Thread: Fishgum??

Thanks #r

Now tell me about gubment cheese!!!!

Used Fishbites and Fishgum last night, both caught small fish during an active time. Typical bottom fish, Croaker, Ground Mullet, white trout and catfish.

Fishgum got very sticky in the heat/humidity, and dissolved in water much faster. May have had more hits on the gum, but also had the hook stripped more often. Fishbites easier to use but harder to remove the left-over mesh.

Fishbites may be a bit more expensive- I'm not sure- but the overall cost is low for both in regards to fish caught. That wouldn't be an issue for an occasional outing such as mine. I would currently prefer the Fishbites for ease of use and longer-lasting, however the Fishgum does dissolve quicker so more scent would be likely. I would use either again, but I'll have to try frozen/chilled Fishgum before going to Fishbites exclusively.

I'll add, I sometimes cut narrow strips of Fishbites to make a "trailer" on my jigs, to add color and scent. I can't do that with Fishgum.

Use a sharp knife and cut right along/against the hook shank

Originally Posted by ironman172

Use a sharp knife and cut right along/against the hook shank

yes. Cut as close as possible remove anything left with pliers if even necessary.

Would a combination of the two on one hook be the best?

Originally Posted by Rufus

Would a combination of the two on one hook be the best?

I'm gonna add a penny to my two cents in an earlier post...I fished West End Beach Dauphin Island last Fri and Sat...three separate trips and caught fish each time. Fresh dead shrimp pieces from Jemisons outfished the Fishbites by a wide margin...caught a good number of whiting as well as many other less desirable species. I also found a grunch of sand crabs on the beach Fri AM but very few after that. FWIW...cut bait from the small fish I caught outfished the crabs, again by a good bit...biggest was a 26.5 in red. So as to whether FBs are the answer to every prayer...I guess it depends...on what, I have NO idea.

Originally Posted by snakeeater

I'm gonna add a penny to my two cents in an earlier post...I fished West End Beach Dauphin Island last Fri and Sat...three separate trips and caught fish each time. Fresh dead shrimp pieces from Jemisons outfished the Fishbites by a wide margin...caught a good number of whiting as well as many other less desirable species. I also found a grunch of sand crabs on the beach Fri AM but very few after that. FWIW...cut bait from the small fish I caught outfished the crabs, again by a good bit...biggest was a 26.5 in red. So as to whether FBs are the answer to every prayer...I guess it depends...on what, I have NO idea.

Shrimp over FB every time. But when you don't have any, you have something.

I tried "Pomp Candy" Fish Gum (I think that they're all basically the same recipe) on spadefish and did very well. The little ones seemed to not nibble it off the hook as quickly as they did with fresh-dead shrimp, but faster than fishbites, which got fewer bites but stayed on the longest. So -- I keep Fish Gum in my box for spadefish if I don't have fresh-dead shrimp. I have to re-bait more often, to be sure, but they seem to go after fish gum better. I'll have a better idea once the June grass is gone and the spadefish come back in large numbers.

That makes sense that Fishgum 'melts' faster than Fishbites (in the blue pack).
But it is about equal to Fishbites in the red pack ("fast acting")...