Fish Bites Question

Should I trash last year's left over Fish Bites and buy fresh ones or would they still perform as well? With Covid and Sally I wound up with some leftovers.

Craig I am also interested in the answer to your question.

I live 350 miles from where I fish and I always buy extra FB from a mail order house because sometimes they are very to find around St. George Island.

I always end up with several leftover bags.


Live Big,
Chuck

I have heard that you can freeze them but I have no real experience. Just a thought

I froze some, but, now, I’m moving and they have thawed out. Keep or get new?

Ive used several year old fishbites and done just fine. I used them because they were what i had on hand, not because I was trying to prove anything. Even old dried out fishbites will soften up in the water. Do they work as well as fresh? I'm inclined to say no, but on any given day who knows what will catch a certain fish's fancy?

I called the Fishbites company several years ago and they said you can freeze them and re-use. If they are still flexible when you thaw them out, they should be good to go. I have used FBs after freezing several times, and they seem to perform just as well as those never frozen. BTW, I almost always use a small piece of dead shrimp on the same hook as the FBs, and believe it or not, it doesn't seem to matter if the shrimp are fresh dead from a bait shop, frozen from a bait shop, or out of a bag from the frozen food section. Uncooked, of course. Pomps, whiting, drum, etc, all have succumbed to the magic of FBs. JMHO...

Interesting Fordguy & Snakeeater.

thanks.

If the fish you are targeting are feeding mostly by sight, then sure old, dull Fishbites may not be quite as effective as a new pack with vibrant colors.
But if those fish are feeding primarily by smell, there doesn't seem to be much difference (if any). The stuff is a formulated condensed gel that reacts to moisture and dissolves in seawater. The warmer the water the faster it dissolves.

IF you only fish yearly or intermittently, try to remember to freeze it (or refrigerate).
I often pick up a pack of a color or flavor I like, then store it in my 'beer frig' in the garage until needed. It has a great 'shelf life', and freezes well (as noted above). But if sitting out, over time will react to sunlight, heat & humidity. Especially after some has been used from the pack. Another reason to store it long term in refrig or freezer.

When Fishbites first came out over 20 years ago, I got one of the FREE sample packs. It was just a light brown color, but it worked great on white trout from Pensacola Bay Bridge. I caught 15 fish on the first piece I used! Been a believe ever since!!
A year or two later, they came out with the orange color in the red packs. And we learned that whiting luved it when used with pieces of shrimp!
We knew (at first) nothing of how it was made, or how to treat it. Some folks complained after they let it dry out (cooked in the summer heat and sun), or it turned to 'goo' exposed to our summer and fall tropical humidity. But it often still worked like that!
I still use it to target whiting in the summer and fall, and tip my pompano rigs and jigs with various colors and flavors.

There is some more detail about Fishbites in my most recent article in Great Days Outdoors magazine...
https://greatdaysoutdoors.com/how-to-surf-fish/

And another article talking Fishbites (a collaboration with my old buddy Mike Thompson)...
https://greatdaysoutdoors.com/whiting-fishing/

Excellent, excellent articles #r.

[QUOTE=CJW;142958]Craig I am also interested in the answer to your question.

I live 350 miles from where I fish and I always buy extra FB from a mail order house because sometimes they are very to find around St. George Island.

I always end up with several leftover bags.

Chuck, send all the leftovers to me and I'll conduct in-field research for free.

:-)