Anyone use Small Pin Fish for Red/Trout bait? Caught a ton of them on Sunday morning but it seemed that the only thing interested in them were sharks.
only thing i’ve heard pinfish used for is large flounder and grouper.
i am sure that small ones will work for trout/reds but if i was a fish and i knew the difference, i’d pass up ten pinfish to eat a haden.
Everything eats pinfish!! Think their aggressive personality ticks off predators… Have always had best results fishing them under a cork, as they tend to hide if allowed to get to bottom…
Newman
www.gtownkingfisher.com
I agree with you Capt. Newman. We use them in Florida alot. One good way is to cut them from their shoulders to their pec fins and cut the “pins” off of their dorsal fin and fish them under a cork. Works wonders on trout. We use them on everything from trout, reds, flounder, grouper, cobia , tarpon etc, etc.
Rippin Lips and Jerking Jaws!
18’ Alumacraft Tunnel w/60 Merc
16’ Camo Tracker w/25 Merc
You can also put them on a carolina rig. Hook by their ass with light hook. It will make them try to swim up instead of down.
quote:
Originally posted by barbawangpinfish used for is large flounder and grouper.
next time you clean a flounder say 20"+, let me know what’s in there. every one i’ve stuck, uh caught ethically on hook and line, had a pinfish in there
I have a sure fire pin fish hole.I like to use them for Trout.
Stonoman
Can’t you fish pinfish under corks at the jetties for Spanish?
'04 Sea Hunt 200 Escape w/ Yami 150
While living in Florida. a friend and I fished for big trout using pinfish. He supplied bait shops with pinfish. While waiting on traps to fill , we fished for trout.
We also caught big sailcats at the same time.
APOB Bill
I DONT HAVE A BOAT
BUT LOVE TO FISH> HINT
Scaled and pan fried whole like a bream not to shabby.
< Evil is simply the absence of God >
quote:
Originally posted by PeaPodquote:
Originally posted by barbawangpinfish used for is large flounder and grouper.
next time you clean a flounder say 20"+, let me know what’s in there. every one i’ve stuck, uh caught ethically on hook and line, had a pinfish in there
only one i’ve caught over 20" this year had an empty stomach, inhaled my live shrimp, and was laying in ambush under my rod tip in 12" of water where i expected her to be. thinking about it makes me as hungry as i’m sure she was at the time. maybe i should go out at night and use… ummm… stouter gear.
i’m willing to reconsider my opinion of pinfish- slightly- and only since it means i can impale them.
Fished with pinfish yesterday since that’s what I caught in my “shrimp hole”. 3 nice a trout and slot red in about an hour and 1/2. Under cork. nothing on the bottom
We have been using them alot this year with good results. Trout, reds and flounder have been eating pinfish good.
In the Stono last friday, pinfish and croakers were the bait of choice.
Iain Pelto
Sea Hunt Triton 160
Native Manta Ray 14
Bringing this back from the dead since remembering this thread was my inspiration to keep a couple pinfish caught in the castnet for bait - I had a 21" flounder absolutely slam a 2-3 in pin fish sunday, under a cork in skinny water. Will be keeping more of them from now on.
pinfish must eat shrimp cause that’s all we caught on the bait balls the other day…must have been 82hundred of them…
The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org
Save the larger ones for a sammich. I enjoyed a good blackened pinfish sandwich while fishing for reds with the smaller ones for bait. Caught one slot red, one 3 ft eel, and a 23 in striper this last weekend. Excited for saturday, keeping my pins for then…