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Sardine cut bait


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I can not source herring strips locally here in Pittsburgh. But I can find fresh whole 6-8in sardines. Could I brine these and use them in meat rigs?

 

the slippery sinker isn’t open when I leave the harbor for the day. So I need an option for meat. 

 

Any help?

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A lot of what goes on with meat rigs may be relatively independent of the species of the bait itself. Much of the effectiveness comes from (and depends on) the action of the bait in the water. Whatever is used should be fairy stiff so it can twirl or spin properly behind the attractor. Just a suggestion to try would be to use prepared shad that comes in a package and is sold in a number of stores besides baitshops (e.g. Walmart or Runnings). These prepared baits have the required stiffness although you may have to make adjustments to fit them in the meat head (e.g. take the head of the bait off etc.) but they do work and are much less expensive than the brined herring.  My hunch is that the sardines may be too soft ( as they are a relatively soft fish anyway) to hold up in the meat heads but I'm not sure of that. Live sardines are used as bait in salt water.

Edited by Sk8man
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1 hour ago, orangediablo said:

Have a case of whole bait shipped to your house.  Before each trip, thaw out a tray, filet and brine.  You'll get more than double the strips for the same cost and about 15 minutes of your time.

 

Where do you order your bait?

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MC Rockets work at times better than bait. I'm not convinced the tongue out of your sneakers wouldn't work and stand up better than bait. Freedom Lures makes a plastic cutbait in many colours and some friends did well with them last season( and loaded up on this year) something I will definitely try but really wish they had put a rattle in them

Edited by horsehunter
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Nothing nothing nothing out produces cut bait. Trust me, my friends will yell you I've tried every type of fake stuff on the market so I don't have to pay for cut bait. In a pinch it will work, but you cannot replace a fresh fillet in the ole head.

Silverfoxcharters.net

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My buddy is swearing that Familiar Bite and Dreamweaver herring strips will outproduce my home brined fresh Atlantic sardine cut bait. Says I shouldn’t even use it. I’ll be interested to see who hooks up more

Edited by jigstick
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22 hours ago, Silver Fox said:

Nothing nothing nothing out produces cut bait. Trust me, my friends will yell you I've tried every type of fake stuff on the market so I don't have to pay for cut bait. In a pinch it will work, but you cannot replace a fresh fillet in the ole head.

Silverfoxcharters.net
 

You are probably right  about that 

 

But I think I have something that is pretty close . :-) :-) :-) :-)

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My buddy is swearing that Familiar Bite and Dreamweaver herring strips will outproduce my home brined fresh Atlantic sardine cut bait. Says I shouldn’t even use it. I’ll be interested to see who hooks up more
Since a lot of it is about the look....id go with the shiny scale intact bait any day vs the freezer burned, left out in the sun looking stuff. Aka familar bite /Dreamweaver.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

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I think it turned out fair. Still a little soft. I have to toughen it up. Maybe I’ll throw them in a bag with some salt and borax. See if that toughens them up some. 

 

Is this how its it’s supposed to look?  That’s an Atomik King head

672FA14F-ABEC-4A50-83C8-ED5CA56CBA0A.jpeg

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