Cockles as bait

mikench · Mar 20, 2018

Silly question of the day! I plan to try these shortly and I have a jar of pickled cockles! Should I leave them in the vinegar or wash them off? I tried to get them in brine but I can buy fresh!

103841 · Mar 20, 2018

I buy mine fresh from the harbour Mike, definitely want to get any vinegar off. My Tesco also sells them in a vacuum pack without any gunk on them.

I find them a bit like prawns in as much as they work well on some waters and useless on others. I've had success with mussels for tench too.

sam vimes · Mar 20, 2018

Eat the ones in vinegar yourself. Buy them unadulterated for bait. Tesco sell them frozen (and without shells) on or near the fish counter. They also work out a lot cheaper than pickled in little jars.

mikench · Mar 20, 2018

I love cockles and mussels so wil get some fresh and if there are any left I will try them as bait!:wh

Have you tried those famous Whitstable oysters for bait John or are they too good for that( oh yes)?

103841 · Mar 20, 2018

mikench said:
Have you tried those famous Whitstable oysters for bait John or are they too good for that( oh yes)?

At Whitstable prices the fish will have to make do with cockles and mussels! Have to say I've never had a local oyster from Whitstable, many moons ago I had a carpetbagger steak that was stuffed with an oyster from one of the most expensive restaurants in London at the time, I was sick as a dog over the next 48 hours.

uke:

S-Kippy · Mar 20, 2018

Fresh or frozen. Definately not pickled.

My Tesco used to do a big bag of frozen cockles for a fiver....enough for several trips but all they do now are poxy little potfuls for about £3. Brilliant tench bait...absolutely took a water I used to fish apart and have worked everywhere for me. Trouble is carp and brim like them too.

mikench · Mar 20, 2018

You were unlucky John! I have sampled your local oysters and they are good!

john step · Mar 20, 2018

mikench said:
Have you tried those famous Whitstable oysters for bait John or are they too good for that( oh yes)?

OI !!! Whistable Oysters for bait ! Champagne corks for bobbins !! Lord Paul will be inviting you over to his castle for a banquet at that rate followed by a fish-in in his moat.:wh

mikench · Mar 20, 2018

I wish! He is a cut above!:wh

ian g · Mar 20, 2018

I've never tried cockles but used to catch lots of tench on those mussel meat bags they used to sell for a quid at Tesco's . As others have said they were very venus specific. Like most unusual bait I suppose it's confidence thing.

103841 · Mar 20, 2018

Funny you should mention that John. A fishing acquaintance of mine fishes a moat once or twice a year for big Crucians somewhere on the South Coast, could well be the one featured in this video. A two day session seperated by a five star dinner sounds just the ticket, (no oysters please).

YouTube

nottskev · Mar 20, 2018

As ian g said - seafood baits can be very venue specific. The tench lake you came down to, Mike, is a good example. Some anglers' bait trays there are like a fishmonger's slab, with cockles, mussels and prawns. They work well in late spring and early summer, but don't work well when it's cooler and the tench slow down. I've tried them in some places where they didn't even get me a bite.

S-Kippy · Mar 20, 2018

ian g said:
I've never tried cockles but used to catch lots of tench on those mussel meat bags they used to sell for a quid at Tesco's . As others have said they were very venus specific. Like most unusual bait I suppose it's confidence thing.

Now thats interesting. I tried mussel meat on the water that I was murdering the tench on cockles and couldnt buy a bite. Odd.

103841 · Mar 20, 2018

The tench in my local estate lake (which opens in 12 sleeps time) will take a cockle but much prefer Spam.......no class.

sam vimes · Mar 20, 2018

s63 said:
Funny you should mention that John. A fishing acquaintance of mine fishes a moat once or twice a year for big Crucians somewhere on the South Coast, could well be the one featured in this video.

I've seen that water, or another very similar (I believe there are a few similar near Portsmouth/Southampton), featured in videos and magazine articles before. For some reason, the prospect of fishing it/them appeals more than many much more famous waters.

103841 · Mar 20, 2018

ive just unearthed this short video by Richard, doesn't show much of the moat, he did tell me once where it was, possibly Gosport?

YouTube

ian g · Mar 20, 2018

S-Kippy said:
Now thats interesting. I tried mussel meat on the water that I was murdering the tench on cockles and couldnt buy a bite. Odd.

The pond I fish is a farm reservoir only an acre or so but fairly clear and weedy . I kept dragging in swan mussels when I was dragging a rake through to make a swim I was pulling out quite a few swan mussels which gave me the idea to try mussel meat. To be honest when I first fished it you could catch decent tench on pretty much anything.

swizzle · Mar 20, 2018

s63 said:
ive just unearthed this short video by Richard, doesn't show much of the moat, he did tell me once where it was, possibly Gosport?

I could be wrong, I expect I am, but I believe that moat is called Brockhurst. As Sam says, it's one of three in the Portsmouth area. All of them used to be on PDAS book, and available for servicemen to fish, whether it's still the same I don't know.

103841 · Mar 20, 2018

swizzle said:
I could be wrong, I expect I am, but I believe that moat is called Brockhurst. As Sam says, it's one of three in the Portsmouth area. All of them used to be on PDAS book, and available for servicemen to fish, whether it's still the same I don't know.

You're not wrong, it is Brockhurst, day tickets are available.

David Rogers 3 · Mar 21, 2018

ian g said:
As others have said they were very venus specific.

I expect that's why oysters have a reputation as an aphrodisiac?

Cockles as bait

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