Key Largo resident Edwin Hammond Meredith enjoys outdoor activities. Camping, hiking, and biking are a few of Edwin Hammond Meredith’s outdoor diversions. He also enjoys fishing.

Fishing is a sport that has so expanded that containing it into its two more popular categories, saltwater and freshwater, is simplistic. Even the type of bait used for fishing, such as the malodorous chum, has become complex.

Chum’s importance to the sport of saltwater fishing is that it can be the game-changer. Chum can turn an average fishing trip into an angling event. Chum, however, has grown in complexity to include frozen-block chum, chunking, live-bait chumming, and fish-oil attractants. The recipes are just as complicated with some asking for fish or cat food, and depending on how gourmet fishing enthusiasts want to go, stale bread. However, many recipes include menhaden oil.

Once the concoction has been made, finding the right place for it can make each trip an effective one that yields a lot of catch. If fishing in a boat, look for places where fish naturally swim, for example, rocks, reefs, ledges, and troughs. Then, place the bait in the water, only placing enough in the water to hint at the scent.

If fishing off a pier, place the chum in a mesh bag, placing a weight on it to hold it down. Then, tie the bag to the pier (no more than a foot deep) and wait for the aroma to reach the hungry fish.

Those fishing in a tidal creek, bay, or inlet can also use a version of chum that will attract fish in these areas. Punching large holes in a smelly can of cat food, attach the can to a wooden stake or PVC pole at low tide and hammer it into the soft mud or sand. The bait will attract all kinds of seafood (shrimp, crab, and baitfish).