and other crabs; molluscs such as whelks; sand eels; worms; and other bottom-dwelling creatures. The larger spotted dogfish mixes these two diets, eating both fish and shellfish. All will attack wounded fish and are thus responsible for seizing hooked whiting, etc.

Bait. Fish; pieces of fish; crabs, especially hermit crabs; whelks.

FLOUNDERS

Food. Flounders take a wide variety of foods, but shore crabs; shrimps; cockles; worms; and fish, such as sand eels, brit and sprats, are important.

Bait. The foods mentioned above vary with geographical locality, the specific locality (estuary or sea), and the season. It is best to start with a bait that ought to be right for time and place. When a flounder is caught it should be opened up to see what it has been eating. Flounders will take almost any bait presented on a baited spoon.

GARFISH

Food. Brit and sand eels.

Bait. Brit; lasts; sand eels and imitations of sand eels, such as bacon rind or tripe strips.

GURNARD

Food. Gurnards obtain their food by scratching the sea bed with their claw-like pectoral fins. It varies with the nature of the bottom, but sand shrimps and very small crabs of any species predominate.

Bait. Gurnard will take almost any small bait.

HADDOCK

Food. Mainly crustaceans and shellfish - shrimps; all species of crabs; many species of tube worms; razor fish; whelks. A few small fish.

Bait. Hungry haddocks will take almost anything - even a bare shining hook. In other circumstances mussel is an almost infallible bait.

HAKE

Food. The hake is a mid-water fish, preying mainly on species of whiting and squid offshore, and on young hake in the open sea; and on pelagic species, such as herring, pilchards and mackerel in shallower waters.

Bait. Small whole fish and fillets of fish.

HALIBUT

Food. Fish of practically every species; haddock and whiting predominating. Very large halibut take big skate and cod. Some shellfish taken, particularly hermit crabs, especially by small halibut.

Bait. Whole fish, generally of about herring size.

HERRING

Food. Mainly a plankton feeder.

Bait. Herring are caught from dock walls and jetties, usually by night. Small pieces of ragworm are a standard bait.

JOHN DORY

Food. Small fish, shrimps, prawns, swimming ragworms. Almost any creature that swims freely.

Bait. Brit, ragworm, prawn.

LING

Food. Fish. A ling will feed at any level, so there are very few species of small fish not recorded as forming part of its diet.

Bait. Whole fish up to herring size or fillets of larger fish. Mackerel, herring, pilchards and whiting are the best.

MACKEREL

Food. On leaving the spawning grounds in very early spring mackerel feed only on plankton. Later they take all upper-water species, particularly brit and sand eels.

Bait. Lasts, sand eels, small strips of bacon, squid and tripe. Any small shining bait is likely to be successful when a school of feeding mackerel is found.

MONKFISH

Note. Squatina squatina, known also as the angel ray. It looks somewhat like the rays, and is a link between rays and dogfish. It is not the angler fish, though the latter is frequently called the monkfish, especially by longshoremen.

Food. Fish, with occasional crabs. Normally a bottom feeder, flatfish form a large part of the diet, but monkfish will sometimes feed at higher levels.

Bait. Not specially fished for. It is likely to take any bait.

MULLET, GREY

Food. In natural conditions the grey mullet is thought to exist in the main upon filamentous weed and the innumerable arthropods - varying from miscroscopic to pea size - such weeds contain. Unnatural conditions have been created by man, and since weed of the right sort grows on piles, jetties, harbour walls, buoys, etc., grey mullet have become frequenters of harbours. There they find a wide variety of unnatural foods and it appears that they will eat - or at least take into their mouths - almost any form of small rubbish. They browse among the kitchen scraps thrown out by ships, and frequent any place where fish offal is discarded. Michael Kennedy (The Sea Angler's Fishes) says: "In Kilmore Quay, in Wexford, I have seen grey mullet, in shoals, poking about among the carcases of rays dumped in the harbour, and sucking in the odd shreds of liver left in them."

Bait. It is almost impossible to lay down a bait for mullet. They have been caught on small scraps of nearly every bait mentioned in this book; and on green harbour weed; bread; and a lengthy list of odd items, including woodlice and cubes of banana. They can be seen in clear water ignoring a dozen baits of a substance on which they were feeding avidly the day before, and taking some freak bait displayed in the middle of them. Almost every fishing station has its locally accepted mullet bait, and it is probable that over the years it proves the best average bait - but when on any occasion it obviously fails, the angler should try anything. A large mullet was caught on a cigarette end. Grey mullet penetrate far up the estuaries and are often caught by freshwater anglers using paste, earthworms or maggots.

MULLET, RED

Apart from their names there is no connection between grey and red mullets. All the details under gurnards, including the habit of scratching the sea bed, applies to red mullet.

PLAICE

Food. The plaice is such an important food fish that scientists have devoted much study to it, and a description of its food occupies several pages of an official report. Boiling this down to a line or two, it can be said that plaice of takeable size (10 in. and over) feed almost exclusively on shell-fish, particularly razor-fish; trough shells; tellins; and wedge shells.

Bait. Some of the shellfish mentioned are deep-water species. The angler cannot do better than use razor-fish and cockles, the latter being a close approach to two of the deep-water species. Plaice in shallow water will often take lugworm and ragworm.

POLLACK and COALFISH

Food. Pollack are predacious fish that live for preference among weed-covered rocks. They will eat any type of worm or crab, but their principal food is brit, sand eels, sprats and other small fish.

Bait. Live or dead sand eels and other fish; fillets of fish; worms; crabs. A pollack takes a moving bait more readily than a still one, and is thus particularly susceptible to artificial lures.

POUTING

Food. Worms; small crabs (especially hermit); and various shellfish.

Bait. Lugworm; ragworm; small crabs and crab meat; winkles; mussels.

RAYS. See SKATE

SCAD (HORSE MACKEREL)

As for mackerel.

SHAD

The allis and twaite shads enter rivers to spawn between April and June. Very few anglers fish for them specifically and little is known about their food. A considerable number are caught every season, usually on brit or sand eels, or on baits or lures imitating these fish.

SHARKS

Shark angling is a specialized sport. Blue sharks are the principal quarry, and almost any species of fish will serve as bait providing it is quite fresh. Mackerel and pilchards are commonly used, but whiting, pollack, pouting, etc., have all proved successful. Mako sharks are usually caught by anglers fishing for blue sharks. Thresher sharks are occasionally caught by anglers, but are not fished for deliberately. They have taken fish baits.

SKATES AND RAYS

There is no scientific distinction between skates and rays. There are more than a dozen British species, but most are caught by accident. Anglers fish deliberately for only two species, the common skate and the thornback skate (or thornback ray).

SKATE, COMMON

Food. Many species of fish, including common skate, dogfish and flatfish; crabs and lobsters; squid. Small skate also feed on shrimps; worms; and shellfish.

Bait. A small whole fish, a fillet from a large fish, or a squid or piece of squid for large skate. Pieces of fish; crabs; and worms for small skate.

SKATE, THORNBACK

Food. Crabs, especially hermit crabs; shrimps; shellfish, especially razor-fish; and a few sand-dwelling fish, such as sand eels and flatfish.

Bait. Crabs and crab meat; sand eels; shellfish.

SOLES

Food. Worms of all kinds, particularly ragworms; shrimps; razor-fish; and, locally, brittle starfish. A night feeder.

Bait. Ragworms and other worms.

TOPE

Food. Fish of any size the tope can seize.

Bait. Fresh fish - notably mackerel; pilchards; pouting; whiting.

TURBOT

Food. Almost exclusively a fish eater.

Bait. Sand eels; brit; sprats.

WHITING

Food. Unlike most other fish of the cod family, the whiting usually chases its food and does not search the sea bed. Main food is fish - brit and the young of any species, including its own.

Bait. Pieces of fish; small fish; occasionally worms. When sprats are in, whiting are unlikely to take other baits.

WRASSE

Food. All species of crabs and most shellfish; prawns.

Bait. Prawns; small crabs and crab meat; any shellfish; worms, including earthworms.

"The Sea Angler Afloat and Ashore" (1965) Desmond Brennan at pages xiv & xix

Introduction

The secret of successful angling is to fish in the right place, at the right time, with the right lure and the right tackle. The right place is where the fish are most likely to feed under the prevailing conditions of season and weather. The right time is the state of tide or weather or the time of day when the fish are most likely to feed. The right bait or lure is their natural food at the time or an acceptable alternative. The right tackle is that which will most easily and effectively present the bait in an acceptable manner to the fish, hook the fish when it takes, and handle the fish when hooked. Where there are a variety of suitable methods the one which gives the most sport to the angler is the one which should be used.

The angler's primary concern, therefore, is to present to the fish something that it will accept as, or mistake for, food and to do so in the way most likely to attract the fish's attention at a time that it is likely to be feeding. His secondary concern is to avoid frightening the fish. This, in many instances, is just as much of importance as a frightened fish will not take.

The right method is the one which will enable the angler to present his bait or lure in the most natural way or in a manner likely to deceive the fish. Thus, spinning with artificial lures may be the best method to take shoaling bass, whilst a bottom bait fished just behind the surf would be the answer on a beach. The methods used will vary with the species and with the conditions under which the fishing is done. The angler must be familiar with all the different methods and techniques used and to be able to adapt his methods to suit conditions. If one method fails he should try another; he should be willing to experiment and to learn. He should always think about his fishing and he should never fish by rule of thumb. Fish may not be intelligent but there is no reason why the angler should not be.

"Successful Sea Angling" (1971) David Carl Forbes at page 47

The perfect bait, viewed by a fish, looks as though it could be eaten, and moves as though it should be eaten. Regardless of the lure or bait involved, the main deterrent to its success might be not that it looks unnatural, but rather that it is presented on tackle which makes it react unnaturally in the water. Within limits, rather than worry overmuch about the type of bait, it would seem better to concentrate on how to present that bait.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at page 176

35 Containers for Sea Baits

The sea angler should take care to avoid using any metal containers for bait. Sea water reacts strongly with metal, creating poisonous and corrosive chemicals which, if they do not kill the bait outright, will at least taint it and make it unpleasant for fish. This leaves the angler with the choice of inert plastics or wood.

Two Hundred Sea Fishing Tips (1982) Ivan & Ivor Garey Tip 74

11. Natural Bait

74. Tinned bait - forget it !

We'll tell you how to get rich quick: discover a method for preserving sea bait without loss of efficiency. To date no-one has been able to do so. We dutifully try out every preserved bait that comes on the market, but the results are always negative. Deep-frozen bait occasionally yields results, but so far as catches are concerned nothing has yet been discovered to beat fresh bait. And what is more, the fresher the better. We must therefore regretfully advise you not to waste your money on preserved bait of any kind. If we should ever discover an effective type of preserved bait we promise you that our shouts of joy will be heard all over Europe.

Lugworm

Common lugworm ("blow lug") are widely used as bait, probably because they make a good hookful of material that is acceptable to a wide range of fish. Also, they are comparatively easy to find and dig from shores of sand and muddy sand. Lugworms occur both on the open coast and in sheltered bays and estuaries (e.g. Pegwell and Sandwich Bays).

Black lugworm are found on moderately exposed sandy shores but do not seem to live in estuaries where blow lug may be abundant. Unlike blow lug they only occur below mid-tide level and live in more or less vertical burrows up to one metre in depth.

The tail-less lugworm is found on stony or gravelly ground. Fish which feed on these worms are thus accustomed to finding one or other species in most intertidal areas.

"Genetic evidence for two species of lugworm (Arenicola) in South Wales" P. S. Cadman & A. Nelson-Smith (1990)

Field observations suggest that the common lugworm Arenicola marina (L.) has two forms on British shores although taxonomists have hitherto mostly recognised it only as a single species showing some morphological variation. Using gel electrophoresis of enzyme systems in homogenised tissue from specimens collected around Swansea (South Wales, UK), we have shown that the 2 forms do not appear to share the same gene pool. The 2 forms are fixed for different alleles at 3 loci out of the 6 which proved to be consistently resolvable and show little similarity in the 2 variable loci at which alleles are shared. Only 4 alleles were found to be common out of 22 investigated. A high value for Nei's Genetic Distance (1.3032) and a low one for Genetic Identity (0.2717) also indicate that they are separate species. An observed heterozygote deficiency is probably due to the mixing of populations as a result of the extended pelagic dispersal phase of larvae and post-larvae.

Editor's Note 1: In their subsequent paper "A new species of lugworm Arenicola defodiens" sp. nov. J.Mar.Biol.Ass.UK. 73(1) 213-224 published in 1993, P. S. Cadman and and A. Nelson Smith confirmed that the 'blacklug' (which appears to prefer the bottom of more exposed sandy shores) as described by anglers was a new species (Arenicola defodiens). In summary, the common names for Arenicola marina are blow lug, lobworm and yellowtail and for Arenicola defodiens are black lug or runnydown.

Editor's Note 2: See Sea Fishing (1911) Charles Owen Minchin at pages 253 & 254:

The most popular of all baits, both with most fishes and most fishermen, is the lug-worm, which rejoices in the rather pretty scientific name of Arenicola marina. There are two races or varieties: the common brown kind, which is abundant on every sandy shore in Western Europe, and a darker, tougher and much larger sort, which is called laminary, because its habitat is near the low-water mark. This is not found everywhere, but can be obtained on some of the Lancashire shores, in the Channel Islands, and several other places. It grows to 16 in long … The large black variety seems to make a deep straight burrow which does not curve back to the surface.

Phylum	Family	Common & scientific names	Summary of life history and ecology
Polychaeta (Bristle worms)	Nereidae, Ragworms	Harbour rag Hediste (Nereis) diversicolor King rag Neanthes (Nereis) virens Ragworm Perinereis cultrifera	Free-living, omnivorous, fast-growing worms which breed only once in their lifecycle before dying. They are farmed commercially for bait. Sexes are separate, and all mature worms spawn on the same day. Some mature after one year, but wild king ragworms are usually two or three years old at maturity. Usually one third or more of the population breeds each year and recruitment to the population is rapid. Some populations have much larger, older worms. These reproduce slowly and are more vulnerable to over-collection.
	Nephtyidae, Catworms or silver rag	Nephtys caeca, Nephtys cirrosa, Nephtys hombergi	Catworms actively swim and burrow in clean sand beaches in search of prey. They are long-lived, have separate sexes, and may breed several times in a lifetime. All mature worms in a population breed on the same day, but not always every year. Larvae spend up to 5 weeks in the plankton before settling onto the bottom. An average 3 inch worm is usually 4-5 years old. The largest may be up to 12 years old. Large worms are highly valued by match anglers. Their slow growth, infrequent spawning and low recruitment rates make them vulnerable to over-collection. Research into farming is underway.
	Arenicolidae, Lugworms	Blow lug, Lobworm or Yellowtail Arenicola marina Black lug or Runnydown Arenicola defodiens	Lugworms live in U or J-shaped burrows on sandy and muddy sand shores and in the sub-littoral, and feed on decaying seaweed, diatoms and bacteria. Sand casts are left above one burrow entrance. They begin to breed and are large enough for bait at 2 years old, and may live for 6 years reaching weights of 10g (north-east England) to 25g (south and west). They breed several times during their life. Each worm spawns in a day, and all worms on a beach spawn within a few days, but those on different beaches spawn at different times. Some worms die after spawning. Others stop feeding and casting until their larvae leave the adult burrow to spend 6 months below the low water mark. They then swim to upper shore juvenile lugworm beds. Maturing worms move down the shore to adult beds. This life cycle makes most lugworm populations able to recover quickly from over-digging. Both species should soon be available from bait farms.
Guidelines for managing the collection of bait and other shoreline animals within UK European marine sites (December 1999) S. L. Fowler

Lugworms leave their burrows twice a year to spawn and, when they do so, are vulnerable to fish predation. The lugworm releases eggs and sperm from within the safety of its burrow between spring tides in late October. At this time deaths following spawning can reduce the numbers of lugworm on a beach by as much as 40% and for a short time, many dead worms may be found on the surface of the sand.

Lugworms also migrate by a form of swimming, which takes place at times not associated with spawning. Swimming worms have been seen in May, when bare stretches of beach may be quickly re-colonised. It seems probable that fish are especially attracted to lugworm beds, both below and between the tidemarks, in May and in October-November. At these times they may even be conditioned to, or preoccupied with, feeding on these worms.

Lugworms are the classic winter cod bait and there are occasions when fish won't look at anything else. Lug is effective for most species, but whiting and flatfish show a particular liking. Black lug is regarded as superior to blow for cod. Lugworm is often best cocktailed with another bait. Indeed strategic tipping lug with the likes of mackerel, squid, clam, mussel or peeler crab can prevent worms slipping and clogging the hook, so long as elastic thread is used to whip the bait firmly in place.

Bait slippage is not so pronounced with tougher fresh black lug, and more often applies to frozen blacks and softer blow lugworms. There is always debate about whether to hook lugworms head first or tail first. When hooking multiple smaller lugworms to form a large bait, I don't think it matters. However, when hooking just one or two blows, or a single big black lug always put the hook in tail first, so that the point exits through the juiciest part of the worm.

When lugworms are in good supply there is no need to fridge them, but in the depth of winter, when supplies are unpredictable, then lugworms dug in better weather or during the more productive spring tides can be kept for a week. Lugworms will keep alive and reasonably fresh for up to a week in dry newspaper. For longer periods they can be "tanked" in seawater, although this is said to wash the worms out and make them less effective as bait. However, they remain a better bait than no worms at all.

Common lugworms are best wrapped in packets of 20 (a score) in a minimum of three layers of newspaper, but beware placing packets on top of each other. An alternative is to place them in a cat litter tray in a dribble of seawater; this also applies to live yellowtails.

Don't submerge worms because this allows bacteria to spread quickly and dead worms to kill live ones. The worms don't have to swim, just be kept wet.

Tougher yellowtails or black lugworms can also be wrapped in newspaper, although they are more often placed in "rolls" of ten. Double over a single sheet of newspaper and place the worms at intervals in the paper as you roll it up, then wrap rolls in scores.

"Sea Fish & How to Catch Them" (1863) William Barry Lord at page 77

Worms

Lug worms … are obtained by digging with a spade in the sand at low water, where the sand-heaps show their workings.

"Sea-fishing as a sport" (1865) Lambton J. H. Young at pages 58, 59, 61 & 62

Baits

The Lug-Worm. The lug, or lurgan, is a worm of a peculiar and, indeed, disgusting appearance, but at the same time is eagerly devoured by almost all fish, especially young codlings and flat-fish. These worms are found in the mud-banks of most estuaries, where their whereabouts is easily discovered by sundry casts near the hole they inhabit. They are found by digging for them with a very strong kind of prong … in the fisheries, at about half-tide mark, or else with the hands in the soft mud uncovered at low tide. The usual mode is to turn up the shirt-sleeves to the shoulders and the trousers above the knees, when, having walked out to the soft mud, you notice a small puddle, in the bottom of which there is a hole of some depth; into this you thrust your naked foot (not flinching if a crab "nips" you) and then pushing down your hands on each side of the small mound until you can get no further, you then turn over the mud and find the lug in the piece of mud removed. The use of putting the foot into the puddle is to prevent the animal from backing into another hole communicating with the water. When taken they are carefully washed and placed in a basin till wanted, when the hook is inserted at the head and run down to the middle, where it is brought out and inserted two or three times, twisting up the tail so as to leave none hanging from the hook. This is a very unpleasant operation, not only for the worm, but for the operator, as a nasty, yellow, slimy liquid exudes from the worm and stains the hands, but, notwithstanding this, the lug is a most valuable bait.

The Pollock, or mud-worm … This is one of the chief baits used by fishermen. It is usually found by digging with the hands or else with strong iron forks in the mud of the estuaries or creeks that run up from the sea. It is occasionally found under stones or old timber which has been long in one position. The abode of these insects is easily ascertained from the mud casts which they make above their dwelling. Boys are usually employed to collect or dig them and it is amusing to observe the rapidity with which they thrust their hands into the mud, turn over the mass, and extract the worm without injuring it, placing it in any old tin pot or earthenware basin; but as soon as the tide returns, and they have done digging, they at once wash them perfectly clean and put them in a broad flat box, known by the name of the "bait box" … A little fresh sea water must be put to them each day, the dirt removed, and the stale water poured away; the box should be kept in a cool place, and, if carefully attended to, the worms will keep for a long time. In baiting with the pollock-worm it is usual to place a couple on the lid of the bait box and then run the hook through the necks just at the back of the head, letting the worm dangle at its full length from the hook. This bait can be used in any way, either at anchor or whiffing. The worms are generally sold by the diggers at from 3d. to 6d. per pint, which is usually enough for one or two days' fishing.

Angling in Salt Water: A Practical Work on Sea Fishing with Rod and Line from the Shore, Piers, Jetties, Rocks and from Boats (1887) John Bickerdyke at pages 38, 39 & 40

… Fisher boys will generally dig lugs in the shore and ragworms in the harbour mud for a consideration.

Lugworms

… are excellent baits for most ground-feeding fish, but are unpleasant to fish with, having a fluid interior, which runs out at the slightest provocation. They may be used whole or in pieces. They are from 4in to 6in in length, and may be easily found by digging deeply with a spade in the sand where worm casts are noticed. Whiting, codling, and flat fish take these worms greedily, and, as a matter of fact, they are good all-round baits. To keep lugworms, place them in a bucket of water with sand. Change the water daily. They can also be dried on a line if their fluid interior is squeezed out. The thin end of the worm containing sand is not usually placed on the hook, though fish will take it.

"The book of the all-round angler: a comprehensive treatise on angling in both fresh and salt water" (1888) John Bickerdyke at pages 39 & 40 (Division IV)

Chapter III: Baits

Lugworms

… are excellent baits for most ground-feeding fish but are unpleasant to fish with, having a fluid interior, which runs out at the slightest provocation, on which account they should be used whole. They are from 4in. to 6in. in length, and may be easily found by digging with a garden fork in the sand where worm casts are noticed. Whiting and whiting pout take these worms greedily, and, as a matter of fact, they are good baits for most sea fish. To keep lugworms, place them in a heap of wet sand and seaweed, in a cellar or other cool place.

"The Sea and the Rod" (1892) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske & Frederick George Aflalo at page 153

Chapter XVII

Concerning Baits

1. Worms

The name Lugworm is used only in common parlance; it is known to naturalists, however, by the very appropriate name of Arenicola piscatorum. And indeed, however objectionable it may be to handle, especially when impaled on the hook; and however the stains of the yellow fluid, which it exudes when bruised, may offend the eye, or its smell assail another of the angler's organs, it certainly is a prime favourite with nine sea fish out of every ten, and the angler who has a good pailful of lugs may generally rely on having good sport with cod and codlings, whiting, mackerel, and pout.

Unlike lobworms, they soon deteriorate, unless very constantly looked after, and should be kept in a cool, dark place in wet sand, the dead ones being frequently sorted out and thrown away. Few objects are there so disgusting as a defunct lug, in which state it repulses even the fish.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 94 & 95

Lugworms

Lugworms, which are sometimes, but rarely, called lobworms, take the highest rank among baits for sea fish. They are dark reddish-brown in colour … They exude a nasty yellow fluid which stains the fingers, and the narrow end of them, which should be nipped off, contains little else than sand. A lugworm lives in sand, through which it eats its way, extracting any available nutriment, and throwing up above the surface the sand which has passed through its alimentary canal. It often grows three or four times as large as the dew or lobworm of our gardens.

Lugs are obtained without much difficulty by digging wherever the casts are noticed; but be very smart in pouncing upon them when they are thrown up, for they bury themselves in the sand with great rapidity. Mr. Wilcocks has stated that these baits must never be cut, because the liquid interior itself runs out, leaving nothing but the empty skin; but, as I have said, the sandy end is nearly always pinched off by the fishermen in the manner I have directed. Lugworms can be kept for some time in a cool place in a box of wet sand or seaweed, but it is very necessary to look them over daily, for a dead one left among them for a few hours turns putrid and quickly kills the rest. These baits are so killing for bottom-feeding fish that it is quite worth while going to some expense to obtain them; and if they are not found in the district where one may happen to be fishing, it is good policy to send a telegram or letter to the nearest part of the coast whence they may be obtained by parcels post or otherwise.

While this book was in the press I received the following interesting notes concerning lugworms from Mr. Edward Hanger, of Deal. "There are two kinds of lug here, one the large yellow-tail lug, so-called by our fishermen, and the other the ordinary or common black lug. The yellow-tail will keep alive much longer than the common lug, and is the best for bait for whiting and cod. The common lug is best for all kinds of flat fish, because the large lug will choke small hooks up. The yellow-tailed lugs are very difficult to dig up, as they generally lie well down into the sand. When rough and cold weather sets in the fishermen sometimes squeeze the inside out from the tail up through its mouth and then hang them over a line, and by this means a man has bait when the weather breaks up."

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at pages 95, 96, 100, 101 & 168

Natural Baits and How to Find Them

Our principal sources of bait supply are, in a seaport town, the shell fish shops, which will usually be found hidden up some back street. Here we may expect to find mussels, cheap oysters, cockles, winkles, whelks, and shrimps. Wherever amateur sea fishing is largely carried on, the proprietor of the shop will probably arrange for a supply of lug, and rag worms. The little bare-footed lads who are running about the quay, anxious to earn a few pence, are often able to dig worms in the sand, or in the mud of the estuary.

Lug Worms

Lug worms, sometimes called lob worms, but not to be confounded with the earth worm of that name, vary in colour from almost black to a light brown, or drab. They also vary greatly in size, according, probably, to their age, being mostly a little larger, or rather fatter than a lob worm of the earth. They consist of little more than a skin containing a nasty yellow fluid, except that at the tail end, which is much thinner than the rest of the body, their skin usually contains nothing but sand. This portion should be nipped off, but fish will take it, and it should be husbanded when we are short of bait. They are horrid baits to use owing to their liquid interiors.

Lug worms are easily caught where the soil is not too hard to dig. The way to catch them is to walk very quietly up to one of the worm casts, which are usually so numerous on the sandy shore, stick a spade as rapidly as possible in a perpendicular position about 5in or 6in from the cast, and with all possible speed throw up a spadeful of sand. The track of the worm can usually be seen right down through the sand, and the worm itself seen if the digger has been quiet and adroit. The worm hole usually goes beyond the depth to which a spade can be forced, and if the worm is alarmed it will retreat to the bottom of its hole, out of reach. The chief art, therefore, in getting these baits is to get in the spade and throw up the sand before the worm has time to make good its retreat in the direction of the antipodes. I have kept lug worms for several days in a bucket of water, on the bottom of which was an inch or two of sand. The water should be changed daily, and the dead worms picked out.

Mr. Edward Hanger, a well-known Deal boatman, informed me that in his locality there are two kinds of lug worms - a large yellow tailed lug which will keep better than the common lug, and is the best bait for whiting and cod, flat fish preferring the common lug. The yellow tailed fellows are sometimes dried by being hung over a line, their liquid interior being first squeezed out through their mouths.

Bottom Fishing from Boats

… for fishing near the bottom there are, as a rule, no better baits then lug worms, mussels, rag worms, live shrimps, and herring. Their merits vary on different parts of the coast, but, speaking generally, I should class them in about the order given.

