Brett wrote:I know Slinga, was talking about fresh(not frozen) bait, as I have been helping him out with advice over the past couple of weeks, which he has followed and had success with. :banana:slinga wrote:Fresh bait if you can get it. I dont think I will ever use servo pilchards again :lol:
Andoki wrote:Excuse me Brett, I did not ask you, but you are absolutely wrong here, because if you are in this business for a while you should come to know that the commercially frozen Pilchard is actually the most closest to the fresh condition compared to what it called fresh in the market, providing you buy it frozen (not too old though) and kept frozen until you start using it.
The reason for this is, it get commercially frozen on board right after it got mass caught from the seas, compared to who know how long it took what it called fresh in handling and transportation and presentation in the air … etc.
So what it called fresh it is actually not fresh unless you catch it yourself, then it is fresh.
The Pilchard is a soft and oily fish, and it get smelly if it kept in the open air, and this is why it attracts more fish compared to the frozen fish that locks its oils in the flesh … on the other hand the frozen one keeps the flesh in its original condition until it melt, hence it holds and stay longer on the hook.
As for pilchards being the closest to fresh as you will ever get, that is a joke. By the time they get to the store, it is not uncommon for them to have been tossed around and thawed/refrozen more than once during there travels. A lot of the stores around here aren't set to temperature and the pilchards are only par frozen, when you take them out. All these things add up.
I've even been to stores on delivery day and seen, boxes of bait sitting on the floor in the middle of the store, while staff are attending to customers, by the time it's packed in the freezer, all of it has started to thaw and has reduced the baits freshness, if it had any in the first place.
Anything purchased fresh locally from the market, will commonly be less than 24hrs old and will 9 times out of 10 outfish a ratty old frozen pilchard, this is what I mean when I say fresh.
When ever we sent fish to market, it was caught today, packed with ice and stored in a cool room, then sent overnight to market to be sold the next day, usually before the sun had risen, if that's not fresh I don't know what is :dontknow
I also don't buy bait, I catch my own, this is one of the most important things I tell people that ask me for help.
If you can't catch it yourself, then buy fresh, non frozen, from the market if possible as it will always out perform any frozen tackle store/servo bait.
So my original comment is still, Frozen pilchards are soft and worse than any fresh(not frozen) fillet or squid bait and will not hold up as good.
I support Bretts statement.
There are a number of species of fish that when they die, the flesh quickly becomes soft and mushy.
One way of toughening up a pilchard to soak it in brine. That is why I much prefer to use bluebait, sure the best bait is caught on location and used that day.
A ex charter skipper told me, that he tried to get the pilchards before they were frozen, he would salt them and partially sun dry them.
Sure one of the fishing shows showed the bait being brined and snap frozen in order to provide the bait in the best possible condition.
