About Lucebaits Pikebaits.
It takes some effort to think back to where all this started. It must have been those first smelt given to me by a Norfolk man in 1966. From that day onward I was always on the lookout for smelt. A contact in St Helens got me some in the early1980s, enough for myself and a few Tackle Shop customers. Then came the chance meeting with a professional fisherman in about 1982. That changed everything and for 20 years during the spring I drove 148 miles each way each day for a month collecting as many as 50 stone of smelt to bring back here and freeze for the following winter. Things are different now and the volumes of fish dealt with are much greater. At one time I may have as many as 25 pallets of frozen fish in a cold store as well as two cold stores full of fish of my own.
The fish I sell are in many cases sourced from as far away as Poland the aim being to provide fresh baits at the right size and price. No fish are plundered from waters UK angler's fish! I thought I ought to make that plain and I'm always willing wherever possible to reveal the sources of my bait provided it does not compromise my business. Here's some information on the baits we sell and how to look after them.
SMELT.
Most of those we sell are UK caught which means they tend to come in April. If you want Super Smelt, best to buy in May! Bulk smelt usually last until September before we are sold out. Without doubt a great pike bait, but in recent years I have done well with alternatives such as lamprey and pollan.
RAINBOW TROUT.
Obviously these are farmed fish. We try and make sure that they are not fed prior to killing. In this way the baits are firmer and less likely to split. We sell fish of mainly 6 to 7 inches, but do from time to time have bigger baits.
BLUEYS.
Now what are these I hear you ask, well they come from the Pacific and are a relative of the garfish. About 11 inches long they are blue/silver in colour. They are tough and oily and should show promise as a change bait.
GOLDEN TROUT.
A cultivated version of the Rainbow Trout. Bright orange colour ensures they stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. We actually find it easier to get these than the normal coloured variety!
BROWN TROUT.
All the ones we sell are wild rather than cultivated. They tend to be around 4oz a piece which is a nice casting bait. Tough as old boots these brownies make great trolling baits.
SMALL MACKEREL.
These are 7 to 8 inch jobs which are industrially fished on a quota system. They are nice and fresh, but sometimes the mechanical methods used to process the fish can damage the bait. We try and ensure that damaged fish do not get into our packaging.
MACKEREL.
These are 9 to 12 inch, the sort you use the heads and tails of for two separate baits. Some people use them whole, I don't!!!
HALF MACKEREL.
For some reason lots of customer like the tail half of mackerel for bait. I admit that a tail is a great casting bait, but heads are good as well. Never mind I am only here to serve!
SMALL HERRING
Years ago all you seem to be able to get were whopping great big Norwegian herrings. These days we have plenty of small herring. We do two sizes, small are 8 to 10 inches while mini are around 6 inches. All are UK caught, nice and silver and firm.
SPRATS.
Not many serious pike anglers use them these days, but they will catch good pike it is a constant struggle to get decent sized sprats. Ours come from down south or Scotland and are available from August until February. Sometimes we can run out before August!
SARDINES.
All these come from Portugal and size wise they vary. Some are monsters, 7 inch plus, others are smaller. A simple, but highly effective bait with lots of juices and oil.
COARSE FISH.
Mostly these will be roach though we do keep some perch in stock. Bream are something we come across from time to time. Just once in a blue moon we get jack pike, but usually sell those instantly!
EELS.
The eels we sell are a by product of the eel processing industry. They are the ones that die before they can be exported alive. Because of this they are not being fished for bait. They would be disposed of otherwise if we did not use them. We try to avoid selling eels over a pound. They are great baits, but lamprey are better!
LAMPREY.
All the ones we sell are legally caught and not obtained by nets men who would net stocks to death and then worry about it later. Lamprey are probably my number one bait at the moment particularly on running waters. The scent trail they give out must enable a pike to home in double quick. All ours are vac packed just after the poor things have expired. In this way none of the blood is lost. Lamprey that have been dead a day start to bleed and lots of the blood is washed off.
SANDEELS
We try and keep in stock the best Cornish sandeel. These are 7 to 8 inches in length. They are great pike baits even though there's not much to them. We sometimes get a few Snake Lance which are real whoppers.
HORSE MACKEREL.
We have not had any this year which is a nuisance, but we hope to get some more in due course.
POLLAN.
These whitefish smell differently from other baits though I can never put my finger on what exactly they smell of! Loose packed fish float so no need to pop baits up. A lot of people swear by them these days and I use them as an alternative to smelt.
BAIT CARE.
Firstly things not to worry about. We sell our mackerel, sardines and pollan loose usually glazed to protect them Sometimes you'll get a bit of freezer burn. This disappears once in the water. All it is, is the part of the bait affected is rehydrating. Loose packed bait should be used within 3 months unless you individually wrap them. Vac packed baits last for a couple of years provided the vacuum isn't broken. Your domestic freezer should be set as low as possible. One of mine operates at minus 24C. Baits keep better at lower temperatures. A freezer running at only minus 12C will see loose packed baits deteriorate quite quickly.
Taking baits to the water requires a small Coleman cool box. In this way you keep your baits frozen. I put my baits on the hooks while still frozen, my only concession being to get them out of the box ten minutes before I start fishing. In this way your hooks can be worked into the bait without bending or breaking your hooks.
Finally the Advert! The pike anglers who use my baits include, Matt Hayes, Martin Bowler, Eddie Turner, Nige Williams, Dave Kelbrick, Alastair Rawlings and Barrie Rickards. Thousands of other pike anglers also use them and while I cannot guarantee that you'll catch anything at all on them, the fact that serious pike anglers choose them ought to offer some encouragement.
