"artificial" chum--any good?

[creekster]

I'm wondering what other fishermen out there think about the new "artificial" no refrigeration needed chum products. Would like to find a less messy, smaller quantity chum product than a stinky 5-gallon bucket of fresh ground bunker IF it works. Also. is adding menhaden oil to chum worthwhile?[excited]

[crow]

nothing works as good as the real thing, have tried some of the artificial stuff before and did not have any luck, I've never tried the dried pellets though, they look like they might work

[Kevin Smith]

Never had any luck with it either.

Kevin

[FishHook321]

Here is my recipe for homemade chum. Take a 5lb bag of the cheapest dry dog food, place in bucket and add about 1/2 gal of menhadden oil, mix well, place in a cheesecloth bag and toss overboard.

[glenallenstriper]

I think that works best if the dog food is made from a fish base. Some dog foods are made from chicken or some "other " kind of meat.

[rocksandblues]

nothing has come close to the real messy thing in my experience.

[capt. dave]

Ask yourself this, "Why do Charter Boats use fresh ground bunkers for chum?' If you can't figure that out, I don't have much hope for you.

[creekster]

Capt Dave-- Let me see if I understand you: I should do exactly what th e charterboat guys do. Does that include catching over 100 rock when you can only keep two per person even though studies show a low survival rate on released fish. How about using j-hooks rather than circle hooks 'cause they require an "easier" hookup technique. How about waving away and cursing any other boat that comes within view of a charterboat.And let's not forget that charterboats have the right of way if trolling planer board regardless of the rules of the road.I could go on but I've got fish to fry. Sometimes you find hope in the oddest places.[wink]

[capt. dave]

Jeepers Creekers you got a backlash in your reel. I didn't say all of the stuff you are so hot about the charters doing was good. All I said was fresh chum was the way to go.
I'll defend my use of J hooks because the fish I release are out of the water only a few seconds and never touched by human hands. Those who use circle hooks are welcome to them but are also responsible for all the fish the kill by wiping all the slime off of them while trying to unhook them.

[Coan Ranger]

Let's get rid of greedy and evil charterboat captains right along with gill netters and menhaden boats. Then, nice people like me can enjoy the bay in peace.

[rlcharters]

Because of the size of my boat, I cannot grind chum onboard. I also find that slinging freshly ground chum is sometimes offensive to my customers (again due to the fact that I only have a 28' boat). I have been very successful freezing my chum in 2 gallon buckets that I procured from Food Lion's deli. I place a plastic bag inside the bucket, fill full of ground chum, and place several days ahead of my trip into an old freezer. I place the bucket in the water for a few minutes upon arrival to the chumming grounds, let the cum slide out of the bucket, place in a 3/4" mesh net (got this from a pound netter), and place overboard. A two gallon block of chum will last for about two hours depending upon water temperature. Fish oil added to the chum is not really necessary unless you can only get rock hard, frozen menhaden. I have found that menhaden that is frozen for more than a week or two has had the oil breakdown and is not very good for chum. It has a dendency to be very dry and floats on the surface.

[Purdue1]

Let the what slide out of the bucket?[grin]

[creekster]

Thanks for that info, Capt. Sounds like a practical way to go. Can you get fresh or freshly frozen bunker at Pride of Va. @Whitestone?

[Purdue1]

I know that RW's normally sells frozen chum, along with a bag of bunker for bait if you are ever up around the Callao area. You can get a small cheap net mesh bag there to throw the frozen stuff into as well.

[rocksandblues]

creekster,

capt dave is a gentlemen in all senses of the term. He is very generous with his experience and wisdom and is a real nice guy to boot. Please don't attempt to besmirch someone who you have not met, especially capt. dave.

fresh chum can be procured at most pride of virginias. i have gotten it from the mundy point location and the reedville location.
best of luck.

[fish tank]

The pride of Va in White Stone is hit or miss they really do not open any particular time on sundays and saturday they may not be open. I have been lucky and gotten fresh off the boat menhaden. They are pretty good they will sell you ice by the cooler also. They cater to crabers more so than fisherman

[creekster]

rocksnblues-- For the record, I have met Capt. Dave and agree with you that he is a gentleman. As far as besmirching goes, read his original reply to my chum question and see who's declared hopeless for not doing it the charterboat way.