Live/dead Bait?

[Tony U]

I quite like Trout as a deadbait but prefer Sardines for most of my deadbaiting except for the long range stuff.

You can get fresh Trout deads quite cheaply from local trout farms as they have cmortalities of differing sizes, which can not be used for the table.

[david t]

Yep jason, severn wolf is correct, when you have spent two hours catching a few livebait on a cold january day, you dont want them to slip of the hook after a few minutes. also lets you use barbless hooks without losing bait.

 

As for trout as deadbait, I think there ok, i have had a few fish on them, but whenever i have brought them frozen they always seem unfresh and abit soft. Im sure fresh trout would work well, and im also sure that trout deadbaits would be particularly good in waters with a natural population of trout in like the scottish lochs. not many waters with trout in them in my area, south east england.

 

I have thought before about using big baits like you mentioned tigger, in Fred Bullers Domesday book of mammoth pike, there are a few mentions of big pike being caught on 3lb trout and 5lb pike. From a meal point of view I can see the reasoning behind it. Say for instance a man comes upto you and says "walk upto the top of that hill and there is half a kitkat on the summit" you would say no I think, I would. But if the same man said "walk up to the top of that hill and there will be hog roast on the summit for you" you are likely to do it, I would. So a big pike would rather swim a few yards for a 3lb trout than he would for a 1/4oz minnow, he may not catch either, but If he caught the trout he would be full for a week at least.

 

Saying that if you were to use massive baits, you would probably have to wait ages, and still blank, I probably would!

dave.

[argyll]

Tough as old boots are trout livebaits, my mate budgie put me onto them. In fact I find them a bit too fresh and unless they are well anchored down they'll tow your gear all over the water. Same with trout deadbaits..... the tough skin helps to keep them secure if only lightly hooked.

 

I have some salmon parr in the freezer which I intend to use when this spell of high pressure starts to drop. Hate to waste them when lures and lives are currently a better option.

[StuMac]

I've watched pike in an aquarium, and when the prey fish is large relative to the pike (3 inches vs 8 inches) the pike always grabs the bait, and eventually ends up with its head in its jaws. It then swims to the bottom and just sits motionless for up to three hours (yes three hours) making no attempt to move or swallow the fish. Oncethe prey fish is well and truely dead, then it is slowly swallowed.

 

The pattern when the prey fish is small is quite different. Here the pike simply engulfs the bait and swims away whilst swollowing it. Even then, it usually takes a good 30 - 40 seconds to get the bait down. The one thing I never saw is the classic "Mr Crabtree" take where the pike has prey fish held across its jaws.

 

This squares with my experience with big baits (1 - 1.5 lb rainbows). I find they do not put jacks off, but that you do get lots takes where the fish just goes to the bottom and stays there. These seldom result in hook ups and you almost invariably lose the bait. After seeing the aquarium pike feeding I started keeping the hooks near the head - this improved things a bit but I would often end up reeling in 3 - 5 lb pike that were just hanging onto the bait. I didn't get the impression that they attracted big pike any more effectively, they just made it virtually impossible to land a fish under ~ 12 lbs.

 

I don't catch enough pike to be so selective, so I gave up the experiment.

 

However, I have recently started to use whole lampreys (dead obviously). They look amazing in the water, I've often mistaken them for live eels when I'm reeling in, and all that blood and ooze must be a good attractor. They seen to get fantastic hook up rates, they are really effective if float trolled very slowly almost scraping the bottom. Best I've had on them so far is 15:12 but smaller pike seem to engulf them very quickly.

[david t]

Ive always wanted to observe fish feeding at close quarters, I would like to get an underwater camera and record fish behaviour, like for instance feeding pike. but underwater cameras are not exactly cheap.

dave.

[Guest tigger]

Ive always wanted to observe fish feeding at close quarters, I would like to get an underwater camera and record fish behaviour, like for instance feeding pike. but underwater cameras are not exactly cheap.

dave.

 

If you get yourself a four ft aquarium and put half a dozen pike as long as your little finger in, you can feed them fry etc and watch the way they feed, it's great i did it. I'm pretty sure they do just the same as the bigger fish but in miniture. Great to watch!

Tigger.

[Dick Dastardly]

Trout are my most used livebait.They are strong baits that work hard and are easy to keep.Only pain is that they need a lot of oxygen when moving them.Also they are esay to purchased and reasonably cheap.Importantly when purchased from a reputable source disease free.

[StuMac]

Trout are my most used livebait.They are strong baits that work hard and are easy to keep.Only pain is that they need a lot of oxygen when moving them.Also they are esay to purchased and reasonably cheap.Importantly when purchased from a reputable source disease free.

 

 

It helps if you buy ice - put loads into a sealed bag and put that into the water. Makes a big difference in summer. I find rainbow trout as you describe, but that browns die pretty quickly.

Edited December 14, 2005 by StuMac