GOING FOR GOLD

Although once a common choice for both shore and boat fishing, the reality is few anglers actually use mussels nowadays, yet they are eaten by a wide variety of fish in many situations.

While retaining some popularity in Scotland and in the North East of England, this bait’s soft nature doesn’t lend itself to power casting, while the chore of removing the flesh from its protective shell makes it less appealing.

Although they catch well in the summer, I look at mussels as my winter replacement for summer’s peeler crab. This is a bait full of juice, full of scent, relatively easy to collect or buy, appeals to a lot