"Dover as a Sea-Angling Centre" (1900) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske at pages 20 & 21

Chapter III

A third variety still more used by all sorts and conditions of men and boys is the sand worm. These are the creatures which dot the sandy bed with "casts" at low water; marvellously abundant in some places, but not in the immediate vicinity of Dover owing to its shingly beach. It might appear a very easy task to dig them up with a spade or pronged fork, but when reduced to practice it is by no means so much so as at first sight appears, for unless approached with caution and the weapon inserted with considerable speed and dexterity, the chances are that down they will have dived to some unknown depth. To many anglers - myself amongst the number - the great objection to their use consists in the plentiful supply of a bright yellow, ill-smelling fluid which oozes out on the smallest provocation. Fingers become dyed that colour in consequence, not easy to remove. The best worm of this kind comes over from Calais, and during the season, the traffic becomes considerable.

"Modern Sea Angling" (1921) Francis Dyke Holcombe at pages 9 & 10

Introductory

… But the amateur should always be ready, if necessary, to obtain his own bait. There are men who would consider it infra dig (no pun is intended!) to dig their own lugworm, which is a staple bait, of course, for many kinds of fish. This is an attitude which it is difficult to understand, for the digging of lugworm has a fascination all its own, in addition to being remarkably good, if rather back-aching, exercise. To the allotment holder, at any rate - and there are a good many such in these days - it should present no terrors.

"Modern Sea Fishing" (1937) Eric Cooper at pages 49 & 50

Shore Fishing

Lugworm

The most valuable food for almost all species of fish is found everywhere around our coasts where there is a sand shore …

In digging for lug, do not make the business unnecessarily strenuous for yourself by using a spade. A fork is the proper implement, for not only is less energy required, but the worms are not cut to pieces as is the case with the spade. Any worms that should be damaged must be kept separate from those that are whole.

Do not put the fork under the first worm-cast you come across. The worm is not in this patch of sand at all. The cast shows where it entered the sand but it is now lying, perhaps a foot below the surface, a short distance away. A close examination of the ground will show small circular hollows; underneath these are the heads of the worms; and here are the spots where you should dig … Provided you can get a good supply of worms and are not dependent for your fishing on using every scrap of worm you possess, pinch off the thin tail part; it is mostly composed of sand and is of little use as bait.

Lug will keep alive for some time in a shallow box lined with pitch or in a piece of dry sacking. If you use a box see that it is fitted with a lid; rain will quickly kill them. Examine your worms daily and weed out those that may have died.

In some localities - Dungeness is one such place - a very similar worm, but darker in appearance and only found near or at low-water mark, is a particularly good bait for plaice.

Do not, when using lug, be sparing with the amount you put on the hook. You can either make a bunch of them, using two or three, or a single good specimen may be threaded on the hook so as to leave a piece trailing behind.

"Sea-Fishing from the Shore" (1940) A. R. Harris Cass M.B.E. at pages 44 & 45

Chapter IV

Bait

The next bait in order of merit, (after crab) in my opinion, is the lug-worm. On a sandy shore you may expect to find these … Although this form of bait may be used anywhere, and at any time, it is most deadly when tried on a sandy beach, as it is the natural food of foraging fish in that area.

An excellent way to keep lug-worms alive for several days is to place them, as you dig them, in a tin containing dry sand, but, even when actually fishing, see that the tin is not in the glare of the sun: a cool shady place is the ideal one. Of course, use a perforated cover so that air can enter the tin. When the lug-worm is freshly dug it is full of fluid, but, like lob-worms kept in damp moss, it improves and hardens with its exile in the dry sand.

"Approach to Angling in Fresh and Sea-Water" (1950) E. Marshall-Hardy and Lieut. N. Vaughan Olver, R.N.V.S.R. at pages 187 & 188

Section IV: Sea Fishing from Jetty, Pier or Shore

Chapter II

Baits and where they are found

… Now let us make for the sandy foreshore below highwater mark, where if you are a youngster under 70 you will enjoy digging for lugworms.

Lugworms

These worms, which may be as thick as your finger, grow to a length of some 8 inches and are black or golden red in colour. They exude a harmless fluid which will stain your fingers yellow. Lugworms make a U-shaped burrow in the sand up to 2 feet in depth, throwing small whorls of sand to the surface as they pass it through their bodies to obtain nutriment. These bristly creatures are excellent bait for all bottom-feeding fish.

You will notice that they appear to live in colonies, whole stretches of sand showing no sign of them, while other sandy areas are strewn with their tell-tale casts. Mark these stretches well, for these are the places where fish can be expected to feed.

Unless you dig properly for lug your energies may well be fruitless. Glance at the illustration which shows a really productive method of digging for them. Put a couple of dozen worms into your wooden box; they will be sufficient for your immediate needs.

"The Modern Sea Angler" (1958) Hugh Stoker at page 37

Chapter Three

Baits

A. Worm Baits

Lugworm

… In Kent, and possibly elsewhere, large lugworm are preserved by squeezing out the pulp and then drying them on a line. The finished product, which has been likened to tobacco twist, is sold in some tackle shops around the south-east coast. It is an effective bait, and much cleaner to handle than the live worm.

"Sea Angling" (1965) Derek Fletcher at pages 145, 156, 230 & 231

Chapter 15: Baits and Where to Find Them

A word of warning is necessary, particularly to those to whom bait-digging will be a new venture. You should not mix ragworm and lugworm together in the same box. The ragworm will usually kill the others and make them useless as bait. Although both worms can be dug in the same area, nature has placed the natural haunt of the lugworm near the surface, while the ragworm lives lower down.

Although ther are deaf, the haul of worms will not be so great if you go about digging operations with too much noise. They are extremely sensitive to vibration and, for this reason, the worm casts must be approached quietly. Worm casts are small holes in the surface mud. Naturally, the greater number of holes the more numerous the worms. Drive the fork perpendicularly about 6in away from the cast. Then throw up a pile of sand or mud, when you will see the worm-track. If you have been quick and quiet enough you will see the worm itself. The right technique of digging is to get in the fork throwing up the sand before the worm is alarmed and able to retreat into the depths.

Small wooden boxes are best for keeping lugworm in after you have dug them. A little seaweed and sand is excellent for keeping bait fresh and lively for several days. In collecting the worms for keeping, care should be taken to put in the box only the uninjured. One or two half-worms will soon disturb the keeping qualities of the others.

Good results have been had with preserved lugworms. One method of preserving, and there are several, is to cover a small box with an inch layer of salt. Worms should be put on the salt and covered with another inch layer. Put in a dry place they will keep for a long period. A point to be remembered is that the worms must be salted on the day that they are dug. It is not necessary to remove the fluid.

Chapter 17: Coastal Survey

On the mouth of the River Stour, this is a great centre of both freshwater and sea-fishing. Sandwich Bay is about 1½ miles from Sandwich itself, and the river end of the bay is usually the best. Flat-fish can be had in most months, bass and silver eels in the summer; codling, whiting and pouting in the winter.

… The bait is mainly lugworm, but cockles and mussels can be used. Yellow-tail lugworm are found in the centre beaches of the bay, with common lug near the river mouth. The yellow-tail is the largest and best bait for the East Kent coast and bait diggers come from neighbouring towns.

"Pelham Manual for Sea Anglers" (1969) Derek Fletcher at page 69

Lugworm

… Keep them in a wooden box with a little sand and seaweed. Make sure no half-worms or squashed ones are mixed with good specimens or the keeping quality will be affected. Never mix them with ragworm or the result will be a soggy mass.

Lugworm can be preserved and make useful baits. Cover the bottom of a shallow box with a layer of salt. Lay the worms on top of this and cover with another layer of salt, about an inch thick. Store in a dry, cool outhouse away from the sun. Use only freshly dug worms and it is not necessary to roll out the fluids as is often practised.

"Cod Fishing" (1978) Bob Gledhill at pages 48, 56 & 57

Baits

If you can't get down to the beach to get your own bait and have to rely on a bought supply, I recommend you to fix up a private deal with a professional supplier rather than rely on your local tackle shop having something. I know several groups of anglers who live well inland and operate a scheme like this for themselves, and they are never without good bait.

The way to go about it is to go to a beach where you know there are plenty of worms to be dug and ask around at low water, looking for those diggers with the brimming buckets. You'll have to be polite and discreet and convince the digger you aren't from the Inland Revenue, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find a digger prepared to supply you on a regular basis.

You may be expected to pay more to the digger than he gets from the shop, but even if you pay normal retail price at least you know the supply is regular and good. It will also involve you picking the worms up rather than having them delivered and you must certainly never back off on an order. If you live so far from the sea that even picking them up is impractical, then watch the classified coulmns of the angling press and pick yourself a wholesale supplier from there. You will have to pay for carriage charges, but again the supply should be reliable.

Lugworm

Lugworm catches more cod than any other bait. That is an inescapable fact of fishing because so many anglers use nothing else for cod fishing. The popularity of lugworm stems from several reasons. Firstly, there are few places where lug will not catch cod. Secondly, it is the most readily available of baits, being present on beaches right round the British Isles. Thirdly, it will keep for a considerable length of time. With three powerful reasons like that it is no wonder that for many anglers cod bait means just one thing - lugworm.

I mentioned a while back that I advocate bulk-buying syndicates for those with fresh bait problems, and I had lugworm in mind when I said that. But for those who prefer to dig their own, here's how to go about it.

Unless the lug are so spread out that digging a trench for them would give an uneconomic return - in which case I would either find a better worm bed or use a narrow spade to dig them out individually - a garden fork is the ideal tool. The best type of garden fork is a large one, capable of going deep when the worms are deep. And if you are buying a new one, look for the flat-pronged variety, sometimes referred to as a potato fork.

Locating a good lugworm bed isn't something I can write much about. Either keep your eyes open when you are fishing or ask around. To start trenching I look for a patch of casts close together, then score out the path I want to take on the surface of the sand with the fork. I usually work no wider than two forks because of the problem of flooding. Don't try and slice too much sand out at once or worms may be completely encased in the clods of sand and missed. If your trench floods, narrow the trench, if it's dry, you can go out to three or four forks wide.

If you plan to use the lug within a day or two there is little work that needs to be done to the bait other than spreading it out on a sheet of newspaper and covering it with more newspaper. Keep it as cool as possible. In summer - though I rarely use lug in summer for cod, preferring peeler crab - I keep the lug in my bait fridge. In winter the air temperature is cold enough in the garage.

If you want to keep lug longer than a couple of days, you can keep them alive for weeks by using a big tub and an aerator. I was shown this method of keeping lug by pals on Tyneside and the local record up there is three months. You have to use unpunctured worms and start off with clean seawater, but one aerator will look after a lot of lugworms. I tried the method myself to be certain it worked before including it in this book, though I have no need of it as there are millions of lug at the end of the road.

Opinions differ on the best method of hooking lug. Some head first, some tail first. Some throw the sandy tails away, some try to stop the worm bursting and some want it to burst to spread the juice downtide. I don't think it makes a scrap of difference how you hook a lug.

How many to put on the hook? It depends on the size of your lug. On a big tide I can dig the big black lug on my home beach, and they are up to ten inches long each, so half of one is a big bait. It's easier not to talk in terms of numbers on a hook, but how far up the shank and the line the worms should go, and I like to keep pushing lug on the hook until there is between one and two inches of worm above the eye of the hook (and, of course, worm covering the hook iteslf). I always leave the hook point clear on all baits.

"Fisherman's Handbook" The Marshall Cavendish Volume 2, Part 34 (1978) Ron Edwards at pages 950 to 952

Bait

Lugworm

The lugworm, Arenicola marina, is one of the most popular of all baits used in sea angling, particularly with anglers fishing the East Anglian and Kent coasts. It is a smaller species than that other very popular choice of sea anglers, the King Ragworm, but when used from beach or boat it can be one of the deadliest baits for cod.

Ninety per cent of the sea fish found around the British Isles will usually take this bait readily, and besides being ideal for cod, it is particularly useful for the smaller varieties of flatfish - plaice, dabs and flounders. Many inland sea anglers prefer to buy a day's supply of lugworm from their local tackle shop, but anybody can dig an adequate supply for himself.

The best environment

The lugworm prefers sheltered beaches with a good depth of top sand and where the sea has a low salinity. River estuaries, therefore, provide the best environment. One never has to travel far along the British coastline to encounter such habitats - Whitstable, Dale Fort, St Andrews, Millport, the south coast of the Isle of Man, Clew Bay on the West Coast of Ireland, are just a few of the many well-known areas where the lugworm can be dug in numbers. Size and colouring can vary considerably from area to area - in some cases there is a marked difference between the worms dug from the same sandy bay - due to environmental factors.

The common lugworm is often known as the 'blow' lug to differentiate it from the black lug which is very thick-skinned and requires gutting to prolong the time it will keep, and from the Deal yellow-tail, a worm peculiar to the south side of the Stour Estuary in Kent.

Lugworm live in a U-shaped burrow in the sand, the entrances of which are marked at one end by the tell-tale spiral casts and at the other by a depression in the sand known as the blow hole, through which the worm draws its food. Into the tunnel fall particles of sand mixed with water and organic matter, all of which the worm eats. The organic matter is digested and the sand is excreted, forming the cast at the other end of the burrow.

For digging the common lugworm the ordinary flat-tined potato fork is the best tool; a spade chops too many worms in half. Lugworm casts are found on any sandy beach below high water mark but, normally, the nearer to the extreme low water mark the greater the number of casts to be found and the bigger the worms. If the sand is covered in casts no more than 2 or 3 in apart, then worms can be dug by trenching, that is, digging the sand as one would the garden. However, if signs are few and far between, 'singling' is best. This involves removing the sand between the blow hole and the cast, thus uncovering the worm after about three forkfuls. The burrow is lined with mucus from the worm's body, giving it a bright orange colour rather like rust, and enabling the angler to see exactly which way the burrow is running at each forkful.

The worms should be removed to a clean wooden box or plastic bucket. Never use a galvanized pail as the zinc kills the worm very quickly. When sufficient worms have been dug, they should be washed in clean sea water to remove all particles of sand as well as any worms pierced by the fork. These should be put into a separate container for, although they will live as long as the whole worms, the blood exuded by their wounds has an adverse effect on the others.

Storing lugworm

When you return home, the worms should be placed on clean, dry newspaper in a single layer, with another piece laid on top so that the bait is sandwiched between two sheets of paper. If the weather is cold, the temperature not rising above 4.4°C (40°F), and the worms are stored in a garage or outhouse, they will stay in good condition for 4-5 days. In the summer, when temperatures are high, this life is reduced to less than 36 hours unless the worms are refrigerated. Another method of keeping worms alive until required is to place them in a well-aerated saltwater-filled aquarium. With this method care must be taken to remove any dead worms immediately, before they can pollute the water.

Unfortunately, the peak of autumn cod fishing coincides with the time when lugworm is most difficult to obtain, for it is spawning. Although the actual day it occurs varies from colony to colony, in nearly all areas spawning takes place between the last week of September and the middle of November. Lugworms are not hermaphrodite (having characteristics of both sexes) but sexed male and female. The eggs of the females and the sperms of the males begin to accumulate from mid-summer onwards, moving around in the body fluid and giving the worms a milky appearance. If a worm is broken this fluid will be found to be rather sticky and slimy.

When the worms are ripe, the spawn of both sexes is released onto the sand, where fertilization occurs. If the worm survives the spawning it will go right to the bottom of its burrow and remain immobile for two or three weeks while it recovers. During this period it eats very little, creating no tell-tale casts to mark its presence, so that sands that previously appeared to contain millions of worms, now seem completely barren.

Four or five days after spawning, the larva hatches. About ¹/₁₀₀ in long, it is pear-shaped, opaque, and bears no resemblance to the adult worm. By early spring it has taken the form of the adult and is found high in the sand, working its way downwards as it matures. At two years old it spawns for the first time and usually lives to spawn a second time, at three years, but after this the lug dies.

The Deal yellow-tail

There is evidence that adult lugworm will come out of the sand and swim freely in the sea. This phenomenon usually occurs in the early spring. The Deal yellow-tail is probably a sub-species of Arenicola marina, although many authorities believe it to appear different simply through environmental factors. However, the worm behaves entirely differently from the common lugworm. The cast, instead of being a haphazard spiral, is perfectly symmetrical, and the worm burrows to a greater depth than the common lug.

The yellow-tail is generally larger, and when dug appears very limp, seeming, to the uninitiated, to be dead. It also has the peculiar habit of coiling itself into a circle when held in the palm of the hand, whereas the common lug will only bend slightly. The best way of keeping the yellow-tail - its name derives from the bright yellow stain it leaves on the hands - is in clean sea water.

Another sub-species is the black lug, which is even bigger than the Deal yellow-tail and has a very thick skin. It often lives in a mixture of mud and sand, where the most successful way of obtaining it is to use a small, long-handled spade, digging straight down from the cast and following the trail until the worm is sighted. It is rarely possible to trench for this worm.

Roll them in newspaper

Immediately after digging, the intestines and blood should be squeezed out through the head end and, to keep them in perfect condition, the worms should be rolled singly in sheets of newspaper. The black lug is large enough to provide several small baits from a single worm, although for cod fishing a whole worm should be threaded on the hook. Because it is tough, it makes an ideal bait for beachcasting.

Common lug can be threaded either singly or doubly, depending on size, when beach fishing for cod, but for boat fishing it is usually better to hang them from the bend of the hook, just passing the hook in and out of the body where the sandy tail section joins the fat part. The number of worms put on a hook depends, first, on the size of the worm and, second, on the size of the fish expected. When fishing for varieties of small flatfish, a largish worm may be broken in half to provide ample bait for a small mouth.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at pages 134 to 138

25 Lugworms

Lugworms occur most frequently in muddy ground (Fig 48), and in mixtures of sand and mud. They can tolerate brackish as well as salty water, and this makes estuary flats about the best collecting grounds. The worms vary a good deal in size - from 1½in to almost 1ft - and in colour, ranging from light red to brown or slaty black. Their bodies are in two sections; a fleshy, pulp-filled head and stomach extends for about two thirds of the total length, and a thin, tube-like tail, which is usually filled with sand that has passed through the digestion system, constitutes the rest.

The worms usually live in U-shaped burrows, extending from 1 - 3ft below the mud surface. The worm moves its head up one shaft, which has a funnel-like opening variously called a 'dimple', 'dupple' or 'shoot', while the tide is in. Here it takes in food particles along with the sand, water, grit and mud which drift into the opening. When the tide falls the worm retreats to push its tail up the other shaft, throwing out the inedible parts of its food in the form of squiggly little piles (casts) of sand or grit. When digging you will find that burrows with the head and tail widest apart will usually house the biggest worms.

In some instances the worms inhabit straight, deep, single burrows, and this happens most frequently in very soft ooze where the worm can easily reverse itself for excretory purposes. The worms move in their burrows with the help of the hair-like tufts spaced along their bodies. They rarely leave the burrows, and even breed by extending only a part of the body from the head hole to cast out eggs and milt.

Keeping

Fresh lugworms rarely keep alive for more than three days, and by the end of that time they look a bit the worse for wear. They should not be kept in anything damp, because they will merely absorb water and die all the more quickly. Instead, wrap them in dry newspaper, lying the worms across a strip so that they are kept apart and then rolling the strip up into a coil that can be secured with a rubber band.

There are quite a few ways of preserving lug, but none of these baits are quite so attractive as fresh worms, and it is always useful to perk them up before use by dipping them in pilchard oil.

All the methods demand that the worm should be gutted, leaving only the rubbery outer body. To do this you hold the lower part of the worm firmly between thumb and finger, and with the other hand take the same grip just above your hold. Then squeeze, and push towards the head of the worm as if you were squeezing a drinking straw to push out the water. Discard the guts, and break off the sand filled tail which generally will not last. Now the gutted worms can be dried, frozen or salted.

To dry them, thread the gutted bodies, not touching, onto some fine fishing line, and then hang them up like a string of washing in a dry, well aired room - a garden shed or conservatory is ideal. The bodies will shrivel and harden at which point they can be taken down and sealed in small plastic bags. In use, they swell on contact with sea water to take on some of their original form.

For freezing, lay the worms out separately on a piece of paper in the coldest part of the freezer. Once hard, put them in collections of a dozen or so into small plastic bags, and then return them to the freezer (a fridge ice box will do as well).

For salting, put a ½in layer of coarse salt in the bottom of a wooden or plastic container, lay the worms out on this and cover with another layer of salt. If you have a lot of worms you can go on repeating this until the box is filled, ending with a salt topping. They can also be preserved in a jar of strong brine, but I find they become too soft with this treatment. Incidentally, gutted lugworm, wrapped in newspaper and kept in a cool place, will last for a week or more.

Uses

Whole large lugworm are good baits for cod, pollack, bass and rays. A collection of smaller lug on a large hook will also make a presentable bait for these species. Smaller lug, used individually, are superb flatfish baits, taking flounders, plaice, dabs and sole. Small pieces of larger worms are also useful in this area.

Lug lends itself well to combination baits, and it is particularly good as a bait for attaching to a flashing or spinning lure. The traditional flounder rig, with a smallish hook (8 - 4) trailing on a trace of 3 to 7in behind the spoon, is usually baited with lug. Incidentally, flounders are not the only flatfish to respond to the baited spoon technique - plaice are often taken on this rig, and so are the larger brill and turbot.

In beach casting, lug is often too soft to withstand a hearty cast without flying off the hook, and here it helps to 'tip' the worm-baited hook with a portion of some tough bait like squid or fresh mackerel, cushioning the worm and keeping it intact throughout the cast.

Presentation

With individual lug, the baitholder (sliced-shank) hook is extremely useful, although traditional round-bend hooks will suffice. The baitholder hook has barbs on the shank which prevent baits pushed over them from falling back into the crook of the hook.

The point should be inserted in the head of the worm and run inside the body to a half or three quarters of the way towards the tail (Fig 49). Many anglers break off the brittle tail, arguing that it has no interest for fish, but I find this refinement unnecessary. Tail or no tail, this form of mounting should leave part of the thick section of the worm dangling attractively from the hook, while the upper body is held firm.

In cod fishing, two or more large worms can be bunched one behind the other on a large hook … Small lug used to make a big bait are simply hooked through the head, leaving their bodies hanging free (Fig 49).

"Sea Angling from the Shore" (1982) Ray Forsberg at page 154

The lugworm will stand hard casting if it is carefully threaded on the hook head first and then locked into position by a piece of tough squid or razorfish mounted on the bend and point of the hook. Mussel and lugworm cocktail will also stay on the hook very well if the mussels are mounted first and this offering is irresistible to foraging cod when the water is well churned up just before or after a spell of rough weather.

"Sea Angling: Kent to Cornwall" (1990) Mel Russ & Alan Yates at pages 16 & 17

Most of the general baits work along the Kent shore throughout the year, although there is a marked difference in some venues between what the fish will accept on rocks or sand. For instance, it is very rare for a Kent bass to take lugworm from the rocks, although it does occasionally catch them from the sandy beaches.

… Lugworm is the commonest bait, with the yellowtail variety, which is dug from Sandwich Bay, one of the most deadly. Other lugworm on sale in tackle shops or dug locally include the Dungeness "black" variety, which are simply yellowtails which have been gutted, and the common soft or blow lugworm, which is dug from Pegwell Bay, Whitstable and Seasalter.

Ragworm

The king ragworm is another very popular bait and lives on mudflats, often close to and under large stones. It has pincers which it uses to repel other ragworms from its burrow.

Several other species of ragworm are used for bait, notably the small red harbour ragworm, which lives on the upper levels of the shore. These red ragworms are always most abundant where freshwater runs over or percolates through the sediment.

Spawning of king rag takes place in May and large numbers of tiny worms appear on the flats in July and August, having either grown and developed on the shore or migrated from below the tide marks. The worms then live and grow in the mud for two or three years.

Female king rags remain in their burrows to spawn, releasing their eggs into the overlying water. In contrast the male king rags turn deep green, develop extra large swimming paddles at spawning time and release their sperm while swarming in the water above the burrows. At this time (in late spring) they will be readily caught and eaten by fish.

Ragworms can be kept alive fairly easily in a shallow tray with a dribble of seawater, but limit worms to ten per tray. For storage in newspaper, damp sea peat is ideal because it keeps the ragworms moist. An alternative is garden peat wetted with seawater with 20 worms to a packet.

Vermiculite roof insulation material dries ragworms out and is an efficient way to keep them for several days when a fridge is not available.

When worms are wrapped in newspaper, don't let water or damp get to the worms. Place packets or rolls in a sealed plastic bag and also renew newspaper if it does become damp. Dampness can often be caused by a full drip tray or the need to defrost the fridge.

"Sea Fish & How to Catch Them" (1863) William Barry Lord at pages 77 & 78

Worms

The most important to the sea fisherman is that known as the mud worm, of which a representation is given in the woodcut annexed.

It is to be found by digging in the mud of creeks leading to the sea, at low water, and under stones or old timber which have been long in one position at the bottom. When taken, they should be washed perfectly clean, and put to keep in a flat, shallow box, with its bottom and sides covered with pitch, which should be melted into all the corners and joints with a hot iron. A little clean sea water should be added every day, and all the dirt carefully taken out with the dirty water, and any dead or broken worms which may be found. Put the box in a cool cellar, or other convenient place, and the worms may in this way be kept for a long time. It is always well to have a small-sized box, also lined with pitch, with a slide cover like a puzzle-box, in which to take a supply out for fishing, allowing the surplus, if any, to remain at home in the larger box.

"Fishing gossip; or, stray leaves from the note-books of several anglers" (1866) H. Cholmondeley-Pennell (editor) at pages 47 & 48

A Seaside Yarn

Without any comparison, the best bait for all small fish, as generally fished for on our coasts, is, in my opinion, the mud-worm (Syllis monilaris). These should be kept in water-tight wooden boxes, lined with pitch, which may be easily run into the seams with a hot iron. The ordinary puzzle-box shape is best, and the sliding cover must have a few small air-holes made in it. Clean sea-water, just sufficient to cover the worms, should be poured into the box every day, after thoroughly cleansing it, and removing every dead and injured worm. A little bit of wood nailed under one end of the box, so as to raise it about an inch, will be found advantageous, as it will keep the water always at one end, and enable the worms to crawl high and dry if they think proper, thus prolonging their lives and improving their quality as bait.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at pages 45 & 46

Ragworm, Mudworm, or Pollack Worm

This is a long, flat worm, about the size of a brandling, with a fringe of legs on each side. It is found in mudbanks below and about high water mark, and is easily obtained by digging. The unsavoury black mud of harbours contains thousands of these worms, and any fisherman's son will obtain a canful for a few pence … Ragworms rank high among baits. Two or three of them, hooked through the head, are a good whiffing bait much liked by pollack. There is nothing better for the bottom hook of a paternoster when harbour fishing, the ragworm being much affected by flounders, dabs, and fresh-water eels … Ragworms should be kept in a little seaweed and sea water, and looked over at least once a day, when the water should be changed.

