{"id":124816,"date":"2025-09-04T14:35:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T14:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/?p=124816"},"modified":"2025-11-06T20:07:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T20:07:25","slug":"chum-fishing-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Chumming: Expert Tips to Catch More Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Chumming the water is a great way to get those fish biting, but it works even better if you put some tips to use. Whether you’re aiming to catch Amberjack<\/a>, hoping to hook up with Halibut<\/a>, or want to attract a range of Tuna<\/a>, chumming – also known as chum fishing – is excellent for drawing in fish and getting them to bite.<\/p>

\"A
Photo courtesy of Lenny Rudow<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

And that’s why I’m here today. In this short guide, I’ll let you in on some of the top tips I’ve learned from my years on the water. With these insights, you’ll be ready to attract those predators in no time!<\/p>

What is chum fishing?<\/h2>

At first glance, chumming seems super simple… Toss some ground fish into the water or put a pot of chum near your lines, and get ready to do battle. Right? Sort of. <\/p>

You can chum in the most basic way and you’ll catch some fish some of the time. But there’s a fine art to chumming  – yes, we fish-heads can call it an art! And if you pay attention to the details, you’ll catch more fish more of the time. <\/p>

Apply these 10 tips to become a piscatorial Picasso…<\/p>

1. Tighten (or Lengthen) the Leash<\/h2>
\"A
Photo courtesy of Lenny Rudow<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Whenever you hang a bag or block of frozen chum over the side of a boat, you’re depending on wave motion and\/or current to disperse it. The shorter the line you hang it from, the more it will shake as the boat rocks and rolls. So on calm days, tighten up the leash. But be careful, because on rough days if you don’t lengthen that line, you might blow through your supply in a matter of minutes!<\/p>

2. When There’s Competition, Play the Current<\/h2>

This won’t be an issue in some areas, but at popular hotspots when there are other boats chumming nearby, it can be a make-or-break factor. You’ll want to anchor up on the down-current side of competing chum slicks. That way, they go by and merge with your own chum to create a super-slick. When there are multiple boats anchored up in the same area, the down-current ones will usually do the lion’s share of the catching.<\/p>

3. Have Plenty of Chum Pre-prepped at All Times<\/h2>
\"A<\/figure>

When the fish are biting, it’s not the time to start grinding or chopping! Before you ever drop a bait, make sure you have a full bucket of chum (or multiple frozen blocks prepped and waiting in the cooler) ready for action.<\/p>

4. Thicken Your Chum Slick<\/h2>

Make your slick more enticing by adding fish oil. Menhaden and herring oil are commonly available, and you can mix them into the chum itself or hang a drip-bag over the side of the boat.<\/p>

5. Work the Entire Water Column<\/h2>

Sometimes, chum will disperse evenly through the water column. But other days, wind or current may sweep it far from the boat before any nearby fish get a sniff. Combat this by running your chum through the water column. Lowering some in a weighted wire mesh cage is a good method, but not everyone carries a chum cage. Another tactic that works is to keep some sand on hand, then ball it around the chum before dropping it over the side so it sinks a bit before dispersing.<\/p>

6. Add Some Chunks<\/h2>

Ground fish is generally used for chumming, whereas tossing fish chunks over the side is considered chunking. But there’s no rule that says you can’t do both at the same time! Mixing some chunks in can be very effective. They’ll sink at different rates while dribbling little chum trails, calling in the fish from all directions.<\/p>

7. Distribute the Chum Manually<\/h2>
\"A
Photo courtesy of Lenny Rudow<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

This can get just as messy as it sounds, but when a slack current makes your slick static, start hurling chum in every direction. Some anglers carry a large spoon or cut the handle of a whiffle ball bat to make a plastic scoop that aids in the flinging. And if you’re fishing from a dock or from shore, as when chumming corn for Carp<\/a>, widely distributing the chum via manual methods is imperative.<\/p>

8. Match the Bait with the Chum<\/h2>

There are certainly exceptions, but most of the time, fish will bite best on menhaden in a menhaden slick, on herring in a herring slick, and so on. Trying other offerings is fine, but it’s a good idea to always be able to match the hatch.<\/p>

9. Lighten Up Your Leader<\/h2>

Fish have plenty of time to eyeball baits hanging in a chum slick, so when you’re sure fish are present but you aren’t getting many hits, try dropping the leader size. I’m assuming you’re already using fluorocarbon, which is the least visible type of leader material. If not, switch it up ASAP.<\/p>

10. Try Drifting Baits in the Chum<\/h2>

Many anglers toss out a bait and let it sit there, but the chum sinks and moves all the time. You can give a more natural-looking presentation by fishing with no weight and an open bail (excluding situations where the fish are on the bottom or very deep). Strip the line out from the reel so the bait sinks at the same rate as the chum, and there’s a good chance you’ll get more bites.<\/p>