Neville Fickling
It takes some effort to think back to where all this started. It must have been those first smelt given to me by a Norfolk man in 1966. From that day onward I was always on the lookout for smelt. A contact in St Helens got me some in the early1980s, enough for myself and a few Tackle Shop customers. Then came the chance meeting with a professional fisherman in about 1982. That changed everything and for 20 years during the spring I drove 148 miles each way each day for a month collecting as many as 50 stone of smelt to bring back here and freeze for the following winter. Things are different now and the volumes of fish dealt with are much greater. At one time I may have as many as 25 pallets of frozen fish in a cold store as well as two cold stores full of fish of my own.
The fish I sell are in many cases sourced from as far away as Poland the aim being to provide fresh baits at the right size and price. No fish are plundered from waters UK angler's fish! I thought I ought to make that plain and I'm always willing wherever possible to reveal the sources of my bait provided it does not compromise my business. Here's some information on the baits we sell and how to look after them.
SMELT.
Most of those we sell are UK caught which means they tend to come in April. If you want Super Smelt, best to buy in May! Bulk smelt usually last until September before we are sold out. Without doubt a great pike bait, but in recent years I have done well with alternatives such as lamprey and pollan.
RAINBOW TROUT.
Obviously these are farmed fish. We try and make sure that they are not fed prior to killing. In this way the baits are firmer and less likely to split. We sell fish of mainly 6 to 7 inches, but do from time to time have bigger baits.
BLUEYS.
Now what are these I hear you ask, well they come from the Pacific and are a relative of the garfish. About 11 inches long they are blue/silver in colour. They are tough and oily and should show promise as a change bait.
GOLDEN TROUT.
A cultivated version of the Rainbow Trout. Bright orange colour ensures they stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. We actually find it easier to get these than the normal coloured variety!
BROWN TROUT.
All the ones we sell are wild rather than cultivated. They tend to be around 4oz a piece which is a nice casting bait. Tough as old boots these brownies make great trolling baits.
SMALL MACKEREL.
These are 7 to 8 inch jobs which are industrially fished on a quota system. They are nice and fresh, but sometimes the mechanical methods used to process the fish can damage the bait. We try and ensure that damaged fish do not get into our packaging.
MACKEREL.
These are 9 to 12 inch, the sort you use the heads and tails of for two separate baits. Some people use them whole, I don't!!!
HALF MACKEREL.
For some reason lots of customer like the tail half of mackerel for bait. I admit that a tail is a great casting bait, but heads are good as well. Never mind I am only here to serve!
SMALL HERRING
Years ago all you seem to be able to get were whopping great big Norwegian herrings. These days we have plenty of small herring. We do two sizes, small are 8 to 10 inches while mini are around 6 inches. All are UK caught, nice and silver and firm.
SPRATS.
Not many serious pike anglers use them these days, but they will catch good pike it is a constant struggle to get decent sized sprats. Ours come from down south or Scotland and are available from August until February. Sometimes we can run out before August!
SARDINES.
All these come from Portugal and size wise they vary. Some are monsters, 7 inch plus, others are smaller. A simple, but highly effective bait with lots of juices and oil.
COARSE FISH.
Mostly these will be roach though we do keep some perch in stock. Bream are something we come across from time to time. Just once in a blue moon we get jack pike, but usually sell those instantly!
EELS.
The eels we sell are a by product of the eel processing industry. They are the ones that die before they can be exported alive. Because of this they are not being fished for bait. They would be disposed of otherwise if we did not use them. We try to avoid selling eels over a pound. They are great baits, but lamprey are better!
LAMPREY.
All the ones we sell are legally caught and not obtained by nets men who would net stocks to death and then worry about it later. Lamprey are probably my number one bait at the moment particularly on running waters. The scent trail they give out must enable a pike to home in double quick. All ours are vac packed just after the poor things have expired. In this way none of the blood is lost. Lamprey that have been dead a day start to bleed and lots of the blood is washed off.
SANDEELS
We try and keep in stock the best Cornish sandeel. These are 7 to 8 inches in length. They are great pike baits even though there's not much to them. We sometimes get a few Snake Lance which are real whoppers.
HORSE MACKEREL.
We have not had any this year which is a nuisance, but we hope to get some more in due course.
POLLAN.
These whitefish smell differently from other baits though I can never put my finger on what exactly they smell of! Loose packed fish float so no need to pop baits up. A lot of people swear by them these days and I use them as an alternative to smelt.
BAIT CARE.
Firstly things not to worry about. We sell our mackerel, sardines and pollan loose usually glazed to protect them Sometimes you'll get a bit of freezer burn. This disappears once in the water. All it is, is the part of the bait affected is rehydrating. Loose packed bait should be used within 3 months unless you individually wrap them. Vac packed baits last for a couple of years provided the vacuum isn't broken. Your domestic freezer should be set as low as possible. One of mine operates at minus 24C. Baits keep better at lower temperatures. A freezer running at only minus 12C will see loose packed baits deteriorate quite quickly.
Taking baits to the water requires a small Coleman cool box. In this way you keep your baits frozen. I put my baits on the hooks while still frozen, my only concession being to get them out of the box ten minutes before I start fishing. In this way your hooks can be worked into the bait without bending or breaking your hooks.
Finally the Advert! The pike anglers who use my baits include, Matt Hayes, Martin Bowler, Eddie Turner, Nige Williams, Dave Kelbrick, Alastair Rawlings and Barrie Rickards. Thousands of other pike anglers also use them and while I cannot guarantee that you'll catch anything at all on them, the fact that serious pike anglers choose them ought to offer some encouragement.
Neville Fickling