Halibut Anchoring Bait Tube Idea Question.

[casper5280]

Hello All

Been viewing posts here for a couple months and have received some great advice so I thought I'd join up and help contribute if I can to this aweseome community.

Anyways, regarding the PVC bait holder idea, I was thinking of doing something very similar for getting more sent around my boat, but I'm wondering: If you use a Anchor Lift system like I do (I use the split ring design) wouldn't the PVC tube hit the ring before the anchor made it there and potentially rip it off? At the same time, I'd want it at least a few feet up-chain from the anchor so it doesn't impede the hook's ability to set properly. Otherwise, seems like a great idea, cause I'm not to keen on lowering something on my rigger and potentially causing problems. Besides, the scent at the anchor is gonna follow you right downstream anyway.

Just tie on your bait container with piece of cord 3-5 ft up your chain from your anchor. Make the cord about 2-3 ft longer than where you tied it on the chain. When you bring up your anchor the cord will slide right though the rings and be hanging right beside your anchor. You can put a small float in side the bait container so it won't sit on the bottom and bother your anchor in any way too.

 

[fish4all]

Wow what a thread. You guys really know how to take the sport out of "sports" fishing.

 

[TheSookesOfHazzard]

Just tie on your bait container with piece of cord 3-5 ft up your chain from your anchor. Make the cord about 2-3 ft longer than where you tied it on the chain. When you bring up your anchor the cord will slide right though the rings and be hanging right beside your anchor. You can put a small float in side the bait container so it won't sit on the bottom and bother your anchor in any way too.

Great idea! Thanks!

 

[fish4all]

how so F4All????....there are some great ideas here.....holmes*

Probably have a salt pile in your back yard for deer. Again where is the sport.

 

[scott craven]

Thats like saying a duck or moose call used while hunting makes it non-sporting ?
I can't say whether or not it helps, but as long as theres no hooks in the chum bag
it certainly does not compromise the sport

 

[Optimist]

And what do we owe the honour of having Fish for all back on line ,,,and who let you out from under that rock !!

 

[Gunsmith]

What you are suggesting is that we fish with bare hooks also?

Probably have a salt pile in your back yard for deer. Again where is the sport.

 

[bananas]

Just read all this , some great ideas for sure!! Haha Wolfy. I never fish halibut without putting a chum bag on my anchor that way all the halibut go hang out 400 ft away from my boat. The scent bomb I'm gonna try though

 

[Westcap19]

I sometimes bang a 45 degree hole through the top and edge of a can of smoked oysters, then zap strap through the top loop of the spreader bar--a few small holes in the trailing edge and good to go. When the can's done open 'er up and serve to guests (but not if down-current from s@#t pipe)

 

[lgraham]

Here's my take on it. I only use a chum bag when I am anchored and not drifting. Also only when the water depth is less than 150ft (there are certain situations where I will use a bag deeper but only if there is very very little tidal current). Tie the bag off of the downrigger and NOT your anchor line, it does no good to have all the fish bypass your baits and hang around your anchor where they aren't gonna get caught. Also, Do Not throw down a big blob of bait in a newspaper/paper sack, on a good tide everything will be carried away in seconds and you lose the effectiveness of having a scent trail that leads directly to your baits. To make a chum bag effective it should lead the halibut right to the vicinity of where your actual lures are. To make a good scent trail you must use a mesh bag of somekind that allows material and scent to leak/milk out constantly. As well as this it works much better if the pieces inside the bag are smaller than the mesh itself. I do my bags all at once every year by grinding bulk herring/ sardines and using salmon carcs saved up from the season with some herring/sardine oil in addition. Package into day sized portions in ziplock bags and freeze until you need to use them. (Note: look at the prawn thread above and you'll see what I'm talking about) Anyhow, this saves a lot of time and creates WAY less mess than making a chumbag each time out on the boat. Also, by grinding the fish, those tiny bits and pieces that are released into the current become food for other small baitfish to eat. Thus, not only will the hail's be drawn into the scent flowing downstream but also due to the school of baitfish chowing down on pieces of chum underneath your boat. A chumbag done in this manner will consistently produce and put lots of big Hali's in the box.
--Luke

 

[ChoveyRoller]

Wow what a thread. You guys really know how to take the sport out of "sports" fishing.

