I recently took a friend surfcasting. He wanted to learn how to chunk. When we got to the water’s edge, I told him that when I go chunking, I break all the rules, except one: the 15 minute rule. He looked at me perplexed. So I explained the rule to him.
My chunking methodology is simple. I dress my bleeding sharp hooks with tasty chunks. I secure the chunks using an elastic. A blue elastic for Mackerel. A tan elastic for clam. I aim to the Azores and make a cast. I then wait for 15 minutes. If feel a bite, but do not hook a fish, then I real in my rig after 15 minutes. Why? Scavengers!
I made the first cast for my friend to show him how to properly load a rod and propel a chunking rig into deep water. 15 minutes latter, he reeled in a skate. For the rest of the tide, he checked his rig every 15 minutes!
Scavengers like skates, crabs, lobsters, scup, and other marine species will politely remove all the meat off your hook and leave you the elastic! Bare hooks do not catch fish!! Check your rig every 15 minutes!!!
