SUCCESS WITH SHELLFISH
Often best used after a storm, there are plenty of fish seeking out these tasty treats
common or edible variety and the horse mussel are the ones mostly used for bait. e common is found along the shore, and the horse mussel in deeper water just offshore where it gets ripped from the seabed by storms and washes ashore.
SEASON
Mussels are available all year but are particularly effective as bait from September to April when rougher seas naturally rip them from their anchorage with some getting broken when bashed against stones, which makes them available to hunting fish. ey will catch fish over sand but are at their best when used over hard ground in their natural setting and also in estuaries when cast close to features that have natural mussels fixed to them.
SPECIES
Being very effective for cod in the surf and over rocks, they also take bass and coalfish. ey are good for wrasse when you are fishing from a man-made structure and off the rocks, also for flounders, dabs and plaice. When fished inshore over rougher ground they are deadly for cod and remain a traditional bait along the Yorkshire and North East coast, but they’ll also take haddock, smaller ling, wrasse, plaice and dabs.
SIMPLE STORAGE
Mussels are best fresh, so keep them cool and damp in their shells and they’ll be fine for a long session. For longer periods, they keep well if left alive in their shells and kept in a cool box or a small bucket with the lid on in a bait fridge. Cover them with a wet towel and remove any water that collects in the container daily and they’ll keep a few days.
You can also remove the mussels from their shells (known as skeening) and place them in jars or plastic tubs 24 hours before you fish. eir juice then thickens, and the flesh slightly hardens, and this more mature mussel is a deadly bait for cod and plaice. To freeze them, skeen them from the shell, place them on kitchen towel to dry them slightly, then put up to 10 in a small zip bag and freeze them straight away. Remove as much air from the bag as you can or use a vacuum sealer and they’ll keep even longer.
PRESENTATION
Open the mussel by putting a flat, slightly sharp blade into the gap where the mussel beard or anchorage is located. Twist the mussel shells slightly apart but do not fully separate them. Now slice through the white sinews that hold the shell together and the shell will open like a book. You can then scoop out the mussel whole. A single mussel is enough for a flatfish and is simply pushed over the hook point and round the shank, then a few turns of thin bait elastic are added to form a secure sausage shape.
For bigger baits, slide one or two mussels down and round the shank of the hook, then add one or two more mussels alongside the others. Now bind the whole lot together with bait elastic. Make sure you wrap along the whole length of the mussel to form that sausage shape and add a few wraps over the bait just below the hook point and barb to add more security. You can do this on a baiting needle first and then transfer to the hook if you wish.