"The Sea and the Rod" (1892) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske & Frederick George Aflalo at page 153

Chapter XVII

Concerning Baits

1. Worms

The ragworm, an excellent whiffing-bait for pollack, and a good bait on any tackle for mullet, is found in the black ooze of harbours and estuaries; but as the unpleasant nature and surroundings of its habitat render it particularly desirable that the angler should rely for his supply on the excavations of those venal youths that abound by the sea, as elsewhere, I shall give no further details of its appearance or directions for procuring it.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 105 & 106

Ragworm, Pollack Worm or Mudworm

Its favourite haunts are the odorous banks of mud in estuaries and harbours. In such places ragworms frequently swarm in thousands, and a quantity will be dug for a few pence by any fisherboy. There is a larger kind of ragworm which is found among the rocks far away from the harbour mud. These are comparatively scarce, and are the same as, or akin to, the worm which I have described as making its abiding place at the extreme end of the whelk shell inhabited by the hermit crab. There are not a few places on the South coast where these baits are unobtainable, and in many a likely looking spot I have searched for them in vain.

The best way of keeping ragworms is to put them in a shallow wooden box with a cover. They must on no account be heaped up together, and if placed in a small tin should be mixed up with seaweed. For keeping any quantity a large box is required, well pitched inside. A little fresh sea water should be flowed over the worms every day. A convenient-sized box for taking out fishing is one about two or three inches deep, ten inches long, and six inches wide. The worms should be kept at all times in as cool a place as possible and out of the sun, the large ragworms perhaps keeping best in sand or seaweed. The placing of these worms for a night in powdered saltpetre or salt has been advised. I have not experimented with this process, which kills the worms and is supposed to toughen them.

There are two ways of using ragworms. Two or three may be hooked through the head and used as a whiffing bait; or they may be placed on moderate-sized hooks and fished with a paternoster near the bottom. There they will take flat fish, eels, smelts, mullet, and, in fact, all kinds of fish. Large ragworms are said to eat smaller ones. Two or three small hooks one above the other form a good tackle on which to use these worms. Catch each hook once in the worm, the head being on the upper hook.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at pages 108 & 109

Rag Worms, Mud Worms, or Pollack Worms

… are deadly baits for many kinds of sea fish. They may be known for being flat rather than round, and having a fringe all up the side. They are a reddish brown in colour, and are easily dug out of the mud in harbours and estuaries.

A worm similar in appearance, but tougher, much larger, and slightly iridescent in colour, will often be found in the sand when digging for lug worms. It is one of the best baits I know for all kinds of sea fish, its scarcity being the only drawback. It can be kept in water with an inch or two of sand at the bottom, provided the water is changed daily. Rag worms, on the other hand, are perhaps best kept in a flat wooden box with a little seaweed, some salt water being poured over them every day. In collecting worms to be kept, care should be taken only to place in the box those which are uninjured. A little powdered saltpetre, or salt, is said to toughen rag worms, but I have not tried it.

For pollack it is a common practice to put the point of the hook through the heads of two worms. This is used as a whiffing, or railing bait. For other fish the hook is placed several times through the worm. The larger worm found in the sand can be threaded on the hook. A capital tackle for whiffing [1] consists of two hooks placed one an inch and a half above the other with a rag worm caught by the head on each.

[1] (at page 189) … whiffing or railing … These two terms, by the way, are loosely used, and are practically synonymous; but to be very correct whiffing applies to trailing from a boat under sail, while railing is the same method carried on from a boat which is being rowed.

"Dover as a Sea-Angling Centre" (1900) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske at page 20

Chapter III

Ranking next in importance (after the rock worm), and following close on its heels is the rag-worm, found in any quantity in the mud of the harbour, and wherever that greasy, slimy, ill-smelling material accumulates. The process of digging for them is even more trying than in the case above, and not unattended with risk; inasmuch as nasty festering sores are apt to follow the operation. They are much smaller and softer and cost 2d. a score. With the dainty, soft-mouthed gray mullet is often captured, and no fish refuse the succulent morsel. When the water is comparatively quiet they remain on the hook for some time, but in the tide-way are prone to disappear. They possess not the pachydermatous covering of the other kind which will hold on under almost any circumstance.

"Sea Fishing" (1911) Charles Owen Minchin at pages 241 & 242

Chapter XVII

The Natural Baits for Sea-Fish

… Long before the large pollack appear at the Lizard and the Eddystone, and then scatter all along the coast of the Channel, the small fishes of the species, from about ½lb to 3lbs weight, come to the shore in numbers, evidently in pursuit of some kind of food which is then plentiful. Now it is just at that season - the spring - that several species of nereid worms, commonly called rag-worms or rock-worms, and in Ireland "hairy-bait", go a-courting and leave their crannies to swim about in mid-water. A lot of small pollack, caught at Easter-time, were examined, and found to contain nereid worms in the nuptial or swimming dress. Small pollack are ravenously fond of rag-worms, yet obviously they cannot in the ordinary way extract them from their burrows in mud, whelk-shells and decaying rocks; but, by arriving near shore at the appropriate time they make pretty sure of having a good gorge when the worms are swimming. There are doubtless many other useful hints of this kind to be picked up with a little careful observation.

"The Sportsman's Library: Sea Fishing" (1935) Major D. P. Lea Birch ("Fleur-de-Lys") at pages 79 & 80

Chapter V: Bait

Ragworm

There are no baits more generally useful than the different kinds of ragworm. The very large variety, usually known as king rag, is in such great demand that it is sent throughout the summer in bi-weekly consignments to various places on the coast, where it cannot be obtained locally. King rag are very large, 7 or 8 inches long and as thick as a pencil, and are sold retail by bait purveyors in the west at 2d each. One worm makes several baits. The king rag is tough, especially the head portion, and so is not easily stolen by small fish. It is not only an excellent bottom bait, but is also killing when fished mid-water with a float. Indeed pollack often take a piece of this worm nearly as well as a live prawn. As a bait on or near the bottom it is first rate for nearly all ground-feeding fish.

The smaller varieties of ragworm are of different appearance and colour, according to the locality they are obtained from. They may be pink, white or a dirty brownish grey. Most of these run about the size of small garden worms, and are much softer than the giant variety, and therefore have to be carefully threaded on fine wire hooks. It has been found that in places where this greyish brown worm is found in large quantities the fish greatly prefer it to the exotic king rag. It is best, therefore, always to use local worms, when they exist in sufficient numbers to form a regular article of diet for the fish.

… Ragworm are a good bait to use from a moving boat: a piece put on the tail hook of a spinner or spoon adds greatly to the attractiveness of the lure.

… King rag, owing to its toughness, makes a first rate bait to cast from the shore, either with float tackle, paternoster, or ledger …

"Sea-Fishing from the Shore" (1940) A. R. Harris Cass M.B.E. at pages 45 & 46

Chapter IV

Bait

While dealing with worms I should perhaps refer to the rag-worm. This creature is not very prepossessing in appearance, and resembles, in some respects, an elongated centipede. It is an excellent bait for grey mullet, and will also attract school bass and "flats", particularly on a sandy bottom. It can be found in the muddy banks of most estuaries. For digging it up a garden fork is the most efficient tool, as the mud is heavy and rag-worms, in their natural environment, are not sluggish in their movements, hence a spade is not so satisfactory, especially as the mud conceals stones and pebbles.

The size of the rag-worms varies considerably, and the small ones are not worth collecting … rag-worms, if kept in a well ventilated tin, and in the shade, with a supply of the green weed that is peculiar to the estuaries, will serve you for a week or more.

Of the same species is the King rag; thick, reddish objects, that are irresistible to most fish even when not on the feed. This type of worm is not so widely distributed as its lesser brother, and to obtain it you will need to get into touch with a seaside tackle shop that stocks it during the summer season.

"Sea Angling Modern Methods and Tackle" (1952) Alan Young at page 51

Ragworm

The name ragworm is applied generally by anglers to a number of species of Nereis which live in the mud of harbours and estuarial foreshores … The only distinction recognized by anglers is between the smaller ragworms and the king rag, the latter being 12 to 18 inches long … Ragworms are plentiful, but their habitat is circumscribed, and they can subsist only in mud or a mud-sand mixture in which mud predominates. They prefer mud of a certain consistency, neither too soft nor too hard. A good guide is that one's gum boots sink to the ankles in mud most favoured by these worms.

The Daily Express, Thursday 25 March 1959 at page 15

Worm out the Easter bass

Angling by Tom Float

Easter bass will find ragworms on offer at most seaside resorts. Ugly as they are, these sea worms have already lured 7 lb. bass to anglers hooks at Margate and Penzance.

A local white ragworm tricked the Cornish fish as it scrounged among the surf at the foot of Newlyn beach.

These worms are of medium size and a No. 2 or No. 3 hook is the right armament.

Bolted Down

King ragworm from Southend was hurriedly grabbed by the Margate fish and bolted down.

This very special outsize worm often exceeds 1 ft. in length and is regarded as a special tit-bit by all sorts of sea fish.

A three inch piece of king ragworm cut from just below its head will lure the largest plaice anywhere.

Thread it on a long-shanked No. 4 Kirby or sneck bend hook for the best results.

Flounders and school bass are competing for the local medium-size ragworms due from Poole harbour. They are a favourite bait with the big grey mullet that haunt Bournemouth pier head to be caught on float tackle in the early summer.

Seaton, Devon, is a likely spot for a bank holiday bass. I have never dug big ragworms there, only the little reddish chaps that harbour grey mullet steal off my hooks.

My angling belief is that if giant Southend king ragworms were imported to South Devon resorts, say Seaton, Exmouth, Salcombe or Dartmouth, the local heavy-weight bass would turn up to resist the threatened invasion in force.

Your tackle for this fishing in those districts and on bass-haunted parts of the Welsh coast need be no stouter than freshwater fishers have for pike.

A 9 lb. to 12 lb. line, tough little spinning rod, and fixed-spool or multiplier reel are correct.

Simple one-hook ledger end gear is unbeatable. One ounce of lead is often enough. If your bait tends to drift, follow it along the shore.

Wear rubber boots and take a strong light gaff.

"The Modern Sea Angler" (1958) Hugh Stoker at pages 37 & 38

Chapter Three

Baits

A. Worm Baits

Ragworm

This very useful marine worm possesses a long, compressed body, with millipede-like legs on either side. It is most commonly obtained by digging in the thick, slimy mud of river estuaries; although a smaller variety is often to be found in the bottom mud of tidal harbours. For certain kinds of fishing these latter are often preferable, whilst their small size can always be offset by placing two or three on the hook at a time.

Boulder-turning is another way of gathering sizeable, brightly-coloured ragworm, and on a suitable stretch of shore a good supply of bait can be obtained in a short space of time by this method. Flattish rocks resting on a close-packed mixture of mud and shingle, round about the half-tide level, are the ones which produce the best results. Each boulder should be flung over as quickly as possible, so that any worms resting underneath may be grabbed before they have a chance to wriggle into the mud. Afterwards the boulder should be replaced in its original bed.

As most novice sea anglers discover sooner rather than later, ragworm is armed with a pair of tiny hooked nippers, which are capable of inflicting a mild prick. To avoid this happening, the worm should be held firmly behind the head when baiting up.

There are various methods of baiting with ragworm. One way, if the worm is fairly large, is to insert the hook point into the mouth, bringing it out again as far down the body as possible. The worm is then doubled over on to the hook again, with an inch or so of the tail hanging free.

In two ways ragworm are preferable to lugworm. They are cleaner to handle and easier to keep alive. When stored in a clean bait-box, among sacking which has been rinsed in sea water, a supply of ragworm will remain active for nearly a week. A regular check should be made on the contents of the box, however, and if any dead or ailing worms are noticed they should be removed at once.

"Sea Angling" (1965) Derek Fletcher at pages 149 to 150

Chapter 15: Baits and Where to Find Them

Spawning takes place in early spring and during this time hundreds of green-looking worms are seen on the surface of the mud. During this process the worms are soft and easily fall apart. Spawners may be recognized by the colour, and in this condition they should not be included with healthy worms. The fluid which comes from a broken spawner will quickly kill off the remainder.

Digging for ragworm, which keep deep in the mud, is slower than for lugworm. The usual method is to remove the top layer of mud and sand and then dig a further foot before any number are found. Then a quick hand is needed to beat your quarry. They are very sensitive to vibration and quick, noiseless working is advisable. Hot weather tends to make them burrow deeper into the mud to keep cool, and this is one of the reasons why bait is not so plentiful during summer. One method of digging adopted by the professionals is the trench fashion. Start with a small trench about two spits deep and then work back, filling as you go. Amateur diggers mostly dig holes, but do not fill them in. This is bad, not only for working in next time, but for the worm industry itself.

The Thames estuary is noted for bait-digging and professional diggers there send their bait all over the country. It is here that most of the king ragworm (a worm that reaches a length of 12in) are despatched. Its advantages are that it stays on the hook better and keeps alive a long time. King ragworms are favoured for spoon-baits and deep-sea fishing. White ragworm are popular bass-baits in Cornwall and are dug at low-water spring tides on sandy shores. Providing fresh sea-water is added daily, they will live for days in a suitable container.

Preserved ragworm have accounted for good catches in the past. One press report mentioned a catch of ninety-two dabs at Leigh-on-Sea, and gave the method of preserving. Mix two handfuls of block salt and two of sawdust together. Spread out a wet sack, putting a layer of the mixture in the centre and on this lay some live ragworm. Continue with layers of salt, sawdust and worms, finishing with a layer of the mixture. Fold the sack over so that the whole is well covered and leave for a wek in a cool place. The worms will then be ready for use, and last for months. The process makes ragworms solid and odourless. For storing, the worms should be left in their mixture, with extra sawdust added and well mixed to prevent them becoming slammy. They should be inspected periodically and the salt and sawdust can be changed weekly with advantage. They can be either hung in a small piece of sacking in a cool outhouse or put in a preserving jar with a piece of wire gauze over the top. When needed for use, a few worms are carried in a perforated bait-tin mixed with a little dry sawdust, and cut up as required.

"Fisherman's Handbook" The Marshall Cavendish Volume 1, Part 10 (1977) Ron Edwards at pages 258 to 261

Bait

Ragworm

Just as the soil of the countryside is a home for many kinds of earthworm, so the seabed provides sanctuary for many kinds of marine worm. One of the commonest species is the ragworm, of which several kinds exist.

The ragworm differs from the lugworm in that it tapers very gradually from head to tail and is much fleshier. Most ragworms are bright red and all varieties have hundreds of 'legs' down each side of the body. The head is armed with a pair of bony pincers which the worm can thrust out and retract at will and a large worm can inflict a painful bite on the unwary angler.

Ragworm: Nereis (Neanthes) virens

Where the ragworm is found

King ragworm is probably the most common and the most sought-after for bait. The angler can obtain two large, or several smaller baits, from a good-sized specimen which can be over 2ft long. The worm is found close to the high-water mark but the nearer one goes to the low-water spring-tide mark, the more prolific it becomes although this varies from coast to coast as does the worm itself. The best localities are estuaries where there is a mixture of river mud and shell, where it lives in a U-shaped burrow, the sides cemented with mucus from its body. Once it has dug its home the worm can propel itself through the tunnel with its many 'legs'. The bait-digger seeking this worm treads the ground carefully, watching for a water-spout pushed up when the burrow is compressed by his boot. If worms are scarce it pays to locate both entrances to the tunnel and remove the soil between, looking for the tell-tale burrow. In some areas you may have to dig to a depth of 2ft or more to secure the worm. Where there is an abundance of worms, and each footfall produces several jets of water, 'trenching' is the best method. A good day's supply of bait can be obtained from one hole.

At spawning-time the king ragworm changes its bright red colour (with a pale green back) into a slate green and, when broken, exudes a slimy, milky liquid. During this season, which varies from area to area but is usually in spring, the worm is of very little use as bait. One interesting fact, however, is that during the breeding season, large numbers of worms leave the safety of their burrows and swim freely in the sea. If,as often happens, there is a sudden on-shore wind, great numbers are thrown up by the breakers onto the beach, either to die in the sun, or be swallowed by seagulls.

All worms deteriorate very quickly in high temperatures and, once dug, they should be dried and cooled as soon as possible. Whole, undamaged worms should be wrapped singly in newspaper and stored at 2°C in a refrigerator, where they can be kept in good condition for more than a week. Damaged worms should be separated and used first. But if keeping is not important - perhaps all the worms are going to be used next day - they will keep perfectly in a box of vermiculite (insulating granules).

Mounting the bait

King ragworm can be an extremely effective bait, particularly for bass and pollack. For these fighting predators, worms up to 1ft long can be used whole. Secure just the head on the hook, leaving the rest trailing. Mounted in this way it is very life-like and pollack and bass rarely bite short. They have insatiable appetites and take the whole worm into their mouth before making off with it. The largest worms can be cut in half and baited in a similar way. Other species that prefer ragworm to lugworm are flounder, thornback ray, dogfish and smooth-hound.

White ragworm is a variety which has become very popular over the past few years, particularly with beach anglers. It is smaller than the king ragworm, one 8in long being a good specimen. Because it is a very localized worm it cannot be dug in sufficient numbers to ensure regular commercial supplies.

The white ragworm lives in sheltered bays where there is an abundance of soft yellow sand, although it is sometimes found in the same area as king ragworm if there is fine surface gravel. A relatively shallow-burrowing worm, the white ragworm is rarely found more than 9in deep, and often only 2in or 3in, below the surface. Because it gives no indication of its whereabouts, digging must be 'hit or miss', the search limited only by choosing the right kind of ground. No visible change occurs in the white ragworm during the breeding period but, like other varieties in the species, it comes up from the sand and swims freely in the sea.

Preserving the white ragworm

The white ragworm does not keep as well as the king ragworm and the most useful preservative is a plastic bucket full of fresh seawater. As well as being much smaller than its cousin the king ragworm, the white ragworm is also more delicate, and a fine gauge wire hook is recommended to avoid damaging the worm.

Rockies are another small member of the family and, as the name implies, they are found in chalk rocks among deposits of mud and sand in sheltered hays. These deposits tend to fill the natural crevices in the chalk outcrops and the worm lives in these, so that a pick-axe is more useful than a fork for prizing this bait from its habitat.

Rockies and Maddies

Rarely exceeding 5in or 6in, the rocky is a very active worm with bright red colouring. To keep it at its best, put it into a box of fine grit dampened with seawater. In a refrigerator it should remain active for three or four days. As with the white rag, a fine wire hook is recommended to avoid undue damage when baiting. Presented in this way white ragworm will catch the same species of fish as the king ragworm.

Maddies are the smallest member of the family, rarely growing to more than 3in in length. They are most likely to be found in estuary and harbour mud, living like the king ragworm in burrows lined with the mucus from their bodies. Because the mud is smooth, the tunnel entrances appear as large pin-pricks on the surface. When the area is trodden upon the tiny holes emit small spouts of water. Maddies appear to live in colonies for it is not unusual to dig as many as 30 worms with one forkful. Its small size and soft environment make it a delicate worm and one very difficult to keep alive for more than 24 hours. It is highly esteemed as bait for mullet fishing, particularly in and around harbours and, fished on a small hook, it is an excellent bait for garfish.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at pages 139, 140 & 141

26 Ragworms

There are several species of ragworm found around Britain's coast, ranging from small, red or green types which inhabit the sticky black mud of estuaries and harbours (the so called 'harbour rag') to specimens of a foot or more, often bright red or orange, found in seashore mixtures of sand or grit and mud ('king rag'). All types are useful and, indeed, there are few fish species which will not accept rag. They differ in habit from the lugworm in that there are no overt signs of their presence in a bait ground, and so they will only be found by digging through a likely patch of sandy mud or occasionally by turning over boulders on this type of ground. Once digging begins, the discovery of burrows should indicate that there are ragworm about. Most often, they will be 1-1½ft below the surface. Digging as near as possible to the low tide mark will usually produce the biggest worms.

Collecting

Dig as you would for lugworm, opening out a patch of ground and then working backwards, going two spits down at a time. If any large diameter burrows appear below this depth, turn up an extra spit to chase what may well be a big worm. Once the body of the worm is seen, it should be grasped firmly and eased rather than drawn out of the sand. Too fierce a tug will easily break the worm, and the head section will go on burrowing to get out of reach. The same applies to ragworm discovered by boulder-turning, if they have managed to go part-way into their burrows.

As with lugworm, a fork is the best digging tool, to avoid cutting worms in half, and it is also useful to have separate containers for whole and part worms. If lugworm are also uncovered, these should be kept separate because ragworm will damage them. Fill in all unsightly digging holes, and try to replace turned boulders to restore shelter for whatever small creatures are lurking beneath - they may well be next year's lug and ragworm crops.

Any angler is well advised to dig his own ragworm whenever possible. Although they are sold in many places, they are expensive, and it is little trouble to make your trip an hour longer, leaving time to dig bait before starting to fish.

Keeping

There are no satisfactory methods for preserving ragworm; indeed, much of their intrinsic value lies in their being alive and wriggling. Fortunately, they can be kept for several days without becoming distressed, and it is quite possible to dig enough in one session for a week's fishing. Worms for immediate use can be kept rolled in newspaper, or in a plastic or wooden container of sand. To keep them longer, they can either be placed in a large container with a quantity of wet seaweed, sea-soaked sacking or other material, or a sea-wetted mixture of sand and grit. Whatever you use, you should turn the collection over at least daily for inspection, discarding any worms that have died or appear sick. Make sure containers are lidded but not airtight.

Uses

Harbour rag of up to 3in make a most useful bait for grey mullet, while the larger worms of up to 6in are good bottom-fishing baits for flatfish (they can be used to bait a spoon), gurnards and the like. They are possibly best, though, for shore floatfishing for species like wrasse, pollack, coalfish and bass. The bigger, king ragworms are good bottom baits for wreck and reef fishing, taking bream, coalfish, bass and pollack. Harbour rag, or medium-sized rag, can of course be bunched on a large hook to make one big bait. Similarly, small pieces of a big worm are useful for smaller fish.

Presentation

Medium and large ragworm can be mounted singly as lugworm (see Fig 49), with the hook point inserted at the mouth and run inside the body to emerge from half way or two thirds down the body. It is advisable to use a fine-gauge hook when mounting ragworm in this way. With lug, hooks with a stout gauge are permissable, but they can break the ragworm apart. Small worms, such as those used for float fishing for mullet in harbours, can also be threaded in this way, but I find it simpler and just as good to hook the worm once, straight through the middle.

These worms are also brittle when it comes to long casting, and can break up and fly off the hook; it helps to bunch the worm by passing the hook once through the head end, and then one or more times through the middle or lower body (Fig 50). Security on the hook is further enhanced by tipping the hook, once the worm is mounted, with a piece of tough squid or fresh mackerel. Ragworms, like lug, make good combinations on the same hook with other baits, especially shellfish.

The Daily Mirror, Saturday 16 February 1980 at page 26

Fishing Tip – get a grip!

By Hal Mount

When fishing with large ragworm, carry a few tissues in your tackle box. Tissue round the worm will ensure a firm grip and save you from being nipped, especially at night, says Milford Haven angler R. White.

"Sea Angling: Kent to Cornwall" (1990) Mel Russ & Alan Yates at page 17

Other successful worm baits include king ragworm, with the small worms being excellent for flatfish and pollack in summer, and harbour ragworm, which are an excellent bait for flounders, pollack, bass and mullet from the piers.

Harbour ragworm, or "Maddies", can be dug in the Stour estuary, Folkestone harbour and along the north Kent coast at Herne Bay and Reculver. Another worm bait which gives exceptional results from the beach is the white ragworm. "Whites" come into their own during autumn and early spring, when they are deadly for codling, whiting, pouting and small flatfish. King and white ragworm can be dug in limited numbers from the north Kent coast … during the lowest spring tides.

Earthworm

"Sea Fish & How to Catch Them" (1863) William Barry Lord at page 78

Worms

Earth worms are too well known to require a lengthened notice. They are best kept in wet moss in a large flannel bag. The lob worm, found at night on old land, stretching many inches from their holes, are best for the larger kinds of fish; and the red worm and large brandling for the smaller.

"Angling in Salt Water: A Practical Work on Sea Fishing with Rod and Line from the Shore, Piers, Jetties, Rocks and from Boats" (1887) John Bickerdyke at pages 37 and 38

Chapter III: Baits

Earthworms

Large lobworms are used for trailing for pollack when nothing better can be obtained … and for ground fishing in brackish water. They should be tried when ragworms cannot be obtained. They can be picked up in great quantities off closely-mown lawns, and by the sides of garden paths, at any time during the night, unless the wind blows roughly; on windy nights they should be searched for in sheltered spots. They can, of course, only be seen by the light of a lantern, and are more abundant after a showery day than during a spell of dry weather. Redworms and brandlings, which are found in old dungheaps, are also occasionally used in harbour fishing with success. Earthworms can be kept for a considerable time in damp moss, which should be changed occasionally and the dead worms picked out. The longer the worms are in the moss, the better they are for bait.

"The book of the all-round angler: a comprehensive treatise on angling in both fresh and salt water" (1888) John Bickerdyke at pages 37 & 38 (Division IV)

Chapter III: Baits

Earthworms.

Large lobworms are used for trailing for pollack when nothing better can be obtained … and for ground fishing in brackish water. They should be tried when ragworms cannot be obtained. They can be picked up in great quantities off closely-mown lawns, and by the sides of garden paths, at any time during the night, unless the wind blows roughly; on windy nights they should be searched for in sheltered spots. They can, of course, only be seen by the light of a lantern, and are more abundant after a showery day than during a spell of dry weather. Redworms and brandlings, which are found in old dungheaps, are also occasionally used in harbour fishing with success. Earthworms can be kept for a considerable time in damp moss, which should be changed occasionally and the dead worms picked out. The longer the worms are in the moss, the better they are for bait.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 85, 86 & 87

Earthworms

Earthworms are not particularly good baits for sea fish, but they should certainly be used when nothing better is obtainable, particularly in brackish water, where eels and flat fish will take them well enough. I gave them a prolonged trial in salt water one summer, and caught a large number of sand dabs and plaice, but found that they very quickly died. In fact, salt water is fatal to worms of many kinds; and one way of capturing these baits is to sprinkle the garden path with a strong mixture of hot salt and water, with or without the addition of mustard, which will bring the worms out of their holes in double-quick time. In the matter of weeds the process also furthers gardening interests, for that year at least.

To obtain a large quantity of lob or dew worms it is necessary to go out at night with a lantern, wearing a pair of tennis shoes. If it be not frosty or very windy, the worms will be found on lawns and at the edges of paths, lying half out of their holes, taking a dew bath. If there has been a shower just about sundown, they will be very far out indeed; but if the weather be dry, only a fraction of their bodies will be visible. There is some skill required even to catch a worm. The beginner will make a dab at the creature, which will at once retreat into its hole before being laid hold of. The old hand, on the contrary, treading lightly and holding the lantern in his left hand, will smartly place the second finger of his right hand on the hole in the ground in which the worm is lying, and so prevent the creature's retreat; then with his first finger and thumb he will take hold of the worm, and, pulling gently, will force it to leave its stronghold. Both with half-retreated worms and eels it is always advisable to apply gentle continued pressure; sooner or later the muscles relax, and out the creature comes. For freshwater fishing many gallons of worms are gathered in this manner during warm summer nights.

