Master The Art of Fish Chumming!

On this website we will use the following terms interchangeably: Fish Chum, Stink Bait, Bunker, Burley, Groundbait, or Ground Bait

Fish Chumming isn't only for the Professionals......

What is Chumming?

Fisherman around the world use chum as a fish attractant to increase their catch. Anglers create a chum slick in the water, wait for the fish to come, then cast their fishing line into the resulting fish frenzy!

Chumming refers to the process of scattering fish scraps (known as chum) in the water as bait. Chumming consists of dispersing enough burley into the water to attract fish to your designated spot and stimulate fish to feed. The stink bait draws both bait fish and larger fish that will eat both the bait fish and your yummy offering. For certain species of fish, chumming is essential to success.

If You Chum, Fish Will Come!

After you initially disperse your bunker into the water you must wait a short while for it to do its job and attract fish, usually 15 to 20 minutes. Watch the water surface carefully, once you start seeing movement, usually fish approaching, it is a good indication that it is now time to fish. Cast your baited hook into the chum line and get ready for some fun. If you don't have a fish on after a short time, you might have picked the wrong spot—simply move to another spot and chum again.

One word of caution, If you disperse too much chum, the fish will be too busy eating your offering and not interested in your fish hook. If you disperse too little, the fish will not stick around long enough to get hooked. Maintaining a "steady light stream" in your chum slick keeps the fish hanging around and allows for continuous action.

How far away does your groundbait's scent need to drift to draw the fish in? This all depends on the species, but sharks have been know to smell one drop of blood per million parts of water. Not all fish have the same sense of smell, but you can be certain it doesn't take a lot of stink bait to bring in the fish from quite a distance.

Fish Chum Pro's never leave the dock without this powerful weapon. The methods, ingredients, and dispersal of chum varies based on targeted species, location, and goals.

What is Fish Chum?

 

 

 

Fish Chum, also called Stink Bait, Bunker, Burley, Groundbait, or Ground Bait, is fish entrails and other delightful morsels that you put in the water that has a fishy enticing aroma which will attract fish to YOU! Bunker is a fish appetizer, teaser, and fish attractant. Stink bait usually contains oily fish parts and blood which release the scent of dead fish in the water. The type of chum used depends on the location, fresh water or salt, and can vary by species targeted. Bunker comes in many varieties:

• Pre-packaged frozen chum sold in various size blocks
• Pre-packaged dry chum, groundbait, burley
• Pre-packaged liquid or gel attractants
• Homemade stink bait either frozen or fresh
• Cut up pieces of fish carcasses or bait fish
• Crushed crabs, shrimp, squid, sand fleas, worms
• A wounded fish on a line in the water
• Menhaden Oil or Milk dripped into the water
• Canned or frozen bait fish
• Cracked corn, bread, oats, cat food, dog food, chicken parts
• And believe it or not, serious anglers will paint squids or bait fish on the bottom of their boats—chumless bunker?

Fresh chum is more effective and generally more convenient to use than frozen chum. Many experienced anglers have their own magic potions and will not share their recipes with anyone. The only way to get fresh bunker is to make your own—see our Make Chum page for more details. There are dozens of ingredients for your fresh burley, check out our Ingredients page and create your own recipe. Need a recipe? We have tons of recipes on our Recipes pages.

Education

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has created a PDF class instruction for educators called The Stink Station. Everyone interested in learning more about fish chum should read this! The objective of this class is students will learn that fish use their sense of smell to detect danger as well as food. They will also recognize several fishing techniques that use scent to attract fish. Finally, they will demonstrate their ability to concoct a homemade stink bait.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has created a PDF class instruction for educators called Catch a Whiff of This. Objective: Students will learn the basic anatomy of the fish's olfactory organs while experiencing and learning how smells travel. As a result they will understand how to apply "smell tactics" to their fishing techniques using stink bait.
Source: www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/

Chumming Regulations

Unfortunately, their are states and fishing areas where chumming is prohibited. Fines can be hefty, so always check you local fish and wild life commission or state government for the rules on chumming in your favorite fishing spot.

When you travel, always check the local regulations. Most governments provide free pamphlets on the fishing regulations within their jurisdiction.

We have done some research on chumming rules, so check out our Regulations page.

 

 

History of Fish Chumming, Groundbaiting, and Burleying

The history of The Art of Fishing Chumming is not know or documented. We have are actively researching this subject and have many interesting bits on our History of Fish Chumming or Burleying page.