What is your choice?

bunkerboy222

Hello Everyone,
Haven"t been out for 2 weeks and kind of bored.I'm digging for your personal  preference in your choice of bait:
1-live.....be it pinfish,mullet,shrimp,crabs
2-any type of artifical lures,plastics or jigs
3-dead bait
A short reason for choice would be appreciated.          Thanks .....Mike

nick

1. Shrimp. Everything eats it. 
2. DOA paddle tail on a 1/8 oz jig. Color? Can’t go wrong with white. Almost everything eats it!
3. Ladyfish less than an hour old. After 6hrs+ on ice it’s mush and doesn’t hold up. 

jadman69

Live Shrimp= Everything inshore and most offshore     Pinfish= Everything offshore some inshore

Gold spoon (when cloudy)+ gulp new penny= Reds + Trout     X-rap 20, 30, 40= Grouper + Kings + Cobia

Frozen shrimp or fresh dead + Fresh Ladyfish = Most inshore   Frozen Threadfin, Makerel or Sardines = Offshore

ANUMBER1

300 yards of monofiliment gill net (sized for the season)

Billy

ANUMBER1 said:

300 yards of monofiliment gill net (sized for the season)

I thought you were only allowed 250 yards?

Billy

Slacker

1  offshore pinfish for gags
     inshore shrimp sheepshead, trout, pinkmouth, mangroves

2  white gulps for trout

3  sardines offshore for gags
    squid  offshore for grunts

bunkerboy222

dead shrimp seem like a waste of time.Seems like I lose 10 for every 1 fish caught.Most just fall off the hook.Someone told me if they are frozen fresh they stay on better.Is that so?
Pinfish live(small) work great for just about everything......but do you prefer hooking in the lips,above the eyes or tail.  
Gold spoons seem to be a favorite I have not fished much with dead baits and have had to spend a lot of time unhooking catfish with dead bait.

Thanks for the responses.....Lets keep it going            Mike

nick

Other than targeting sheepshead when it’s too cold to get live shrimp I’d completely avoid dead shrimp.

They’re trashfsh magnets. 

In regards to where to hook pinfish it depends on how you want the baitfish to swim giving the application. I remember Vic Dunaway had a diagram in one of the old FS books. 

Jim311

I hook pinfish either thru their nostrils or near their buthole. Sometimes thru the top of their back. Frozen shrimp suck, live are way better, cut ladyfish is redfish candy. For artificials I either throw doa jerk shads or mirrolure lil Jon’s.

Widespread Panic

1- Fiddler crab, fun to catch and everything will eat them.
2- Mirrodine 14mr/17mr
3- Crown conch, a pain to fish with but worth the hassle.  

ANUMBER1

and for the record, unless I am taking kids fishing it;s artifical only for me..

bunkerboy222

So from everyones input fresh shrimp seems like the go to bait and maybe saving the leftovers for chum that is if anchored up.I have never seen or heard of a crown conch but if it is in the mollusk family I know it will work.
Artificial only seems like a narrow field to me......I am one to believe having a choice can make a difference in a good day and a great day. To me:fishing with only artificials takes more skill than I have......but learn I will.

AC Man

Correct me if I'm wrong, nasty frozen shrimp is just that. However to me, live shrimp purchased and placed on a bed of ice works just as good as a frisky one. I tried it both ways. Live well or on ice. Same results. 

Gator4Life

Inshore 
1- (live) Dead shrimp are for tourists. 😁 Live shrimp only or fresh enough where they're not pink for trout. Small live pinfish will catch some big trout.
2- (artificial) 10-15 years ago I would say white grub/ pink tail for trout. While that still catches fish white Gulp/ chartreuse tail works better. Why does chartreuse work when no bait looks like that I don't understand but it does.
3- (dead) Fresh caught mullet for reds. I used to net but found freshly caught bait store mullet does just as good if it is still fresh and not mushy. Fresh caught cut pinfish works good for trout sometimes. 

ANUMBER1

Throw that nasty red back and eat the fresh mullet.

bunkerboy222

Gulp with any type of wiggle tail works good for me. Seems like the bigger trout go for the smaller pins and the smaller trout go for the bigger pins? Never used fresh mullet and I will give it a go.
I never ate mullet.....the wife loves mullet dip.How long will fresh mullet last before it becomes a crabs dinner?