A large lobworm makes a fairly good bait for railing or whiffing for pollack, coalfish and bass … Red worms and brandlings, which breed in old manure, can be used as baits in brackish water for flat fish. Earthworms of all kinds are the better for being kept in damp moss for a few days; but they require looking over occasionally, and any dead ones should be removed. I have heard it said that brandlings, and, doubtless, other worms, toughen if the rubbings from a soft brick are mixed with the moss. The best method of removing dead worms is to have two receptacles; let one of these be filled with fresh moss, and on the top of it place the stale moss containing the worms, live and dead. The live worms will burrow down into the fresh moss, while the dead ones will be left at the top and will be removed with the old moss.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at pages 98 & 99

Earth Worms

… die quickly in salt water, but they are by no means bad baits for eels and flat fish, more particularly in brackish water. On any mild night, more especially after a shower, large lob worms, or dew worms, lie extended partly out of their holes on grass plots, and may be picked up, with the aid of a lantern, in large quantities. These lobworms can be used for whiffing or railing, either simply caught on a single hook, or, which is perhaps better, threaded on a single hook with a smaller hook above it to be caught in the head of the bait. The smaller earth worms, such as red worms and brandlings, can be used for flat fish and eels.

Practical Sea-Fishing: A Handbook for Sea Anglers (1905) P. L. Haslope at page 61

Chapter V: Natural Baits and How to Find Them

Earthworms

A large lob-worm forms a useful whiffing bait for pollack, and grey mullet will take them freely in brackish water. They are also occasionally used in baiting a spiller for flat-fish. In the evening they may be obtained by searching garden lawns and other places with the aid of a lantern, and should be kept in a tin or earthenware pot filled with damp moss. As the salt water quickly kills them, however, their general employment is not to be recommended.

"Sea Angling Modern Methods and Tackle" (1952) Alan Young at page 58

Earthworms

Lobworms and other earthworms are not recommended for general sea fishing, but they can be used as an emergency bait for mullet and wrasse.

"The Modern Sea Angler" (1958) Hugh Stoker at page 38

Chapter Three

Baits

A. Worm Baits

Garden Worms

For harbour fishing in districts where lugworms and ragworms are unobtainable, the ordinary earth-worm can sometimes be used with success - provided that other anglers nearby are not fishing with more attractive baits.

"Pelham Manual for Sea Anglers" (1969) Derek Fletcher at pages 42 & 68

Earthworms

It is not generally realised that garden worms can be useful in saltwater. Flatfish in brackish water show a special interest in brandlings or redworm when offered three at a time on the hook, allowing them to drift on float tackle. Pollack and bass will also snap at lobworm and they appear most valuable in the late evening from rock stations. Worms are found in the compost heap, amongst grass cuttings from the lawn, under hedges or old sacking left on the ground after rain. Before use they need toughening up and an old tin filled with moss will allow them to do this. The worms will work in and out of the moss and toughen themselves in the process.

Lobworms

This garden worm is worth a trial in saltwater if other sea bait is scarce. It has accounted for bass and pollack, grey mullet around groynes and flatfish in brackish water.

"How to Improve Your Sea Fishing" (1978) Melvyn Bagnall at page 56

Dabs

Baits

… But as that mixed diet suggests, dabs can be taken on a number of other baits, including small pieces of lugworm, ragworm and even garden worms. The garden worm is capable of tempting other species such as plaice, flounders and cod as well as dabs. The best worms to use are those off-white, hard little worms measuring anything from about one and a half to three inches in length. Use them whole on the hook.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at page 171

Other Baits and Oils

Earthworms

Although earthworms blanch and die quickly in salt water, they remain an attractive bait and can be used for the same purpose as small marine worms. They are excellent for estuary flounders, especially when rivers are in flood and are bringing down a lot of mud and debris. They can be used for the baited spoon like lug and ragworm.

Molluscs

Molluscs such as mussels, cockles, whelks and clams, are widely used as bait. Easily available in large quantities these bivalves inhabit exposed rocky shores and stony, muddy estuaries.

Mussels are usually firmly attached and well protected from fish predators, with the possible exception of wrasse, which have very powerful teeth. Mussels are attacked and eaten, however, notably by starfish, shore crabs, edible crabs and oyster catchers, all of which must leave remains to be eaten by fish. They are rightly regarded as a good bait, for cod and flatfish in particular. Probably because the mussels have to be shelled and are a little difficult to hook they are not much used by anglers.

"The Sea-Fisherman, or Fishing Pilotage. Comprising the chief methods of hook and line fishing in the British and other seas, and remarks on nets, boats, and boating" (1865) James Carrall Wilcocks at page 49

Baits

To bait with a mussel (for which see the following cuts) having first taken it out of the shell, spread it open in your hand, when you will at once discover the tongue through which you are to pass the hook (see fig. 1), then closing it as you would a book, turn it over and hook it through the round grisly part, by which it attaches itself to the shell (see fig. 2).

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 84, 99, 100, 102 & 195

Cockles

I have found these little shell fish excellent bait for sand dabs, plaice and flounders. Whiting pout are very fond of them, and, indeed, few fish will not take them at times. They are, however, not so killing a bait as the mussel. On some sandy shores they are extremely abundant, and may be picked up without difficulty, professional cockle-gatherers using a rake, as they lie a little below the surface. They should be scalded before being used: this opens the shells and solidifies the fish. Being small bait, it is often necessary to place two or three on a hook.

Mussels

The welfare of some thousands of people depends on these shell fish. There is no fish in the sea which will not take them, and they are particularly valuable for haddock and cod fishing. There are mussels and mussels. The smaller species, which are found in salt water, are by no means the best for baits. Far better are the large mussels which grow in the brackish water of estuaries or among the rocks in inlets of the sea where the water is tempered by the inflow of many rivers. The finest … are sold for edible and angling purposes at the shell-fish shops …

Sometimes mussels are scalded or boiled, or put in the oven for a few minutes, or placed in the sun for an hour, either of which processes opens the shell and turns the contents into a more or less solid mass easily adjusted on the hook. But it is far better to use these baits untreated by heat. Sometimes they are opened and salted, but I cannot commend the practice.

But now comes, to the novice, a tremendous difficulty to put this soft mass, which appears of the consistence of liver, on the hook so that it will remain there. Lying almost hidden between the two halves of the mussel will be seen a little, dark brown, tough, leathery tongue, and through this the hook should be first placed. It should next be passed through the bait from side to side, and finally through any of the tough filaments, the round, hard, white piece of muscle which was cut when the knife first went into the shell being put on the point of the hook last to keep the rest in place. The knack of it all is not acquired in a day. But the difficulties are not great if the mussel has not been mangled in the opening … I find that if the mussel is carefully opened and properly placed on a suitable hook, it will stand being cast out, and with the fine tackle I use I can nearly always feel a bite and strike the fish before the hook is robbed.

From Land and Pier

When the fish are supposed to be plentiful it is certainly desirable to have a large number of mussels ready opened for continued fishing. I have often heard it stated that mussels lose some of their virtue and are not nearly so killing if they have been opened some time. This may be true to a limited extent; but when codlings are feeding greedily they are certainly not particular, and the great point is to lose no time. Mr. Aflalo recommended opening mussels and laying them out to dry in the sun before using them as baits.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at pages 105, 106 & 137

Mussels

… are perhaps the most largely used of all the various baits … The finest grow at the mouths of rivers, and in bays, where the salt water is somewhat diluted with fresh. The little blue mussel, which is found on the south coast among the rocks, and sticking to the piles of piers, &c., is often too small for bait. For cod and haddock, in particular, a rather large mussel is required. It is an astonishing fact, but many hundred tons of mussels are "made in Germany" and imported into this country for the use of our fishermen … Professional fishermen, with whom I thoroughly agree on this point, nearly always use the mussels just as they come out of the shells, but amateurs sometimes scald or boil them for a few minutes, or put them in an oven for a short time to solidify. Once one has acquired the knack of opening a mussel shell, and baiting the hook, there is no need to practise either of these dodges, nor will it be found necessary to tie on the mussel with a piece of wool … many more fish will be caught on a mussel properly opened than on a mangled specimen. The two particular points to be attended to are sliding or pushing the two shells apart so as to give an opening to insert the knife, and the working of the knife close to the inside of the shell so as to sever the muscle.

If we look at our mussel closely, we shall see about the centre of it a tiny, dark brown, leathery looking tongue, and in baiting our hook the first thing to do is to put the point through this tongue. The hook should then be passed through the middle of the mussel, from side to side. The mussel should be given a twist … and finally a small round disc, which is the muscle I have previously referred to, should be placed on the point of the hook, and will hold everything in position.

…Some people find a great difficulty in keeping a mussel on the hook when making a long cast. I have not experienced this myself, and it is probably owing to their not understanding the proper way of placing a mussel on the hook, described on page 106 (see paragraph above). One way of overcoming the difficulty is to wind round the mussel a fleck of sheep's wool. Cotton wool will also do. Sometimes mussels are tied on with a piece of worsted, but this is rather a clumsy arrangement.

"The Sportsman's Library: Sea Fishing" (1935) Major D. P. Lea Birch ("Fleur-de-Lys") at pages 81 & 82

Chapter V: Bait

Mussel

… Generally speaking, mussel is a much more satisfactory bait for ground-fishing from a boat than for casting from the shore, as it is soft and somewhat difficult to keep on the hook. But if care is taken over casting, it is quite possible to use mussel bait with a float from the shore.

… The mussels should not be damaged during the opening process, and the leathery fringe round the edge must be kept intact. The hook should be passed twice through the middle of the bait, and then through the tongue, which is the small, dark and tough portion of this shellfish. Soaking in salt water toughens the bait.

Mussels can be kept alive for about a week by putting them into a dry bucket and covering over the top to exclude the light. The mussels require no water, as the closed shells contain enough fluid to keep them going for several days. These shellfish are much appreciated by most bottom-feeding fish.

"Sea Angling Modern Methods and Tackle" (1952) Alan Young at pages 58 & 59

Gapers

I have never used gapers as bait, though they are recommended for cod, plaice and other bottom-feeding fish. There are three species, found respectively in muddy sand, stiff mud and clean sand. Their use either as food (gapers are the edible clams of America) or bait has not been exploited in this country.

"Salt-Water Angling" (1956) Michael Kennedy at page 355

Chapter Ten: Natural Baits for Salt-Water Fish

Whelks

Whelks - an important natural food of cod, haddock and dogfishes - are largely employed as baits for cod on long lines set in deep water. While they are quite a good - and easily obtained - bait for this purpose, it is generally found that it is necessary to leave the lines down all night, when baited with whelk, whereas if the bait is mackerel or mussel, hauling can begin as soon as shooting is finished.

Small whelks (Buccinum undatum) are sometimes found in the rock pools but the larger specimens of this species, and the bigger, longer-lipped, smoother-shelled whelks of the genus Fusus, are found only beyond tide-marks - where they occur on all types of bottom, and in a wide range of depths. They are taken in wickerwork baskets, with a lobster-pot type funnel-shaped opening, baited with fish offal. They are also brought up in numbers in trawls, and may be obtained from fishermen, by arrangement.

Whelks may be used as a bait for wrasse and sea bream, and for codling, when nothing better is available. The shell should be cracked with a hammer; the leathery disc or opercle, with which the mollusc closes up the mouth of its shell, should be cut off; and the mollusc - which is fairly tough - should be cut in two or more pieces, depending on the size of the hook used.

"Sea-Fishing" (1960) Arthur Sharp at page 23

Most sea-fish succumb to a tasty morsel of mussel. Take care not to damage the mussel when opening the shell with the aid of a knife point. The hook should be thrust twice through the middle of the bait, and then through the tongue, the small, dark-hued and toughish part of the mussel.

As mussel is a rather soft bait it is better for boat fishing than for casting out from the shore, unless one casts very carefully.

"Competition Sea Angling" (1970) Bruce McMillen at pages 39 & 40

3. Baits and Lures

Razor fish

Bass have a particular fancy for these creatures but, unfortunately, the angler is going to find that these are a fish-taking delicacy that are hard to come by. Normally these shellfish can only be taken at low water during the period of spring tides … Incidentally, if you should be walking along a beach at low tide and you happen to see squirts of water thrown high into the air from holes in the sand, you can be almost certain that they have been caused by razor fish.

Clams

These are yet another bait which are delicious to eat when cooked. However, whilst these shellfish may prove particularly effective in one area, they are often relatively unproductive in another.

Mussels

A popular and easily obtained bait which is simpler to use from a boat because of its soft and jelly-like nature. As a beach fishing bait, mussels find favour with some, but the problem of keeping them on the hook is almost insurmountable. They stay on the hook more readily when hardened by cooking, but in my opinion they are not as effective as the natural bait.

Codling and many other species will readily accept mussels, and one method which is greatly favoured is creating a bait 'cocktail'. In other words, worm or fish with mussel all on one large hook. These very soft shellfish can also be firmed by soaking in brine; but again, in my opinion they are not as good as when raw.

Cockles

I do not rate cockles very highly as a bait, although they sometimes lure flatfish and whiting.

"Estuary Fishing" (1974) Frank Holiday at pages 60 & 61

Chapter Four

Baits - Natural and Artificial

It is widely assumed that sea fish must always be offered soft, tasty baits whereas a moment's reflection would show that if fish did, in fact, rely on discovering the large quantities of food they need in this form they would soon become very hungry. Fish in fact consume their prey as it comes, shells, protective armour and all and leave their jaws and intestines to ponder the problems of elimination. Anglers shell and prepare baits largely for their own convenience in getting them to stay on the hook and rarely experiment with other approaches. Baby mussels are a case in point.

Having found so many young mussels in the stomachs of fish I tried the idea of hooking several of these small shell-fish through the hinges of their shells and fished them in this manner. School bass and flounders took the bait without hesitation. The experiment was extended to cockles and Banded Wedge and proved equally successful. The value of this method of presentation lies in the fact that the creatures within the shells - even though the shells may be crushed or agape - are to a certain extent protected from the pecking of small pouting and other fry and remain so until a fish comes along sizeable enough to swallow the bait whole.

Obviously there comes a point where such reasoning loses its force and this is usually when cockles, mussels and so on are about half-grown. After this, they make better bait when they have been shelled. Large mussels, when shelled, make an excellent bait especially if they are a component of a 'cocktail'. Shelled mussel is a very soft bait and attempts to toughen it by salting, drying and so forth reduce its effectiveness as an attractor of fish. As with worm, this attraction is produced by the juices within the shellfish which salting and drying seem to destroy.

The idea behind 'cocktails' is to sandwich the soft shellfish between two layers of a much tougher bait such as squid, black lug or mackerel. If anglers used a bit more care when preparing such baits I am sure they'd get better results. After opening the mussel, for instance, the contents of the shell should be poured over the tougher items of the 'cocktail' when it will greatly improve their attractive properties.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at pages 167 & 168

Razorfish, Mussels and Limpets

Mussels

These shellfish (Fig 63) need no description, since they are common on most coasts, where they cluster on pier stanchions, sea walls, rocks and jetties. The colonies are often large, and it is an easy matter to search out the biggest and best by picking over the grounds at low tide.

Uses

Mussels rank among the best baits for flatfish, and they will also take many other bottom feeders …

Preparation

One of the best tools for opening mussels is a knife that has been broken off short, with the end rounded and sharpened. Scrape away the remaining anchor threads from the 'back' of the mussel, and insert the end of the knife here between the shells. Then work the knife around to the fore, or opening side of the mussel, until you feel the muscle holding the two shells clamped together relax. You can then pull the shells open and gently scoop all the flesh out, inserting the knife blade between the shell and the adhering parts. There is a lazier way of opening mussels which is either to put them in a pan of cold water and heat the pan gently until they open, or plunge them briefly into boiling water. This process actually toughens what is a very soft bait, although many of the attractive juices are lost. Where security on the hook is vital such as in strong currents, or for robust casting, then a couple of boiled mussels sandwiching a fresh one can be very telling.

Presentation

The softness of the mussel makes it a bit of a problem bait, although for gentle casts and calm water one need not worry too much about losing it. For long casting, though, and for fishing in surf or in strong currents, mussels are often tied on the hook with a small length of wool. A fine-wire hook is first passed into the area where the two lobes of the mussel join, and then the hook is turned so that the point can be pushed out through the gristle disc of the main muscle. For big baits, many mussels at a time may be used, placed on the hook in this fashion one after the other. Another aid to security on the hook is a piece of squid, and this is pushed over the point and barb after the mussel.

As has been mentioned, boiled mussels are slightly tougher than fresh ones. You can also toughen up freshly-opened mussels by leaving them exposed to the air for an hour or so.

Limpet

The slipper limpet provides an alternative bait to mussel and, although easy to extract from their shells and a good deal tougher than mussels, are not quite so attractive to most fish. These limpets occur in masses with the smaller specimens on top of the pile. Large limpets are all females, having begun their lives as small males and changed sex as they aged.

However, as from March 2015, slipper limpets (Crepidula fornicata) can no longer legally be used as bait anywhere around the British Isles. This is because slipper limpets are actually an invasive species, not native to the British Isles and they can smother valuable oyster and mussel beds and also outcompete native shellfish species for food. Releasing live or fresh slipper limpets into the sea is now an offence - and this includes using them as angling bait. The reason for this is that even when dead slipper limpets can still release eggs and larvae and potentially spread the species into new areas.

"The Sea-Fisherman" (1884 - 4th edition) James Carrall Wilcocks at pages 171, 172, 192 & 193

The Sea-Bream (Pagellus centrodontus)

The soft part of a limpet is such an excellent bait for bream, and is in general so easily procured, that I feel it quite worthy of a special description as regards its use. Procure about fifty or more of the largest limpets, and prepare them for bait in the following manner - the soft part of the limpet is the more attractive, but as this is too soft to hold well on the hook alone, it is necessary a small portion of the hard part should be included in the bait. Take the limpet out of the shell with a round-topped knife, and passing the knife between the hard and soft parts, cut off with the soft that portion of the hard also in which the horns are situated, about the size of a silver threepenny piece. Passing the hook through the small hard piece first and then through the soft, if the fish knocks off the soft at the first nibble, it is often caught with the hard. This bait is much the better for being prepared and placed in the sun an hour previous to use …

Before going to sea procure, say, half a hundred shore green crabs, and pound them up in the boat's bailer with the limpet shells and hard parts of the limpets chopped small.

This ground-baiting kind of mixture is termed "burley" in Australia and on the coast of North America is much used in the mackerel fishery and elsewhere, although the ingredients vary much with the locality.

When the tide is moderate or quite slack, throw in a little of this "hurly-burley" and you will find it very effective in collecting the fish and keeping them about the spot.

The Limpet (Patella vulgata)

Limpets are so well known as scarcely to need description, and may be used as bait when nothing better can be had. The soft part should be cut off and put in the sun for an hour before fishing, if possible, and will become somewhat firmer than if used at once. Sea bream will take it well, also whiting-pout, and if the fish are well on the feed they will also take the hard part, but this is not ordinarily the case. Garden snails are sometimes used with success.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at page 42

The Limpet

This little fish inhabits a small, conical shell, and is to be found closely adhering to rocks. Limpets are not good baits, but whiting pout and sea bream will often take them. The soft part, with a very small portion of the hard part, should be placed on the hook, the point of which should go through the hard portion. It is by no means a lasting bait, unless dried for half an hour in the sun, when it toughens. It is very little use to endeavour to pull limpets from rocks, for the moment they are touched they put out all their stick-fast powers to the utmost. A sudden tap with a hammer easily knocks them from their hold.

"Sea-Fishing on the English Coast" (1891) Frederick George Aflalo at page 46

Chapter IV

Baits and Diary

Natural Bait

15. Limpet. - A hard thing to bait with; but I always found a piece of limpet on the shank of a hook, kept on by a piece of lug over the point and bend, a most killing bait for Codlings.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 93 & 94

Limpets

These humble little shell fish, which appear to pass aimless existences adhering to rocks, are a good deal used for baits in places where mussels are scarce or wanting. They are highly esteemed in the Orkneys, and are deemed most serviceable if scalded out of the shell, but not boiled. I confess I never had much respect for these shell fish until I learnt from a scientific work that they were cyclobranchiate gasteropodous molluscs of the genus Patella. The limpet is cyclobranchiate because his gills or branchiae form a fringe round his body between the edge of the body and the foot; and he belongs to the order of gasteropods because his distinguishing characteristic is the broad, muscular, and disc-like foot which is attached to the surface of his stomach. In fact, he walks on his stomach, a proceeding which is rarely seen.

If the rock be soft, the limpet digs himself a little pit in which he rests, making his way therefrom for a few inches to feed on various kinds of seaweed. As a rule, these curious creatures do not move except when covered by water; but I once saw one taking an airing, and a very curious performance it was. The shell was raised about an eighth of an inch; a tiny feeler peeped out, waved to and fro and felt about as if to ascertain if the next twenty-fifth of an inch of rock was suitable for progression. After the limpet was satisfied on this important point, the edges of its body began to work slowly all round the shell, and a step forward was made. And that was the locomotion of a gasteropod, with whom time was apparently no object. When the limpet has made up its mind to stick in one place, it shows great determination to that end. It has been recently calculated that it requires a force of about 60 lbs., or upwards of 2,000 times its own weight without its shell, to pull it away from the rock. It is, however, easy enough to dislodge these strong men among shell fish if you know the right way. Take them unawares and give them a sharp tap, and they tumble down as if shot; or gently insinuate a knife under the shell before they have time to crouch down on to the rock.

Limpets are a good deal eaten by the poorer classes in some parts of Ireland and Scotland, and, as baits, are used on the haddock lines when, as I have said, mussels or better baits are not obtainable. The soft part of a limpet is considered a very fair bait for sea bream; by reason of its softness it should be cut out and placed in the air to dry for an hour or two before being used. A whole limpet threaded up the shank of a hook, followed by a lugworm, makes a very killing bait for codfish.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at page 101

Limpets

Sea bream will take the soft part of a limpet, which may be dried an hour or two in the air to toughen it before being used. For codfish it is a good plan to thread a whole limpet on the shank of a hook, and place a lug worm on the point.

"Sea Angling" (1965) Derek Fletcher at pages 80, 81 & 82

Chapter 8: The Wrasse Family

Limpets are regarded by many as useless hook-baits. They are not for the wrasse who are, after all, familiar with limpet-covered rocks. Many a post mortem has revealed crushed limpet-shells in their stomachs, as well as mussel and crabs. On one coast fished, where wrasse are regarded as good sport, a preparation was made overnight to ensure good fishing the following day. Several lengths of fine nylon were threaded with a dozen limpets, each one knotted in position at intervals. These so-called 'streamers' were draped from the rocks and kept steady by small rock stones. As the tide came in so these baited hookless lines offered attraction to the wrasse. It kept them in the area and the next morning several fish could be seen nosing and tugging at the limpet. Naturally, limpet-baited hooks, let down carefully, soon accounted for several fish.

"Pelham Manual for Sea Anglers" (1969) Derek Fletcher at pages 66, 103 & 104

Limpets

Small, conical-shaped shells which adhere to rocks by suction. They are used as bait by rock anglers, but there is a mixed opinion as to their worth. Collecting them is difficult and they tighten their hold on the rocks when disturbed. Best way is to lightly tap the top of the shell at the same time quickly thrusting a knife blade under the cone. The fleshy creature inside is best removed by placing the shells in warm water for a short period. Afterwards harden off the flesh in the air to withstand any casting which might be done.

Some anglers use limpet streamers which are draped from rocks into the sea to make a type of groundbait. Lengths of nylon line are threaded with several limpets and these are kept in position at intervals by knotting the line. They are hung from rocks by placing small rock stones on the end of the lines. Wrasse are particularly partial to such attractions and can be seen tugging at the limpets, and go on to take a more generous offering on the hook.

Slipper Limpets

A shellfish which is particularly valuable during winter and mostly used by southern anglers. They are found washed up on shore after rough weather attached to small stones, seaweed, pieces of wood and shingle … They are found in bunches or skeins of up to eight shells, kept together by suction.

Each individual shell takes about a year to grow … They cause havoc to oyster beds by attaching themselves to the oysters and eventually killing them off … American slipper limpet … They are also called whitefish, bungalow bait and yellow mussel.

Their advantage as bait is keeping for periods and, even if they reach the strong smelling state, fish will still take them. They are best kept in a sack in a cool outhouse, leaving any attached seaweed still on.

Preparation for the hook is simple, and several should be put on. With constant casting there is a tendency for them to break away from the hook. Some anglers tie them with wool or put them in hairnets, but this is unnecessary if you have a good supply and can renew them when they become too soft. A penknife will remove the fleshy part from the shell, taking care to get this out complete with the slightly orange foot. Crushed up they make a useful groundbait, especially for flounders in the quiet backwaters of harbours.

"Sea Fishing For Fun" (1977) Alan Wrangles & Jack P. Tupper at pages 63 & 64

5. Choosing and Storing Bait

Shellfish baits

The common limpet lives in a conical shell attached to rocks and concrete walls which are submerged at high tide. It can be dislodged from its position by a sharp tap with a stone or hammer, and the flesh cut out from the shell. The body is quite firm, and not easily stripped from the hook. These shellfish are not so readily acceptable to fish, but they can form a reasonably good bait for cod or bass, particularly during the winter months when food is scarce.

The slipper limpet is commonly found in clusters of seven or eight, each fixed to the back of the other, the base limpet possibly clinging to a stone to keep it secure. During heavy weather and high surf, many are washed up above the high water mark where, in summertime, they open and die after being exposed to the sun. When they are subsequently washed back into the sea they attract fish right into the surf. Anglers who have taken advantage of these conditions have caught considerable bags of fish.

Although the slipper limpet itself is quite large in the shell, the amount of flesh is relatively small, and two or three maybe necessary on each hook. It is common pratice to keep slipper limpets for a period until they become 'high' - they also tend to become slightly luminous, which may increase their attractiveness.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at pages 168 & 169

Razorfish, Mussels and Limpets

Common Limpets

The beauty of limpets (Fig 63) is that they are available almost everywhere, and you can even find some good ones in rock pools well above the high-water mark that are replenished only occasionally during storms.

Uses

Limpets will catch all rock species, like wrasse and pollack, besides being a good legering bait for flatfish. Small pieces on a small, fine-wire hook will take mullet.

Preparation

The inside of the limpet should be scooped out taking care that as much as possible of the foot - the part with which the limpet holds to its rock - remains intact along with the ring of strong muscle around it. Like mussels, they can be exposed to the air for an hour or more so that they begin to dry out and toughen up.

Presentation

Fine-wire hooks from size 10 to 4 are the most useful for mounting limpets. The hook is passed through the bottom of the foot, up into the soft, snail-like body, and the point is brought out through a part of the muscle ring round the foot. When small pieces are used for mullet, care should be taken to retain a piece of the muscle to give a good hook hold.

Slipper limpets

These curious creatures, each resembling half a mussel shell, and living in chains of three or more on one another's backs, are inhabitants of deep shingle banks and can rarely be reached from the shore. Nevertheless, they are often washed ashore in numbers after a storm and they make fine flatfish baits. They can be encouraged to part from their brethren with a stout knife, or by tapping them with a stone. they should be scooped out intact and used in the same way as limpets, above.

