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I was trying to catch some LY's with my sibinki and I kept catching some other fish someone called a crazy fish. he said they weren't good for bait. I'm new at this and could really use some help. I have always fished the gulf in a boat but I'm trying to adjust to pier fishing. I would really like to catch some spanish. What would be my best bait/lure?
Best bait for spanish is small (3") LYs.
Use the smalles sabiki or gold hooks you can find or a 3/8" mesh LY ribbon rig.
2nd best is frozen cigar minnows (snobbled) with a 'cheater rig'
Lures: best bet is a bubble rig, or a single white 'Looney jig'.
They will also hit Gotcha plug and silver spoon, etc.
Hope this helps!
What pounder said. As far as the Cigar minnows, try to find a box with smaller ones, they go crazy over those. Also, with the white looney jig, put a mackerel belly strip on it and you will double your bites. I have fished slow days with that method and killed more Spanish than anyone else would.
Thanks for the help. how big of a strip of the mackerel should I use on the looney jig? Also, do you know if J & M has the looney jig?
About a 2 or 3 inch piece or so. And I think J&M is the only place in the area that carries them.
I did a lot of good this year on a 3 inch white fluke. I was using the single tail, but I'm sure the split tail would work, too. They were killing them by themselves, but with a bubble rig even more so. There were a couple of days when a piece of sardine was working better than a belly strip.
Watch whoever is catching the most and use what they are using. Especially if he's wearing a wide brimmed floppy Columbia hat. :)
I'm not familiar with the white fluke. What does it look like? We were catching some sort of fish on our sabiki rig - it wasn't LY's or hardtails. Somebody said it was a crazy fish and not good for bait. Crazy fish????
[img width=720 height=479]http://www.inflatablepontoon.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/fluke.jpg[/img]
thanks for the pictures. i know exactly what to look for now. This web-site is awesome and everyone is so helpfull. :yay: :yay:
Crazy fish are good tarpon bait... And I had a ling eat one last yr
BTW I was rigging them on eighth or quarter oz jigheads with salt water hooks. Also fluke is a brand name but used generally of any soft plastic shad looking bait. I used the bass pro brand fwiw.
Sounds like they may be on a live bait kick now with the baby ly's around.
When spanish (and other fish) are eating small LYs they will often hit a small silver spoon about the same size.
Sidewinder, Mr Champ, and Krocodile are several popular brands.
:headbang: :fishing:
How is the fishing in the fall and winter months on the pier? And what kinds of fish can be caught that time of year?
The fishing is pretty good during the winter, I'd rather fish the winter than the summer, but that's just me.
Whiting, Specs, Reds, Sheepshead, GMullet, and I'm sure there's more. I like the winter fish, less people and good eats!
Do people ever release king Mackeral? I've caught plenty of Kings from my boat - so I'm not that interested in keeping them anymore. I have a pier net and hopefully could get the hook out without killing the fish.
Johnny, most folks that don't want their kings (or want to give them away) will simply pop them off near the pier instead of trying to land, unhook and release them. Especially in the +80 degree water mackerel don't seem to last very long out of their element.
Plus, they tend to be able to bite through a net with no problem.
I'm not sure what you mean by "popping them off"
Do you know if its possible to change my user name? Everyone else has such cool names. I used to have a boat named "Shot Gun" It would be better than my real name.
BTW - thanks for replying. I need all the help i can get :)
Done Johnny! :poke:
The term "popping them off" usually refers to intentionally breaking the line to release a fish.
Hope this helps! :headbang:
Thanks for the info - I kind of thought that's what you meant.
And a huge "Thank You" to whoever changed my user name. Now I can be cool too. ( :) )
When fishing for Spanish with artificial lures or LY's, is it better to have a wire leader or mono?
Wire means less lost fish and more bItes...but I like 20 or 30 lb fluorocarbon with a circle hook for livies and 40 or 50 for lures .. Lose a few but get a lot more feeds
What Peaches said. I'm still using a big roll of 60# florocarbon leader that came in a tackle box I bought off ebay two years ago. Seldom gets bit off, but I retie it often. Floro seems to get you more bites and fewer shy-offs.
Thanks for the replies. I have some 20# fluorcarbon - I'll try that. Hopefully I will be able to fish on the pier in three weeks. Too much going on until then.
20# fluro will get bit though pretty quick. 30# has to be retied after a couple of bites.
[quote author=Rockinchef88 link=topic=2028.msg19398#msg19398 date=1348892006]
20# fluro will get bit though pretty quick. 30# has to be retied after a couple of bites.
[/quote]
And this is why I said circle hook.. Not treble
Thanks for the information. What size circle hooks do i need?
i like #6 light wire circles for small baits :yippee: