Fresh vs Rancid Bait

Could anybody advise me on the effectivness of bait that has gone a bit rancid compared to fresh bait.

After last weekend I have some peeler crab left over but as it was sitting in the car for a few days it had gone rather rancid before I put it into the freezer - smells pretty bad actually.
But would this constitute a good scent and attract fish from farther a field than a fresh peeler?

Similarly how effective would rather rancid mackerel and mussels that have been dead for a few days be?

I am a novice to this fishing lark - only started last June - but it strikes me that fish would not be too fussy and if the bait has gone a bit rancid then it would provide a strong scent trail - or maybe fish are more fussy than I am giving them credit for.

im pretty unsure about this, i mean how often do fish come across pristine lug,mackerel,rag etc baits, unless the fish are predatory the rely mostly on scavenging on dead rotting bait, but how often has fresh out fished rancid and vice versa not sure if theres a formula to it. i do know that rotting baits especially lug and shellfish, fish better than fresh after rough seas. :?

Thanks Eric,
That is what I was thinking, logically you would not expect it to matter to a fish as I would think that a lot of their diet would be from scavenging as you mentioned but I wanted to see if there was any ideas on it from anglers more experienced than me.

Some baits work well when a bit high for certain species, I've had Dabs and codling on gone off black lug and Razor. When it comes to crab however, fresh seems to be best, I haven't caught a thing on rancid crab. Gone off fish baits don't seem to work too well either and are a nightmare to keep on the hook. I'd much prefer fresh anyday tbh.

how ya rockhunter,
I'v had mixed results with gone off bait. the crab though seems,in my limited experience anyway, to be a nonrunner-it prob gets washed out on the drop. black lug depending on how it decomposed(seriously) can be very good bait for whiting and dabs-but it has to stay together and be sticky.the falling apart mush will catch fish,but twould want to be a last resort. i'l prob draw fierce flack here but seriously gone off(but again not fallin apart)can be a dinger for whiting). mac that has been frozen-but not refrozen for years goes all yellow and I'v had fantastic results on this as recently as last fri. again whiting showes a preference but dogs, fluke and turbo's loves the stuff. not refrozen mack mind you!
perhaps the above is full of s*** but I'd often use manky bait on week nights when just out killin few hours and thats what I've learned thus far!!!
mixx the peelers in with some other bait-I don't know squid sausage or something to use it up, but might be bit late on in the cod run for that lark.
regards,
hugh

how ya rockhunter,
I'v had mixed results with gone off bait. the crab though seems,in my limited experience anyway, to be a nonrunner-it prob gets washed out on the drop. black lug depending on how it decomposed(seriously) can be very good bait for whiting and dabs-but it has to stay together and be sticky.the falling apart mush will catch fish,but twould want to be a last resort. i'l prob draw fierce flack here but seriously gone off(but again not fallin apart)can be a dinger for whiting). mac that has been frozen-but not refrozen for years goes all yellow and I'v had fantastic results on this as recently as last fri. again whiting showes a preference but dogs, fluke and turbo's loves the stuff. not refrozen mack mind you!
perhaps the above is full of s*** but I'd often use manky bait on week nights when just out killin few hours and thats what I've learned thus far!!!
mixx the peelers in with some other bait-I don't know squid sausage or something to use it up, but might be bit late on in the cod run for that lark.
regards,
hugh

Thanks Pete, Hugh,
I will try out crab/mussel sausage at the weekend - I have quite a few peelers left over - seems a shame to waste them.

So refrozen mack doesn't work too well?
I have been using that a lot lately - I never know how much to bring with me and always take too much - although I never use it as a stand alone bait - always in combination with something else - squid, mussel, lugworm

i'd keep the baits small whatever i do. dropped couple of dogs on sunday and few fell off hook on shore. i reckon with cold water they'r takin ages to munch down the bait. but then again you want em to be able to track down a bait thats been ages in the water-but its such conundrums that keep us interested. who you gettin your peelers off of by the way????????

Saturday two weeks ago on the pier in Youghal a guy was selling them - I got the last of what he had left - about 20 crabs for 10 euros - some of them were quite small but they were all peelers.

brian kennedy of sharkies? let us know how you get on with the manky bait. I'd the finest of bait out last night and only managed few dogs and whiting. those dogs were more expensive then genuine canines!!

i always find squid works better for many species when its a bit hangin especially 4 lsds ( if ur desperate to save a blank)works 4 me :wink:

My bait's always hangin because it's been refrozen so much

Many years ago, at the start of the boat fishing season, a buddy came to me for bait. All I had were frozen mackeral that were so old that they were completely yellow. He took them all the same and caught a specimen turbot! :shock:

Have done fairly well with Bass on razor thats been frozen and refrozen a few times. :D
Stank so bad I was all but gagging when baiting up.
:shock:


john.

I tried that rancid crab at the weekend - it definitely does not make a good bait when it is gone off (see my shore report on Youghal 23/2/8). It just disintegrated. I tried it as cocktail with mussel and with squid but did not get any bites.

The oysters that I collected two weeks ago were a different matter - 3 or the 6 fish I caught on Satuday in Youghal were taken on oyster. I was trying different baits and probably only used the oyster for half an hour at the most but it still accounted for 50% of the catch

i have found it to be hit and miss as well

some days the manky mack is hooking everything and then the next day its the fresh stuff

advice - dont dump the bait too readily - can always be good to change it around

and with the manky stuff make sure you bait up well - you think your fishing away and the stuff is off the hook 15-20 mins!!! :lol:

i find that really old rancid bait is a good way of getting the fish in around your spot, when fishing from rocks or pier. i mash it all up, cut the corner off an onion sack and fill it with the bait and a fair sized stone, tie to a hand line and yank it out, anything that's about will come to it, just put your cast close to it. it works well when fishing for the dogies and huss...works for me every time.

recon it would work wel in the summer off the some of the beaches where the tide strips like crazy, drop a sack of mushed bait at low tide and another one about 1/2 way back up the beach. often ment to try it in clonea to try and bring in some of the ray that i know are knocking about out far on those mild days. might get my chance to do it this winter ( :shock: prob about july or aug :shock: )

Hi Paul,
That sounds like a good idea.

Do you tie the sack of mushed bait to a rock or something?
Or put a rock into the sack and just let it roll around in the surf?

Hi Paul,
That sounds like a good idea.

Do you tie the sack of mushed bait to a rock or something?
Or put a rock into the sack and just let it roll around in the surf?