Another fish bait, deadly when live baited apparently but I've not tried.

Argueably better when frozen than fresh when deadbaited, various sizes are often availiable from the small 2 inchers up to about 8 inch + the greater sandeel or launce which grows to approx a foot (don't see these frozen too often).

The live baiting is mostly done from a boat but I'm told it works well float fished for daylight species. They're a bit tricky to transport and keep alive as they will need an oxygenated bucket with not too many in.

But me- I use them as deadbaits, fished on the bottom either in sections, fillets or whole mostly in the summer months for bass or rays. As they thaw they become very soft quickly and so, for casting any distance will need lashing on to the hook with bait elastic, unless its a top quallity blast frozen bait.

IMHO 'ammo' sandeels are the best, but I've also caught on old refrozen eels that were, in one case dripping off the hook, as with any fish bait, when buying frozen pick the best availiable.

Things to look for are with sandeel their backs should be sand coloured or slightly blue/green in colour, if dark brown i recon they've been partially thawed, theyll still catch but if refrozen again theyll turn too mush.

All frozen fish baits show common signs of refreezeing or slow (not blast) freezeing:

Beads of ice in the packet.
Blood in the packet.
Fish clumped into the bottom of the packet and not laid straight..