• Grind up small fish for chum.reef fish image by Amjad Shihab from Fotolia.com
  
  Chumming is intentionally putting a scent trail in the water to attract fish--the smellier and the oilier the better. The problem is that chum in large chunks fills the fish and then they do not want your bait. Develop a method that will give the fish just a little taste so they want to grab your bait. Chum is the appetizer that entices the fish to go after the more attractive bait you are throwing in the water.
  
  

Ground Baiting

• You can try chopping up chum but grinders work best.cutting bait image by jedphoto from Fotolia.com
  
  Ground baiting involves placing a cylindrical device above your swivel that holds chum and dispenses it as the water rushes by. This device can easily be made by punching holes in a 35mm film canister. Punch holes with an ice pick or something similar in the sides, the top and the bottom, then place the chum inside the canister. Rig this above your bait by attaching it to a swivel and this will bring the fish directly to your bait. This differs from other methods because the chum is actually near your bait on the fishing line and not attached to the boat.
  
  

Canned Mackerel

• Jack mackerel from a can is cheap.makrele ger?¡èuchert image by Otmar Smit from Fotolia.com
  
  Selecting the right type of bait to use as chum is important and cans of jack mackerel is one solution. This stuff is stinky and oily, which meets the chum criteria for enticing fish. A good oily slick permeates the ocean with a strong scent to attract other fish. The advantage of using this chum is that a little goes a long way. You just need a couple of chopped up pieces to put in the film canister and it will last you a long time. Another advantage to this is that it is cheap at about a dollar (2010).
  
  

Chum Pots or Baskets

• Hang pots or baskets on all sides of the boat.fishing trip image by Christopher Meder from Fotolia.com
  
  Another method of chumming in saltwater does not involve attaching a rig to your pole but rather the boat. Chum pots and baskets are made of very fine wire and they are suspended over the side of the boat to the level you want the chum to be dispersed or they can be dragged behind the boat to attract fish. Whereever it is suspended, put the bait to be in the chum area. Fishermen using this method have been known to put these baskets around the whole boat, suspending them from the bow, sides and the stern. Use ground chum so the fish get a whiff of the chum but not a meal. A chum basket is about 8-by-4 inches high and 14 inches long with a ½-inch mesh; the cost is around $14 (2010).
  
  

Chum Bag

• Drag the chumb bag behind the boat.gpomg fishing image by Elmo Palmer from Fotolia.com
  
  The chum bag (about $6 in 2010) is made of rope mesh, about -by 20 inches, with a 3/4-inch mesh. This type of bag is designed to work with frozen chum bags that can just be plopped in to the net and deployed around the boat like the baskets. You can also trail this bag filled with ground clam bellies at about 150 ft. from the boat for about 30 minutes. Place a clam belly on a number 3 hook and drag it through the chum slick and you should get a bite.
  
  

Cheap but Effective Chum

• Dog food makes cheap chum.Close up of dogfood and rewards. image by Saskia Massink from Fotolia.com
  
  If you are having trouble with frozen and fresh chum, use some dry dog food. Chunk-style dry dog food works best mixed with menhaden oil and oil derived from a menhaden fish and used as a fish attractant. The oil and dog food is then deployed form an ordinary 12-oz. water bottle. The water bottle makes a quick chum pot that can be attached to your line. Fill the bottle with the food and then pour the oil over it. The bottle should have ice pick holes in the bottom, and the sides. This bottle will put a larger slick out then the film canister. Put one hole in the cap and that is what you attach a wire snap swivel to with 80-lb. test line. The oil makes a nice slick, causing the food to permeate the water. When the food in the bottle turns white change it out. Dog food is great as chum because it is cheap to use.