Hmmn. Would you recommend that we retire our Salmon flashers, sounders, gps’s, charts, glo hoochies and downriggers as well?
How do you fish?..... or do you? Just asking.

P.S Perhaps I am wrong but........ I think it is called sport fishing, not "Sports" fishing

Great thread, lots of good ideas

 

[TheSookesOfHazzard]

Very good points Luke. I like the idea of grinding the fish to make it accessible for the baitfish as well. However attaching a bag to a downrigger still seems to me a bit sketchy. I agree that a bunch of fish around your anchor doesn't really do ya any good but I guess the hope is it still attracts them into the area and they will hopefully get diverted to your lures through bottom bouncing and other attractents. Indeed not as close as they could be using the downrigger but those cannonballs (not to mention the rigger themselves) are just too damn expensive to risk having em' get caught up in something, fish or otherwise.

That said, I guess any day fishing and using downriggers there's gonna be risk!

 

[Whole in the Water]

I have been reading this forum and it seems to me that the scent tube/bag ideas discussed here all have their pros and cons:
· Using downriggers are easy, but you can get tangle issues when the hali bits
· Anchor scent chamber is easy, but it could be hundreds of feet away from your lure
· Frozen newspaper chum bomb can get blown away with a strong enough current

So what about dropping a thin poly rope line with a 10lb cannonball with a scent bag tied to it? This can then be tied off on the bow cleat and pulled up by hand. This way it is not too close to your lures to get tangled up, but still close enough to draw them to it. Anybody tried this?

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Whole in the Water, your idea looks real good, may try that with some of my prawn rope? ..........BB

 

[Whole in the Water]

Whole in the Water, your idea looks real good, may try that with some of my prawn rope? ..........BB

Thanks BB, but the idea is not mine, it came from my buddy JuandeOne. We're going try it out soon!

 

[Peterman]

Whole in the Water.... Ive done it... Works just fine... the thinner the diameter of rope the better ofcourse (a little toss up current helps it land under the boat) ... Just make sure your buddies are ready to retreive that line if and when you get a decent hali on... They have a habit of rapping themselves around every line down there...

I still prefer the bucket off the Anchor... because they are following a scent trail and should pass very near to your gear before they find the chum bucket off your anchor line...

And the bait bags off you downrigger balls work great because you can simply flick the switch and your gear is our of the way in seconds...

 

[Dave S]

And the bait bags off you downrigger balls work great because you can simply flick the switch and your gear is our of the way in seconds...

I keep looking on my downriggers for this switch everyone talks about, but I can't find it. Guess I'll just keep cranking.

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

yes i have a salt pile in my backyard for deer genius, i could catch deer where i live with my bare hands as you can walk up to them just about anywhere, youre an idiot....holmes*

Youre awesome Cam!

 

[bushwackin]

Whole in the Water.... Ive done it... Works just fine... the thinner the diameter of rope the better ofcourse (a little toss up current helps it land under the boat) ... Just make sure your buddies are ready to retreive that line if and when you get a decent hali on... They have a habit of rapping themselves around every line down there...

I still prefer the bucket off the Anchor... because they are following a scent trail and should pass very near to your gear before they find the chum bucket off your anchor line...

I've loving this idea of the thin rope and 10 pound ball and bait bag. With the bucket tied to the anchor we find that half the time we're not directly down current of the anchor anyway if you have a bit of cross wind. Still they seem to find you after a while but makes sense to have the scent right under your boat. I think using the downriggers one would sooner or later have a real sh@tshow.