elastic on bait

Does anyone wrap their bait like a mack strip with an elastic band. especially if the mack isnt firm?
also has anyone ever used a jumping jack float or similar to float about mid depth in deeper water or is this just a waste of time?

i do when im lookin for a bit of distance or when theres lots of thieving whiting about! i dont cocoon the bait just enough to firm it up. works a treat

not with an elastic band but I do use baiting elastic if thats what u mean

I usually don't bother with mackerel but like the lad said above, if i'm running low on bait and the whiting are feeding i'll wrap the mack strips with a bit of bait elastic.

well im useing this all the time for strip of mackerel and sand eel its saves bait for smashing when fishing in distance and its harder for smaller fish rip it of the hook

Ye i use bait elastic the whole time as it saved a lot of bait but wasnt sure if i was doing the right thing either:-)!!

when fishing at distance its handy to have, saves the bait from flying off the hook and keeps it in place.

I bait elastic everything except lug. I even put a few wraps around hardback crabs and lash one side of their legs to the hookshank to make it harder for wrasse to pull them off without getting hooked.
Elastic makes a bait more aerodynamic and gives better presentation imho.

Elastic is a must with all fish baits fishing from shore especially when the bait is frozen. Helps keep the hook point exposed and keeps the bait on the hook against crabs, shrimps and small fish.