Live bait question

razer

I spend my two weeks annual vacation on Captiva every year and one of my favourite methods of fishing is to fish a live bait under a bobber. I usually hook the bait either through the top lip or behind the dorsal fin and they sometimes end up swimming near the surface and being grabbed by the numerous resident ospreys.

Is there a way to hook a live bait that will tend to make it swim downwards rather than towards the surface?

kmagnuss

With a split shot. 

Haha... or you can use pinfish... they almost always swim down.  So do silver jennys. (mojarra)

What are you using for bait?

Scoutboat

Hook the bait in the belly, throat or tail.

razer

kmagnuss said:

With a split shot. 

Haha... or you can use pinfish... they almost always swim down.  So do silver jennys. (mojarra)

What are you using for bait?

Err....pinfish and silver jennys (mostly) ! And mullet if I can get them. I must catch all the "I want to be different" bait fish in my castnet, 

razer

Scoutboat said:

Hook the bait in the belly, throat or tail.

I'll give that a go. Thanks.

Gypsies Call

You can get some very small split shot that can be crimped just in front of the hook... don't want to have too much weight or it won't be natural... but enough to keep the bait down without it fighting it too much... keeps them healthy a bit longer too.  Mainly trial and error though... good luck!

gulfcoastpapi

from a bobber, to make white bait go down, i hook them through their air bladder which causes them to swim down. typically near the base of the ventral fins.