rigs or bait you decide

[john/r]

I used to think bait was the most important thing about fishing but now I am beginning to think rigs are the most important. For instance what if you are fishing for bottom feeding fish and your rigs are presented two foot off the bottom.although some may think that there rigs always lay on the seabed venues such as piers and strong tides can play tricks on presenting baits to fish. Is it just nonsense I am on about what your thoughts ???.

[dabcatcher]

a bit of both. turn up with crap bait and the guy with quality "correct" bait for the species available well beat you.

but.... i fished alongside a mate for years using exactly the same bait and beat him every time. i kept telling him he needed to alter or change his rigs but he wouldnt listen.

[hound hunter]

I fished fresh crab last night,had 5 hounds up to 7lb n a doggie,me mate blanked,he didn't have crab
I think tbh the fish have to be there in the first place,then offer them a bait they want an on a decent rig to catch e'm

[john/r]

I fished fresh crab last night,had 5 hounds up to 7lb n a doggie,me mate blanked,he didn't have crab
I think tbh the fish have to be there in the first place,then offer them a bait they want an on a decent rig to catch e'm

Heard it said down your way single live shrimp is a good bait for hounds is that right.

[Juliogeordio]

Bait primarily.... But.... If you have the same bait as the lad next to you then that's when the other issues such as the rigs etc come into play.

[hound hunter]

Heard it said down your way single live shrimp is a good bait for hounds is that right.

Although dirty/unwashed squid catches quite a few hounds,there are two bait's that give u an advantage,crab n live shrimp,shrimp is a killer bait for them,mainly when the shrimp is plentifull,there's so many of them that the hound's take advantage of an easy meal..
Just keep e'm in a bucket of sea water n use them alive

[dabcatcher]

I fished fresh crab last night,had 5 hounds up to 7lb n a doggie,me mate blanked,he didn't have crab
I think tbh the fish have to be there in the first place,then offer them a bait they want an on a decent rig to catch e'm

i think id have shared my crab with my mate so he could catch aswell.

[Juliogeordio]

i think id have shared my crab with my mate so he could catch aswell.

I would have sold him some

[john/r]

I can remember fishing with a m8 one day along dawdon blast beach I had 1 fish out just before low water,my m8 came down start of flood we had same shop bought lug ,he started to pull codling in had four and I had nothing on flood.I knew we cast about same distance ,so there seemed a bit pull of the tide and I had a thought my hook was getting pushed up off sea bed so I went through 4 different rigs then I started catching on a rig with no bait clips plain lead trailing hook and will still say to this day if it wasn't for trying diff rigs I would of been fishless.

[hound hunter]

i think id have shared my crab with my mate so he could catch aswell.

I'm a yorkshire man,too tight
Only joking,I offered but he declined,said he was more than happy with his bluey,squid,sandeel etc,sometimes fresh crab can make all the difference,it did for me

[andyco]

In my opinion the keys to success are

1) are the fish in that spot? (Sometimes planning, based on sea and weather conditions does help, but sometimes no amount of planning can predict where the fish are! and sometimes you can just hit lucky) some people do seem to know when and where the fish are, guess that comes with years of experience

1.2) casting ability (i.e. The ability, and gear, to cast at range if the fish are further out)

2) having the right bait (depends what the fish are feeding on (I think sometimes they take anything, but sometimes they are fussy)

3) rig and hook choice depending on the target species