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How many of you boaters chum?
After watching first hand how effective chum was in keeping vast numbers of fish below the boat for 4 hours in the Keys, I have to wonder if I should be trying it up here at certain times. While I hate to troll, anchoring up is even worse to me, but there are times when conditions are just too rough for my kind of fishing with the electric trolling motor. When it gets too rough and the trolling motor prop is constantly popping out of the water, I will anchor up and throw chunks. Now are those same conditions too rough to effectively use chum? Will those rougher seas, spread out the chum slick too far or actually be to my advantage?
I've never tried it and would love to get some feedback on how, what to use and when to use it. Since those days of gill netting all the large poggies I could use in a season are long gone, the only real viable bait as I see it, is mackeral. When the mackeral are running in the spring, I usually freeze maybe 15-20 bags of 3 mackeral each for chunking when needed. Should I consider freezing more for chumming or is this bait not the best?
How does one make up a suitable chum? Is this a meat grinder type deal, with just mackeral, or should other ingredients be added. Is it made up and frozen in containers that can be slipped over the side to slowly thaw and do their thing? Or is it best to bring hole mackeral out and slowly chum the waters with small pieces over a period of time and then fish those same small pieces with smaller circle hooks in the slick.
Just curious if anyone is using chum and would appreciate any feedback on the tactic. Thanks and tight lines.
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