Crab

Crab is generally regarded as the premier bait for a wide variety of the more popular fish species. Green shore crabs are usually the easiest to obtain and enormous numbers of these can be collected in a short time from harbours, estuaries and rocky shores. The ordinary hard-crab is useful as ground bait and makes a first class hook bait for large wrasse but there is no evidence to show that they are a good general bait. Usually crabs of all types are collected and used as bait when they are about to moult (peelers) or have just moulted (soft-backs).

Crabs grow and moult most frequently when they are young and in warm weather. A convenient way of recognising both peeler and soft-back crabs is to look for pairs. The males can infallibly detect females which are about to shed their shells and carry them about until they moult, at which time mating occurs, usually in August and September. The females do not produce their eggs until the following April-May, though they may also be found in winter.

Other than pairs, peeler and soft-crabs of the three common species can be found at almost any time of year, but will be most frequent in the warmer months.

The speed at which peeler crabs shed their shell can be controlled in a fridge. To keep them in prime condition at a time when they are just about to shed their shell they must be kept moist. A small spray of seawater kept at fridge temperature is ideal for this.

Crabs can be frozen, but they must be alive when they are peeled and frozen as quickly as possible. Wash under the tap and wrap in foil or cling film and then freeze as quickly as possible.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at page 40

Soft Crab

Mr Wilcocks recommends residents near harbours having muddy shores to contrive a number of artificial shelters, by means of old, earthenware pots, old saucepans, &c to the number of 200 or 300, placing them on the shore between half tide and low water mark, so arranged that a small hole is left for the crab to enter. By this means, baits are always available to the angler - or someone else. Soft crabs are one of the best known baits for flounders, and in brackish water fresh-water eels and bass take them greedily. They are rather tough, and not easily taken off the hook by fully-fledged individuals of their own species.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 84 & 85

Crabs

The ubiquitous green crab when in full marching order that is to say, with all its armour on is not much used as a hook bait, but is extremely valuable when pounded up as a ground bait. Crushed and commingled with raw potatoes, it is thrown in over the smelt net. I have so often found infantile crabs inside fish I have taken, that there is little doubt one of these minute creatures about the size of a sixpence, or a little larger, would be a very good hook bait; but I have never used them, owing to the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient quantity. When the shelly armour has been cast away, and pending the growth of another, the crab is excellent as a hook bait. During this period it hides in any safe, and sometimes unsafe, nook or cranny. I have heard of people taking a mean advantage of these poor creatures by placing in estuaries and harbours a number of artificial resting places, into which the unsuspecting crabs enter for the purpose of changing their shells, there to be collected from time to time by the heartless bait-catcher.

There are few fish which will not take soft crab; flounders and bass are particularly fond of this. Crabs are also a good bait in brackish water for silver eels. They, of course, have to be cut up into pieces of suitable size, according to what we are fishing for. Another use for them is to bait prawn nets. On the whole, they should be borne in mind and in bait box, and used whenever occasion offers.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at pages 97 & 98

Crab

Green crabs, when about as large as a shilling, are good baits for bass and codling. When larger, their principal use is to be smashed up and used as ground bait … When the crab has just cast its shell, and not yet acquired another, it is known as soft crab, and is an excellent bait for flounders, bass, and silver eels in estuaries. The crab in its soft state is found hiding in nooks and crannies of all sorts and kinds below high water mark.

"Sea Fishing" (1911) Charles Owen Minchin at page 245

Chapter XVII

The Natural Baits for Sea-Fish

… Nearly all fishes are fond of crustaceans as food, and some make most of their meals on them. The most killing all-round bait of this class is soft crabs; these are the females of the common green shore-crab (Carcinus mœnas) which at breeding-time, beginning in May and lasting all the summer, shed their hard shells, and are then to be found in company with the males, which do not peel till afterwards. When the old outer shell has cracked and is ready to fall, and the new soft shell beneath is growing to replace it, the crab is called a "peeler" and is then in the best condition for bait. Soft crabs are to be found in the holes which one sees in mud-banks at dead low water, and also under large stones at the mouths of estuaries.

"Sea-Fishing from the Shore" (1940) A. R. Harris Cass M.B.E. at pages 41 to 44

Chapter IV

Bait

Of the many baits, perhaps the best all-round one is the crab, especially as it answers well everywhere and in all circumstances. Crabs used on the hook may be divided into two classes, namely "soft" and "peelers". The soft crab is one that has shed its shell and has not again grown a new one, while the "peeler" is one that has developed a new shell, but of such a thin texture that it can be removed by your fingers. Both these varieties are found in estuaries and muddy creeks where they are sojourning during the period of growing their fresh covering. In some estuaries quite a business is done in obtaining these crabs, and some "merchants" who send away their catch every day to various angling districts, speak of their yearly harvets in terms of a ton. The usual method employed by these professional bait procurers is to put down old pantiles duly painted with the owner's initials. Under these tiles the crabs take shelter, and after every tide a visit is made by the "merchant" to these simple traps to collect the spoil …

A good plan to retain the crab on the hook is to tie a couple of turns of worsted round the bait …

The price of these crabs, whether purchased from the collector, or from an obliging boatman, is in the neighbourhood of a shilling a dozen. That number is ample for several excursions.

To keep the crabs alive, put some sand that is damp with sea water, and a small quantity of ordinary seaweed in a wooden box: be careful, however, after introducing the crabs to their new home to place a cover over the top of the box, otherwise the creatures will escape. If the box is kept in a cool, shady position, the crabs should remain alive for at least a week.

You will probably use a discarded household tin, with a cover that you have perforated, in which to carry the crabs when you go fishing. On reaching the shore let some sea water precolate into the tin, and keep it there for several minutes, so that the crabs can enjoy a drink.

"Successful Sea Angling" (1971) David Carl Forbes at page 53

Much is made by some experienced anglers about 'peeler' or 'shedder' crabs - a stage of crab growth after the hard shell has been shed, and the new, pliable shell is in the process of hardening - but if large fish are to take crabs, then, in my experience, they are not unduly bothered about the shells being hard. I normally kill a crab, remove the claws to reduce the risk of small fish tugging to give false bite indication, break the shell carefully and then wind a stout rubber band about it. The hook is passed under and through the rubber binding, not through the shell.

"Estuary Fishing" (1974) Frank Holiday at pages 59 & 60

Chapter Four

Baits - Natural and Artificial

Crab is another familiar and popular bait for estuary fishing. The dark green shore crab is the form most usually encountered by the estuary bait-collector. It thrives below stones and wet seaweed hanging from rocks at the mouths of most sea inlets. As a bait for bass there is nothing to beat crab and it is equalled only by the launce. Crabs measuring about 2 inches across the shell are probably the handiest size for fishing purposes.

Quite a cult has grown up around crab as a bait since the war which can only be compared to some of the cults in fly-fishing. Crabs shed their hard shells periodically as they grow bigger. A crab on the point of shedding is called a 'peeler' whereas one that has already shed its shell and is waiting for its skin to harden into a new shell is called a 'softback'. The crab cult hinges on these facts. For it is widely and frequently reported - with no evidence to support the claim - that peelers and softbacks make the best bait. Why this should be so is never explained. Peelers and soft-backs, being almost defenceless, seek the most secure shelter possible and commonly burrow deep under large stones. In these hidey holes they can't be reached by predatory fish. Therefore they can form but a small and largely accidental part of a fish's diet. The truth is that, although fish do feed avidly on crab, it is not the jellified remains of softbacks we find in autopsies but the shells of hardbacks.

The main problem with hardbacks is getting them to stay securely on the hook, not a reluctance of fish to feed on them. They must be bound to a treble hook with elastic thread. If it is desired to cast crab a long distance I use what I call a 'crab-board' which is simply an oval bit of plywood with a hole bored through it to take the line. A crab is bound to each side of the board with elastic thread so that they are face to face so to speak. The line is threaded through the board, a treble is attached and one point of the treble is firmly lodged in the forward edge of the board. The board should be slightly wider than the crabs being used and a few nicks in the edge give the elastic something to grip.

"The Long Book of Sea Fishing" (1975) Dick Murray at page 62

Keep the bait large when bass fishing. A whole crab will soon be engulfed by a hungry bass. Though peeler or soft crabs are undoubtedly the best, hard backs make a good substitute. When using whole crab the bite often comes as a savage snatch and the fish frequently hooks itself.

"Sea Angling Supreme" (1979) Mike Millman at pages 29 & 30

The peeler crab is nothing more than the common shore crab. As the shell does not grow with the animal, it must be shed at regular intervals. Just before moulting takes place, the crab is a "peeler". At this time it hides away from its fellows, in a rocky crevice, in holes in the stonework of harbour walls, or simply under masses of seaweed growing over rocks, but always on the sheltered side away from the force of the incoming tide. When the time to moult arrives, the crab simply walks through a split which appears along the back edge of the shell. The new shell is a very thin membrane, and will not be fully hard for about five days. During the transition the crab is a "soft-back" and extremely vulnerable to enemies. Strangely enough it is safe from other crabs, as it emits a smell which prevents them from attacking. Quite often a softie will be found sheltering beneath a much larger crab, which rears up menacingly if it is disturbed. Once the hardening process is complete, the crab resumes its normal life on the shoreline.

Identifying a peeler crab is not all that difficult. Its body has a puffy look around the edges of the shell and where the split will occur along the back edge is quite distinct. A good test is gently lifting the back corner of the shell with a finger nail. If it moves easily, revealing a soft skin, the crab is a peeler. Its legs also peel, and if the outer shell is pulled downwards it will slip away leaving a limp leg behind.

Finding peelers along the shore can be a time-consuming and back-breaking business. Accessible places are always heavily searched, and it can take hours to find just six crabs. That number is sufficient for the average day's sport, as each will make several baits.

Peeler crab leg makes a fine offering, and many experts rate it superior to the body. Peelers are extremely difficult to find during the winter, as the crab has the ability to hold back the moulting process during cold weather. Fortunately, it is not a very intelligent animal and will crawl into anything likely to provide shelter, which plays right into the hands of the dedicated angler.

If broken pieces of earthenware sluice pipe or plastic guttering 2 feet in length are pushed into the mud at a quiet spot in a tidal river, they create a peeler and soft-back crab farm. The ideal location is close to rock and weed and, if it's overhung with trees, so much the better. Obviously the further off the beaten track the farm is the better, as there are always unscrupulous anglers ready to rob the pots. The pipes must be set at the low-water levels of normal neap and spring tides. The lowest ones remain covered for most of the time, and usually fish extremely well. When the traps are in position, mud is scooped out of the hollow side, creating a hole for the crabs to enter. This partially fills with tidal action, but a small amount of space always remains at the very bottom of the trap. In warm weather the crabs will be in the first foot of the trap, but in cold conditions they go deeper, and at times right to the bottom. Seldom is more than one crab in residence, so the more traps you have out the better the yield.

Collected crabs should not be confined closely together for longer than it takes to return home. A well ventilated pitched box about 6 inches deep and 2 feet long, with a good lid, will hold up to twenty crabs and maintain them in fresh condition for several days. After that the peelers will be less attractive softies. A quantity of wet seaweed in the box will, to some extent, give each crab its own territory.

"Sea Angling: Kent to Cornwall" (1990) Mel Russ & Alan Yates at pages 16 & 17

Most of the general baits work along the Kent shore throughout the year, although there is a marked difference in some venues between what the fish will accept on rocks or sand. For instance … cod can be taken from the Kent rocks on peeler crab whilst from the sandy beaches of Dungeness it is rarely successful.

From May through the summer one of the most effective baits along the north Kent coast is live peeler crab, which is also effective throughout the winter months from Thanet, Deal and Folkestone rock marks for cod and codling. This despite the fact that crab is not found locally and has to be imported from Devon! Frozen peeler crab is also highly effective during the winter months. Peeler crabs can be collected from the north coast from May onwards, with a mass moult of crabs up until June - crabs are found in the mud and water pools between Gravesend and Thanet, where it is possible to pick up 100 per tide.

Hermit Crab

"Sea Fish & How to Catch Them" (1863) William Barry Lord at pages 79 & 80

Hermit or Soldier Crab

So called from its two most marked and well-known habits, that of dwelling alone in a cell of its own selection, and being at all times ready and willing to decide by battle all disputes or difficulties in which it may chance to become involved. Shells of various kinds are inhabited by our pugnacious little friend during his growth and development, and, like the soldier crab of society, nipping, hustling, and pinching his way from the humble trochus cabin of early youth, short claws, and obscurity, to the whelk-shell mansion of prosperous well-to-do crabhood.

The hermit crab is to be found on most of our coast line, but particularly on such portions as are most thickly inhabited by whelks and other univalve shells. They are generally taken in baskets baited with fish offal, which are laid down for whelks, and to fishermen who are engaged in this description of fishing application had better be made for a supply of crab whelks, as they are generally called. It is very good bait for codlings, poutings, &c., &c. A small hammer should be used to break off the shell. The claws and hard portions must be removed, and the tail portion placed on the hook by entering the point at the large end, bringing it up over the bend and shank until the hook is covered.

"Sea-fishing as a sport" (1865) Lambton J. H. Young at pages 66 & 67

Baits

Hermit Crab or Gann. The soft tail part of this curious little fish is a good bait for some ground fish, the pout and most flat-fish readily feeding on them. This bait is much used about the Isle of Wight and up the Southampton Water - where the bait is to be got in any quantity from the dredging boats when fishing for oysters.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at page 40

The Hermit, Gant, Farmer Crab, or Soldier Crab

… passes a hermit-like existence in shells belonging to departed whelks. The soft, tail portion, is a good bait, used whole for pout, haddock, whiting, flat-fish and cod. These crabs may be obtained from trawlers and the owners of lobster-pots, and a few are generally to be found among the rocks near low water mark.

"Hints and Wrinkles on Sea Fishing" (1894) "Ichthyosaurus" (A. Baines & Frederick George Aflalo) at pages 76 & 77

Other Kinds of Fishing: Lobsters, Crabs, Prawns &c &c

Again, your lobster or prawn pots will generally catch a number of hermit crabs. Not only are these - the tail end - excellent baits in themselves, but they share their stolen quarters with a long fat worm, which is beloved of pollack. Like the common ragworm, of which it is perhaps only a variety, this creature is exceedingly fragile. There is not such a worm in diggings with every hermit crab, but the proportion is considerable. The remainder of the crab and its shell may fo into the ground bait mélange, about which I may say something later on.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at page 85

Crabs

Almost, if not quite, as good a bait is that extremely curious little creature known as the hermit, soldier, or farmer crab … he is usually found contained as to his body in a whelk shell. This soft, corkscrew-like body and tail of his form an excellent bait, and to obtain them his shell must be gently broken. It very often happens that curled up by the tip of his tail in the innermost recesses of the shell will be found a somewhat large worm, akin to the ragworm of the harbour. This peculiarly situated creature is also a good bait for most kinds of fish. The tail of the hermit crab is much appreciated by flat fish, codling, haddock, &c. Hermit crabs are obtainable from trawlers and the owners of lobster pots. A few may be found among the rocks at low tide, and occasionally one will take a hook bait and be lifted into the boat.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at page 98

Crab

The hermit crab, called variously the soldier crab, farmer crab, and gant, lives generally in a whelk shell. This has to be smashed in order to obtain the soft body and tail which is an excellent bait for most sea fish … I have tried keeping them alive in a bucket of water, but without success.

"Modern Sea Fishing" (1937) Eric Cooper at pages 35 & 36

Hermit crabs

… will often be caught in the prawn pot or gin, and not infrequently be brought up on the hook. The soft tail part only should be used. It will be difficult to persuade the crab to release its hold on its shell, but a steady pull on the claws may cause it to let go. If you are impatient with the job the crab will be torn into two, leaving the most valuable part still in the shell. Another method, if you can find a pool with a large sea anemone, is to place the crab on the anemone, when it will at once emerge.

On no account throw away the crab's shell until you have broken off the apex, for in many cases a large worm, somewhat similar in appearance to the ragworm, will be found in this part. It is a most excellent bait.

Prawns & Shrimps

Other crustaceans used as bait for bass, wrasse and pollack are shrimps and prawns. The two common species of prawn are to be found in rock pools throughout the summer months. The larger of the two (up to three inches in length) migrates offshore in winter and is normally found at lower tidal levels than its smaller counterpart, even in summer. Both of these prawns become very active on the ebb of the spring tides and they also exhibit dusk and dawn periods of swimming during the neaps.

"Sea-fishing as a sport" (1865) Lambton J. H. Young at pages 65 & 66

Baits

Shrimps, either fresh or boiled, are a very good bait, almost all fish devouring them with avidity, but especially flat-fish; the hook is inserted in the centre of the back, and brought out at the head, so as to give the appearance of swimming to the shrimp when the line is put overboard. The bait must frequently be examined, and, if necessary, renewed, as from being used quite near the ground, it is exposed to attacks from the crabs of every kind which abound in the places where ground fishing is usually practised. If well salted when boiled, shrimps for bait will keep fresh for a good many days if put in a tin or wooden box. They are useful when there is a difficulty in obtaining lug-worms.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at page 45

Prawns

… are well known to every visitor to the seaside. They may usually be obtained from the fishmonger, or by searching with a hand-net in the pools, among the rocks, at low tide. Pollack will take them alive, and they are a good bait for mullet, flounders, dabs, eels, and smelts, if peeled. This operation is a little difficult unless the prawns are boiled, but they are far more killing raw.

"The Sea and the Rod" (1892) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske & Frederick George Aflalo at pages 160 & 161

Chapter XVII

Concerning Baits

VI. Prawns and Shrimps.

The prawn is one of those crustaceans that have become of late years so largely indented on as to have produced considerable rise in price. I can look back to halcyon days, when the modest sum of sixpence would place a good bag of fine prawns within every one's reach; now, each prawn is worth a coin of the realm, and that not the smallest. Using prawns as bait may therefore be an extravagance where one has to buy them, but in a rocky neighbourhood they may be taken in the pools at low water at little or no expense. They are found in many seas, both cold and warm, and attain to a large size in some tropical rivers, being equally appreciated by Europeans and natives. In one place in India, on the banks of a mighty river, the rivalry to obtain them used to be so keen that the fishermen were often waylaid en route for the market, and some miles from it, so that few ever actually reached it.

These lively and succulent crustaceans enjoyed the reputation of fattening on the corpses of defunct natives, committed to the bosom of that sacred river as the short cut to Paradise. Whether the report contained even the germ of truth, I know not; but I must plead guilty to giving the same all the encouragement I could, because I liked the prawns, and they agreed with me at a season too when the appetite was on the wane.

"Hints and Wrinkles on Sea Fishing" (1894) "Ichthyosaurus" (A. Baines & Frederick George Aflalo) at pages 72, 74 & 75

Other Kinds of Fishing: Lobsters, Crabs, Prawns &c &c

… Lobsters, crabs and prawns are taken in rocky neighbourhoods; shrimps thrive only in the sand.

… In an article on angling at Bournemouth which appeared in The Field, I see that a prawn was caught on the hook. This is decidedly unusual.

Shrimps are taken in several ways. The handiest form of net is, perhaps, a small shove net, like those used by the professional shrimpers. To use these with any result it is necessary to wade in several feet of water, as the "quality" do not come in to the breakers, but remain in the sand just beyond.

"Shrimps all alive, oh!" a cry that resounds at every seaside place, and also through the romantic streets of Gravesend and the borough is, unfortunately, a "stretcher". These shrimps are already boiled.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 105, 110 & 190

Prawns

Prawns, though excellent baits for almost all sea fish, are too scarce to be commonly used. They are most deadly if placed on the hook alive, when pollack and bass will take them readily. Peeled (unboiled) they are, like shrimps, a capital bait for mullet, flat fish, eels and smelts. Sometimes they are used boiled, but this I consider a mistake. If a live prawn is used the hook should be simply put through its tail.

Shrimps

Shrimps are admirable baits for flat fish and pollack, particularly if used alive, when the hook should be passed once through the tail. They can be obtained from the shrimpers, who will of course save a few from the boiling pot for a small consideration. They are easily kept alive in a sand-eel courge, or in any other finely woven basket. Boiled shrimps, peeled, are sometimes used as baits. It is far better, even if they are not alive, to use them unboiled.

In estuaries, and particularly in harbours where shrimps are sifted, a live shrimp hooked by the tail is one of the best baits for flat fish. Next to that, perhaps, ranks a peeled, unboiled shrimp. Lug and rag worms are always killing baits, better even than the usually useful mussel.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at page 108

The Prawn

… both cooked and uncooked, is a good bait for many kinds of sea fish. It can be used alive for pollack and bass, in which case the hook is simply caught once through the tail, or can be peeled, and pieces of it placed on the hook for flat fish, pout, &c. I have also proved its excellence as a bait for these fish when boiled. It should be peeled, and cut into sufficiently large slices with a very sharp knife.

"Sea Fishing" (1911) Charles Owen Minchin at pages 245 & 246

Chapter XVII

The Natural Baits for Sea-Fish

… Next in value to the soft crab is the prawn. Prawns when used for live-bait should be hooked from above downwards below the second joint from the tail; they soon die when out of the water, so they require to be stored for use in a Guernsey "courge" or in a perforated box weighted down so as to float just awash. Prawns are most killing bait for bass, but they must be allowed to swim about very freely at the end of a long trace of single gut. As a substitute for prawns, live shrimps, preferably the large berried females called "bunters", may be used with success.

Mr F. G. Aflalo, an accomplished fisherman, brought back from a visit to Turkey a very neat way of baiting with several small prawns which he learned from a Levantine Greek. The stem of the hook is covered by one prawn, which is pushed up above the bend, and then several more are lightly hooked so as to make a bunch on the hook-bend, the tips of their little tail-fins being clipped off to prevent them spinning in the water and twisting up the trace. When the trace is slacked every now and then, by dropping the point of the rod, all the prawns kick their legs about, and this is what attracts the bass. The method is fully described at page 118 in Mr. Aflalo's book "An Idler in the Near East". The small crustacean called Ligia (in same illustration as the prawn on p. 21) is also effective for bass, and there seems no reason why several of them should not be used at once, like the prawns.

"The Sportsman's Library: Sea Fishing" (1935) Major D. P. Lea Birch ("Fleur-de-Lys") at pages 85, 86, 87 & 89

Chapter V: Bait

Prawn

The live prawn is one of the most valuable of all baits for the shore fisher, enabling hime to angle in a most sporting way for bass, pollack, coalfish and codling. The description of fish captured depends on the distance from the surface, or nearness to the bottom, at which the prawn is fished.

… The prawn should be hooked through the middle of the last joint but one, from side to side, and the hook should be a short-shanked one. The Model Perfect is as good a pattern as any. It is a mistake to use larger hooks than necessary, as they hamper the prawns in their movements and soon kill them. A comparatively small hook will be found to take hold just as well as a larger one.

Bass are very particular as regards the liveliness of the prawn, and will seldom take one that is half dead …

All that has been said about prawns applies equally to shrimps, which are practically the same class of crustacean, only smaller.

Dead prawns and shrimps can be used as hook-baits for ground-fishing. They are usually skinned before being put on the hook, but should not be boiled. In the East dead prawns are the alternative to sardines, which are the most commonly used bait for ground-fishing.

"Sea Fishing with the Experts" (1956) Jack Thorndike at page 67

Bass

Live prawns are often a deadly bait. There are several ways of attaching them to the hook but I find the best way is to bring the point up from under the third segment from the tail. This allows the prawn to keep its liveliness - the main attraction.

"Competition Sea Angling" (1970) Bruce McMillen at pages 38 & 39

3. Baits and Lures

Prawns

Quite the most important aspect of baiting with prawns is to present them to the fish in the most attractive manner possible. They should not only be alive, but should be hooked so that they appear alive and remain so for as long as possible. A single large prawn can be impaled by passing the hook carefully through the body just above the tail, but if two small ones are to be used, adopt the same procedure keeping them back to back. The prime object when baiting with prawn is to ensure that they have complete freedom of movement.

Another method is to tie the hook shank to the body of the prawn with wool. The hook shank should lie underneath the prawn's body with the point of the hook under the head. Tying, which should be midway along the body, must be sufficiently tight to secure the hook shank without damaging the prawn. Correctly done, this procedure will ensure that the creature retains its liveliness for the maximum period of time.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at pages 158, 159 & 160

Prawns and Shrimps

Prawns

Uses

This is a good float fishing bait for bass, pollack, wrasse and pouting, and also good for legering for flatfish, gurnards, rays and pouting. Pieces of shelled prawn are an excellent bait for grey mullet … It is worth mentioning that prawns blanched briefly in boiling water can be deep frozen for use as a standby bait. Otherwise, they should be kept alive in regularly replenished sea water, or a well perforated container (not metal) left floating in the sea.

Presentation

Large prawns for float fishing or legering should be hooked through the segments of the tail just behind the main body carapace (Fig 61). Since the prawn swims with backward jerks, any pull or drag on the line will impart lifelike motion to the bait. A size 4 or 6 fine-wire hook is ideal. For pieces of shelled prawn used for grey mullet, the hook size can be dropped to 8 or 10.

Shrimps

… Shrimps make an excellent float fishing bait for many of the smaller shore species, taking wrasse, small pollack and coalfish, school bass, whiting and flounders. For the latter, shrimps can be legered or fished on float tackle so that the bait scrapes along the bed. Shrimps are a very good bait for grey mullet, especially if the tough outer casing is pinched off before use. Like prawns, the whole shrimp should be hooked through the tail sections behind the body.

Cuttlefish

Because they are easily obtainable in large quantities, squid and cuttlefish are popular baits. They are mostly fast swimming, streamlined, opalescent, translucent animals. The species eaten by fish include the little cuttlefish (Sepiola atlantica), several species of which are very abundant offshore, near the sea bed. Little cuttlefish are found in enormous numbers just below the low water mark off sandy beaches and is sometimes present in the guts of fish from such beaches.

The larger common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is active at night and may be over one foot in length. Cuttlefish live on sandy sea beds feeding, after dark, on shrimps which they disturb by projecting jets of water onto the sand and seize by using the two longest tentacles.

These molluscs live for about three years and very cold spells of weather may cause mass deaths. At these times thousands of dead cuttlefish and their bones may be washed up on beaches.

Cuttlefish can be bought in frozen form from fishing tackle shops and are also increasingly available fresh from fishmongers and the wet fish counters of supermarkets as they are becoming more popular for human consumption. Cuttlefish are a versatile - although under used - bait for a wide range of UK species. Strips of cuttlefish flesh can be used to tip off worm baits, or as a bait in itself for small species such as dab and whiting. Larger sections of cuttlefish can be used to catch codling and bass, and whole cuttlefish are a great conger bait or can be presented on large pennell hooks to tempt large cod. Cuttlefish flesh is tougher than that of squid and it therefore makes a better tipping bait and stands up even better than squid to casting and impact with the water.

