Features | Waylon's Fishing Features Part One - Introduction | Part Two - Bait Collection | Part Three - The Wahoo | Part Four - The Tuna |
Part Two - Bait Collection
An essential component in a fisherman’s arsenal is bait. The amount and type of bait he has managed to catch, dictates the level of success his day will have. Although top pelagic predators can be enticed into feeding on whole or chunked dead baits, there are days when only live baits are acceptable and therefore if you do not have any, you arrive home with very little or no fish! Artificial lures can be used to locate fish, but once the shoal is found it is the live bait that gets the fish into a feeding frenzy.
All commercial boats here on the island have built in live bait tanks, these are water tight compartments with a number of holes drilled through the bottom, therefore the tank drafts the same level of water as the boat . The tanks are sometimes fitted with pumps or forward facing scoops, which forces fresh water in once the boat is making way. The tanks vary in size but most can carry in excess of 1000 bait fish depending on their size.
Bait fish feed best at sunrise or sunset. Fishermen prefer to catch their bait during the sunrise period, being freshly caught means the bait will be healthy and strong and the tanks can be packed to capacity because the boat will be running to the fishing grounds once the bait operation is complete. The afternoon period is sometimes utilized when bait is scarce or when a skipper has had a good catch and wants to be the first in that area the following day. The amount of bait collected during this time has to be carefully judged, because they will be spending at least 9 hours in the calm conditions of the moorings, overfilling the tank would result in some of the bait dying (lack of regulated water) and unnecessary stress on those that do survive.
Type, location and availability are all factors which determine the time a skipper leaves the moorings in search of his bait for the day. The more difficult bait is to find, the earlier a boat will start to search. There are times during the year when only Mackerel can be caught using hand lines, so a skipper will utilize the earliest possible time which is 4am (when the ferry service begins operation) because Mackerel will feed throughout the night. When bait is abundant, a skipper needs only to arrive at the bait grounds 15-20 minutes before sunrise in order to dip his tank full, thus it is at these good periods that fishermen allow themselves a little extra sleep!
Fish-finders are used to locate bait shoals (like the one in picture 1, the red highlighted area indicates a large shoal of bait directly beneath the keel of my boat). A light is used at most times to attract the bait and then a finely minced chum is used to bring them to the surface to be dipped. Our selective fishing methods are evident even with bait fishing; only small dip/scoop nets are employed. We take only the bait we require; the remaining shoal is left unscathed.
Bait aggregating buoys are also deployed by some skippers to assist in bait collection; these consist of an anchor, chain, length of rope and a small floatation device. Bait buoys are very effective, however they sometimes work to well, as they will also attract predators as well as bait fish. This could result in the shoal of bait being scared away before any can be dipped.
Currents, temperature, predators and ‘dirty’ water (muddy rain water or stirred up seabed) could all effect bait fishing adversely, these elements are the main reasons why boats return early with no bait.
It is extremely frustrating to be forced back to the moorings through lack of bait, especially when good fish was landed the previous day. However, a fisherman must accept these occasional situations because the attributing factors are completely out of our hands. One must simply try and enjoy the day off and hope for better luck tomorrow!
