Bait collecting trip

[Portland Jon]

I went out bait collecting today on the sandbanks in Portland harbour. I have never really done this before and it was more of just a walk to see what I could find. I took a garden fork, a rake and some salt with me and came home with half a bucket of oysters, mussels, razorfish and cockles. My mother in law had the razorfish and the cockles. Not sure if the oysters will be useful for fishing. I'll be out there again tomorrow for some more razorfish, this time for bait.

With the really low tides at the moment I was able to walk almost as far as the deep water mark off Ferry bridge, which is about 1/3 mile. Good razorfish grounds. The dog enjoyed his walk, he was upsetting the twitchers by chasing all the birds that they were watching and trying to dig his own bait. I hound that I was digging up a lot of what look like sea urchins, if that's what they are. They are brown and more furry than spikey but they have the typical urchin marks on the shell. I brought one home to try to identify it, and will post a pic on here as soon as I find the camera.

In the mean time I have included a picture of my dog, Bongo, trying to help me dig.

Jon

[Ben]

well done, i was suprised how many rag i got on sunday for this time of the year, plenty for a session in about 3/4hr

[15yroldcodhead]

nice dog m8 !! were are the best places to dig up ragworm as i have tryed this and i find it hard. i wold rather dig up my own as they r fresh cos byein is sooo expensive to then just to through away in the sea.!!

[pingu]

not a wasted trip then john
glad to see you have a usefull assistant as well there

[cod fisherman]

very productive jon sounds like your dog enjoyed it as well as your self

[big guy]

i bet the dog loved it. you usually get them having a nose at my local digging spot with the owners running madly across miles of sand to try and catch them.

i'm a dog lover, and making a fuss of them gives you an excuse to break your back into the upright position again. LOL.

i was gonna do the spring lows before work this week for the shellfish, but i still feel like crap from a cold/ man flu, so couldn't be bothered.

[Portland Jon]

Thanks for the replies everyone. As it turned out I picked up something that I didn't recognise and later found out that it was a sea urchin, unfortunately! I had a rather bad reaction to it and felt completely wasted all night. It must have been the urchin or a reaction to the shellfish so I'll wear gloves next time.

Took the dog for a walk there again today and he seems to be able to smell the shellfish. He found one every time he stopped to dig. He's like those pigs that are trained to find truffles.

Codhead, there are loads of places round here to dig mainly around the harbour and the fleet but I am not sure about in the Poole area. if I were you I would ask the local tackle shop. I bet there are loads of worms in Holes Bay but watch the mud. Give me a shout if you want to come fishing around Portland and Chesil as I need an excuse for a fishing trip.

I don't really dig these days due to being lazy. Half a pound of rag is plenty for a fishing trip and it costs about a fiver. I don't buy peelers or anything expensive. Some of the best fishing we had last year was using lures for bass etc and float fishing for pollack and garfish using mackerel at Portland Bill.

We had a bit of a forum meet at the bill last year and will be doing it again this year. Unfortunately the girls beat the boys and outfished us by a big margin.

Jon

[Ben]

it wasnt the urchin, it was the hard work

[Greenheart]

Let me know if you do any Lure fishing meets on Portland this year Jon. I would be well up for that. (Work permitting) It's something that i'm really getting into.

Originally Posted by Portland Jon

Thanks for the replies everyone. As it turned out I picked up something that I didn't recognise and later found out that it was a sea urchin, unfortunately! I had a rather bad reaction to it and felt completely wasted all night. It must have been the urchin or a reaction to the shellfish so I'll wear gloves next time.

Took the dog for a walk there again today and he seems to be able to smell the shellfish. He found one every time he stopped to dig. He's like those pigs that are trained to find truffles.

Codhead, there are loads of places round here to dig mainly around the harbour and the fleet but I am not sure about in the Poole area. if I were you I would ask the local tackle shop. I bet there are loads of worms in Holes Bay but watch the mud. Give me a shout if you want to come fishing around Portland and Chesil as I need an excuse for a fishing trip.

I don't really dig these days due to being lazy. Half a pound of rag is plenty for a fishing trip and it costs about a fiver. I don't buy peelers or anything expensive. Some of the best fishing we had last year was using lures for bass etc and float fishing for pollack and garfish using mackerel at Portland Bill.

We had a bit of a forum meet at the bill last year and will be doing it again this year. Unfortunately the girls beat the boys and outfished us by a big margin.

Jon

[Omahayank]

Originally Posted by Portland Jon

Unfortunately the girls beat the boys and outfished us by a big margin.

Jon

NEVER take women or children if you expect to catch anything...they'll ALWAYS outfish ya