Saltygatorvet

ANUMBER1 said:

and for the record, unless I am taking kids fishing it;s artifical only for me..

Offshore? Bottom fishing?

ANUMBER1

Saltygatorvet said:

ANUMBER1 said:

and for the record, unless I am taking kids fishing it;s artifical only for me..

Offshore? Bottom fishing?

inshore, arti and 90% topwater.
Really don't do offshore anymore, had my fill of 7-10 day trips commercial, mostly just troll plugs, spoons, or large tailed jigs for gags inside of 50'

Jonsredfishin

If it’s cool enough, I’ll keep my live shrimp in my livewell for 2-3 days instead of initially putting them on ice. They’re nice and frisky in the livewell and will pull around a Cajun thunder or an 1/8th ounce jig head on their own. 

Vertigo

1. Johnson gold spoon for reds, snook, jack 
2. Rapala skitterwalk for reds, snook, jack
3. DOA shrimp for trout and everything else.

I've had just as good results with DOA shrimp as with live shrimp, and they're much easier to keep fresh.  Live bait is for subsistence fishing, kids, and the truly desperate.

4WARD

Vertigo said:

  Live bait is for subsistence fishing, kids, and the truly desperate.

PHOOEY!

bunkerboy222

Hey Vertigo,which one of your 3 do you use for grouper.Seems like quite a few use live bait for grouper.
The only thing I can figure is that you are an Accomplished Fisherman and the rest of us are just subsistent peons.
                        just my opinion.                        Mike          

ANUMBER1

IMO, when using bait on a grouper stop, cut bait first then live.

bunkerboy222

Hey ANumber 1,
Are you using the dead baits to catch the smaller grouper and get them out of the way,so then use the live bait for the bigger fish.I would hate to use pinfish to catch undersized grouper. Thanks for the insight.

Doc Stressor

Cut bait gets it going by attracting a lot of action from smaller fish.  If everybody is fishing live bait, you need to drop the baits right on their heads in order to get them to hit.  I always have at least one guy fishing cut bait ladyfish, mullet, or sardines to keep the bite going when folks are fishing live pinfish. 

ANUMBER1

Doc Stressor said:

Cut bait gets it going by attracting a lot of action from smaller fish.  If everybody is fishing live bait, you need to drop the baits right on their heads in order to get them to hit.  I always have at least one guy fishing cut bait ladyfish, mullet, or sardines to keep the bite going when folks are fishing live pinfish. 

what Doc said and if you start with live bait and the bite drops off, you won't get them going again with cut bait.
But you can vice/versa

DownYonder

Vertigo said:

3. DOA shrimp for trout and everything else.

How do you work them?

MRichardson

bunkerboy222 said:

Hello Everyone,
Haven"t been out for 2 weeks and kind of bored.I'm digging for your personal  preference in your choice of bait:
1-live.....be it pinfish,mullet,shrimp,crabs
2-any type of artifical lures,plastics or jigs
3-dead bait
A short reason for choice would be appreciated.          Thanks .....Mike

2.  I like the challenge, i don't fish for sustenance and it's a lot less hassle.  Not that i don't use bait sometimes, like for crappie or catfish.

livebait

Don't care what you call me. Use pinfish, live shrimp, finger mullet and fiddlers.Constant casting interferes with my cold ones.

HammerheadTed

What! People fish with bait inshore?  Doesn’t seem fair. If you like to cast and retrieve, a Mirrodine would be #1 choice. About anything you want to catch will hit it, from a Pinfish to a monster Snook. Top water is the most fun, but you are fishing for the most aggressive fish in the pile and as the fishing pressure increases, like it’s doing dramatically right now, there are fewer aggressive fish since they have been eaten by one of the above contributors. Sometime you just end up practicing your ‘walk the dog” retrieve. If you’re more patient, but still like to actively cast and retrieve, but with more finesse, jigs and the various soft plastics mentioned above work great, except that the Puffer’s love them. 

4WARD

Catching bait is all part of the experience for me. First light with a castnet, filling the livewell.  I most enjoy freelining and finding the right place and bait and time to make that happen. Just my preference.
Raising 2 boys that know no different. Try it this way (with a 5 and 6 year old) and get back to me with your thoughts on Patience, Sustenance and Desperation. LOL
They are 13 and 15 now by the way, they know no different and are awesome fisherman.
I keep a spook and a mirrodine rigged at all times too.