Mussel Cocktails

[JB]

There has been much talk about mussels on the forum lately. I believe I may have some knowledge which might be of interest, or at least give you something to think on.

 

For many years I successfully worked long-lines. The main bait we used was mussel. However, we actually found that the very best bait was a “mussel cocktail”. I found that the addition of mussel to most other baits made the resultant “cocktail” fish much better than the sum of the two other baits, if fished separately. I realise this is common knowledge to most anglers. However, you may be interested in the reasons why I think this happens.

 

One of the main problems in long-lining with mussel is the bait “going off”, as the lines have to be baited prior to going to sea - usually the day before. Freshly baited lines almost always fish best.

 

With weather conditions in the winter it is possible that you may not get to sea for a week or more. Your bait deteriorates, and when you finally get to work your lines, you almost always have a wasted day. Lines are bulky and it is difficult and impractical to put them in a chest freezer. Also, they have to be thawed out properly to be able to work them successfully. With this in mind, I built a walk-in chiller/freezer about half the size of a garage, which would hold 60 lines (12600 hooks). This changed the whole aspect of the job. Instead of only being able to work daily, with a small (four to six) number of lines, as the other line boats did, I let the skeiners and baiters work every day, producing a daily target of 8 lines (1680 hooks). I only stopped them when the chiller/freezer was almost full. Consequently, I went to sea with a lot of lines at every available weather window.

 

When the lines were in the chiller, set at about 1 degree C, the lines baited just with mussel would keep for up to ten days without showing much sign of deterioration. Other types of bait would also keep for a similar length of time. (Although during severe weather conditions I would freeze the lines.)

 

Under the same conditions, a line baited with mussel cocktails would deteriorate considerably quicker, and stink after a few days. It seemed as though the mussel reacted with the other bait to produce a substance which enhanced deterioration. (This substance may be better explained to us if there is any member of the forum who is ‘into chemistry’.) In my opinion, when used while still relatively fresh, it is this same substance that enhances fish catching.

 

Anyone who has skeined mussels will know that if you have a cut on your hand, the mussel juice attacks it. If you are not used to skeining, it makes your hands tingle; and no matter how hard you scrub your hands, it is difficult to get the smell out of them. I also believe these reactions to be caused by that same substance.

 

So how might this knowledge, derived from commercially fishing with hooks, benefit you as a recreational sea angler?

 

I presume that when you bait your hook with a mussel cocktail, you use ingredients from separate bait containers, and immediately cast or drop it into the sea. Therefore the chemicals of the separate baits only have a short time to react together before being diluted by the water. However, if you skein your mussels and mix them with your other bait before going fishing, it could be beneficial, as the ingredients have more time to react together. The mixed baits could also be frozen for future fishing. Incidentally, if you only have a small amount of mussel, by adding and mixing it to other bait, you could still enhance all the bait.

 

In my opinion, you should not wash or soak (swell) freshly skeined mussels in fresh water. Although they look better to you, in my experience the fish don’t find them nearly as attractive. I also believe all frozen bait should be thawed in air and not washed to death in water, for the same reason.

 

Another possibility is to pre-bait your traces (if that is the term you use for them) with cocktails and then freeze them. When fishing, clip or tie a new trace on every cast or drop. The thawing process in the sea releases a lot of goodies into the surrounding water.

 

If you are a dedicated mussel angler you probably have your own ideas and methods (and this may be old news to you). However, for those new to fishing with mussels, this might be something to think on and experiment with - which is a lot of the fun, and a big part of angling.

 

So, happy New Year and good fishing to you all in 2006.

 

JB

[SpeciMan]

Excellent information there JB which has certainly given me bait food for thought.

 

I haven't experimented with mussels (more to do with availability than anything else) however there are a few plaice marks I would like to try this Spring and will give them a go. Mussels could also work as a combo with ragworm for the bream.

[Dan]

Excellent information there JB which has certainly given me bait food for thought.

