Sea fishing from a yacht.Would you put bait on a lure?

[crown22]

Didn't catch anything on the Menai Straits yesterday.I suspect my guest was mistaken to put squid on a lure on one rod and ragworm on a lure with the second rod.

 

[KevinV]

I've only ever used either a lure from a moving boat (or stationary boat in moving water), or bait when stationary - never a combination.

I'm not a serious fisherman though, and results can be distinctly variable.

 

[ridgy]

Lures work by themselves, either being cast out and retrieved or towed.

We like to use lures/feathers in daylight for something to do (and to catch some bait for later). If anchored in the evening we put a couple of legered rigs out with said bait on though you have to tend to them as the boat swings otherwise they get dragged.
We've found the tide to be too strong south of the swellies to do any fishing but north of them we've had some fun overnight in the bay just north of Beaumaris behind the channel marker with some nice dogfish, bull huss, and even a conger once. The area around Llanddwyn Island over Caernarfon bar has also been productive close to the shore both with feathers for mackerel and on the bottom.

We drew a blank on both fronts in Cemaes bay this weekend gone so I wouldn't take it personally, not catching is part of the experience. Interestingly we observed a local charter boat feathering in the same area on Sunday morning and the skipper would only have been there if his fishfinder indicated likely action so I've decided to get a cheap fishfinder for next time.

 

[Davy_S]

I always found when UK fishing that a trolled red gill works as good as anything else, mackerel, bass and Pollack like the taste!

 

[Refueler]

Common method for Flounders ... baited spoon.

That is a spoon spinner and then a decent rag or lugworm about 6' or so behind it ... the reasoning being that the flash of the spoon gets attention - the worm does the biz !

 

[Sea Change]

I find that bait doesn't stay very long on a trolled lure.

 

[TSB240]

Didn't catch anything on the Menai Straits yesterday.I suspect my guest was mistaken to put squid on a lure on one rod and ragworm on a lure with the second rod.

My favourite bait for sea bass on the strait is Peeler Crab.
I won't give away my favourite spots but they are south of the bridges.
My mooring near Y Felinheli was circled by dolphins last year. They forced sea bass and shoals of mackies to the surface in the back eddy.

 

[Baddox]

A big of fresh or frozen bait will enhance a lure but isn't always necessary. Manky old bait or preserved stuff should be avoided. A thin sliver of mackerel makes a good bait for many fish and is usually easy to obtain at this time of year.

 

[Refueler]

Never had much success trolling ..... even though I have one of those 'boards' that make the lure dive .. then if fish takes the lure - pops to the surface.

My success has been when drifting or at anchor ...

 

[JOHNPEET]

My fishing in the Menai Straits is always while at anchor. Mostly on a ledgered rig and we often use squid. The Straits seem to be full of small tope and smoothhound at the moment which can offer good sport on a light rod. Just north of Plas Newydd by the speed limit marker or about half way between the Menai Suspension Bridge and Bangor Pier are a couple of favourite spots.

 

[ridgy]

My fishing in the Menai Straits is always while at anchor. Mostly on a ledgered rig and we often use squid. The Straits seem to be full of small tope and smoothhound at the moment which can offer good sport on a light rod. Just north of Plas Newydd by the speed limit marker or about half way between the Menai Suspension Bridge and Bangor Pier are a couple of favourite spots.

Do you have a preference on state of tide and day/night? We've always done best when it's dark.

 

[JOHNPEET]

Do you have a preference on state of tide and day/night? We've always done best when it's dark.

Firstly, I wouldn’t by any means consider myself to be an expert angler, although we do spend a lot of our time afloat fishing!
I always try to target the neaps for our boating and consequently our fishing, mainly due to the high tidal flows within the Menai Straits. My preference usually is to fish between three hours before to three hours after low water. The majority of our fishing is done in the daytime but this is more out of convenience than anything else. Late evening and early morning seems popular for the shore anglers targeting bass with the lures.

 

[rotrax]

Baited feathers are often used on NE coast charter boats, plus Manx and Irish charter boats when catering for the holiday short trip anglers. They are used static and usually baited with Mackerel. It allows the use of multiple hooks and saves changing the end tackle. It is a successful method.

In the shallow, muddy waters of the inshore coastal parts of Florida on the Gulf Of Mexico side, a half ounce jig head is used with a soft rubber lure. Electric Chicken, a green/pink variety, was my favourite. The lures-of all types-did show up in the muddy water, but badly. A piece of Shrimp or Squid was added to the hook to give some scent.

This worked very well for Redfish and Speckled Sea Trout.

So, yes, in some circumstances, a baited lure can catch fish. But the bait would be unlikely to stay on the hook for long if towed behind a yacht while it was sailing.

 

[WFA]

This morning leaving Pin Mill - 4 bass on the line at once

 

[KevinV]

This morning leaving Pin Mill - 4 bass on the line at once