How do I attach a Sandeel ?

Select the hook size you need for the fish you want to go after. 2/0-6/0 for Bass, but match the hook size to the sandeels you have. I have caught big bass on relatively small hooks (3/0's). I have also caught small fish on some big hooks!

With the hook and line attached, follow the simple instructions below.

  
     
To put your sandeel on make sure it is fully defrosted as the small thin fish will split and become broken as you try to attach it. Almost everyone else will say you have to feed the sandeel on from the mouth. Well, yes if you are going to troll the bait but as most of the time the bait is put on the bottom as a "casualty" I have found that the best way to hook a dead sandeel is to put the hook into the tail, threading the fish round the hook, exiting just at the front of the dorsal fin.  
     
The hook is then pulled down from the entry point so that the hook is "out" of the bait by only a few mm, but enough to allow the bait to lye flat on the bottom.  
     
Casting will cause the bait to slide down the hook so to keep the bait on the hook, the tail is tied by using 2 half hitches to the trace line ( this is the reason for pulling the line down as the hook will be drawn back up the fish as the knot becomes tight).  
     
The logic behind the method I use is simple. A fish will eat the "prey" head first when the "prey" is dead. Attaching the bait in this way causes the hook to be taken into the mouth of the fish in such a way that when the fish moves the hook engages with the mouth of the fish and you have a better chance of catching the fish. One problem with this method is that there is a chance that the fish will swallow the hook and cause the hook to catch in the throat, i.e. a certain kill. An example of attaching the hooks in two different ways and their effectiveness is the trip to the "bass beach". Dave and I were fishing identical tackle except that he attaches the bait in the same way as the "books" tell you ( for trolling) and I attached the baits my way. Dave had to strike hard and fast to try to catch the bass and missed two because the hook was taken into the fishes mouth the wrong way round and must turn before they engage with the mouth. After 4 hrs, Dave had 2 bites and missed 2 bass and I had 2 bass out of 2 bites.