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If you're fishing with bait, whether you're jigging or baiting, have you thought about baiting? Whether you're trying to catch mullet, bass, sea bream or any other sparid, baiting plays an important role in the success of your outings.
Main benefits of priming
In harbor, passage, food waste and odors often create food competition that the bait can exploit.
Baiting concentrates fish in a specific area. Baiting helps to gather fish where you fish, instead of leaving them scattered. It will also keep them on the spot. A well-fed area maintains activity and can multiply hits, especially if you make regular recalls.
Baiting will also trigger feeding competition. When several fish group together, they feed faster and more aggressively. What's more, fish often become accustomed to the food intake associated with harbour activity, making baiting more effective.
How do I use it?
In general, it's best to prime copiously at the start, then reduce and maintain with small recalls so as not to satiate the fish. Depending on the objective, a spread bait may be more effective than a small, very compact pile, as it keeps the fish actively searching.
A few principles for priming in strong currents
- Use a compact, sticky, heavy groundbait so that it sinks quickly to the bottom and resists the current (add sand or gravel if necessary).
- Form tightly packed balls, always thrown in the same place to create a real "shot" instead of a scattered cloud.
- The rougher the sea or the stronger the current, the more often you need to prime, but only in small quantities, as the bait will dilute and drift quickly.âeuros
- Cast the groundbait slightly upstream or in the current vein in front of your lines, so that the flow naturally brings the particles to your float or leaders.
Choosing the water layer to prime
- Surface cushioning: ideal for mullet and saupe, very reactive to drifting bread particles in harbours.
- Bottom baiting (sinking and fast): for fixing sparids (sea bream, sars, bogues, bream) over a small area, especially at depth or in rough seas.âeuros
- In strong currents, the important thing is that the bait quickly touches the right layer of water (surface, mid-water or bottom) before being carried away.
Important point
Always check the harbor regulations: in some harbors or on some dikes, angling or handling on the quayside may be prohibited or strictly regulated.
