CLAMS (Sand gaper)
is is a less commonly known bait, but it is good if you can find it. is edible clam grows to five inches long and lives in soft mudbanks or sometimes in muddy sand in deep vertical burrows. ey leave a keyhole-shaped hole in the surface mud that will ooze water as you approach the hole.
ey are caught by digging down with your hand and burying your arm for much of its length then pulling the clam clear with your fingers. It’s a dirty job. ey are sometimes available in small numbers from professional lxuxgxdxigxgxexrs who come across individual clams wxxhxenxxdxigxging worms and they’ll keep them fxoxrxtxhxosxexthat ask.
SEASON
Living in the saltmarsh mudbanks and creeks, these can be collected on all tide sizes, making them available all year, but they are nearer the surface during the warmer months and will burrow deeper when the weather is colder.
As a bait they will work anytime but the optimum period is the autumn for bass and big flounders.
SPECIES
ese clams will catch bass, and, when cut into smaller sections, flounders, plaice and dabs. It is primarily a shore fishing bait and is rarely used offshore.
SIMPLE STORAGE
ese are a tough shellfish used to extremes of weather and temperature, and the hours in between being covered by the tide, so they are easy to keep alive. For short session fishing they are best kept in a cool box with an ice pack inside a damp cloth. For longer periods leave them in their shells and keep them covered by a damp cloth or damp newspaper in a sealed plastic container with a small air hole added.
ey’ll keep like this for days in a fridge.
PRESENTATION
If you run the point of a bait knife round the inner edge of the shell, pushing deeper and deeper, the whole shell will open. Cut the sinew that holds the flesh in place in the shell to release the flesh. is is firm and can be used cut into small sections and bound with bait elastic. For bigger bass, cut the clam in two lengthways, slide the tougher flesh over the point and up the hook shank, then secure with bait elastic.
ese are most effective in estuaries, which is their natural environment, especially inside creeks and bigger channels, as well as muddy harbours.