Every time I fish from the pier I have problems with the little bait stealing fish nibbling my shrimp off. How do y'all deal with these little jokers? I like to fish the bottom with shrimp.
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Every time I fish from the pier I have problems with the little bait stealing fish nibbling my shrimp off. How do y'all deal with these little jokers? I like to fish the bottom with shrimp.
Give the kids smaller hooks so they can catch the little bait stealers then they cant eat your bait as much. or use cutbait or squid.
Don't use shrimp...
whatcha targeting ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peaches
Pompano, whiting, flounder
For Flounder I always use live Bull Minnows on a Carolina rig just drag it along side the pier if hes there he will eat it. Whiting will eat cut bait and squid it stays on the hook better. Never fished for Pomps so I cant help you there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Canvasback
I like jigs personally for pompono
Try FishBites, they work great for Spades, should work for whiting.
Cast farther away from the pier too, usually the little fish like to stay close to cover.
I'm gonna go with what the others are suggesting, diversify your baits when possible.
The fore mentioned Bull Minnows & Finger Mullet are great for Flounder.
Same for the Fishbites alone and/or use them with the shrimp. They're tough and stay on the hook.
Rake some sand fleas, or suck some ghost shrimp, both are deadly baits on Pomps.
Try some artificials, various soft plastics, jigs and etc, can produce.
LOL... Most times ya just have to feed the Pinfish & crabs, they're like the tax man and are gonna get their share.
Hello I'm new to salt and need some suggestions. I have been out wade fishing twice and have only had catfish stealing my bait. How do I avoid these bait stealers?
If you're catching catfish then you're not having bait stolen, you're catching catfish. Depending on location, surf, tide conditions you are going to pay the piper and have to deal with cats in the surf at some point. Ladyfish can be equally as bad depending on the time of year and water temperature. If you're just having bait stolen without landing the fish then you've gotten some really good advice in the posts above.
Fresh dead shrimp stays on the hook better than stuff that has been sitting on ice for some time. I like the tiny bit of Fishbites trick to help keep the shrimp from sliding down over the barb. A common mistake I see with people using shrimp is that they try to use the whole thing or are fishing a piece that is entirely too large-the more you put on the hook the more you are risking something can get a hold of that bait and pull it off of the hook without having to have the barb in their mouth. Small pieces of shrimp are almost always sufficient when targeting fish for the table from the surf. Cutbait tends to get stolen less as do sand fleas and any sort of live bait.
If all else fails, downsize your hook to catch whatever is stealing your bait and then put said individual on a larger hook to keep moving up the food chain. Tight lines.
That is one of the reasons I like salting shrimp. It makes them tuff enough to stay on the hook long enough to get the hook in him. Then he is going to see the business end of a 9/0 and at least part of him is heading out yonder for a big'un.Quote:
Originally Posted by Canvasback
If you are catching a lot of catfish in the surf, try finding clearer water or fish closer to the surf line. Whiting will usually be right in the surf.
If they are sailcats, fill the cooler. They are good eats.
I actually think hardheads taste better. They just tend to be smaller and a good percentage of its meat is under their skull.Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlF
Yeah, I tried a sailcat once. That was the one and only time I will ever eat one. And that is saying a lot. I eat alomst everything that swims.
Well, I have heard just the opposite: That Sailcats taste better than hardheads.
Go figure???
To avoid confusion, I don't eat either one of them, problem solved!
Happy Happy Happy
I found this thread http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...d-shrimp-6592/ on salting bait, but I am always open to new suggestions and tricks.Quote:
Originally Posted by DANtheJDMan
Do any of you guys fish freshwater and know what channel cat are? If so, are the saltwater cats much different to eat?
Found this about the hardheads and sailcatsQuote:
Originally Posted by Kevin E.
Filet of Hardhead - Saltwater Catfish
“Would you like that hardhead broiled, or blackened, sir?” I wonder how long it will be until we hear those words coming from a waiter in a nice restaurant. Hardhead is the name used for saltwater catfish from Texas to the Florida panhandle. Most of us consider them to be a real pain to deal with. And that pain is meant to be both the aggravation of catching them and real pain you feel if one ever fins you.
These catfish are found from Texas to Virginia and even further north on almost any kind of inland water, even in offshore water in depths up to about thirty feet. They are exactly like their freshwater cousins. In fact, if they are lying side by side, it is virtually impossible to distinguish one from the other.
There is one difference that anyone who has handled them can tell you about. The saltwater variety has some powerful pain associated with its fins. Even a small prick by one of them can cause some real discomfort. And a full-fledged stick in the hand can cause swelling, pain, and even nausea in some people.
I am sure that there are some of you out there that do eat them, but most people throw them back. The Gaff Topsail version of this fish is said to be very tasty, but I have never attempted to eat even that one.”
If a freshwater catfish evers 'horns' you, it won't soon be forgotten either. I remember as a kid getting a side fin spine completely buried in the soft flesh between my thumb and index finger. Thought I was going to black out. Had to go lay down in the back seat of the car for a while.
The reason I asked about eating them, the only time I have ever fished in salt water was from an island just off the coast near Buloxi. Caught several catfish there, and as your article stated, they looked just like freshwater channel cat. Channel cat can be very good eating if they come out of good water and are not too large.
I would not be afraid to fry or grill a saltwater cat for testing!
The ones that are really good to eat are the Gaff tops. Or that is what they call them in Texas anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin E.
I have never eaten a hard head. When we were down in St. Pete we caught some that looked like a cross between a gaff top and a hard head. We did not keep them so don't know. They had long fringes on the ends of all three fins with spins. They were not Gaff tops. Gaff top is as good as trout.