fishingls
07-16-2005, 06:21 AM
This is suggestion that has worked great. Hopefully I can describe what I do without photos. I use bait bags for sturgeon. The source of the material for the bait bags is fabric stores. It is a mesh cloth similar in appearance to mesh sold at sporting good stores for egg bags. Only it comes in yards and sells for less than $2.00 per yard. Cheapest source of mesh cloth I have ever found. Also makes great material to make egg baggies. For sturgeon, I take my bait and cut it up into small pieces with scissors. As I cut it up, I pile it into the desired size on top of the mesh fabric. I then form the fabric and chopped up bait into a ball. Turning the bag twists the fabric at the top of the bait ball. Tie the top of the bait bag by wrapping sewing thread or stretchy thread arround the twist area at the top of the bait ball. Secure the wraps with half hitches. Now with the scissors cut off the ball just above your knot. This will leave a circular hole in your big piece of mesh. (Doing it this way eliminates the need to precut out appropriate mesh sized pieces, speeds up the process of making bait bags-whether for eggs or sturgeon bait) Now I have a sturgeon bait. Depending on the type hook I am using, sometimes I leave long thread tag ends to tie the bait onto the hook. If I am using circle C hooks (which I really prefer) I do not leave the tag ends. This is a great way to use older herring or sardines. I also like to salt the older herring or sardines for at least 24 hours before using them for sturgeon bait. This also works well with shad. Cutting the bait into small pieces and making a bait ball really increases the scent trail in the water.