The ball: a fragrant paste
The pelota is nothing less than a rough paste made of sardines, flour and sand. To make a good pelota, you need to remove sardine fillets, crush them and mix them with flour and sand. The sand will act as ballast. The texture of the dough should allow you to form small balls with which to hide your hook. Some fishermen add other ingredients, sardine oil for the sticky and olfactory side, or fine semolina for a less sticky dough. It is preferable to make the pelota as late as possible: the day before or even better at the last minute. There are now also ready-made pelota doughs available in some fishing stores.
A rudimentary assembly
To fish with a pelota there is nothing simpler. A rod with rings sensitive enough while remaining robust with a length of about 4 meters, a simple reel in size 2 500 or 4 000. The nylon line body should be strong enough to fish in rocky areas, between 22/100 and 35/100. As for the leader, it is composed of fluorocarbon between 20/100 and 25/100 with a length of about 1.50 m and a triple hook N°8 to N°12 or simple N°2 to N°8. To better follow your line and detect the bites it is preferable to add a small float or indicator on your line. A long-handled landing net can be useful if your spot is overhanging.
The right conditions
Pelota fishing is practiced in heavy seas or following a swell coming from the open sea. To fish effectively, you need to cover your fishing spots with foam. This foam acting as a screen will allow wary fish such as sars to come close to the edge to feed on your ball. However, be careful to inspect the sea state to avoid taking any risks!
From the edge of a rocky coast
The pelota technique is practiced on rocky coast from the shore. It is necessary to choose a place where the waves break not far from the shore and thus form a rather important foam close to the shore. An overhanging rock allows you to fish more quietly and without getting too wet. Once you've found your spot, simply form a ball with the dough you've made and wrap it around your hook. When fishing with simple hooks, you can add a bait on the hook, sardine or shrimp before covering it with paste. Then, with the help of your rod, you let your rig go down gently in the foam. As for the fishing with toc you can keep your line in the hand to better feel the touches. You can also bait your spot with a few pellets at the beginning and then make a few recalls from time to time.
