mussels

whats the best way to use mussels. do I freeze them, dry them. And how is the best way to use a bait needle with them

Okay

one approach is to parboil them for 15 secs to harder them up and just bind them on like you would crab with shirring elastic. You freeze them on a glass plate to facilitate packing later, like you do with other baits.

Another one is to find finger muslin (from a good pharmacy) which comes in tubes (for finger injuries). Extract mussels retaining as much of the jioce as possible and pack into muslin to form long sausage like lengths. Tie off bothe ends. Freeze. When fishing cut into required length, insert hook, bind on with a bit more shirring elastic and the juices will release as it thaws... also works with mushy mackerel, busted lugworms etc. and certainly accounts for dabs if you keep the fingers thin.

Has anyone experimented with introducing bran into the above baits to soak up the juices for release on thawing when cast into the water?

Just a thought...