Halibut Pellets

supersquirrel · Jul 13, 2009

In last weeks angling times I saw an article that actually quite disturbed me. It was the big fish article, this week fishing for barbel.

In it the guy said he uses halibut pellets, but warned not to use too many as they can damage fishes liver(i think). Why on earth are we chucking these things by the bag loads in our lakes,rivers etc if they are detrimental to the fishes welfare. How can the amount being used be monitered,espeically on natural venues. And with so many good quality pellets that do no harm to the fish, why on earth don't we just use these.

Ive never used high oil content pellets, such as trout or halibut pellets, and to be honest its rare for me to use any pellets. But these pellets have alot to answer for in the shape of huge, fat bloated carp. If they are causing harm to our fish stocks then surely something must be done. LOL and we are all worried about otters.

Stealph Viper · Jul 13, 2009

Hello Bigives,

Alot of hatcheries use trout pellets to fatten there stock on, a lot of big fish anglers use Halibut Pellets as both bait and feed, a lot of fisheries allow the usage of Halibut Pellets on there waters. I am sure that if there was any danger to there livelyhoods due to people using these Pellets as bait or free offerings they would ban it immediately.
One persons quotes is not a definate proven record of whether it does actually cause damage or not. The environment agency do a lot of work in what can damage fish and the waters that are fished and i am sure they would have published something about this if indeed it was the case.

Tight Lines

rookie_fly_guy · Jul 13, 2009

As far as I was aware corn can cause a similar problem with some fish - the outer coating of corn is pure cellulose which is difficult to digest so it can block up inside the fish. I believe there are states in America where its illegal to loose feed corn but its a hugely popular bait here.

Chris Season32 · Jul 13, 2009

People who don't understand the phase 'in moderation' are IMO the root of most bait concerns. Common sense seems to be getting less common as more videos/articles appear using gallons of bait. Fine if your fishing a huge lake, but I've seen plenty of anglers spodding bucket-loads of bait into small waters. Some of those I've politely spoken to genuinely think they are doing the right thing, and who can blame them if the only tuition they've had is videos and articles sponsored by bait manufacturers?

I see no problems in using any high protein/oil bait or corn if it used responsibly. Sadly they don't sell common sense in tins/bags.. And if they did it would probably be in every article/vid and cost a fortune!

NIGE K · Jul 13, 2009

krian said:
As far as I was aware corn can cause a similar problem with some fish - the outer coating of corn is pure cellulose which is difficult to digest so it can block up inside the fish. I believe there are states in America where its illegal to loose feed corn but its a hugely popular bait here.

isnt it game fish which it effects like trout and grayling.

Ben Haigh · Jul 13, 2009

its like everything in nutrition, balance is whats required. yes, halibut pellets will make fish fat, if they eat them constantly, its like living on double whopper meals. i believe corn bungs the fish up or something doesnt it?
its upto the fishery owners to look after their fish, some care, some just figure they can buy another with the extra money specimens generate.
i know plenty of places that have a coarse pellet only rule, fish are generally fit and healthy, and of reasonable size that fight hard. one place i visit lets anything go, sees a lot of halibut pellets and various boilies, and the fish are a bigger average, bloated looking, and fight poorly for their size.
i draw from that my own conclusions
they also give me concerns regarding water quality, as waters that get a lot of pellets sometimes have a greasy scummy layer on the top, but i've seen that happen with large amounts of meat.

i still use halibut pellets, but in small pva bags or as hookers, everything in moderation and all that. a pint goes a long way in small bags really.

CatmanDan (emmo Jnr) · Jul 13, 2009

"In it the guy said he uses halibut pellets, but warned not to use too many as they can damage fishes liver" (i think)

I use 21mm and 30mm halibuts and try them on most waters I fish and if targeting cats pellets is a must and I will use about kilo of them when catting (hookbait and freebies) over 3 rods from 24 to 48 hours as well as mixed sized pellets and maize and boilies, the cats & carp love em and as long as the venue allows them I will fish with them in moderation or what I think best.
I guess if it would harm fish or polute a water the EA would be the first to know or the fishery then they will put a ban on it.
95% of bait we through in wouldn`t be found on the lake bed as a natural food source, not all are best for a carps diet but then that would be down to the owners what they think best.

rookie_fly_guy · Jul 13, 2009

NIGE K said:
isnt it game fish which it effects like trout and grayling.

I'm not sure, but I do remember a fair few fisheries in scotland banned corn, and they were mostly trout fisheries, so it may just be game. I remember reading at some point that it blocks the colon and you'll see puffy red swellings around the an*us, like fishy haemorrhoids. I haven't seen that where I fish and I tend to fish with corn and maggots with a fair few freebies thrown in, so it may just be game fish.