 

I haven't experimented with mussels (more to do with availability than anything else) however there are a few plaice marks I would like to try this Spring and will give them a go. Mussels could also work as a combo with ragworm for the bream.

 

 

Buy em by the bag at sainsburys!

Edited December 31, 2005 by Dan

[nemofish2000]

If cocktailing with other baits what did you have the best results with, and do you think the results would be similar to beach fished baits. cheers

[JB]

If cocktailing with other baits what did you have the best results with, and do you think the results would be similar to beach fished baits. cheers

 

Hi Nemofish,

We tried many combinations: herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, whiting, pouting, gurnard, limpet, hermits, razors, whelks, sandeels, worms and squid. All seemed to work best cocktailed with mussel. The one we used most was squid because of its easy availability.

 

At times we used to work right up to the low water mark, on the same grounds as shore anglers would fish, and we continued to have good results with cocktails.

 

JB

[Guest @Winter@]

If cocktailing with other baits what did you have the best results with, and do you think the results would be similar to beach fished baits. cheers

 

Not too sure about beaches but over rock it is one of the best baits you can use.

[skippytheroo]

When I go out fishing all I tend to use is mussel and lugworms....sometimes i bulk it out with some squid if i dont have much mussel or worm

[maidstonemike]

Very interesting JB. I use mussels when I can. As I have said before, they have a scent similar to peeler crab in chemical composition.

I intend to use mussel much more this year, and crab meat stuffed in squid.

Using fresh live mussel, I have taken Bass instantly, a few seconds after the bait was dropped into the water. I don't need any more convincing, they are a terriffic bait. Sometimes you won't catch of course, because fish are just not around on that day.

I do agree that bait shouldn't be washed or thawed with water.

I take live mussels out of the shell , put them in a container in the fridge overnight.

I tend to tip them into my bait box with other bait, such as squid and mackerel, so the juices mix with the other bait. Without realising it might be contributing to a chemical reaction that improves the scent of the other bait.

[JB]

Very interesting JB. I use mussels when I can. As I have said before, they have a scent similar to peeler crab in chemical composition.

I intend to use mussel much more this year, and crab meat stuffed in squid.

Using fresh live mussel, I have taken Bass instantly, a few seconds after the bait was dropped into the water. I don't need any more convincing, they are a terriffic bait. Sometimes you won't catch of course, because fish are just not around on that day.

I do agree that bait shouldn't be washed or thawed with water.

I take live mussels out of the shell , put them in a container in the fridge overnight.

I tend to tip them into my bait box with other bait, such as squid and mackerel, so the juices mix with the other bait. Without realising it might be contributing to a chemical reaction that improves the scent of the other bait.

 

Hi Mike,

I have been told that the Norwegians have produced a sausage type of bait for both commercial long-lines and RSA. It is filled with a ‘cocktail’ and some of the ingredients are raw crab meat and squid. The Norwegians have done a great deal of research into catching fish (especially cod) on hooks over the past 25 years and I believe them to be streets ahead of the rest of us. I don’t know whether this reconstituted bait sausage is available in the UK. If it is, it may be worth a try.

 

I was hoping that someone on the forum may have a chemistry background and be able to tell us how a mussel chemically works. It seems like it is an acid, or an enzyme that the mussel produces. I wonder if this chemical could be produced commercially.

 

JB

Edited January 2, 2006 by John and Michele

[Simon Everett]

John & Michele,

thank you very much for sharing that information with us. I have used mussel, years ago, and I caught some fish on it but I was only a youngster fishing off the rocks/spit with it.

 

I have always liked fishing for flatties and I think you have just given me a way of catching my first plaice!! I have tried and the others have caught the plaice, I always caught flounders!! I want to take the kayak down to Start Bay this coming spring and have a go for a plaice on the edge of the Skerries. I am not going out into the main tide flow, but there must be a few plaice on the edge of the bank in the lee of the lighthouse. I intend to find out anyway, it is only a mile or so out from Hallsands/Beesands.

Nw, how did you keep the stuff on the hook? Did you tie them on?