"Sea Fish & How to Catch Them" (1863) William Barry Lord at pages 76 & 77

The Cuttle Fish

Is often taking when whiffing, or on float lines, following the bait to the surface, sucking it, and holding fast by its long tentacula. When brought alongside, some caution is required in securing it. The gaff should be held ready, and the instant the cuttle is near enough to make the stroke secure, it should be rapidly hooked up, and just as rapidly pushed back again, as, should the cuttle be brought above the surface, its captor is exceedingly likely to have his share of the disagreeables resulting from the transaction, as the black paint-like liquid with which it is filled is instantly so ejected that the trousers and waistcoat of the uninitiated are covered in such a way as to make him wish his acquaintance with the sepia never made. When thrust back as above directed, the black fluid is thrown out in a large black cloud, extending for several yards round the captured cuttle, which can then be safely hauled in and put aside for bait, as it is excellent for that purpose.

"Sea-fishing as a sport" (1865) Lambton J. H. Young at pages 57, 143, 144 & 145

Baits

Cuttle or Squid … The squid is a favourite bait with most fish, but the conger, bass, and some few others, seem to have a great penchant for it.

Fish

Cuttle Fish or Squid. Of this extraordinary animal there are no less than five varieties, but they are in general known by the inhabitants of the coast under the name of "Squid". This fish or mollusc is in high repute, and much sought after as one of the best baits known on the coast for capturing the finest kinds of fish for the markets.

They are very extraordinary in appearance, being of an opaque fleshy substance, with only one bone in the body, and that a thin, bright, and transparent one, like talc in appearance, and quite flat in form; they have eight arms, very long and set along the inside with watery suckers, with which they seize their prey and hold it, whilst they feed on it with their curious mouths formed of a horny substance just like a parrot's bill. They have a peculiar secretion, dark brown or black in colour, with which, when pursued, they baffle their enemies by discharging this liquid and discolouring the water around them, so that they decamp without being observed by their pursuers … Generally the operator puts on an apron or covering made of canvas to protect himself from the black liquid sepia which the fish discharges the moment it is hooked and which would cover him from head to foot were he not so protected … One species of the sepia officinalis supplies the curious cuttle bone of the shops, which is used by silversmiths and is sold as pounce; it is exceedingly light, and may be met with in great abundance on all parts of the south coast, generally washed up to high water-mark. The cuttle fish of the Indian Ocean is a most formidable enemy to the natives, as it grows to an enormous size, and sometimes seizes the boats of the fishermen, who carry axes for the special purposes of chopping off their tentaculae, when they place them on the boats' gunwales.

"The Sea-Fisherman" (1884 - 4th edition) James Carrall Wilcocks at pages 193 & 194

The Cuttle Fish (Sepia)

The cuttle fish is often taken amongst other fish in the seine or trawl-net, and is a good bait for bass, cod, conger, &c.; the flesh seems something in consistence between jelly and leather, very tough and of a beautiful pearly whiteness, and it is this toughness which makes it so useful a bait for bass-fishing off a beach, when the lead must be cast with all one's force to get it as far seaward as possible, clear of the breakers, it has in its back a bone of a shield-like shape, often found cast up on the beach, which was formerly much used as an absorbent, and as tooth-powder when pounded. The head of this creature is divided at the extremity into eight projections or horns, from inside which hang two, six or eight times longer, and the whole of them have a number of circular tubercles, by help of which it clings to and sucks into its throat any unfortunate fish it may succeed in capturing, and proceeds to devour it by help of a horny, parrot-like beak placed at the entrance thereof. In its inside is a small bag filled with an ink-like liquid, which is its means of defence when attacked; this it vomits forth in a dark cloud, and blackens the water for some feet around it. This liquid was used for writing by the ancients, and it is believed to form the chief ingredient in the Indian ink used by artists, as a very large kind is found in the Eastern seas. Clean these fish by pulling off the head, and splitting them sideways, remove the skin, backbone, and ink-bag, and wash them in salt water. They should be cleaned as soon as dead, and if put in a cool place will keep a day or two; sometimes they are salted, but are certainly not as good as fresh. Sausages were made from them by the Greeks and Romans, and they are eaten at the present day in some parts of the kingdom and on the Continent.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at pages 40 & 41

Cuttle Fish

… is one of the most singular baits used by the angler in salt water … This fish frequently takes the bait intended for other fish, and on being brought to the surface should be promptly gaffed, and then pressed under water again until it has expended the means of defence which Nature has given it - a bag of ink-like fluid, which clouds the water around it … As a bait the cuttle is very valuable, being not only liked by many fish, but possessing such a degree of toughness that it is not easily washed or bitten off the hook; for fishing in a strong current it is very suitable. Bass, cod, and conger most favour this bait; but it is taken by many other fish. In fishing for haddock, it is an excellent plan to place a piece of cuttle on the hook, tipping the point with a mussel.

"The book of the all-round angler: a comprehensive treatise on angling in both fresh and salt water" (1888) John Bickerdyke at page 37 (Division IV)

Chapter III: Baits

Cuttle Fish. This is the most ugly bait the angler in salt water is likely to be concerned with. The body consists of a sort of pouch, from which spread out a number of long arms, furnished with suckers arranged in rows. They frequently take the bait intended for other fish, and on being brought to the surface should be promptly gaffed, and then pressed under water again until they have expended the means of defence which Nature has given them a bag of ink-like fluid, which clouds the water around them. A useful gaff for hooking up this fish is made by lashing a large fish hook, or triangle of hooks, with the barbs filed off, on to a stick. As a bait the cuttle is very valuable, being not only liked by many fish, but possessing such a degree of toughness that it is not easily washed or bitten off the hook; for fishing in a strong current it is very suitable. Bass, cod, and conger most favour this bait; but it is taken by many other fish. In fishing for haddock, it is an excellent plan to place a piece of cuttle on the hook, tipping the point with a mussel.

"Modern Sea Fishing" (1937) Eric Cooper at page 21

Squid and Cuttle

These baits are fairly similar in appearance and are excellent for most fish. Occasionally they are caught on the hook and at times are so numerous that they put a stop to all angling. If you are bothered by these brutes and want to catch some for bait, a small triangle should be tried, or, better still, two triangles, one above the other, about three or four inches apart.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at pages 163 & 164

Squid and Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish

Although cuttlefish are members of the squid tribe, for use as baits the preparation is a little different. This is mainly because of the large, chalky bone in the body cavity, which, by the way, is dried and sold in pet shops for cage birds to nibble. The head and entrails can be removed, as for squid, by grasping behind the head and pulling. Again, do this in a bowl or you will plaster everything with ink. Left with the flattish body, you can score head to tail down the centre of one of the sides to remove the bone. The you can cut it up as you would squid. The cuttlefish has a brown, rather tough outer cuticle on the skin, which is sometimes scraped away to reveal the whitish, translucent flesh. It is best to do this while the body of the cuttlefish is intact.

Small cuttlefish can be used whole for bigger fish like cod, or cut into strips, as with squid, for varied uses. Like squid, they freeze well or can be salted down.

Squid

Squid generally live further from the sea bed than cuttlefish, and are even more streamlined and very active. The veined squid (Loligo forbesi) is common around Britain and may grow to two-and-a-half feet long. Many of the abortive runs that occur, when using fish baits from the shore and from boats, may be due to the attentions of squid or cuttlefish. Squid feed on crustaceans, smaller squid and fish. These molluscs bite off the heads of prey fish in a characteristic manner and this may assist in the recognition of squid-bitten baits.

Like all frozen bait, once thawed squid loses its freshness. As a rule don't return thawed bait to the freezer.

"The Sea-Fisherman" (1884 - 4th edition) James Carrall Wilcocks at pages 194 & 195

The Squid (Loligo vulgaris)

This kind is much more numerous than the first named, and they are found in large shoals. The body is of a somewhat cylindrical shape, semi-transparent, and of a greenish hue whilst alive, changing to speckled brown, and the bone long, thin, and more transparent than thinly-scraped horn, but equably flexible. From the resemblance of this bone to a quill-pen, the squid has been called the pen-and-ink fish, the ink being contained in a bag in the interior of the body.

It is better bait than the large cuttle for conger, cod, or bass, as it is not so hard and quite as tough. The squid are often taken for bait in the following manner: Take half a gar-fish or long-nose, or for want of it any small fish, and lower it to within a few feet of the bottom by a fishing line: if there are any about, they will at once seize upon it, when you must draw them steadily to the surface, and being before provided with a stick 6 feet in length with four hooks No. 7 … lashed on the end back to back, hook the fish near the tail if possible, and with the same stroke drag it under water, by which means you will escape the shower of ink which they almost always vomit forth at such times.

Nearly all the barb of the hooks should be filed off, or you will find it difficult to unhook them. Hooks without barbs are specially made for catching squid for the Newfoundland cod fishery. Both in Spain and Newfoundland, squid are taken in large quantities by a jigger, made of pewter, having a dozen or more hooks cast into it grapnel fashion at one end. The piece of pewter is about 3½ inches long, with a hole at the upper end to attach the line. In the dusk of the evening, the jigger is lowered over the side of the boat, and jigged up and down. It is scraped bright to attract the squid, which embrace it with their arms, and are then caught by the hooks. A Spanish fisherman, some years since, took a quantity of squid in this manner at Plymouth, and it is a method which might be widely introduced to procure squid for bait. Several of these jiggers were in the Exhibition of 1883. There is a smaller kind also not so frequently seen, with a short rounded body, known as the Sepiola or little squid, and another the flying squid (Ommastrephes), so called from the fact of rising out of the sea and sometimes falling on the deck of a vessel. A piece of Squid 2½ inches long, cut tapering, is a good whiffing bait for pollack and bass. The Squid attains a monstrous size at Newfoundland.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at page 48

Squid

The squid … is very similar to the cuttle fish, but is a better bait. There are several varieties. All that has been said concerning the cuttle as a bait equally applies to the squid. It is a fine bait for bass, conger, and cod.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at page 118

Squid

Of the three characteristic head-footed fish I have mentioned, the little squid is certainly the most useful for bait. It is most readily obtained from the trawlers, who capture numbers in their nets. But where plentiful, both squid and the sepias are easily caught by means of a bait. It is desirable, however, to bear in mind that when gaffed (the gaff being a triangle of hooks at the end of a not too large stick) the cephalopod will, as likely as not, discharge his ink bag full in the face of his captor. The way to avoid this catastrophe for it is little less is by holding the creature beneath the water until the ink bag is emptied. Stale squid, except, perhaps, for bass, is of little use as bait, and I know no bait lugs excepted which gets "high" quicker. At the same time, if cleaned, opened, wiped, and hung up in a very dry, airy place, these baits will sometimes dry hard, and can be kept for an indefinite period. They require to be soaked before being used. Slices can also be placed between layers of salt, and there is a belief whether well founded or not, I do not know that salted squid is all the better for being kept in the dark. It is often a good plan to place a small piece of squid on the shank of the hook, covering the bend and point with a mussel, so that, should the mussel get sucked or washed off, as is so often the case, the squid remains, and may lead to the capture of a fish. The tentacles and strips of squid or cuttle are excellent whiffing baits. The largest bass I ever hooked was on a piece of squid. The fish so astonished the little Welsh lad who was with me that he stood gaping at it with his mouth open instead of using the gaff, and the bass took advantage of the opportunity to kick off the hook.

"The Sea Angler" (1965) D. Brennan at pages 85 & 86

Squid is another very useful bait. The flesh is firm and it is a tough, long-lasting bait. It keeps quite well in the deep freeze and, like frozen mackerel, herring or pilchard, it is very useful as an "iron ration" when fresh bait is scarce. On the whole I do not care for frozen baits, always preferring to fish with fresh bait. However, frozen bait is better than no bait at all . Whole small squid or pieces of a large one are good for cod, conger and tope whilst smaller pieces will take bass, haddock, Pollack and many other species.

The Daily Express, Friday 26 September 1975 at page 6

How to weather the prices storm – with a squall of squid from Rockall

Heading your way – two new fishy delicacies

Sheila Hutchins, the Express Cook

Scientists at the Torry research station in Aberdeen are now investigating the squid and cuttlefish. It seems they are hoping to come up with a recipe to popularise them.

Raw material for their labour programme is being brought in by the station's research trawler the Sir William Hardy. She has been making trips to Rockall working alongside Scottish trawlers that are fishing squid commercially, mainly for the Italian market.

"The research programme is at an early stage," I was told. "It will be some time before we come to any conclusions … A study is underway to try to assess the potential for greater utilisation of squid either as human food in this country or for export."

Addict

Now I have long been squid and cuttlefish addict. They have the most delicious flavour and smell absolutely mouth-watering when cooking; you can often buy them in London fish shops and they are not expensive. They are the things with short tentacles and a kind of bag like a small hot-water bottle at the back.

What do they taste like? A bit like lobster but more like squid or cuttlefish! A lovely under-rated delicacy from the briny deep.

And I don't want them turned into a flavourless, egged and crumbed, quick-frozen scampi substitute. So lay off Ministry of Food, Torry Research Station, White Fish Authority, and what not. I haven't forgotten your fish sausages yet. They were - to put it politely – not really the kind of thing I like.

"We haven't got very far with the recipes yet," their Mr Horne told me this week. "It's been holiday time … and we're still working on it."

He said he liked the flavour but some of them were a bit tough. "That's because you haven't been cooking them properly."

He said there were masses of squid not only round Rockall but off the Butt of Lewis. "Yes and there are lots of them off Dungeness."

Bemused

There was a gasping noise, or perhaps just a hiccup at the other end of the telephone. "Where?" said Mr. Home. "Dungeness on the border of Kent and Sussex. They say it is the biggest squid breeding ground in Europe!"

He appeared startled at the information. "The fishermen hate them", I told him. "They get in their nets when they are out after Dover sole."

"Remarkable" he said in a bemused voice.

In fact, I met a Sussex farmer some time back who was exporting the Dungeness squid to Spain by the lorry load. He happened to have a lot of space in his deep freeze, had filled it with squid and was sending them every week to Spain as a return load in the big articulated lorries that come up here with early vegetables.

It's no good thinking of them as fancy foreign fish for they breed round our shores in quantity. Nag your fishmonger to get you some.

The little ones no bigger than prawns are absolutely delicious washed and dipped in batter – or just plain flour - and dropped into a pan of deep hot oil. You eat them at once with lemon juice and perhaps a glass of very dry Manzanilla sherry and some large green olives for starters.

In those cool dark leather upholstered bars in Madrid and Barcelona packed tight at lunchtime with the kind of dark and sardonic-looking Spaniard you always hoped would have blighted your life, tiny pickled squid in ripe dark olive oil and red wine vinegar are served as tapas.

You nibble them with one thing and another as you sip whatever wine you happen to be drinking.

The bigger ones need cutting up and cooking rather differently, but are easy to clean. Just pull out the bone like a bit of transparent plastic (from the hot water bottle part), chop up the tentacles. If you want the squid to be very white when cooked scrape off the dark skin from the outside. Be careful not to cut up the little ink sacs in front as they're a bit messy. Cut all the rest in rings or strips. Do the pieces very slowly under the griller sprinkling them with oil and lemon juice, salt, pepper and a little rosemary. Turn them over so they cook evenly. They are absolutely delicious when done like this, they also make you very thirsty.

Seppie alia Veneziana is squid stewed in their own ink, a dark and luscious dish, served in Venice with plain boiled rice or sometimes with polenta.

Dye

And don't turn your nose up at the idea of cooking them in their own ink for it is very good and was, I believe, the Tyrrhenian purple dye of ancient times. Painters also use it under the name of sepia.

Cut up about 1 lb. of squid as before. Keep the ink bags. Fry two chopped onions, a piece of peeled, chopped garlic, two peeled, sliced tomatoes and one teaspoonful of chopped parsley in a good tablespoon of olive oil.

Add the pieces of squid, fry them slowly then add water to cover and simmer till tender. Meanwhile, stir the ink with a couple of tablespoons of soft white breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, add a little liquid from the saucepan and when the fish are cooked stir in the ink and so on and bring it gently to the boil. I serve the stew with plain boiled rice.

"Sea Angling from the Shore" (1982) Ray Forsberg at page 103

Squid is a very long lasting (if deep frozen) convenience bait, which is tough so that it stays on the hook and withstands hard casting. Bass and cod love it, especially if it is used as the main hook offering and tipped with marine worm bait, rag or lugworm …

Sandeel

A favourite bait in the south of England is the sandeel. One of the most abundant species is Raitt's sandeel (Ammodytes marinus) the so-called lesser sandeel. In summer, when the sea is richest in tiny, planktonic copepods which are the main food of the eels, the lesser sandeel shows a strong daily rhythm, emerging from the sand at dawn to swim and feed only in the hours of daylight, burrowing back into the sand at dusk. Quite a lot of light is required for the full daytime activity to develop. In more than a few fathoms of water in winter it is normally too gloomy for this to occur.

The cock launce, or greater sandeel (Hyperoplus lanceolatus), is a much larger sandeel and has been known to attain a length of 18 inches, but the average adult size is more likely to be about ten to twelve inches. It may be distinguished from the lesser sandeel by the dark mark it carries on its snout just in front of the eyes.

The main feeding period of the sandeel is in April to July, after which, fat from their rich feeding, they tend to stay buried, as their eggs mature, prior to spawning in late winter. Spawning takes place later further north. The small sandeel (Ammodytes tobianus) has both spring and autumn spawning races. Fish such as turbot, brill and blonde ray, which feed largely on sand eels, are mostly day-active and probably follow behaviour patterns similar to those of the sandeels.

Sandeels need lots of air supplied by a small battery-operated aerator to keep them alive. A superb frozen bait and a killing live bait for bass and pollack if hooked correctly and lowered into the water:

"Sea-fishing as a sport" (1865) Lambton J. H. Young at pages 55 & 56

Baits

The Sand Launce. Is one of great value, and is found in the sand near low-water mark, where they are sought for either by turning back the sand with a shovel … or else by raking deeply with a special kind of rake … or an old reap-hook that has had its edge quite ground away. These lively little fish are so exceedingly active that you must grab at them at once or they burrow into the sand again and are gone in an instant. It is often made a moonlight trip to the sands, in the autumn, when the bait is wanted, both men and women going; and the sight is very pretty when all are in active pursuit and the fish are flashing about in the moonlight. When baiting with them it is usual to put the hook through the eyes; almost any fish will seize them with the greatest avidity, and as they always seize their prey by the head the simple act hooks them. The medium size is the best, and is generally chosen when there is a choice.

"The Sea-Fisherman" (1884 - 4th edition) James Carrall Wilcocks at pages 63 to 68, 190 & 191

Baits

No baits for drift-line fishing can equal living sand-eels …

The sand-eel or launce is very numerous on many of our own and foreign shores, and particularly at the mouth of those harbours where the sand is of a loose and gravelly nature. They should not be scraped out of the sand, as is the common custom, but be taken in a small seine or net, the bag part or bunt of which must be of very fine netting or of unbleached calico, in order that it may not mesh them … After being taken in this they are poured into the baskets about to be described.

The Courge or Sand-Eel Basket (fig. 19)

These curiously-shaped baskets are made of fine willow or osier twigs, not more than about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and are woven sufficiently close to prevent the escape of the sand-eels, whilst in the centre an opening is left for their introduction, which is closed by a piece of flat cork accurately fitted to the aperture.

A piece of small rope having an eye in it is passed over one end and firmly lashed at the other, by which it is towed astern of the boat (fig. 20), the rope having first been made fast through a hole in a small cleet, nailed to the stern of the boat, just above the surface of the water, as shown above.

Of these baskets the most useful size is 2 feet in length, and 7 inches in diameter, and certainly nothing can be better adapted for the end intended, as it is very light, and the water flows easily through it, whilst from its shape it offers less resistance in passing through the water than any other which could be devised. It will be found equally useful as a live-bait cage for shrimps, prawns, other crustacea, and small fish in general; it might also be adopted for the same purpose for live-bait in jack or perch-fishing on a river or lake. In France these contrivances are made of wood; I have tried them, but the sand-eels do not live nearly as long as in the wicker "Courge".

How to make Courges or Sand-Eel Baskets

Procure some very fine small osiers or withies, and soak them a day or two until they are sufficiently supple for weaving, also some others for the framework ¼ inch in thickness, and 2 feet in length. Get two hoops of any light and flexible wood of 7 inches diameter, and lash with wax-ends or sail-twine seven of the rods to the outside of one of the hoops, at equal intervals of its circumference, and at 3 inches on one side of the middle of the rods; now insert the second hoop at the distance of 6 inches from the first, and secure it as before. The ends must then be brought together, and, being lashed, will form the figure of two cones joined at the base. Commence weaving at one of the ends, opening the rods by aid of a small marline-spike or pricker, and having done about 4 inches, proceed in like manner with the other end, when the increasing width between the rods will necessitate the insertion of other rods, which are to be secured as at first directed. Continue weaving from either side until within 3 inches of the middle of the rods, leaving here an unwoven space about 6 inches in length and 4 in breadth to pour the sand-eels into the basket. This aperture must be closed by an accurately fitting piece of cork when in use. A rod or two will cross the hole, which must be cut off to admit the cork, and the two rods forming the edges of the hole longitudinally must have the osiers doubled round them and the ends of these osiers tucked in.

The cork should be a good thick piece ¾ of an inch larger than the hole, and by taking off half its thickness to this width, it will fit well over the edges of the aperture. If a thick piece is not to be had, peg two pieces together. The cork should be attached to the basket by a piece of line, that you may be able to drop it when taking out the bait, and a bit of stick ⅜ of an inch thick being thrust through under one of the rods on one side of the cork, a piece of line 18 inches long should be made fast to the rod of the basket nearest the cork on the other side; this being belayed on the short bit of stick serving as a cleet will ensure the cork keeping in its place. Reservoir courges are sometimes 3 feet long; these are not towed but kept on a mooring.

General Baits for Sea-Fish

The Sand-Eel and Launce (Ammodytes tobianus and Ammodytes lancea)

These silvery little fish, of eel-like form, are very numerous on most sandy coasts, where they bury themselves during the receding tide, and whence they are frequently dug out in great numbers … These little fish have a wide range, being found all round our coasts, those of France, Holland, Heligoland, Norway, North America, and possibly elsewhere in congenial situations. Their capture with the seine is fully described at pp. 74 and 228. Sometimes an iron rake is used to take them in loose sand, at others a small hook like a sickle or reap-hook, with a very blunt but jagged edge, that it may hold them without cutting them in two, which it will most assuredly do if the edge be at all thin or sharp. During moonlight nights many "launcing parties", as they are called, are made for a visit to the sands at low spring tides, in summer and autumn, and sometimes quite a "Saturnalia" is held. In the island of Jersey, from the abundance of the sand-eel, one of the beaches has received the name of "Grève au Lançon", that is, "Sand-eel Beach".

Almost all sea-fish devour them greedily.

Dipping Sand-Eels on the Surface

At times the sand-eels collect in large shoals, and if discovered by the porpoises become so bewildered as apparently to lose all power of escape, either from the porpoises below or the gulls above, the former diving through them and munching them by mouthfuls, the latter dipping down and picking up the little silvery creatures with amazing rapidity. In order to avail themselves of such opportunities, fishermen provide a small meshed landing-net like a pool shrimp-net, and, sculling up to the shoal, dip the net full to the ring, thus getting a large supply with little trouble. Such opportunities are rare. The small silvery fish known as the mackerel-brit may be taken at times in the same manner.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at pages 46 & 47

The Sand-Eel, Launce, Lant, Wriggle, Lizard Bait, Snake Bait, or Horn-Eel

… is eagerly devoured by all kinds of large fish, and is the most valuable of baits. There are three varieties; the grey or brown back, the green back, and the plum-coloured or purple back. The two latter are launce, the first-named being the sand-eel … In the Channel Islands, the sand-eel is used alive; and this system has been introduced by Mr. Wilcocks to this country … Dead sand-eels are also excellent baits. They can be either trailed or worked on spinning tackle for bass, pollack, and mackerel, or, if cut up in pieces, used on ground-lines for whiting and any kind of sea fish.

"The book of the all-round angler: a comprehensive treatise on angling in both fresh and salt water" (1888) John Bickerdyke at pages 32 & 43 (Division IV)

Chapter III: Baits

The Sand-Eel. The Sand-eel, Launce, Lalit, or Horn-Eel is eagerly devoured by all kinds of large fish, and is the most valuable of baits. There are three varieties: The grey or brown back, the green back, and the plum-coloured or purple back. The two latter are launce, the first-named being the sand-eel. In shape they are not unlike an eel, but are silvery. They are found buried at the edge of the sand, when the water is at its lowest, and are commonly obtained by digging and raking, the best times for finding them being moonlight nights during spring tides. Immediately one is seen, it should be seized, for they bury themselves in the sand with great rapidity. A better method of taking them is with a seine net, worked either from boats or the shore. A seine net, and the method of working it, will be found described in great detail in Mr. Wilcocks' " Sea Fisherman". As so very few amateurs are likely to require these nets, the description here seems unnecessary. In the Channel Islands, the sand-eel is used alive; and this system has been introduced by Mr. Wilcocks to this country. To keep sand-eels alive, they should be placed in a pear-shaped basket, called a courge (see page 32), made of fine osier twigs, with an opening, closed by a flat piece of cork, and towed after the boat, or moored in a suitable spot. Dead sand-eels are also excellent baits. They can be either trailed, or worked on spinning tackle … for bass, pollack, and mackerel, or used on ground-lines for whiting, mackerel, and, in fact, any kind of sea-fish. To bait with these little fish, put the point of the hook in at the mouth and out at the gills, catching up a small piece of skin below the gills. If the tide is slack, the hook can be put through the back, near the head. When half sand-eels are used, they should not be cut until they are required for the hook. Sand-eels are excellent eating. For spinning purposes, they may be preserved for years in spirits of wine, or King's preservative, sold at 157, Commercial Road, London.

Chapter II: Tackle

Sundry Tackle, &c.

Among the sundries, the "courge" (Fig. 35), a basket for holding live sand-eels, stands first. It has long been used in the Channel Islands, and was introduced to our fishermen by Mr. Wilcocks. I believe they are to be obtained at Plymouth.

"The Sea and the Rod" (1892) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske & Frederick George Aflalo at page 154

Chapter XVII

Concerning Baits

II. The Sand-eel or Launce

In surface-fishing for bass, the launce is facile princeps among baits, an artificial one, a mere twisted vulcanized-rubber band, often answering equally well, although completely destitute of any resemblance to the real fish in either colour, shape, or action. Yet more surprising is the frequency with which the real sand-eel will seize this fraudulent imitation of its own beautiful self, and, unable to free its sharp teeth from the soft rubber, allow itself to be drawn in and removed from the hook. Who shall fathom the motives that impel the launce to such conduct ? - hardly hunger or pugnacity; possibly a fraternizing spirit and yearning to relieve a relation in distress !

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 107 - 109

The Sand-Eel or Launce is not only a valuable bait, but also a very important source of food to most species of sea fish. There are two varieties, the lesser and the greater. It is known by numerous local names, which are occasionally used in a loose and very perplexing manner. In Scotland the greater sand-eel is termed horner or horn eel, in Cornwall the great lant; the St. Ives fishermen calling adult eels snake bait, and the young ones naked bait; in Ireland (co. Down) they are termed snedden. The lesser sand-eel is called the lizard bait at Land's End, and the wriggle in Sussex.

