When catching my own Chokka,Worm, Mussel,Fish Bait,etc,I've had far more success than with bait purchases.I know where this bait comes from,straight out of the Sea, fresh!
With my fresh worm,or recently salted worm,I've recently caught Galjoen,Belman, White Stump,Steenbras,Blacktail,Hottentot,Steentjies,etc.
But have had very little success with Chokka,Fish Bait, over the last year as I haven't been able to catch these,and have had to rely on shops.Mussels?-haven't had any luck with this either as I haven't been able to dig any.
I've become friendly with those that either work in tackle shops or once did.My suspicions/fears were realized with research I personally conducted.
I asked different people in the know about the bait supply chain as I was concerned about too many middlemen,creating a delay in products reaching their destination culminating in products quality being affected,over time.
I was told by many that when bait gets collected at initial catcher by buyer,it gets collected in bulk,maybe frozen,or may lay around til collected by another link in chain,where it defrosts again,then maybe to Tackle shop,where it lays and defrosts again.
By my reference to 'Secrets of the Bait',there are obvious unknowns of where baits have been, how many times defrosted & frozen again,over & over every time it changes hands in the chain,or how many entities are involved in the process.
Bear in mind that packageing,packing in boxers,containers,still takes place,most times en route to tackle shop.We'll never know how many hands or how long process actually takes,or how old the bait actually is,even if dated according to batches.
This could be why so many complain about blanking these days.Anglers rely on Tackle Shops,etc,and we're none the wiser wrt the bait chain.
I'm not trying to knock any particular Shops,suppliers,etc,as they also rely on the people/links in the chain.
I'm purely acknowledging a fact that anglers rely on bait to catch fish,but quality of baits can differ according to bait chain.And anglers aren't aware of the chain that bait often has to follow to get to the end user,the angler.
So,obviously if you can buy from a supplier who has no middlemen,and buys almost direct from fishing boats,the quality of your products will be far superior,will endure longer,and be more viable.
Ultimately this may show more fish dividends,which is what the anglers major objectives are.
Granted,these opinions are purely based on my observations and other anglers may have lots more luck than I do with purchased baits,or may have no choice like with Pilchards,etc.
But I'll stay with tried and tested bait that realizes better catches.Now to find some real fresh Chokka good enough for human consumption.Ocean Basket,LOL?
With my fresh worm,or recently salted worm,I've recently caught Galjoen,Belman, White Stump,Steenbras,Blacktail,Hottentot,Steentjies,etc.
But have had very little success with Chokka,Fish Bait, over the last year as I haven't been able to catch these,and have had to rely on shops.Mussels?-haven't had any luck with this either as I haven't been able to dig any.
I've become friendly with those that either work in tackle shops or once did.My suspicions/fears were realized with research I personally conducted.
I asked different people in the know about the bait supply chain as I was concerned about too many middlemen,creating a delay in products reaching their destination culminating in products quality being affected,over time.
I was told by many that when bait gets collected at initial catcher by buyer,it gets collected in bulk,maybe frozen,or may lay around til collected by another link in chain,where it defrosts again,then maybe to Tackle shop,where it lays and defrosts again.
By my reference to 'Secrets of the Bait',there are obvious unknowns of where baits have been, how many times defrosted & frozen again,over & over every time it changes hands in the chain,or how many entities are involved in the process.
Bear in mind that packageing,packing in boxers,containers,still takes place,most times en route to tackle shop.We'll never know how many hands or how long process actually takes,or how old the bait actually is,even if dated according to batches.
This could be why so many complain about blanking these days.Anglers rely on Tackle Shops,etc,and we're none the wiser wrt the bait chain.
I'm not trying to knock any particular Shops,suppliers,etc,as they also rely on the people/links in the chain.
I'm purely acknowledging a fact that anglers rely on bait to catch fish,but quality of baits can differ according to bait chain.And anglers aren't aware of the chain that bait often has to follow to get to the end user,the angler.
So,obviously if you can buy from a supplier who has no middlemen,and buys almost direct from fishing boats,the quality of your products will be far superior,will endure longer,and be more viable.
Ultimately this may show more fish dividends,which is what the anglers major objectives are.
Granted,these opinions are purely based on my observations and other anglers may have lots more luck than I do with purchased baits,or may have no choice like with Pilchards,etc.
But I'll stay with tried and tested bait that realizes better catches.Now to find some real fresh Chokka good enough for human consumption.Ocean Basket,LOL?
