Imitation sandeel lure

I plan on going spining for bass and seatout in a few weeks at a mark that
is always full of sandeels and was wondering what would be a good lure/spinner to imitate a sandeel.

not sure at this time of year about the effectiveness of a spinner in what will prob be fairly dirty water. for the bass you could try either a kilty or a german sprat and a small mepps for the trout.

i have heard good things about the soft plastic ones from the likes of storm too.

alternatively if its full of eels as you say, bring a small net and try gather some live, store in beween sheets of wet newspaper to keep them alive and try freelining them, never tried it due to problems sourcing live eels but supposed to be deadly

an actual sandeel would be my first choice, but failing that

the storm wildeye sandeels and the naturalistic sandeels are good, as paul said a german sprat or a toby (have caught sandeel feeding bass on all these)

a rapala sliver or j11 would do the job too, as would a yo zuri minnow or crystal minnow or a storm thunderstick
as for poppers in the warmer weather an allie magnet would be a good bet

that should coover you

Thanks for the info guys, will give those lures/spinners ye recommed a try.The water where i fish Paul is clear all year so hopefully they should work this time of year. I am thinking of getting a sandeel net for the summer so should have access to live/fresh sandeels then, but would'nt have a clue how to fish or spin a live sandeel.Would ye have any tips on this? Sick of cathing small bass bottom fishing, no fight with a 4oz grip lead attached.

you can just lip hook the eel and allow it to swim arround the rocks at your feet. allow him to move where he wants to. may need to use a small clear bubble float if you want to fish near the surface

an alternative is to hook a frozen sandeel, use as little of the fish as possible to secure it to the hook and whip it with bait elastic. ideally about 1- 1.5 cm (basically just the head) should be hooked and the rest allowed to hang below the hook, spin him as normal. this should get you trout bass and pollock in season


good luck and let us know how you get on

Thanks again Paul, Roll on the summer :)