**************

An-us is a medical term, I think the swear word blocker is a little to strict

Chris Season32 · Jul 13, 2009

CatmanDan (emmo Jnr) said:
"In it the guy said he uses halibut pellets, but warned not to use too many as they can damage fishes liver" (i think)

I use 21mm and 30mm halibuts and try them on most waters I fish and if targeting cats pellets is a must and I will use about kilo of them when catting (hookbait and freebies) over 3 rods from 24 to 48 hours as well as mixed sized pellets and maize and boilies, the cats & carp love em and as long as the venue allows them I will fish with them in moderation or what I think best.
I guess if it would harm fish or polute a water the EA would be the first to know or the fishery then they will put a ban on it.
95% of bait we through in wouldn`t be found on the lake bed as a natural food source, not all are best for a carps diet but then that would be down to the owners what they think best.

How many kilo's of boilies, maize, mixed pellet and hemp do you throw in along with your kilo of halibut pellet Dan?

Frothey · Jul 14, 2009

how long has corn been used? do you really think there are loads of "blocked up" fish swimming around?

the reason they ban it on trout waters is that it would take it apart - try fly fishing with a bit of rubber corn

Ben Haigh · Jul 14, 2009

frothey, as i said, everything in moderation. i'm led to believe that corn is not the easiest thing for them to digest, particularly the skins, hence, too much corn bungs them up.
i also don't see corn being used in the same way as pellets, i don't read about people putting 2kilos of corn in for a day session, plus other hookbaits, for example. but i see this happen with pellets regularly, everywhere i go lately.

Frothey · Jul 14, 2009

totally agree - everything in moderation.

but I've seen plenty of people put a couple of kilo of corn in (done it myself!), gallons of maggots, etc. in isolation it's fine, but when everyone does it is when it *might* become a problem.

the biggest one being it's less effective if everyone does it!

still think a lot of the problems to fish's health with some of the methods talked about is scaremongering though, just an excuse for you to have to buy the fisheries latest "designed just for us at £5 a kilo" pellet.....

Graham Whatmore · Jul 14, 2009

So where is the evidence that halibut pellets are harming fish? I don't think there is a bait that we anglers use that hasn't at some time been designated as harmful to fish with only those that swell inside the fishes stomach (some nuts for example) being the ones that really are harmful if not treated properly. Bait is a bit like items of our own diet that we are periodically told is very dangerous for us yet six months later it is recommended as an essential part of our diet.

If halibut pellets or any other of our baits were harmful then I think we would have had a lot of very sick fish on hands before now don't you?

supersquirrel · Jul 14, 2009

I only posted this as its something I read in one of the biggest angling publications around. It just took me by suprise when I read it. Like I said Im no expert when it comes to pellets etc. Its not something that should be published to a large amount of the angling public if it isnt at all true!!

Onto the the comments about everything in moderation. I think this really only applies to baits such as pellets, bolies etc. As if you put 1 kilo of worms in, its actually doing the fishery good, when they decompose. Baits like this do no damage whatsoever to any waters, whereas I think its a different case with high protein baits. Im not against pellets at all, I do use them now and again. But I think Ill just stick to using the low oil content ones, just in case

.

Also, I think I read somewhere. That trout pellets can cause problems in certain water temperatures or something along those lines. Maybe its the same for halibut pellets? Maybe you guys can shine some light on this topic as I personally dont have a clue lol.

Ben Haigh · Jul 14, 2009

Graham, with halibut pellets, i don't think we are necessarily talking about an instant illness, more a shortening of life, as it were. some of these bloated carp you see in the magazines, they don't look anything like the same species as some of the known, older fish, that have lived on a diet of naturals (or almost). will these fish that hit 20lb in 5yrs, live to see 50? which i believe carp have been known to exceed?

Frothey · Jul 14, 2009

if you feed fish nothing but bread, they will probably have health problems!

maybe the commercials should ban pellets for a year or two, just use "natural" baits and see what happens. some people just dont like horrible wriggly things though....

has anyone ever seen a fish with an "exploded" stomach from nut use? most fish seem to be able to crush nuts up pretty well, and excrete them fairly quickly too - quicker than a lot of soaking times.....

alan whittington · Jul 15, 2009

Catman,i dont disagree with your reading of it,but if every one had the same attitude all fish would be in danger,and that is why certain baits are banned,generally its if the fishery owner has not got information or cant be bothered that they are not.The trouble starts when these baits are banned and people still use them,its become far worse since the angling press publicise the effectiveness of pellets that the inexperienced anglers throw their spare bait away after each session.

Halibut Pellets

supersquirrel

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