Bait Collecting

[mazman]

Hey guys
I'm looking into starting catching my own bait, this includes garfish, tommy rough, slimy mackeral, squid and any others i have missed. the only problem is for most of these i have no idea how to catch them so if someone could give me a hand that'd be awesome.
also it would be a good idea if anyone has the time and knowledge for a guide like the wooly's westernport guide to be written up on this subject as it is something that seems to be asked about often.
Cheers Alex

[Lost Pom]

The only place I've seen mackerel is at cowes pier. When they are there, they were plague like. Could barely sink a bait without catching one. Any traditional bait (squid / pilie / mackerel itself) worked. Read somewhere that they often hangaround the piers of WPB. Just need to hope they are where you are.

Salmon I would recommend any surf beach either spinning or bait fishing. Surf poppers are good for salmon too.

Squid I've never tried for but from everything you read, any weed bed will house them. Mornington round to portsea seem the most popular. Same applies to garfish and tommies. Just use a small hook under a float.

[bowl]

Boat or land base.i know sheepwas barwon heads there has been salmon ,tommy rough,gars at swan bay pier...squid in boat off st leonards..I'm still learning bait collecting .

[mattsoccerfish]

Garfish, just put little pieces of bread and tuna oil into a berley bucket, berley, and use a rig with a pencil float running down to a few split shots then a small long shank hook.

Squid- Drift over weed beds and throw squid jigs around and that's all you need to know for that.

[Basti]

Mazman are you landbased or on a boat?

[bowl]

Garfish, just put little pieces of bread and tuna oil into a berley bucket, berley, and use a rig with a pencil float running down to a few split shots then a small long shank hook.

Squid- Drift over weed beds and throw squid jigs around and that's all you need to know for that.

Yeah I know most techniques for bait collection, it's more finding reliable location of where to find the fish in ppb when I launch werribee, I have never caught a squid around but people say u can get them around werribee. Bangg

[DougieK]

Practice Maz.

"catching bait" is no different to "Catching fish". Do some research (on here, on you tube, websites books etc) there is an almost unlimited source of information available if you look for it. Some of it will be in the form of vids, some books 20 years old and some forum posts 20 seconds old.


I'm going to head down the penninsula at about lunchtime and help LadyK with some work she's doing on a National Trust property, probably try and get out at 2ish to chase some baits, either blairgowrie or flinders for squid I think. I've been to Mornington a few times recently and caught nothing so i'll try somethign else.

Honestly when the Salmon come back to Gunnamatta i'll be a very happy dude, but there is no point spinning that beach for a few hours looking for baits when nobody has seen a salmon for a month.

Will be on the beach at Merricks at 5pm at the latest for a gummy hunt :D

[purple5ive]

he is usually landbased
for the tommies, salmon and mackeral i just use a garfish rig. and either use pippies, prawn or pilchard on it