Mussel Cocktails

[JB]

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?

 

Hi Simon,

When baiting a long-line with mussels, you hook each mussel twice; once through the eye (the white muscle at one end that it uses to open and close its shell) and once through the tongue (the black or brown tongue shaped thing inside the mussel). These are the only hard-ish bits of the mussel; the tongue being the main bit you must hit. This is an adequate method for dropping a bait into the water but for casting it I think shore anglers tie them on with elastic cotton.

 

Good luck with the plaice fishing. I have been told that the Skerries is the happening place for plaice.

 

John

[Simon Everett]

Thanks John. I am going to have another go with your squid and mussel cocktail!! Flounders mike like them too.

[big_cod]

Been using mussel for going on 40 years one of the best ways to use mussel as a coctail is to mix it with peeler crab ,a deadly cod cocktail and always seems to take the bigger fish .