Get Chumming to Land More Fish – Probably!<\/h2>
\"A
Photo courtesy of Mallard Charters Charter Fishing and Cruises<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Okay, you’ve got a load of chum and these tips in your back pocket, so now you’ll probably fill the cooler till it overflows, right? Well, maybe. But don’t count on it. As is always true in fishing, there are a million other factors coming into play. But at least now you’ll go from catching some fish some of the time to catching more fish more of the time.<\/p>

Do you regularly use chumming when you’re fishing? Any tips you think we missed out on? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chumming the water is a great way to get those fish biting, but it works even better if you put some tips to use. Whether you’re aiming to catch Amberjack, hoping to hook up with Halibut, or want to attract a range of Tuna, chumming – also known as chum fishing – is excellent for drawing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":124817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2213,1473],"tags":[1466,2128,358,2164,2163,1007,858,2165,2135,350,373],"class_list":["post-124816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expert-fishing-tips","category-how-to-fish","tag-amberjack","tag-bait","tag-beginners-advice","tag-chum-fishing","tag-chumming","tag-deep-sea-fishing","tag-fishing-technique","tag-offshore","tag-pelagic-fish","tag-technical","tag-tuna"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChumming: Expert Tips to Catch More Fish - FishingBooker Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chumming: Expert Tips to Catch More Fish\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn the best tips for chumming to attract fish like Amberjack, Halibut, and Tuna. Boost your fishing success today!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FishingBooker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FishingBooker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-04T14:35:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-06T20:07:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2025\/08\/28144929\/mahichum.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lenny Rudow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lenny Rudow\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chumming: Expert Tips to Catch More Fish - FishingBooker Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chumming: Expert Tips to Catch More Fish","og_description":"Learn the best tips for chumming to attract fish like Amberjack, Halibut, and Tuna. Boost your fishing success today!","og_url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/","og_site_name":"FishingBooker Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FishingBooker","article_published_time":"2025-09-04T14:35:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-06T20:07:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2025\/08\/28144929\/mahichum.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lenny Rudow","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lenny Rudow","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/"},"author":{"name":"Lenny Rudow","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/691902c1feb41326abb4066fe1fd4815"},"headline":"Chumming: Expert Tips to Catch More Fish","datePublished":"2025-09-04T14:35:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-06T20:07:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/"},"wordCount":1043,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2025\/08\/28144929\/mahichum.jpg","keywords":["Amberjack","Bait","Beginners' Advice","Chum Fishing","Chumming","Deep Sea Fishing","Fishing Technique","Offshore","Pelagic Fish","Technical","Tuna"],"articleSection":["Expert Tips","How to Fish"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/","url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/","name":"Chumming: Expert Tips to Catch More Fish - FishingBooker Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2025\/08\/28144929\/mahichum.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-04T14:35:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-06T20:07:25+00:00","description":"Learn the best tips for chumming to attract fish like Amberjack, Halibut, and Tuna. Boost your fishing success today!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2025\/08\/28144929\/mahichum.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2025\/08\/28144929\/mahichum.jpg","width":1024,"height":768,"caption":"Photo courtesy of Lenny Rudow"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/chum-fishing-tips\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chumming: Expert Tips to Catch More Fish"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/","name":"FishingBooker Blog","description":"Fishing trip inspiration, travel guides & tips","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"FishingBooker","url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2022\/07\/14141055\/logo-white-bckblue-1200px.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2022\/07\/14141055\/logo-white-bckblue-1200px.jpg","width":1200,"height":578,"caption":"FishingBooker"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FishingBooker","https:\/\/x.com\/FishingBooker","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fishingbooker\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/fishingbooker\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCO3ivVJwOU6HJTy2GxD9wNg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/691902c1feb41326abb4066fe1fd4815","name":"Lenny Rudow","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11ec33c1f32ca078491adb056d7dcc787875f3f0c7d0ed9f5f5eb3179a5b9530?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11ec33c1f32ca078491adb056d7dcc787875f3f0c7d0ed9f5f5eb3179a5b9530?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11ec33c1f32ca078491adb056d7dcc787875f3f0c7d0ed9f5f5eb3179a5b9530?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lenny Rudow"},"description":"With over three decades of experience in marine journalism, Lenny Rudow has contributed to dozens of boating and fishing publications and websites. Rudow is currently the Angler in Chief at Rudow's FishTalk (https:\/\/fishtalkmag.com\/), and is a past president of Boating Writers International (BWI), a graduate of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and has won numerous BWI and OWAA writing awards.","url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/author\/lenny-rudow\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fishingbooker-prod-blog-backup.s3.amazonaws.com\/blog\/media\/2025\/08\/28144929\/mahichum.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124835,"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124816\/revisions\/124835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fishingbooker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}