I hear/read guys saying to use whatever bait is currently in the creeks. How do you know? How can I tell if it’s mud minnows,shrimp, etc.?
“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” - C.S. Lewis
Throw a cast net?
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
Its tiny differences shrimp splash and pop so do menhadden and mullet but they are all three different sounds and splashes. They like different water conditions and locations but you can and will catch them in the same spots. But for me targeting them individually is more successful when its hard to find bait. I can locate bait by small changes in the water ripples. I can point the spot out to most people and they can’t even see a differences it all looks the same to them. Time on the water will educate your eyes. Go spend a low tide just drifting and cruising really slow through back creeks just observing activity and look for bait. Pay close attention to what you see and where you see it. Once you get a good idea of time/tide and place you will be able to eliminate areas and focus on specific targets at certain times to maximize your efforts. Everything follows a pattern that’s why it is important to pay attention to what you do. You don’t want to fall into a bad pattern. Think back and you might find a pattern in your past experiences. Learning the low tide bait patterns is easier than the high tide and will give you a better understanding to help you learn the high tide patterns. A good net makes a huge difference unless your throwing in less than 5ft of water then any net can work.
quote:
Originally posted by 40inchredsIts tiny differences shrimp splash and pop so do menhadden and mullet but they are all three different sounds and splashes. They like different water conditions and locations but you can and will catch them in the same spots. But for me targeting them individually is more successful when its hard to find bait. I can locate bait by small changes in the water ripples. I can point the spot out to most people and they can’t even see a differences it all looks the same to them. Time on the water will educate your eyes. Go spend a low tide just drifting and cruising really slow through back creeks just observing activity and look for bait. Pay close attention to what you see and where you see it. Once you get a good idea of time/tide and place you will be able to eliminate areas and focus on specific targets at certain times to maximize your efforts. Everything follows a pattern that’s why it is important to pay attention to what you do. You don’t want to fall into a bad pattern. Think back and you might find a pattern in your past experiences. Learning the low tide bait patterns is easier than the high tide and will give you a better understanding to help you learn the high tide patterns. A good net makes a huge difference unless your throwing in less than 5ft of water then any net can work.
What he’s trying to say is you need to be one with the bait. Once you find zen, you’ll find bait.
who is zen?
Proline 201WA
Aloha 24ft pontoon (LooneyToon)
Old Town stern with 7.5 johnson
quote:
Originally posted by TheMechanicwho is zen?
Proline 201WA
Aloha 24ft pontoon (LooneyToon)
Old Town stern with 7.5 johnson
Zen must be a charter captain…
Key West 1720 Sportsman
quote:
Zen must be a charter captain...
Zen sells bait.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
quote:
Originally posted by DFreedomquote:
Zen must be a charter captain...
Zen sells bait.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
Frozen bait…?
Key West 1720 Sportsman
40 is the bait whisperer,great reply and very helpful!
Now, if I could just learn to throw a cast net I’d be set. My brother had me throwing pretty good out in the yard one day. Then when I tried it by myself on the water…well, it’s a good thing you can’t backlash a cast net.
“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” - C.S. Lewis
A good net tangles less, opens easier and requires less effort to catch bait in most scenarios. James island ace hardware has the best nets I’ve used that aren’t high prices. I dropped the spool of a reel into about 5ft of whater, I could pull the line off but it wouldn’t come up, so I new exactly where it was. About 95 real cast later right on top of the spool with the wally world net I had a dozen mullet and no spool. I’ve experienced having trouble catching bait with a crap net but this showed me they are way worst than you could imagine. The spool was a spinfisher 10500 with line hanging from it and the net couldn’t even snag the line or pick up th spool which i would equate to a crab or conch in bait terms. Point of this is that in my opinion you should stay away from most cheap cheap nets and have multiple nets if you want the best chances. A dummy net for testing sketchy spots, a small hole net for small baits and a large hole net for big baits. I also keep a 3ft net to hit small holes or under docks and through trees. I know a ton of ways to throw a net but I like to use the classic net in teeth and throw the heck out of it. Catching bait is fun to me and I almost never get skunked.
how bout smell. can you smell the difference in bait 40? how far away?
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Originally posted by PeaPodhow bout smell. can you smell the difference in bait 40? how far away?
that’s Edisto Fisher next level chit right there…
The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org
quote:
Originally posted by SurfFishLifeNow, if I could just learn to throw a cast net I’d be set. My brother had me throwing pretty good out in the yard one day. Then when I tried it by myself on the water…well, it’s a good thing you can’t backlash a cast net.
“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” - C.S. Lewis
There’s plenty of videos on youtube on how to throw a net, teeth/no teeth, sizes, etc
Ya know, it must be nice living in Neverneverland. Remind me to come visit you, when I need a break from reality.
Big temperature drop next week. Will the bait be harder to find then 40?
Temperature is merely a state of mind to some.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
quote:
Originally posted by PeaPodhow bout smell. can you smell the difference in bait 40? how far away?
I can smell Brim on a bed in the spring. 
The whole discussion just goes to show how valuable live bait is, based upon the time & energy spent in gathering them. The trick then becomes keeping such a valuable commodity alive. Otherwise all the effort is useless. I use a Live Bait Mate (www.livebaitmate.com), works for shrimp, mud minnows, finger mullet, and even two baits simultaneously. If anyone has a better setup, let me know.
Tight lines to all.
Phish