sand eel waste.

[Determined Dan]

hi Ive used sand eel a lot and some will not be used at the end of the session. Ive been putting them in the tide when the session is over but im thinking of the cost. are they no go for the next session if i freeze them again? =also ive been told when the belly bursts they are finished ? is this true or is it bull.is there any species that will take a refrozen sand eel first. thanks for the help.

[fisherman59]

hi dan for what its worth sandeel that have fully thawed out are useless when re frozen the trick is to keep them frozen during fishing and only take out what u need from flask or freezer box this should mean that any unused eels remain frozen or partially frozen and should be placed in the freezer when u return home hope this helps

[saving private brian]

i used to be like this at the start of my beach casting days but have changed alot now,,,agree with fisherman there,,,,just take 2 or 3 out and have them on your baiting board,,,try keep the others in their plastic and well wrapped in newspaper via an elastic band,,,,however if you have some that are well thawed and you normally dump them well why not refreeze them and maybe use them on a rolling trace for turbot/flats etc,,,the next session or even in a cocktail when targeting bigger fish

[bassboy]

i keep any old bait and freeze it for making big juicy sausages for cod bass conger eels .sometimes the smellier your bait is the better

[alby]

hi Ive used sand eel a lot and some will not be used at the end of the session. Ive been putting them in the tide when the session is over but im thinking of the cost. are they no go for the next session if i freeze them again? =also ive been told when the belly bursts they are finished ? is this true or is it bull.is there any species that will take a refrozen sand eel first. thanks for the help.

Refrozen sandeels are muck - dump them when thawed.

The only possible use is spinning for pollock, and at that they are average at best because of "burstabellyty"

[croppyboy]

agree with alby there shite when they burst

[roger de dodger]

keep them chop them nice and fine with all your othe bits left over put them in a bag with a bit of pilchard oil and freeze ,next time you go targeting flounder use it as ground bait ,not in one go ,feed the swim ever 5 min just sprinkle it into the water if their is a flounder within a mile it will be at your feet in no time also good for coalies whiting ect

[baitdigger]

I think it isnt that they have no value as a bait once refrozen, I just believe that people find them harder to present because the flesh tears and the guts spill.
Unless a sandeel is live is a fish going to find them in pristine condition naturally?? huss and eels love stinking baits.
As previously stated keep them in a food flask and just get a few out at a time. If you do refreeze them try drying them off with some kitchen roll and wrapping them individually in clingfilm.
The easiest way to cope with the bust gut ones is to wrap then inside a squid or half a squid, lash them tightly with elastic and them put your hooks through them after they are secure. You can also use a strip of mackerel mounted on pennels and lash the sandeel to that rather than try to hook the sandeel itself.
Other than that just stay on the beach until you use them all