I often hear from anglers that they fish the Baan,

Daisy

Sealiner
I often hear from anglers that they fish the Baan,but go home empty handed.Almost every time when I look at how they bait up,I can understand that they blanked.It is important to note that there is no general rule to bait up,but it is rather a matter of baiting up for a specific species and also to bait up for the area you are planning to fish.These are some ideas to be used in the Lagoon:

 *The fish is attracted by the type of food the lagoon offers.The calm waters offer many advantages as far as a fish is concerned,eg spawning,raising juvenils etc.But being shallow and not many places to hide and also lots of water sports,can chase the fish away again.

 *Most of the time it is the young fish that will take the hook...and it seems that the youngsters only likes" nice "food whlie the dads and moms keep to the staple diet.The full grown fish is also much more cautious when taking the bait..so the angler must take this into account.

*Stumps-hunt on sight and prefer calm waters and sandy bottoms.Ideal temperature would be 13 to 14 deg.Their staple diet in the lagoon seems to be black mussel,but it is not very practical to use.Not only is it difficult to place on the hook,but the Steentjies will grap it long before a big Stump could get to it.And then there are the youngsters that only wants prawn .When black mussel is to be used,then use it close to Spreeuwalle where the tide is not strong.Take many mussels and and make a nice chum...it works good,but can only be used from a boat.

*Stumps-white mussel also works well.Just make sure that the tongue is put through the hook,covering the hook completely ,while the guts must hang loosly to attract the Stump.Only tie the top part of the tongue to the hook.And please note that a very big piece of bait will be too big for the small mouth of a Stump.The mussel found in the lagoon is not ideal and maybe that is why Stumps are not taking mussel all the time...the ones that we use from elswhere are not really available in the lagoon,but it is a substitute and there are days that the fish just prefer white mussel.

 *Elastic cotton-at no time,ever,must a fish be able to see the cotton you use to tie the bait down.Some guys use meters of it and allow strings of it to hang loose from the bait...don`t do that!Use thin cotton and only tie the top part of the bait down.

 *Dirt-when the current is strong,one can expect tiny grass to get stuck to the bait...the fish will not take the bait like this.

*Red bait-the ones found in the lagoon works best and it must be fresh.Altough some good catches were made on red bait,I find the Stumps do not take it often.

*Prawn-Without a doubt,this is the best bait in the lagoon for Stumps and Kolstert.In fact ,even Kob sometimes take prawn.Now as said many times,the bait must look natural...so dead prawns,old prawns and smelly old black prawns are all not prefered.

*There are basically two types of prawn found in the lagoon.The one is the sand prawn found from the Yacht Club and south of it.Then there is the Mud prawn,bigger,harder,darker and both claws are the same size.The sand prawn has one large claw and light in colour with a pink belly.The sand prawn has the advantage that it keeps longer before going dark and as Stumps hunt on sight,they can see it quicker.However,this type of prawn is softer and gets off the hook easy.At the end of the day,both are very good,so use either one.

*The Stump will go for the head part of the prawn first..it likes the "crunch"Once it has been at your prawn,you can reel in and replace it as only the tail will be left.Take the tail off ,don`t use it again.Never make a "blop"of prawn,must look natural.

 *Prawn on hook-keep the prawn in one hand,turn it on it`s back and enter the hook where the tail meets the front body.Push the hook through and only tie the very tip of the tail down.When the prawn is small,then add a smaller prawn to the back of the first one,but do not penetrate it with the hook...allow it to kick nicely while it is tied down.

*Very important-use only very,very sharp hooks...I find the fresh water types to be sharper.Circle hooks are brilliant,but it takes the fun of striking away.

*Steentjie/Stepie-this is most probably the best bait for Kob...not a Stump.A fillet of Steentjie makes an excellent bait for Kob...better than Pilchard and better than Pike(Pike is not recognised by the fish in the lagoon and will only take it because it is nice and oily,Pilchard is better)

 *Pilchard-Elf takes the tail,Kob takes the belly and Yellow tail takes the head.So it makes sense to bait up for all species at the same time by putting a complete Pilchard on the hook.But oh dear,when I see how some anglers use old pilchards or pilchards that have some skin missing which came off after freezing,then I can understand why they`ve blanked.Unfortunately the sleeved pilchard is very expensive,but it is the best type to use in the lagoon.