Sand-eels, which, by the way, are capital eating, except in the winter soon after they have spawned, are generally caught either by digging or raking them out of the sand at low water, or by enclosing them in seines which are specially made for the purpose …

When caught, the sand-eels should be kept alive as long as possible in wickerwork baskets … called courges, and much used for towing after boats. These great conveniences, in which shrimps and small flat fish can also be kept alive, can now be obtained from the Plymouth tackle-makers. Used alive the sand-eel is one of the most deadly baits known for pollack and bass. It should be placed on the hook in the manner shown in the illustration (fig. A) if the tidal current is at all strong; but in slack water it is perhaps best hooked through the nape of the neck, as shown in fig. B. Dead sandeels are good whiffing baits, and it is not as a rule necessary to spin them … But, should the fish be very shy and a lively spin be deemed desirable, a Chapman spinner, small in the fans and long in the spike, is as good as any that can be used, but it must be fitted with hooks strong enough to hold the fish we are seeking.

Small pieces of sand-eel are also good baits for most bottom-feeding fish. For whiffing purposes they can be kept for an almost indefinite period in the compound known as King's Preservative, or a mixture of methylated spirits, glycerine, and water in equal parts. It is as well after the first fortnight to change the liquid, which gets charged with oil.

"Sea Fishing" (1911) Charles Owen Minchin at pages 243 & 244

Chapter XVII

The Natural Baits for Sea-Fish

… The best of all baits for coal-fish, pollack and large bass is a live sand-eel or sand-launce. The latter species, which is the smaller of the two Ammodytes (sand-divers), is also somehwat the the more attractive to fish, but there does not seem to be much difference in this respect. The two species are very much alike, but the lower jaw of the sand-eel is more prominent. It is greener in colour than the launce and it grows to quite 10in in length, which is inconveniently large for a live-bait except for very big pollack indeed; but if a large one is cut across diagonally it will make two very good dead-baits …

In live-baiting only one hook should be used and it should be slipped in at the mouth of the bait and out at the gill-opening, without pricking, and then the point should be passed very lightly through the skin of the belly. In baiting with a live pouting for cod, however, the bait should be hooked lightly through the wrist of the tail and allowed to swim about near the bottom, and when using a small dab or plaice it should be hooked through the dorsal or left-hand fin.

"Pelham Manual for Sea Anglers" (1969) Derek Fletcher at page 99

Sandeels

Sandeels are best used alive, and can be kept lively in a suitable vessel filled with sea water, making sure it has a perforated lid. Anglers attach the eels to hooks in many ways, but the most simple method is hooking it lightly through the back. It will remain lively this way and scud around attractively. They can be worked on unweighted float tackle, or just on a single trace, line and hook.

"Competition Sea Angling" (1970) Bruce McMillen at page 39

3. Baits and Lures

Sand-eels

… a wonderfully effective live-bait, and one which is good to eat when cooked. Sand-eels should preferably be used alive, as they are not nearly so deadly when frozen or preserved. They vary in size from the lesser sand-eel, (4 to 7 in long) to the greater sand-eel, which attains a length of 12in or more … Unfortunately, these delectable baits die very easily and they should be kept in perforated wooden or plastic (never metal) containers, which in turn should be immersed in the sea. They are frail creatures and should be handled with wet hands and very carefully hooked through the upper part of the mouth, through the top of the back above the pectoral fin or through the head just below the eye.

"Operation Sea Angler: The Second Wave" (2013) Mike Ladle & Steve Pitts at page 16, 17 & 20

Bass

Time of day

… lesser sandeel … These fish breed in the autumn, and after spawning they remain buried … in the sandy seabed until April. As the water warms up, the fish begin to emerge to feed on plankton during daylight hours. They return to their sandy retreat every night. This feeding behaviour continues until about August when once again the fish withdraw into the sand for a long autumn and winter rest … they are not active at 5°C, but at water temperatures of 10-15°C they feed very actively in daylight hours.

So, lesser sandeels are only available to fish during daylight between April and August. However, the real key to using these fish as bait is their vulnerability as they emerge from their hiding places at dawn and when they return at dusk.

Experiment with a hookless wedge. Note: (1) there were no bites recorded during the daylight and dark periods and the peak biting activity occurred in the 20 minute period before sunrise; and (2) sandeels return to their night-time refuge at sunset but, as light levels are lower under water, this sandeel activity (and bass predation) starts 90 minutes before sunset and continues until 30 minutes after sunset.

Bluey

Bluey (Pacific Saury - Cololabis saira) is equally effective for shore angling as lugworm, mussel and squid baits for cod, haddock and many other species. The key to its success as bait is its oil content. Mackerel strips or chunks tend to wash out within 15 minutes or so in a good tide run. The advantage of bluey is that it carries a much higher volume of oil. Although you still get the sudden explosion of oil as the bait hits the seabed, the higher volume of oil and its denser viscosity holds better in the flesh and washes out far slower meaning the bait remains more effective for much longer than mackerel will when using equal size baits.

In boat and beach fishing trials bluey has been found to be a superior bait to both frozen and fresh mackerel when fishing for tope, huss, rays and conger. It has also proved effective as a strip bait for dabs, gurnards, bream and whiting.

Its other advantage is its body shape - cylindrical like a garfish, it can be cut straight through the body to create a fat but streamlined bait which is easy to present on the hook and is streamlined for long range casting. Even the full length body with the head and tail cut off to create a really big bait will cast a long way, plus it's an easy shape for big predators to take whole.

Oily Fish

"Sea-fishing as a sport" (1865) Lambton J. H. Young at page 74

Fish

Mackerel … In May, 1807, the first Brighton boat-load of mackerel sold at Billingsgate for forty guineas per hundred, i.e. seven shillings each, if six score be reckoned to the hundred; the highest price ever known at that market. The next boat-load produced but thirteen guineas per hundred; mackerel were so plentiful at Dover in 1808, that they were sold sixty for a shilling … In May and June there is fine fishing for mackerel with hook and line on the Dover and Brighton coast.

Sea-Fishing on the English Coast (1891) Frederick George Aflalo at page 45

Chapter IV

Baits and Diary

Natural Bait

4. Sand-eel. - A valuable whiffing bait, used alive or dead. If alive, sand-eels are hooked through the back of the head: if dead, through the lips. Small fresh-water eels are sometimes, faute de mieux, baited in the same way.

5. Fresh Herring. - This must be well hammered and boned for Conger.

6. Pilchard. - This is used whole - but remove all bones and soften with a hammer.

8. Mackerel. - Strips of mackerel-skin ("lasts"), half silver and half blue, will take Mackerel and Bass.

Editor's note: faute de mieux translated means "for want of a better alternative"

Practical Sea-Fishing: A Handbook for Sea Anglers (1905) P. L. Haslope at pages 49 to 52

Chapter V: Natural Baits and How to Find Them

Pilchard

Of all fish utilised for bait this is the most esteemed, owing to its oily and savoury nature. In many Cornish towns pilchards are regularly obtainable during the summer months, and are sold at an average of about five a penny, occasionally being considerably cheaper. Sometimes they are so plentiful that they are used for manuring the land. These fish have the disadvantage of being tender, and it is therefore rather difficult to keep the pieces on the hooks. It is usual to sprinkle rough salt plentifully among them, and even with this precaution they are generally soft and worthless by the end of the day. There is scarcely a sea-fish that will not greedily devour a morsel of this savoury bait, and for all bottom-feeders it is invaluable. The principal supply of pilchards is maintained by drift-boats at Penzance, Falmouth, and other places, which depart in the evening and return on the following day. The salted pilchard, or "Fair Maid" as it is locally termed, is occasionally substituted for the fresh article.

Herring

In localities where pilchards are unprocurable, which is generally the case apart from Cornwall, this fish is largely used. It resembles the former closely in appearance, but is deficient as regards flavour, yet is a very good bait for all kinds of fish. Like the pilchard, its flesh is soft, and care must be taken in placing it on the hook. When suspended by the back fin the pilchard remains in a horizontal position; whereas the herring is "down by the head" to use a nautical expression, a simple experiment by which the difference between them may be distinguished.

Mackerel

Being tougher than either pilchard or herring, this fish forms admirable bait, and at most places it is procurable all through the summer. If the pieces, when cut, are found to be too thick, remove with a knife a little of the flesh on the lower side. The mackerel, after being caught, deteriorates very rapidly in flavour, and the fresher it is used, the better. If possible, it should be captured on the same day as it is required for bait, which, by means of the methods hereafter described, can usually be effected. In cutting up fish it is sometimes advisable to leave the bone so as to afford a firmer hold for the hook.

Sprats

These fish, which are a distinct species, though often wrongly called young herrings, form excellent bait for whiting, pollack, and other fish. They may be used whole or cut up into pieces, according to the size of bait required. At Teignmouth, Torquay, and other places they are taken by nets in large quantities, being often utilised instead of sardines, for which they make a good substitute. Preserved sprats are sometimes recommended, and are sold in bottles by tackle-makers. The following is a useful preparation for preserving baits: Formalin, 2 fluid oz.; water, 20 fluid oz.; glycerine, 5 fluid oz. If the baits are kept for some time, the quantity of formalin should be reduced to ½oz. or 1oz., otherwise it is apt to harden them too much to be conveniently used. Baits may be kept for a considerable period in the above solution, and when difficult to procure, a supply of them would be ensured.

Chads

For ground-fishing chad is often cut up into bait, and is not to be despised when the usual supply is difficult to obtain or is liable to run short. For large pollack, congers, hake, &c, a whole chad forms an excellent bait after removing the head and backbone. They are also sometimes used alive.

Sand-eels and Launce

These silvery and delicate little fish are greatly in request for drift-lining and other methods. They inhabit sandy beaches all round the coasts of Great Britain, entering the sand during the receding tide and remaining concealed until the bar is again covered. Spring tides are the best to search for them, and a soft, sandy beach, without much shingle, is a likely locality. In the daytime they can be obtained by digging in the sand with a fork or a shovel, throwing the sand quickly on to the dry surface. When a launce is unearthed it must be grasped at once, and transferred to a basket or a bucket. Always take a little sand together with the fish, otherwise it is extremely liable to slip through the fingers. Try near the edge of the water or in patches of sand amongst the rocks.

… Any not required for bait should be fried and eaten, as they form a delicious article of food when in roe, but are not so good in winter … They are said to be excellent as food, and I have occasionally taken them when whiffing over sand.

Long-nose, Gar-pipe, or Mackerel Guide

These fish, also called snipe-needle, from their long bill and sharp teeth, are often cut up into bait, which is excellent for most kinds of fish, being specially attractive from its peculiar smell. In form this fish is very slender and its shape has some resemblance to that of a large sand-eel, which enables it to pursue its prey with great rapidity. A fine specimen will often measure 2ft or more in length. These fish usually swim near the surface, frequenting the same localities as mackerel. Unlike most kinds of fish, the backbone is green, and the flesh also has a tinge of the same colour.

"The Sportsman's Library: Sea Fishing" (1935) Major D. P. Lea Birch ("Fleur-de-Lys") at page 90

Chapter V: Bait

Pilchard

… The pilchard has larger scales than the herring, while the dorsal fin is not set centrally as it is in the larger fish. A herring held up by the back fin balances level; the pilchard's head lifts and tail dips; a sprat's head dips and tail rises.

The fresh pilchard makes the best bait of all the herring family, as the superabundant oil seeps out from the cut fish and advertises its virtues afar. All bottom-feeders take pilchard readily. The guts too must not be forgotten, they make an extraordinarily attractive bait: even that discriminating gourmet the grey mullet will take pilchard gut. The oil which is extracted from the fish and bottled is useful for many purposes. It makes, in fact, an attractive sauce for adding zest to ordinary, and not very intriguing, baits. For example, a hook-bait can be dipped in pilchard oil, or a small sponge saturated with it can be attached to the ground-bait net …

"Sea Angling Modern Methods and Tackle" (1952) Alan Young at page 59

Baits

Kippers

Good bait for the larger bass which have taken to scavenging.

"The Sea Angler" (1965) D. Brennan at pages 84 & 85

Whole fish or pieces of fish are the most commonly used baits in boat fishing and make the best baits for some species, such as conger and tope, which can be caught from the shore.

A variety of species may be used for bait but the oily fishes e.g. mackerel, herring and pilchard, are by far the best.

Whole fish are used when fishing for shark, tope and big skate and long lashes or small pieces cut from the sides of the fish for other species. The bait should be as fresh as possible and a very sharp knife should be used to prepare the baits.

Fish will take chunks or even cutlets cut from the side of bait fishes but it is far better to make your bait look as like a small fish as possible. Hence the necessity of a sharp knife, so that your bait is neat and not ragged in appearance.

Fish baits are also excellent when used in shore fishing. They will take tope, conger, bass, small skate, rays, gurnard and even flounders and dabs. A lash of mackerel is a very good bait for bass, especially big bass. Although the use of fresh bait is always advocated, it is surprising how at times bass will take a really "high" fish bait.

"Pelham Manual for Sea Anglers" (1969) Derek Fletcher at page 64

Kippers

A cheap and often valuable bait for bass, conger and wrasse. A fairly large diagonal piece is cut and the hook woven in and out of the pointed end. Best results are usually after dark. It is sometimes called the 'brown flattie bait'.

"Sea Fishing for Beginners" (1970) Maurice Wiggin at pages 114 & 115

Chapter VII

Fishing from the Shore

Among the baits known for certain to have procured fish for the shore fisherman are lugworm, ragworm, squid, bits of squid, cuttlefish, razorfish, any shellfish you care to name, pieces of mackerel, sand eel, herring, pilchard, and kipper. Yes, mate, kipper. My own trouble is that I like the kipper too much to share it. One of the interesting innovations in pike fishing, during the 1950s, was the use of sprats and herrings as bait. These salty sea fish began to be used as pike baits on waters that had never felt a touch of salinity - and very successful they were, and still are. Up till then, it had been assumed that only freshwater fish, dace and roach and gudgeon and the like, were suitable baits for pike. I really don't see why the reverse should not hold good - a roach for a bass, say, a piece of dace for a cod. One day when I'm feeling desperate, certain that I shall fail to procure the usual sea-food baits, I mean to take a few freshwater small fish along, and try it out.

"Modern Sea Angling" (1970) Richard Arnold at pages 143 & 149

Natural Baits

Fish Baits

Flounders Very small specimens of these, usually about 1½ inches across, are a capital bait for bass and codling. They are usually found in shrimp nets and easily obtainable. One should not use immature fish as bait if it can possibly be helped, but they are a legitimate bait and, in any case, the numbers so used by anglers are so infinitesimal when compared with normal casualties these small fish experience that they have no effect on their numbers. They should be used whole.

Garfish This remarkable fish, also known as Green Bones, is one of the finest baits obtainable. It should be used fresh and is deadly for mackerel. Small portions may be used when bottom or ground fishing for codling and whiting. As a trailing or whiffing bait strips may be cut from its side.

Kipper The ordinary common-or-garden kippered herring, and its cousin the bloater, are excellent baits, and I have used them successfully for mullet.

"Sea Angling from the Shore" (1982) Ray Forsberg at page 103

… mackerel, herrings, pilchards and sprats … If taken fresh from the sea and deep frozen are, like squid, a marvellously handy convenience bait.

"Sea Angling: Kent to Cornwall" (1990) Mel Russ & Alan Yates at page 17

Other baits that find success, although on a limited scale, are squid and fish strip. They are most successful when used in cocktail fashion to tip off a lugworm bait. Best of the fish baits is sprat, which is excellent for winter whiting and dabs. Mackerel heads or whole fillets are ideal for pier bass from Dover Breakwater as are whole squid for the bigger specimens. In the main, though, fish baits are far less effective than worms. Shellfish such as razorfish, butterfish and queen cockles all have their day.

Live-bait

"Prose Halieutics or Ancient and Modern Fish Tattle" (1854) Reverend Charles David Badham M.D. at pages 27 & 28

Chapter II

Ancient Fishing Tackle

The mode of capturing the cossyphus is also remarkable enough to deserve a separate notice. The cossyphus, according to Aristotle, makes the best of mates, "una contentus conjuge", as good Roman husbands in the olden time were fond of recording on their tombstones; but if so, Oppian has taken great poetical liberties with his reputation, describing him as the "Great Mogul" of the deep. According to this author, he possesses an immense gynaecium, sufficient to keep him perpetually in hot, albeit in cold water. Having found suitable gîtes for his numerous females, he ascends the waters, and from a transparent watch-tower looks down into their bowers, an open-eyed sentinel, whose jealousy day and night never remits, not so much as to permit him to taste food. As the time for expecting a new posterity approaches, his anxiety, we are told by his biographer, knows no bounds:

"He goes from one to the other, and back again to the first, making inquiries of all; but as the pains and perils of Lucina proceed, the liveliest emotions of fear and anxiety are awakened in his breast. As some distracted matron in attendance upon a daughter during the first throes - throes so fearful to the sex - wanders in her agitation backwards and forwards, and suffers by sympathy all the daughter's pains in her own person, refusing comfort till she hears the joyful cry of delivery, so the agitated cossyphus roams incessantly about, disturbing the waters as he moves from place to place."

The fisherman, tracking these movements, drops a live bait properly leaded right over the thalamus of one of the ladies in roe; the cossyphus, supposing this an invasion of his seraglio, flies at the intruder open-mouthed, and is immediately hooked - his dying moments being further embittered by cruel taunts from the trawler, who, after the insulting manner of Homer's heroes, reviles him by all his mistresses, and bids him mark the seething caldron on the lighted shore, prepared expressly for his reception. His favourites, on losing their protector, leave their hiding-places; and getting, like other "unprotected females", into difficulties, are speedily taken.

Editor's note: cossyphus are wrasse. Translated from Latin, "una contentus conjuge" means "only one partner". Gynaecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels, the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ, in a flower.

"Sea Angling from the Shore" (1982) Ray Forsberg at pages 161 & 162

A killing live-baiting technique can be practised from beaches and also piers and harbour walls, when there are plenty of small whiting and pouting about which are proving to be a bait-stealing nuisance as they grab baits which are intended for large cod. Mount two hooks on your terminal tackle, one small, about size 1/0, and another bigger one about size 6/0 three or four inches above it. Bait both hooks with lugworm, razorfish, mussel, or a cocktail of all three.

After casting out your twin hook rig, two things may happen. If you are in luck, a big cod will gulp down the whole works and be firmly hooked … Alternatively, a small whiting or pouting may become hooked on the smaller bait and rattle your rod tip in the characteristic small fish manner.

At this point … it is essential that you exercise great self-control and the utmost patience. What you are now doing is fishing at range with a tethered live-bait on your terminal gear. This is the only way … to do it. You cannot cast a live fish far, and even if you could the flight through the air and the shock of hitting the sea would kill it.

A variation on this live-baiting technique can be worked from … piers, jetties and harbour walls. It is called the "slide down" method and relies for its efficiency on the angle of the line from rod tip to sinker being quite steep. Basically, it is used where small live fish can easily be caught with a light rod at the same fishing position as the heavy gear is to be operated from. First procure the live baits and keep them in good trim in a suspended coarse fishing keep net or a bucket with a battery-driven aerator pump. Cast out the heavy tackle with just the sinker on the end of the line and some form of "stop" fixed on the reel line at the distance above it where the live bait is to be presented.

After the line has been tightened from rod tip to sinker and the rod has been rested securely against the harbour wall, pier rail or on a firm tripod, the live-baited drop-down tackle is prepared. This takes the form of a large hook (say, size 4/0 or 6/0) with the live fish lip-hooked, attached to a 3ft snood terminated by a quick release "snap" or American (safety pin) swivel. This swivel is clipped onto the reel line and the bait allowed to slide down into position near the sinker on the bottom.

For this tackle to work properly it is essential that there is not a strong wind blowing and that the surface of the water is not rough. It will facilitate a smooth "slide" if some weight in the form of a small lead sinker is attached to the sliding live-bait link.

Razor-Fish

"Sea Fishing" (1911) Charles Owen Minchin at page 250

Chapter XVII

The Natural Baits for Sea-Fish

… The best shellfish of all, the "razor-fish" (Solen siliqua and Solen ensis) is much neglected by our fishermen, probably because they have not the knack of getting it out of the sands. There are two ways of doing this. The razor-fish stands upright in the top of its perpendicular burrow, with the tip of its long fleshy "siphon" just above the surface, and when disturbed it sinks for a few inches, discharging a small jet of water as it goes down. If one walks over the sands, not tramping heavily, but stepping delicately, like Agag, [2] and provided with a pocketful of rough salt, to drop a few crystals on the little dimple where the water squirted up, the shellfish immediately rises and protrudes a couple of inches - enough to be grasped with the finger and thumb.

The other way is to get about three feet of iron nail-rod at the village smithy. Heat one end and double back a couple of inches so as to make a sort of barb; then heat the other end and turn it into a loop to serve as a handle. By thrusting the doubled end a foot deep into the hole and drawing it up sharply, the razor-shell will be quickly hooked out. The shellfish is one of the principle natural foods of the plaice, which has the knack of pulling the shells out fo the burrows and tearing off the feet. How this is done is not known, but the fact is undeniable, and is evidence of considerable skill and intelligence on the part of the fish.

[2] Editor's note: 1 Samuel 15:32 - "Then said Samuel, bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past."

"Modern Sea Fishing" (1937) Eric Cooper at page 54

These shell-fish are found near low-water mark. Their whereabouts can be discovered by looking out for the little jet of water that is thrown into the air when in walking over the ground the razor, alarmed by the vibration from your feet, darts further into the sand. They lie buried very deep down, and the only practical way of collecting them is to drop some salt into the hole from which the water has been ejected. This strange but true proceeding brings them to the surface, when a spade slipped under them will prevent their escape. It makes a very good bait.

"Competition Sea Angling" (1970) Bruce McMillen at page 39

3. Baits and Lures

Razor fish

"Estuary Fishing" (1974) Frank Holiday at pages 42 & 43

Chapter Three

Terminal Gear

… It also seems to me good policy to secure the bait to the hook. This is especially the case when relatively soft baits such as razor-fish are in use. After some experiment with mechanical clenching devices, tiny nylon bags and other gadgets it seemed to me that the following essentials had to be fulfilled: (i) the bait must be fully exposed to the fish, (ii) the securing device must be both positive and simple and (iii) it must be easy to operate under adverse fishing conditions.

These ends seemed to be achieved by tying a 4-inch length of elastic thread to the eye of the sea hook. To the end of the thread was tied a size 12 freshwater hook. After baiting the main hook with razor or other softish bait the elastic thread was wound tightly around the bait and finally spiralled up the shank so that the freshwater hook could be slipped under tension through the eye of the main hook. Although simple and inexpensive the device worked reasonably well in practice and certainly saved bait. Even so, an efficient bait-retaining device that is both light and neat will make a fortune for anyone who puts it on the market, so one hopes that experiments will continue.

Chapter IV

Baits - Natural and Artificial

Natural baits

A prime shellfish bait on the coasts I fish is the razorfish. These largish molluscs like quiet muddy bays in which to establish their colonies which are sometimes immensely prolific. The angler is interested in two forms of razorfish - the white and the brown. The white variety (Ensis siliqua) is the one most sought since it is the largest - up to 8 inches long - and provides succulent meat in quantity. The brown sort (Ensis ensis) is smaller and, in my opinion, is not quite so effective as a bait although I am unable to say why. Razor makes a first-class bait for all sea fish particularly bass, flatfish, cod and whiting.

Of the best-known methods of obtaining razorfish - with a razor-spear and using salt - it is largely a matter of what one wants to use the bait for that determines which of these is employed. The spear is certainly the quickest way of getting half a bucket of razor but the method does tend to tear the flesh of the bait. This matters little if the bait is to be used that day. However if you need a supply of undamaged bait to deep-freeze them for future use, as many anglers do, then the salt method is much to be preferred. Razorfish can also be dug with a spade but it is very hard work.

Spearing razorfish is not easy to describe verbally and it calls for a good deal of practice before the bait-collector becomes really proficient. The spear itself is a 3-foot length of 3/16-inch diameter brass rod with a brass 'arrow-head' about ⅝-inch wide soldered or brazed to its end. The rod should be carefully slit with a hacksaw in order to accommodate this arrow-head.

The mollusc signals its presence by spouting a jet of water from its key-hole shaped burrow and this means it is near the surface. It the spear is inserted into the burrow and worked very gently at different angles, using only the finger-tips, the collector is able to feel at which direction relative to the surface the burrow runs. In other words, a lack of resistance enables you to plot the tunnel where the mollusc is lying. When the right angle is discovered the spear is inserted smartly to its full depth when it should pierce the razor and bring it up, when recovered, on one of the barbs. The expert can collect razorfish almost as fast as he can pick them up using this method.

The salt technique which leaves the razors undamaged, works as follows: a plastic detergent bottle should be obtained of the type having soft sides and a narrow neck. This is cut in two about two-thirds of the way up from the bottom. Now charge the lower half by putting in half a cupful of salt and then fill it up with sea-water. Replace the top by sliding one half over the other and give the whole thing a good shake. The spout of the bottle (or a spout made from plastic tubing) is then entered into the mouth of the razor burrow and the bottle given a couple of squeezes, forcing brine down the hole. Remove the bottle and wait for the razorfish to emerge. This may be immediately or it may take a couple of minutes. Most anglers salt about a dozen holes and then back-track to pick up the emerged baits.

Frozen razor makes a reasonable bait and numbers of bass and other fish are caught on them every season. In preparing the razors for freezing they are shelled and laid to dry on sheets of paper. If they are air-dried in a warm breeze they must be protected from cats and rats which will be attracted from some distance. Salt sprinkled over the bait helps to toughen it. After this they can be placed, a dozen at a time, in small plastic bags and deep-frozen in the usual way. Although frozen razor is inferior to fresh bait it is nonetheless a very useful standby, especially in winter, when collecting bait is difficult.

"Fisherman's Handbook" The Marshall Cavendish, Volume 1 Part 8 (1977) Norman Hards at pages 218 to 221

Razorshell

The four species of razorshell found on British beaches. All can be used as bait.

Among the animals that bass and sea cod feed upon as they follow the incoming breakers are a number of molluscs of the bivalve group (two-shelled animals). These creatures include the rock-borers, the gapers, the piddocks (which include the notorious 'ship-worm', the teredo) and the razorshells the name being derived from the likeness of the elongated shell to an old-fashioned cut-throat razor. In all these animals the shells are open at each end, and have a long 'hinge' joining the two shells.

Four species

There are four species of razorshell found in the sand and mud of the British coastline, the largest of these being the pod-razor, Ensis siliqua, whose shell grows to 8 in long and 1 in deep. The three other razorshells are the grooved razorshell, Solen marginatus, and two other species not having popular names, Ensis arcuatus and E. ensis. Both are very similar in appearance but the latter is smaller, often having a reddish brown foot. The grooved razorshell inhabits muddier areas than the other species, and is found up to 18 in deep in the muddy sands of the South West Coast.

All the razorshells live in mud or sand and move rapidly downward when vibrations reach them through their surroundings. They remain in the vertical position with their muscular foot at the bottom, where it is swollen by blood to anchor the creature down. From the top end, which is in fact the rear of the razorshell, siphons extend from beneath the surface to extract small food particles from the water. Oxygen present in the water enables the shellfish to breathe.

