The Burley Factor

Cast your mind back to the last time you were wandering down the street and this wonderful aroma caught your attention as you passed the local bakery. Your mouth starts to water and you are tempted to go straight in there and buy some of that delicious freshly baked bread - you have in fact just been burleyed!


We use different types of burley almost every day of our lives without even realising what we are doing, and we in turn are burleyed by others each and every day.
Still not convinced? When was the last time you brushed passed a member of the opposite sex and thought mmmm they smell nice - or they have commented "Gee you smell nice, what are you wearing?"
Forget all the fancy names, the answer is burley! (And it has obviously worked)
Isn't it amazing then that although we humans use different types of burley every day of our lives to such great effect, when we head off fishing, it's the last thing that many of us ever think of taking with us. Let's face it, it's a big ocean out there and we need to give ourselves every possible advantage to ensure that we are successful.

Okay then, lets look at what burley products are available on the market and what they are used for.

Burley Logs
There are many different types of burley, dependant on the species of fish that you are targeting however; as a general rule of thumb most species of fish feed on fish smaller than themselves and; they in turn are eaten by fish larger than themselves. It stands to reason then that the secret ingredient in any good burley will in actual fact be the smell of fish or the smell of blood (which signals an injured fish) - or both of the above.
There are many pre made burley "logs" available on the market today that are predominantly made up from minced up fish scraps. These are excellent value as they are usually cheap, they work well and there is no mess to clean up afterwards. They are usually frozen and all that is required is to just open it and drop it in the burley pot - as it melts it will dissipate and create a great slick. Too easy!

Bread Crumbs
The humble bread crumb makes a great burley for species such as garfish and whiting and is also a great additive to any other type of burley.
For garfish and whiting, just sprinkle on top of your oil slick - its that easy!

Mulie
A bran based material often mixed with other products such as fish powder to create a pliable burley that can be moulded into burley "cages" that can be cast or lowered into the water to obtain a measured release whether it be fast or slow.
Used extensively in Western Australia for catching herring off the rocky breakwalls, it is also a popular burley off wharves/jetties here in Tasmania.
 
Oil
One of the most important aspects of any good burley is the "slick" (or calm trail) created by the oil in your burley - and its ability to stick together and not disperse too quickly. This "slick" creates a veritable highway of smell for the fish to find.
Once found they will follow it to the source in search of an easy feed, the longer the slick the greater your chances of attracting a school of fish.
Although many species of fish used in the making of burley have a reasonably high oil content, it is rarely enough to create a long and sustained slick and it is therefore important to use a substitute to achieve the best results.
One of the best products on the market today is put out by Jarvis Walker and marketed as just that, 100% Pure Fish Oil. This natural product is the oil extracted from baitfish species such as Mackeral and is therefore environmentally friendly and puts the right smell into the water.
One of the magical qualities of this product is that it has a very high fat content and what this means is that if you cool the product down in your esky before use, it will thicken right up. This means that when you pour it on the water, globs of it will float off down the slick - giving off more of the slicking effect as it goes until it has totally dissolved. This helps to prolong the length of the slick quite dramatically.
The other advantage of the fat content is that it draws a lot of smaller baitfish into the slick as they will quite happily feed on the fat globules, effectively putting themselves on the menu for larger fish as they travel up your burley trail.
The other advantage of a slick is that you can monitor where your burley is headed and this is where your targeted fish are most likely to come from and therefore where you should have your baits located.
 
Burley Pellets
Often used as either an alternative or an additive to mince style burley's; pellets are an easy to use, no mess product usually made from dehydrated fish and readily available in 1 kilo bags or buckets at most tackle outlets.
Once again, Jarvis Walker has come out with a unique product that takes the humble burley pellet to the next level - the pre-oiled, pre-coated burley pellet.
Their pellets have been pre-soaked in pure fish oil, drained and then coated in pure fish powder - this has multiple benefits.
Firstly, when you sprinkle these pellets into the water, the outer coating of fish powder is released giving that initial burst of smell into the water.
Secondly, as the pellet sinks toward the bottom the oil wants to force its way out of the pellet and rise to the surface, thereby helping to break the pellet up into small pieces that will keep the fish occupied but won't take away their appetite.
Last but certainly not least, these pellets give off their own slicking effect so you see where your trail is headed and where you should be fishing.

Burley cages
There are many different products on the market today for dispensing burley so I will just mention a few of the more popular ones.

The heavy duty burley pot - made from perforated stainless steel and attached to the back of a boat. Ideal for dispensing the burley logs mentioned earlier in the article but also used to hold fish carcases whilst they are being "mulched" into burley - very popular with those anglers that chase sharks.

The plastic burley pot - a perforated plastic bucket for hanging off wharves and jetties to dispense most types of burley. Some models come with a separate oil dispenser built into them as well.

Heavy duty burley cages - cylindrical cages usually made from stainless or galvanised wire with a weighted/hinged bottom. Burley is put in the cage and then the cage is lowered to the desired depth where the burley can be released slowly or as a whole lump in one hit. These are particularly good cages in places prone to strong currents.

Small weighted burley cages - used above paternoster rigs to draw fish to the anglers bait with great effect. They come in varying sizes to suit most applications from surf fishing to wharf fishing.

Casting burley cages - spiral wire cages used to hold mulie when casting from the shore. The mulie releases when the cage hits the water, releasing a small cloud of almost inedible sized burley and then you slowly retrieve your bait through the cloud and catch the fish.
These come in different configurations dependent on whether you want it to float or sink after it hits the water and how much weight you need for casting.

I have only mentioned a few of the more popular styles as to mention them all and how they are used would require the writing of a book. There are many other products available on the market including some that are very application specific. If in doubt as to what style you need, it always pays to ask at your local tackle store.
These guys are a great source of local knowledge - and with local knowledge you have the fish well on the way to being caught!

What species should I burley?
Garfish
Probably one of the most exciting days fishing I have had over recent times was chasing the humble garfish. They are usually plentiful in most areas, great to eat and fantastic fun on light tackle.
If fishing off the rocks, try and find a spot where the wind is blowing over your shoulder to take the "slick" out to sea. Garfish frequent shallow waters so a shallow bay with weed beds out wider and sand running right up to the rocks where you are fishing is perfect.
Simple squeeze some of your chilled fish oil onto the rocks from water level up to the high tide mark and let the wave action do the rest. Once your slick starts heading out to sea just sprinkle some bread crumbs and/or mulie onto the slick and wait for the action to start. An ideal rig is a soft action (parabolic) rod, small reel spooled with 4Lb line, a small quill float and a number 8or 10 red long shank hook with a small ball of bread dough on it. Take it easy on them as they fight hard and are soft mouthed - its very easy to pull the hook on them.

Sharks
Every shark from the delicious Gummy shark to the tenacious Mako shark respond well to burley.
Gummy shark respond well to burley off the beach of an evening - lots of fish oil and a bit of finely minced fish will do the trick nicely if there are any in the area.
Mako's also respond well to noise vibration so don't be scared to make plenty of racket when mulching stuff through the burley pot.

Everything else in between these two species respond well to burley so don't be backward in mixing up a brew - a good basic all rounder will include some minced up fish, a bit of salt water to help get it all mushy, some fish oil and some mulched up bread - its that easy!

In closing I can tell you this, if you tax the knowledge of your local tackle store owner to ensure you are investing in the right product for the species you are targeting and then you go out there and use burley each time you are bait fishing; you will catch more fish - and sometimes you will end up with some exceptionally exciting fishing