MarkTheSpark
Senior Member
Over the years, sardines have established themselves as a supreme pike bait, which works well in most waters.
At the same time, sardine is one of the most frustrating baits to use – soft-skinned and fragile, it falls off the hooks at the slightest provocation. It even falls off the hooks on the way to the bottom, as I have found out to my cost, having reeled in bare hooks more than once.
The solutions are legion, usually involving fusewire and elastic binding the sardine’s tail to the treble shank. But they must now make way for the cable tie; cheap, easier to use and much more foolproof. Get the tiniest size you can find at the car boot/QD/market/Wilkinsons.
They need trimming once they’re in place (don’t leave the trimmed end on the bank) but they work brilliantly. When the bait comes adrift or is eaten, the little loop hangs there on the hook instead of being left in the environment.
These little cable ties have many other uses, including emergency repairs. One particularly fine use is as rod stops. When you perch on steep banks and through necessity have to have your rods facing downwards, the rod tends to slide right down to the next line guide, sometimes trapping the line against the front rod rest head or bite alarm. So put a cable tie round the butt where you want the rod to sit on the back rod rest, and it will stop this happening. I guess it would work when you’re fishing beachcaster style, too.
At the same time, sardine is one of the most frustrating baits to use – soft-skinned and fragile, it falls off the hooks at the slightest provocation. It even falls off the hooks on the way to the bottom, as I have found out to my cost, having reeled in bare hooks more than once.
The solutions are legion, usually involving fusewire and elastic binding the sardine’s tail to the treble shank. But they must now make way for the cable tie; cheap, easier to use and much more foolproof. Get the tiniest size you can find at the car boot/QD/market/Wilkinsons.
They need trimming once they’re in place (don’t leave the trimmed end on the bank) but they work brilliantly. When the bait comes adrift or is eaten, the little loop hangs there on the hook instead of being left in the environment.
These little cable ties have many other uses, including emergency repairs. One particularly fine use is as rod stops. When you perch on steep banks and through necessity have to have your rods facing downwards, the rod tends to slide right down to the next line guide, sometimes trapping the line against the front rod rest head or bite alarm. So put a cable tie round the butt where you want the rod to sit on the back rod rest, and it will stop this happening. I guess it would work when you’re fishing beachcaster style, too.
