Baiting Presentation - Pilchards
The common Pilchard would have to be by far one of the best baits available to land-beach or boat-based anglers. Not only is the flesh soft and desirable to 99% of fish species, but generates its own berley trail when used as anything but whole.
The good oily nature of the flesh attracts fish from afar and as we all know, an hour fishing with berley, is like three hours without.
Half Pilchard Rig - Tail Section
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| Step 1 Cut the bait in roughly the middle. | Step 2 When cutting, do so at an angle of about 30 degrees to accentuate the size of the bait and also expose more flesh. |
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| Step 3 Starting with the tail section, insert the hook at the very tail between the spine and the back of the bait. | Step 4 Pull the hook through the tail section. |
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| Step 5 Reinsert the hook about one centimetre further down the flank. | Step 6 Pull the hook through then reinsert the hook through the body another centimetre down the flank. |
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| Step 7 After sewing the hook through the tail section three or four times, position the hook so that it will be in the centre of the cut section of the bait, above the spine. | Step 8 It should look something like this. |
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| Step 9 Pull the line through the pilchard tight and there is your finished bait. |
Half Pilchard Rig - Head Section
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| Step 1 Thread the hook through the eye. | Step 2 Pull the line through and thread the hook back through the shoulder. |
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| Step 3 Sew the hook through the bait a few times and end with the hook positioned in the centre of the cut-away section. | Step 4 The perfect drift bait. |
Whole Pilchard Drift Rig
The whole Pilchard drift bait is a perfect and simple rig for most fishing situations where they can be used unweighted and with the current.
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| Step 1 Insert and push the hook through the mouth and out through the back of the gills.. | Step 2 Same as for Step 1. |
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| Step 3 Insert the hook at the front of the stomach cavity and in the centre of the fish at the back of the gills. | Step 4 Pull the hook tip and barb through as shown and pull the line tight to remove any slackness. |
Gang Rigged Pilchards
The most common rig for beach or rock based fishing Ganged Pilchard Rig.
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| Step 1 Begin by constructing a rig with 4/0 Mustard hooks and brass swivels between each hook. | Step 2 Lay the rig next to the bait so that the top hook will protrude from the eye socket. |
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| Step 3 Insert the bottom hook in a position that will allow the top hook to fit through the eye socket. | Step 4 Thread the hook through the fish in such a fashion that the hooks are placed between the spine and back of the pilchard. |
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| Step 5 Your rigged Pilchard should look something like this. |
 Fishing Tip : |
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| Why not contact fishSA.com about your Fishing Tip |
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