catching,hooking and rigging sandeels

[Guest james111]

how should i go about catching sandeels from the shore, and then hook them to float fish for mackerel, bass and pollack?

 

are they abundant at this time of year?

 

what sort of a float set-up do i want for rock fishing, or piers?

 

apparently they die easily, any tips on keeping them alive for an hour or two?

[Guest Fishing Widow GU]

You don't 'catch' sandeels from the shore as such - but wait until it is a low spring tide, take a rake & a mate & find them leaping in the sand!! they are not called sandeels for nothing!!! - if nothing else - it is A) a good way to keep fit, a good laugh - ask congercatcher!! and you get fresh bait - free!!!

[Guest fisherman]

Hi James,

where to start from,,Catching your own sand eels,if you have never seen it done can be hard work,there is nothing wrong with the frozen ones really. It would take to long to explain on how to catch live ones.Unless you know someone who could show you, you could end up wasting a lot of time.

Yes they do die quickly if you cannot keep them in fresh salt water, normally a small wooden box full of small holes to keep the water running through it.

If you do catch some, another way is to put them in a bucket with fresh sea water with a battery operated air pump to keep the oxygen levels up. Don`t know how long they last this way but usually more than an hour.

As for the float set set-up, I use a sliding float with a sliding stop knot deciding on the depth to fish at.

Stop knot, small bead to stop the float going over the knot, float, weight, swivel then your hook length.

Hope this helps you.

Dave

 

[This message has been edited by fisherman (edited 24 March 2001).]

[Guest phil dean]

I have a mate , Ian Wisby in swansea, who spends his spare time catching huge bass usually on live sandeel

 

he uses the air pump method mentioned above, he has a set up in his back garden keeping eels alive for up to 2 weeks with careful management

 

his brother goes net fishing so I assume this is where Ian gets his from?

[Guest phil dean]

ps, if anyone knows ian, can they get him to give me a bell, i've lost his address in a recent move and need to send him the wedding invite. cheers.

[Guest Neil Foley]

James,

 

You were wondering about rigging them up too. Live ones should be just hooked between the eyes making sure not to kill them of course. Dead ones should be hooked lightly through the belly and then pass the hook through the gills and up through the mouth. Then tie the snood around the tail. Or you can cut the head and tail off and thread the hook through the eel and whip with bait elastic, seems to be more of a matchman's technique, although I'm sure someone will disagree here! Might be better saving this method for dirty water where scent is more important than visual appearance.

 

For bass you might be better using a paternoster type set up rather than float fishing but it depends on what venue you're at.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Neil.

 

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Neil's Angling Site

www.geocities.com/foleyn77/Neils_Angling.html

[Guest Alan Taylor]

Originally posted by james111:

apparently they die easily, any tips on keeping them alive for an hour or two?

A little tip to keep them alive in your airated bucket is to use a small net, the fish tank type, to take them out. Evidently when you put your hand in the water to fish them out the oils from your skin contaminate the water and kill them off.

Good luck

Alan(nl)