bait fishing for makerel/tailor

[kevin1987316]

just wonder which of these baits should work for these two species.
herring, pilchard, whiting or any other baitfish?
i have tried pilchards, they work well but the problem is small fish always steal them. then i used a sinking lure similar to pilchard but not even one bite on it.
thanks for any suggestions

[marlinqld]

Mate i find unwighted pillies the best. you will get small fish pinching bait no matter what you are using or targeting.

Mike

[Big_Ren]

Defintely unweighted pillies as Mike says, great for drifting, casting or trolling.

Cheers
Paul

[bidkev]

Poddy mullet don't score as well as pillies but if pickers are a real problem then poddies are much harder for them to pick at due to the hard scaling.

kev

[moondancer]

Stick with pillies, but maybe have a few lines out at different depths. Contending with pickers is a royal pain,l but part of the deal we all have to put up with! I have read somewhere that grinner are good mack baits, but havent had success myself that way.

[Kendall249]

Try using live herring if you can get them, as I've had considerable success for macks using them, more often than not outfishing other methods. Can't comment in regards to tailor.

[DazSamFishing]

Depending where you fish...

Try using a light sinker for casting capabilities and slowly retrieve your pilly on some gang hooks...

Generally using this technique in the wash off a headland or beach should get you some tailor...

Daz

[snapperm8]

yup unwieghted pillies is the go i reckon

[leezor]

As suggested unweighted pillies are the go, but try to keep the bait moving all the time, this seems to help keep the pickers at bay.

[Pitsta]

Try using ballons I've had alot of success with this method catching macks & avoiding grinners !!!!

Mark