The presence of razorshells can be detected by the small jets of water thrown up from the siphons and the small depression the animal makes in the sand or mud. Collecting them demands quick reflexes and adroitness, for they can burrow quickly beyond the reach of the spade.

For anglers, the most commonly found razorshell is the pod-razor, largest of the British species. Gathering them is an acquired skill, for when disturbed they disappear downwards extremely fast and burrow even further by extending the foot to grip the sand, then using their strong muscles to pull the shell down.

The traditional method of gathering razorshells for bait is by the use of a tool about 3 ft long with an arrow-head point. One must approach the area being careful not to create the vibrations which will send the animal burrowing downwards. The 'spear' must be thrust down the hole into the shell's two halves and twisted so that the point grips the sides of the shell to prevent further burrowing. The razorshell can then be withdrawn.


To collect razorshell for bait, walk slowly backwards and watch for the tell-tale signs as the animal breathes after you pass.	Thrust a spiked stick into the depression, turn it to hook the sides of the shells, and withdraw the razorshell from its burrow.

Another method, also preceded by walking backwards, is to use a wedge-shaped stick to prevent the shellfish burrowing.	The razorshell can then he gathered by using a trowel to dig the creature out. Be careful of the shells' very sharp edges.

Sprinkling with salt

Digging with a fork or spade must be fast and accurate, but the angler seeking a supply of bait quickly may well spend more time digging than fishing if he is not long-experienced in the art. It has been suggested that if the depressions marking the razor-shells' positions are sprinkled with salt, the animal is forced to the surface.

To extract the animal from its two hinged shells, carefully cut through the hinge with a sharp knife. Do not prise open the two shells along the unhinged side as this will damage the creature. The attractiveness of the razorshell as a bait lies in the meaty foot of the creature, but the whole animal is hooked, with the foot supporting the softer organs.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at pages 165 & 166

Razorfish, Mussels and Limpets

Razorfish

These long bivalves (Fig 63) can be found buried in the sand near the low tide mark. Their burrows are marked by a keyhole-shaped hole in firm sand, or a funnel-like depression in grit. They are also frequently noticed by the little spurt of water they shoot out as they quickly retreat on sensing footfalls.

Uses

Razorfish make a very good surf-fishing bait for bass, especially from beaches where there are plenty of these shellfish. They will also take flatfish and the smaller species of rays.

Presentation

There is a firm hook-hold in the muscular foot of the razorfish. Baits of 3in and upwards can be fished on hook sizes 4 to 1/0.

Pieces of razorfish can also be used on smaller hooks for smaller species of fish. Small ones can also be bunched on a large hook for bigger species.

Keeping

Razorfish can be salted, pickled or blanched in hot water and then shelled and frozen. However, all these processes make a less attractive bait than the fresh variety.

Gentles

"Prose Halieutics or Ancient and Modern Fish Tattle" (1854) Reverend Charles David Badham M.D. at page 20

Chapter II

Ancient Fishing Tackle

… the Izaak Waltons of antiquity condescended to bottom-fishing with lob or caddis worms;

"Or, buried deep, with eggs prolific stored,
Would keep a carrion cat, of gentles the sure hoard."

(Old Angling Book)

"Angling in Salt Water: A Practical Work on Sea Fishing with Rod and Line from the Shore, Piers, Jetties, Rocks and from Boats" (1887) John Bickerdyke at page 38

Chapter III: Baits

Gentles

These are the maggots found in fly-blown meat, and are a very useful bait for bottom-fishing in fresh water. Grey mullet will sometimes take them in harbours. They can generally be obtained, during the summer months, at any butcher's. They should be kept in bran or damp sand, in a cellar or some other cool, dark place.

"Sea Fishing in Salt Water" (1887) John Bickerdyke at page 42

Gentles

"The book of the all-round angler: a comprehensive treatise on angling in both fresh and salt water" (1888) John Bickerdyke at page 39 (Division IV)

Chapter III: Baits

Gentles

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 90 & 91

Gentles

Gentles are the larvae of the bluebottle and other flies, and are very easily bred in summer, when they are only too numerous at butchers' and tallow chandlers'. They are little used as sea-fish baits except for grey mullet, which occasionally take them in the brackish water of harbours. I have no doubt, however, that if any place was carefully baited with a quantity of these little creatures, several other varieties of sea fish could be educated up to eating them. In hot weather gentles turn into the chrysalis state very quickly unless kept in a dark, cool place in bran or damp sand, the latter being the best. It is not difficult to keep a supply of these creatures all through the winter. They should be placed in a wide-mouthed pickle bottle with common mould, corked up, and buried so far below the ground that the frost will not reach them. In hot summer weather, when gentles are turning quickly, they can be steamed and kept a few days; but the live creature is probably the more killing.

"Practical Letters to Young Sea Fishers" (1898) John Bickerdyke at page 100

Gentles

… which are so well known to fresh water anglers, are the larvæ of the blue bottle fly, and can be easily bred by means of a piece of liver placed in the air out of the sun, and not allowed to dry up. The only sea fish known to take them, so far as I am at present aware, is the grey mullet.

"Sea Angling Modern Methods and Tackle" (1952) Alan Young at page 61

Baits

Maggots

Maggots are sometimes used in mullet fishing. A couple should be hooked through the skin of the tail on a no. 10 freshwater hook. The tail of a maggot has two dark spots, which look to the uninitiated like eyes, causing them to confuse the insect's ends. Maggots can be bought from tackle dealers who cater for freshwater fishermen.

"Modern Sea Angling" (1970) Richard Arnold at page 166

Natural Baits

Other Baits

Gentles These, the maggots of the blow-fly, are well-known to coarse fishermen and some game fishermen and do not need any description. For sea angling their use is rather restricted to grey mullet fishing in harbours, but even this is rather a chancy business. Though recommended by some angling writers, I, personally, would never recommend it to the tyro sea angler. Fished in conjunction with a cuddy fly, it might be successful, but, in reality, there is no need to affix a gentle to an already efficient lure. Perhaps the sea angler may note that gentles are limited in use, only to be tried against one species, the grey mullet, when nothing else is to hand or when all else has failed. In the unlikely event of success with these baits, it should be regarded as one of those unusual happenings which occur every so often in every sport.

Meat

"Angling in Salt Water: A Practical Work on Sea Fishing with Rod and Line from the Shore, Piers, Jetties, Rocks and from Boats" (1887) John Bickerdyke at page 36

Chapter III: Baits

Bacon Skin

Out of bacon skin a very fair imitation sand-eel can be made (Fig. 39). The skin should be soaked, scraped, and cut into long, thin strips, about ½in. wide and 3in or 4in long. The point of the hook is then put through the end of a strip, and the hook carried right through to the top of the shank, where a couple of turns of twist are necessary to keep the skin in position. Bass and pollack often take this bait freely.

"The book of the all-round angler: a comprehensive treatise on angling in both fresh and salt water" (1888) John Bickerdyke at page 36 (Division IV)

Bacon Skin

Out of bacon skin a very fair imitation sand-eel can be made … The skin should be soaked, scraped, and cut into long, thin strips, about ½in. wide and 3in. or 4in. long. The point of the hook is then put through the end of a strip, and the hook carried right through to the top of the shank, where a couple of turns of twist are necessary to keep the skin in position. Bass and pollack often take this bait freely.

"The Badminton Library: Modern Sea Fishing" (1895) John Bickerdyke at pages 82, 83 & 118

Bacon Skin

This is by no means a bad bait for bass and pollack, either for whiffing or casting, and may be cut out of either a thin-skinned piece of bacon or salt pork. It should be soaked and scraped. No fat should adhere to it. Either a triangular piece three or four inches long and an inch wide at the base should be used, or else a narrow strip half an inch wide and three or four inches long, slightly rounded at the end next the hook and brought to a tapering point, where it should be scraped thin and split. If the triangular piece is used, insert the hook at the apex of the triangle. I prefer when using simply a strip of skin to insert the hook at the thick end, to bring the bait up to the top of the shank, and then bind round above the eye, or flatted end of the hook.

A capital imitation of a small squid or cuttle can be made out of a piece of semi-transparent pork-skin. The illustration renders an explanation almost unnecessary, but I may say that the piece of skin provided for the artist was somewhat over-adorned with bristles. It should be well scraped before being cut to shape, and more than two feelers or tentacles can be hung on the hook if the angler so pleases. A strip of skin of any kind is easily fixed on the two-hook tackle used for worms, &c … A number of these baits can be prepared and placed in a bottle of salt. If you wish to be particularly artistic, you can cut out from a piece of pork or bacon skin an imitation fish and attach that to the shank of the hook in a similar manner. A strip of pig's bladder has also been used with good effect as a whiffing bait. Bass are fond of bacon or pork skin, which, owing to their partiality for a semi-putrid bait, is sometimes soaked for a day or two in weak soda water to render it a little gamey.

Tripe

More than once I have heard of this stuff being strongly recommended as a whiffing bait, long narrow strips of it being cut about the size of a large ragworm. It comes in the same category as pork-skin, pig's bladder, and the like.

"Angling in Rivers, Lakes & Sea" (1920) Walter Matthew Gallichan ("Geoffrey Mortimer") at page 106

Part III

Sea Fishing

Chapter II

Bass Fishing with the Fly

… A bait used in the Mawddach estuary in Wales is a piece of bacon fat, and some big fish are often attracted by it.

"The Sportsman's Library: Sea Fishing" (1935) Major D. P. Lea Birch ("Fleur-de-Lys") at page 89

Chapter V: Bait

There are some last resort baits which the angler can try when he is at his wits' end for anything better. Bits of tripe can be used as hook-baits, while bass will sometimes accept a lump of aged and lofty kipper.

"Salt-Water Angling" (1956) Michael Kennedy at page 359

Chapter Ten: Natural Baits for Salt-Water Fish

Pork Fat

A piece of pork fat, the size of the top joint of one's little finger, or smaller, baited in the same way as a piece of ray's liver, will, at times, be taken by grey mullet.

Pork or Bacon Rind

The tough skin of pork or bacon, cut rather thin and in a variety of fish or squid shapes, is popular with American anglers as a fly rod or bait-casting lure for fresh and salt-water fish. Pork rind baits may be used by themselves, or on a baited spoon, or (if cut small), on a fly spoon. They will take bass, pollack and gurnard.

"Sea Fishing Baits: How to Find & Use Them" (1957) Alan Young at pages 63 to 66

Chapter VII

Miscellaneous Baits: Groundbaits

The baits discussed up to this point could be divided into distinct groups. There remains a number of odd baits of decided usefulness that do not fall into well-marked categories. These are bacon, kippers, liver, paste, roe, starfish and tripe. I must emphasize that although they may be miscellaneous they are not freak baits, such as the ham, Cornish pasty, milk-bottle top, sausage and a score of other baits which catch fish on odd occasions but do not merit description in words or trial in the sea. In a different class are mullet baits. The grey mullet is almost as much a fresh-water fish as a salt-water one, and mullet have been caught on a very long range of baits which would be of little use for other marine species of fish. Mullet baits (with the exception of paste) have, therefore, been omitted from this chapter. They will be found under "Mullet" in Chapter X.

BACON

Bass, pollack, coalfish, mackerel, garfish and some species of flatfish are not infrequently caught on bacon bait. Bottom-feeding bass and flat-fish have taken small cubes of fat bacon, but more popular is a strip of bacon rind, 3 to 5 in. long, with a thin rim of fat adhering to it, hooked twice through one end (Fig. 25). Fished on drift line or float tackle, or on a flowing trace, this bait is probably mistaken for a sand eel.

KIPPERS

In the sea-angling text-books published in the last fifty years the chapter on baits usually includes an apologetic reference to kipper. The practical results of using kipper bait in recent years have been successful enough to make the apology unnecessary. If it advertises its presence, so much the better, for the scent drifts down-current and is likely to lead fish to its source.

It is most likely to be taken by bottom-feeding bass, so it is best used on paternoster or ledger tackle. Remove the head, but use all the rest of the kipper. A 3 lb. bass can swallow it with ease, and the big bait may well attract a really big bass.

LIVER

Fish liver is little used, but is a most attractive bait for bass. The liver of skates and rays is reputed to be the best, but bass have been caught on cod's liver, and presumably any other fish liver will do. I have never tried mammal's liver (ox, sheep, etc), but it might be worth experiment.

Liver cannot be put on the hook as it is. I have found the best method of attachment is to wrap the liver in a piece of a lady's hair-net, gathering the net at the top of a golf-ball sized lump of liver and tying it there. The hook can be put through the centre of the ball, a link of thread securing the shank to the point at which the net is tied.

It is a little troublesome, but no more so than some of the more usual baits, and it is well worth the bother. It does not stand up to casting, but is ideal for lowering straight down from pier or boat. It should be fished on a paternoster or by some other arrangement of tackle that keeps it clear of crabs.

PASTE

Paste made from bread or flour is a standard mullet bait and, fished on float tackle, will sometimes catch small fish in harbours. I mix mine with strands of fine weed gathered from rocks or piles. This helps to bind the paste and gives it a sea tang.

ROE

I have no personal experience of fish roe as bait, but I understand it is attractive to most bottom-feeding species. The "hard" roe of female herrings and mackerel are specially recommended. It is rigged and fished in a hair-net, as for liver (see above).

STARFISH

In areas where they are plentiful, brittle starfish are a useful bait for flounders and soles. Very small (say 2 in.) starfish can be used whole, or 2 in. lengths can be broken from the arms of larger specimens.

TRIPE

Uncooked tripe has often been taken by several species of bottom-feeding fish, and by upper-water feeders, such as pollack, coalfish, mackerel and garfish. The tripe should be the "plain" and not the "honeycomb" variety.

However it is to be used, it should be cut into strips from 2 to 6 in. long and ⅛ in. wide. The normal thickness is just right. it is an advantage if these are packed in a jar, soused with pilchard oil, and left overnight.

For ordinary bottom fishing a strip is wound on the hook as in Fig. 23. For drift-lining and float fishing, and for use on a flowing trace, the strip should be hooked as in Fig. 25. It then moves in the current like a sand eel.

"Pelham Manual for Sea Anglers" (1969) Derek Fletcher at page 90

Rabbit Bait

Recorded because although strange some anglers have caught bass and pollack with it. Usually chunks of stewed rabbit fished on float tackle at midwater from rocky venues. Normally best from dusk onwards.

"Modern Sea Angling" (1970) Richard Arnold at page 166, 167 & 168

Natural Baits

Other Baits

Tripe Northern anglers will be most likely to come across this wholesome food. It should be cut into long thin strips and may then be used as a whiffing bait for pollack, coalfish, mackerel and bass. Pork fat may also be used for this purpose but is less effective.

Bacon Skin This is a very good bait indeed. The skin should be scraped and cut into long thin strips, about half an inch wide and three inches in length. It should be mounted onto a large hook and bound securely above the shank with thread. Used in this manner it gives a capital imitation of a sand-eel and coalfish, pollack and bass will take this freely. There's nothing like using the remnant of one meal to help provide another !

As an alternative, the skin after being scraped can be cut into a triangular shape, and used in the manner of a fish 'last' as earlier described. The hook should be taken through the apex of the triangle. If the angler wishes to use squid or cuttle and cannot obtain either of these, he can make a passable imitation with a piece of bacon skin. The skin should be well soaked first and then scraped so that it is semi-transparent. The piece of skin should then be cut to the shape shown in Figure 35(a) and mounted on the hook as shown in Figure 35(b). The bait should be secured above the hook shank by a thread binding.

A very good whiffing bait may be made from a similar piece of bacon skin which has been cut to the shape of a small fish and attached to a hook in the same way. This is very good for bass. Fortunately, for the fastidious, bacon skin is a very clean and easily prepared bait.

"Sea Fishing for Beginners" (1970) Maurice Wiggin at page 114

Chapter VII

Fishing from the Shore

But I keep on meaning to experiment with butcher's offal - the sort of grisly stuff from a cow's or sheep's insides that honest women sold themselves to unscrupulous butchers to get a pound of, during the war. (Or so I've heard tell.) I've not had the nerve to do it yet, but may I say on a slightly more serious note that I really don't see why not - a hungry fish, and thank heavens most of them are in a perpetual tizzy of hunger, or at least appetite, or greed, which tots up to the same thing, will eat almost anything nutritious in the high-protein line. Bass are known to fancy a bit of something high - high tea for a good bass may be a hunk of herring long past its prime, a fish head that the cat wouldn't look at, a deplorable remnant of mackerel that failed to find a friend ashore. So why shouldn't they fancy a morsel of lights or tripe ?

"Sea Fishing For Fun" (1977) Alan Wrangles & Jack P. Tupper at page 71

5. Choosing and Storing Bait

Other baits and home-made lures

Bacon rind is quite a good bait for both pollack and bass. Cut it so that it represents either a sand eel or a cuttlefish portion, and trail it behind a moving boat. Do not be afraid of leaving a small amount of fat on the rind … Over the years many unusual baits have proved unexpectedly successful. For example, tripe and even sausages have caught fish, and there is absolutely no reason why various experiments with other off-beat baits should not be tried.

"The Bait Book" (1979) Ted Lamb at pages 171 & 172

Other Baits and Oils

Bacon and meats

Mullet are again responsible for the use of these 'alien' baits, although they will also take other species, especially that ubiquitous nuisance, the pouting. Both raw and cooked bacon have been successful, and so have most kinds of meat. I've heard that dogfish are very partial to a lump of raw steak, but I've never had the courage (or the purse) to try it !

Rock Worm

"The Sea-Fisherman" (1884 - 4th edition) James Carrall Wilcocks at pages 96, 188 & 189

Rod-Fishing for Pollack from Shore

The Pater-Noster Line

N.B. The larger kind of mud-worm is frequently known as the rock-worm, as it is found in the sand, clay, or gravel, close to rocks, or under large stones; many are also obtained by forcing asunder stones naturally cracked, for the fissures in which they have a great predilection. In the Channel Islands it is customary to clear a spot of stones, and then to dig in the subsoil with a harpoon-shaped digger of iron, called a "Petron", 6½ inches long and 3½ wide, on a 4½-foot handle.

The Rag-Worm or Rock-Worm, also called the Mud-Worm (Nereis)

Of this worm it appears there are two varieties: one inhabiting mud-banks, and rarely exceeding the length of three inches; another, attaining the length of six or seven inches, and found under stones overlaying sand, clay, and gravel, also in the cracks of rocks, and sometimes hiding under the tail of the soldier or hermit crab, which has its abode in a whelk-shell.

Many a ragged little urchin gets a considerable part of his living by procuring these worms, digging them out of the greasy black mud at low water with his hands, and preserving them carefully in tray-like boxes 2 feet long by 1 broad, pitched at the seams to render them water-tight, in which boxes they are carefully tended with clean salt-water once or twice a day, and every particle of filth removed, together with such as may have been wounded in gathering, as their blood would kill the whole stock if allowed to remain.

When clean, these worms are of flat form … and have a number of very short legs along their sides, giving them a serrated or saw-like appearance; they are almost always in motion, and are of a pale pink or salmon colour, some inclining to brown; all sea-fish, as well as freshwater eels, greedily devour them. They are sold at Plymouth in small measures about the size of an egg-cup, at 1d a measure, and three or four pennyworth are generally sufficient for a day's fishing for whiting-pollack, and should be kept in a box of wood 2½ inches deep, 1 foot in length, and 8 inches in breadth, having a cover, for if kept in a small box, heaped on each other, they soon die. Take care to place them in the shade, for if the sun shines on the cover of the box, they become sickly; also when you return from fishing, put them into a large box or tray, and never mix a fresh and stale lot together. These worms are worth taking care of, as they are a choice bait.

The larger wag-worms are found by digging in stony ground, overlaying clay, sand, or gravel, as before mentioned, and are to be kept in sand nearly dry, or in the leaves of the sea-lettuce, which is found plentifully in harbours and sheltered coves in the summer and autumn. Put them in a box with this weed, as between the leaves of a book, and they will live several days. If you have any broken pieces, place them in a box by themselves, and use them first, or, as before observed, they will poison the others. In Yorkshire it is known as the "Thirsk".

"Sea Fish" (1898) Frederick George Aflalo at pages 126, 127 & 217

Fishing from Piers and Harbours

Pollack

… These fish will often be attracted by a moving bait in preference to one which is at rest; and it is for this reason that success often crowns the efforts of those anglers who, on the Deal or eastbourne piers, work a parchment bait, an article that bears about as much resemblance as the average salmon-fly to anything living or dead, with rod and line, up-and-down fashion, just before sunset. The best bait for these pier fish, however, is unquestionably the rock-worm; when that is not obtainable the ragworm is a good substitute, but on no account to be reckoned the equal of the other. The very best rock-worms I have ever used come from the chalk-beds at Dover, or rather a mile or two west, just beyond Shakespeare Cliff. Never very cheap, the average price that rules even on the spot is scarcely ever less than four pence a score, and the normal supply is as a rule disposed of by previous arrangement to regular customers. The best way for the stranger will be to seek out a loafer in the narrow old streets near the Lord Walden, where loafers are as thick as thieves, and offer sixpence a score, making it quite plain at the outset (and whether it be strictly true or not) that he knows the smaller rag-worm perfectly well (NB it is called the mudworm at Dover) and will have none of it. The real rock-worm is a splendid pink animal, very muscular looking for all its want of backbone, and provided with retractile nippers, with which, more especially if applied to the tender flesh between your fingers, it can give a very good account of itself … One large worm (or two or three small) should be hooked through the head, just above the said nippers, and the hook - a single hook is sufficient - should be either kept about three feet from the bottom, somehwat higher towards evening, when the pollack feed nearer the top of the water …

Appendix

Dover

To the eastward, and at intervals as far as the South Foreland, there are several grounds, two of the best being that opposite the caves, a little beyond the jetty; and another, somewhat better as a rule, in a line with the outer end of the jetty and just beneath the coastguard station, where the zigzag pathway up the face of the cliffs just comes in view. Bait, never easy to obtain at Dover, is becoming an increasing difficulty with every succeeding year. Rockworms were hard to procure last season, even at the very fair price of 1s a score, whereas three or four years ago they could generally be bought for one-third of that sum …

"Dover as a Sea-Angling Centre" (1900) Deputy Surgeon-General Charles Thomas Paske at pages 18, 19, 20, 95 & 96

Chapter III

As nothing but perpendicular cliffs bound the first portion on its land side, all that remains for the angler is to trust himself to a boat, when under favourable circumstances and with a conscientious, careful man, sport is to be had in abundance. The nature of the sea-bed alone proclaims this, for being of compressed chalk resembling rocks - and quite as hard - covered with a luxuriant growth of sea-weed, no better feeding ground than this could be imagined.

These so called rocks present an almost uniform level, grooved by innumerable, parallel, narrow channels in whose interstices all sorts of crustaceans find a home, and small fry shelter. Fully alive to the advantages of such a well provisioned larder naturally enough the denizens of the deep reside there in considerable numbers and variety - the lordly bass, voracious pollack, greedy pouting, migratory silver whiting and cod, besides that tough customer the conger.

Added to the ordinary food on which they feed, along this portion of the coast is to be found a worm seldom met with elsewhere, the rock worm. By means of the boring apparatus with which they are furnished, many of the chalky masses are simply honey-combed with them, and when these are broken in pieces out they tumble in considerable numbers. In length, much depends on the season of the year, this varying from Spring to Autumn. When full grown four inches is not an uncommon length, and thickness of an ordinary lead pencil. Being found embedded in rock this may naturally be considered their home, from which at times they no doubt sally forth in search of food. It is a killing bait all round - few allowing such a tempting morsel to pass unnoticed whether inclined to feed or otherwise. The demand for them having increased of late years, up in price they rose from 4d. to 6d. a score, and one season 1/-. The ostensible reason assigned for this sudden and somewhat paralysing leap was increased demand and scarcity of material; in reality, however, to combination among the bait seekers - the biters being themselves bit, the price gravitated to 6d. at which it now stands.

And sixpence a score is not unreasonable, considering their efficacy, and the somewhat unpleasant, hard work entailed in shattering the hard rocks while standing amongst slippery sea-weed at low water several miles away. Home they come looking as if having indulged in a chalk bath, and with garments by no means improved in appearance or entirety. It is hard work there can be no doubt; added to which practice becomes necessary in order to choose the most likely masses of indurated chalk, break them in the proper way and prevent the worms from escaping. Under such circumstances the workman is certainly worthy of his hire.

Chapter X

When the angler has the opportunity of laying in a stock of rock worms he would do well to avail himself of the chance of keeping them "all alive oh" and healthy. For this purpose, a wooden box 8 by 5 by 2½ inches with a lid having leather hinges answers admirably. Nearly fill it with damp silk-weed somewhat lightly arranged and gently place the worms therein where they will be quite happy if stowed in a cool, dark cellar; but it is essential to have a daily inspection to remove any which may have died and to wash the "weed" every second or third day with fresh sea-water. This carefully attended to, they may be kept for ten days or more in good condition. N.B. - a few small holes should be bored in the lid of the box for air and ventilation.

Kent Coast Sea Fishing Compendium

Bait

Sitting still and wishing
Will never make us great.
The Good Lord sends the fishing
But we must dig the bait …

Introduction

Lugworm

Ragworm

Earthworm

Molluscs

Limpet

Crab

Hermit Crab

Prawns & Shrimps

Cuttlefish

Squid

Sandeel

Bluey

Oily Fish

Live-bait

Razor-Fish

Gentles

Meat

Rock Worm

Whelk

Ray's Liver

Unusual Baits

Copyright © David Ramsdale 2010 - 2022
All rights reserved

1	Lugworm	whiting, pout, flat fish
2	Mussel	smelt, pout, flat fish, codling
3	Squid	bass, conger, whiting
4	Sand-eel	pollack, bass, conger
5	Fresh Herring	bass, conger, whiting
6	Pilchard	conger, cod, bass, whiting
7	Ragworm	chad, pollack, mullet, smelt
8	Mackerel	mackerel, bass, conger
9	Shrimps	bass, pollack, flat fish, pouting
10	Prawns	pollack, bass
11	Hermit Crab	flat fish, pout, chad
12	Green Crab	bass, gurnard, mullet
13	Cockle	codling, whiting
14	Whelk	cod, codling, whiting
15	Limpet	pout, chad, gurnard
16	Sprat	cod, whiting, ling, haddock
17	Bloater	conger, bass
18	Dab's Head	bass
19	Oyster Beards	codling, cod, whiting
20	Skate's Liver	mullet, bass
21	Soft Roe of Herring	mullet, pout, smelt
22	Silkweed	mullet
23	Smelt	smelt, whiting
24	Sea-Anemone	flat fish, smelt
25	Lobster	flat fish, smelt

E	Excellent
G	Good
V	Variable

Kent Coast Sea Fishing Compendium

Bait

Sitting still and wishingWill never make us great.The Good Lord sends the fishingBut we must dig the bait …

Copyright © David Ramsdale 2010 - 2022All rights reserved

Sitting still and wishing
Will never make us great.
The Good Lord sends the fishing
But we must dig the bait …

Copyright © David Ramsdale 2010 - 2022
All rights reserved