*Baiting Pilchard for all three species-use the shortest steel trace you can find as the idea is that the steel must not be seen by the fish.Use a bait needle and penetrate the pilchard`s mouth and exit the belly hole.Unhook the bait needle and hook a 6,0 or 8,0 hook on the the swivel and pull the steeltrace back into the pilchard leaving only the sharp end of the hook to stand proud.It also helps to have a sliding 4,0 hook infront of the steeltrace to be hooked through the mouth and exit on top of the head...never though the eyes...must look natural.A strip of chokka can also be added to the hook at the mouth...I like to think that the Kob will look at it as a pilchard feeding on chokka.(What am I talking about...lol)

*Fillet-a fillet works well as it allows the smell to get into the water faster and as Kob feeds on smell,this is what one wants.The best way is the turn the fillit with the skin side towards the hook and showing the meat side.You can also add another fillet with the skin side ouitside as this will attact Elf better.Very important...the bait must be long...I`ll say it again...long!!!Must look meaty and fresh.

 *Always try some method to get the bait away from the bottom,otherwise crabs will get hold of it.But prawn must be at the bottom.That is why a very short trace is used for steenbra with a heavy sinker to keep the prawn at the bottom in the strong current of the lagoon.

 *Chokka always works for Kob.I can find no debate to inform you that you must clean the skin off,or keep it on.But what I do,is to not use baby chokka,but rather a large chokka strip which I take the skin off...must be completely white then...and then tenderise it well with a hammer(when on a boat,make sure that the knock,knock does not vibrate through the boat...rather use bait board on your lap)Cut the bottom part into a few strips about 4 cm long which can move in the water and look natural.Tie it around the hook in a cilinder form and do not use too much cotton.The chances are good that a Smooth hound will take the chokka before the Kob gets to it.Stay away from anchovy oil,unless you want to catch sharks.

*Bloodworm is best for Steenbra.I would like to think that it is also good for all other species in the lagoon,but I never had much success with it. *Anchovy and also harders work well,also small Maasbanker and defenately also stips of bonito and mackrel...but in the end of the day,Pilchard seems to work better.

 Well this is only my view and I am sure many would not agree...but it works for me.
 

Charlie-B

Senior Member
Hit the nail right on the head, follows these few easy steps and everyone will be in with a chance....................................
 

Slimshady

New member
Oom Daisy, you are a star. No wonder i blanked at the baan, most of what you mentioned here i was doing the opposite. Will definitely remember these tips on the next trip.
 

Daisy

Sealiner
Charlie-B wrote:
Hit the nail right on the head, follows these few easy steps and everyone will be in with a chance....................................
Charlie-B...you know I haved lots of respect for your angling methods and that`s why it`s good to get your nod...thanks my friend.
 

Smelly Cat

New member
Awesome Oom Daisy.
As far as bait presentaion goes, my methods are the same as yours. I get what you say about the pilchard looking like its feeding on the chokka, it presents a "life like" bait. I'll be sure to try this next time.

Thanx Oom ;)
 

fishbone

New member
Thanks Oom Daisy, you read my mid. I was just about to start looking up all your previous tips on baits for the various fish in the lagoon. Much appretiated recap.
 

merc

New member
Hi Daisy
hier is n bewys hoe jy my geleer het om wit stomp te vang .Dit was die langnaweek wat verby is
 

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Fila se vis

New member
Hi Oom Daisy

Ek gaan die jaar vir die eerste keer Langebaan toe...

Wat `n post. Ek dog dat ek geen kans staan vir vis nie aangesien ek nie `n boot het nie, nou het ek sommer weer nuwe moed!

Weereens dankie Oom

Stywe lyne

Philip
 
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