what is the right time of the year for digging sandeels

[saving private brian]

bumped into a mate of mine yesterday in which he told me that he was out with his dog on the shoreline to which the dog was rooting in the sand and to bring up sandeels.we both headed out today and i dug about 20 id say in half an hour.some were small but there was good sized ones too..i honestly would of thought it was a bit early for them yet???

[JOHN1]

I have catching plenty of launce from the boat on the east coast the last few weeks, if thats anything to go by

[lucky]

sandeel 010.jpg

sandeel 010.jpg

ha brian.. i never dug sandeels myself bofore untill last year i came accross them at a lug mark of mine, since then i have been digging them any time of the year i find that the best time to get them is on the low spring tides eg.. low water mark 0.05 to lower. if you get them on a beach at any low water mark time you might have better success on the low spring tides.... as for digging them before you go digging put a tray in the freezer and when digging them half fill the bucket with sea water and put them into it to keep them alive, once home put them straight on to the tray that way they will freeze the skin of them straight away and once that is done i put them into the plastic bank bags you can get for change and into freezer then... ready made bait when you need them.....a photo of some i dug last week in about 20 min....

[saving private brian]

thanks a million alan.great advice there.just feels great to have me own sandeel mark

[paul mason]

Sandeels that are taken at this time of the year are not much good for freezing, they tend to burst when thawed and put on a hook. The eels that are got around August / September tend to be much tougher and freeze much better. I have accidentally dug Eels even in January while digging Whites so its common for them to be around even in the colder months.

[alancooper]

How do you dig sand eels - I thought that you had to push a net with a wooden bar through the water?

[paul mason]

Once upon a time long before sandeels were poplar and sold in the shops, I used to dig my own. Soft shale sand that was very moist push your fork in a run it through the sand, it would throw up the sandeel but you had to be very fast to grab it. I would get anything up to one hundred in a session. Evening time at low tide was the most fruitful as the sandeel would bury themselves in the sand out of the way of predators.

[roryodonnell]

Once upon a time long before sandeels were poplar and sold in the shops, I used to dig my own. Soft shale sand that was very moist push your fork in a run it through the sand, it would throw up the sandeel but you had to be very fast to grab it. I would get anything up to one hundred in a session. Evening time at low tide was the most fruitful as the sandeel would bury themselves in the sand out of the way of predators.

I see your new shop is doing bait from nationwide, all the best with the venture and I'll be out to raid your fridge!

[paul mason]

Once upon a time long before sandeels were poplar and sold in the shops, I used to dig my own. Soft shale sand that was very moist push your fork in a run it through the sand, it would throw up the sandeel but you had to be very fast to grab it. I would get anything up to one hundred in a session. Evening time at low tide was the most fruitful as the sandeel would bury themselves in the sand out of the way of predators.

I see your new shop is doing bait from nationwide, all the best with the venture and I'll be out to raid your fridge!

Thanks Rory!!! yes just got the freezer filled on Saturday with all the Nationwide bait. The blacks are fresh over from Wales courtesy of Nationwide.