Thread: Catching Bait

I read a little earlier that some one was talking about catching sand flees for fishing . I have a scoop for catching them but haven't had much luck. Is there any spots better than others for catching them for my own personal use. Thanks in advance for any help.

Sand fleas used to be abundant around fort morgan. I'm not a marine biologist so I can't tell you why they're so scarce now. I blame BP.

Have you tried slurping ghost shrimp instead? More work maybe, but you cannot beat them as a substitute for sand fleas for pompano or sheepshead imo.

Steve, this is about the best pictorial guide I've found for describing/finding/fishing fleas...
Sand Fleas (Mole Crabs or Sand Crabs) Prime surf fishing bait

and this step-by-step video well describes what to look for


Hope this helps!

Early in the morning you will see a barefoot man around 90 years old with a white hat and cutoff jeans within a hundred yards of the pier. The dude has x-ray vision and can see those little critters from 50 feet away. Watch him,and when he starts to make a scoop,jump in front of him and get your rake in the sand before he does. Just be prepared to run.......

I have never seen a colony of sandfleas as large as what he was seeing and I notice that the "critical wash zone" on his beach is a lot larger than what I see on Alabama's coast. I struggled to find any sandfleas last year in the three separate weeks that I fished. I was getting skunked on the octi back in late March using fiddler crabs for sheepshead while the people using ghost shrimp were killing them. I got in the surf right under the pier to slurp ghost shrimp and dislodged several small sandfleas in water 18" to 24" deep. Next trip I'm going to try raking in deeper water. +1 on using ghost shrimp. They are a lot of work but are like candy and cupcakes to a pompano.

Originally Posted by chillinfish

I have never seen a colony of sandfleas as large as what he was seeing and I notice that the "critical wash zone" on his beach is a lot larger than what I see on Alabama's coast. I struggled to find any sandfleas last year in the three separate weeks that I fished. I was getting skunked on the octi back in late March using fiddler crabs for sheepshead while the people using ghost shrimp were killing them. I got in the surf right under the pier to slurp ghost shrimp and dislodged several small sandfleas in water 18" to 24" deep. Next trip I'm going to try raking in deeper water. +1 on using ghost shrimp. They are a lot of work but are like candy and cupcakes to a pompano.

For the uninformed, what are ghost shrimp and how do you "slurp" them? Is this something you can do off the beach on the gulf side west of the pier and east of the end of Fort Morgan?

[QUOTE=mforbesiii;92712]For the uninformed, what are ghost shrimp and how do you "slurp" them? Is this something you can do off the beach on the gulf side west of the pier and east of the end of Fort Morgan?

Mforbesiii,

Search online for DIY Slurp Gun. There are several videos on making one as well as catching ghost shrimp with them. The hardware stores around GS even have the kits premade up and all you have to do is assemble it if you don't want to make it before you get down there. Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by chillinfish

I have never seen a colony of sandfleas as large as what he was seeing and I notice that the "critical wash zone" on his beach is a lot larger than what I see on Alabama's coast. I struggled to find any sandfleas last year in the three separate weeks that I fished. I was getting skunked on the octi back in late March using fiddler crabs for sheepshead while the people using ghost shrimp were killing them. I got in the surf right under the pier to slurp ghost shrimp and dislodged several small sandfleas in water 18" to 24" deep. Next trip I'm going to try raking in deeper water. +1 on using ghost shrimp. They are a lot of work but are like candy and cupcakes to a pompano.

That's because he is on the Florida Atlantic coast.
The wave characteristics that shape their beach are more powerful (on average) than our beaches which tend to be steeper (especially during these long sustained 'calm periods').
Generally stick to searching for sandfleas in the transitional beach areas where the slope is more moderate and even out on the points where the beach slope profile has even less gradient.
This configuration is more efficient at grinding down the wave energy and it doesn't 'beat up' the flea colonies as much as the plunging waves on a steep beach do that break right on and run up a steep beach.
It's easier on the angler too ;-)

Ghost shrimp pump disassembled
Make your own or pick up one at J&M