Catching only what you did not want
Explainer · Last reviewed 2026-09-04
Being unable to get past the small and abundant is a selectivity problem, and the levers are bait size, hook size, position and timing — in roughly that order of usefulness.
Sessions where every cast produces the same unwanted fish are common, frustrating and largely solvable, though not always.
WHAT IS HAPPENING. Abundant, fast, unselective feeders reach a bait before anything else does. Whether they are small fish, dogfish or crabs, the mechanism is the same: they are more numerous and quicker to the food, so a bait sitting on the bottom in their ground goes to them.
THE LEVERS, IN ORDER OF HOW MUCH THEY ACTUALLY HELP.
BAIT SIZE AND TOUGHNESS. A large, tough bait that a small mouth cannot remove is the single most effective change. A whole squid or a large fillet survives attention that strips a worm in minutes.
HOOK SIZE, matched up to the bait. A large hook does not by itself select for large fish, but it lets a large bait be presented properly.
POSITION. The unwanted species is often ground-specific. Moving off clean sand onto rougher ground, or further out, or into deeper water, changes the community rather than the tackle.
TIMING. Many nuisance species are more active in daylight and in warmer water; the fish being targeted may feed at dusk or through the night.
AND PRESENTATION OFF THE BOTTOM, which lifts a bait clear of crabs entirely.
What not to expect, and when the answer is to move or stop
WHAT DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY. Changing bait type while keeping it small — the problem is size rather than flavour. Waiting for the unwanted fish to lose interest; they will not. And fishing on in the hope that something larger arrives, which happens occasionally and is not a plan.
WHAT SOMETIMES WORKS AND IS WORTH TRYING. Fishing a single large bait on one hook rather than three smaller ones, which reduces the number of chances the nuisance species gets. And accepting a slower session with fewer, better presentations rather than recasting constantly.
AND THE HONEST LIMIT. Sometimes the ground and the season simply hold the species you do not want, in numbers that no presentation defeats. Summer inshore ground thick with crabs is the standard example, and it is why local anglers avoid particular marks at particular times rather than trying to out-tackle them.
SO THE ANSWER IS OFTEN GEOGRAPHIC. Move, or come back at a different state of tide, or fish the same mark at night. That is a real answer rather than a concession, and it is usually cheaper than an afternoon of rebaiting.
ONE MORE THING WORTH SAYING. Species regarded as nuisances are fish, and handling them carelessly because they were not wanted is a poor habit. Several of the commonest — dogfish and small sharks in particular — need specific handling to be returned in good condition.
Practitioner consensus
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line behaviour, knot performance, terminal tackle and casting mechanics.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line, knot and terminal-tackle mechanics described independently of the sea-angling tradition.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Where to go next
Where it matters
What these connections rest on (1)
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Sea fishing
The session that produces fish continuously and none of them wanted.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line behaviour, knot performance, terminal tackle and casting mechanics.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line, knot and terminal-tackle mechanics described independently of the sea-angling tradition.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Related reading
What these connections rest on (1)
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Why bait comes off the hook
Where selectivity turns out to be a bait-durability question.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line behaviour, knot performance, terminal tackle and casting mechanics.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line, knot and terminal-tackle mechanics described independently of the sea-angling tradition.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
Safety reading
What these connections rest on (1)
Practitioner consensus — 1 connection
Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.
Handling fish safely
The obligation that does not depend on having wanted the fish.
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line behaviour, knot performance, terminal tackle and casting mechanics.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line, knot and terminal-tackle mechanics described independently of the sea-angling tradition.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
More explainer
Not related to this page — just the rest of the section, because this record connects to very little and a short page should still lead somewhere.
Sources for this page
- Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line behaviour, knot performance, terminal tackle and casting mechanics.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
- Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line, knot and terminal-tackle mechanics described independently of the sea-angling tradition.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
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