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There's Really Nothing Like The Real Thing

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By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 13, 2008

Most saltwater anglers start their fishing careers with live bait - shrimp - but they soon progress to using artificials. The lures are easier to cast, keep the trash fish from nipping the bait off, and frequently produce larger fish than shrimp.

But for those who get serious about consistently catching a lot of fish, live baitfish is the next step. There is nothing like the real thing to fool cautious species such as snook and tarpon, and using live bait as chum makes fishing amazingly easy at times.

But getting the bait can be a challenge. Most baitfish don't survive well in holding tanks, so few baitshops offer them. For the most part, you have to catch your own.

Learning to toss a castnet is time well invested, and most shops that sell the nets will give you a basic instruction session in the parking lot. A good net costs around $150 to $200; talk to the dealer about the mesh size you want for the bait you hope to catch.

But if you don't want to put a lot of money into a new pursuit, you can get good numbers of baitfish with an ingenious rig known as a Sabiki. Invented by Asian anglers, it is a string of six or eight tiny flies, often tied with a fish-scale "wing," on a central leader. This is dangled near baitfish schools, and just about all species will attack the little lures. They are available for a few bucks at all saltwater bait stores.

Scaled sardines, also called white bait, are the preferred bait by most anglers both inshore and offshore because they stay alive in the well and on the hook. They are found both offshore and around the outside edges of grass flats in 3 to 6 feet of water.

Threadfins, also known as greenies or greenbacks, are less durable but often more abundant. They form huge schools in the deeper sections of Tampa Bay throughout the warmer months, and they can easily be located because they feed at the surface, creating a rain-like ripple. They also stack up around the Sunshine Skyway year-round.
Blue runners are also good bait, particularly for big king mackerel; they are typically found around open water markers and big bridges like the Skyway.

Pinfish are also durable and abundant baits. They are known as "shiners" from Hudson northward, because they largely replace sardines in that area, and they gleam like silver dollars as they feed over the grass flats.

All of these species readily grab a Sabiki fly. You put a sinker weighing at least 1 ounce on the bottom of the rig, lower it into an area where you expect the bait to be, and twitch it lightly. You'll feel the first baitfish latch on; keep the rig down there for another 15 or 20 seconds and several more will grab hold. Thus, you can crank up a half-dozen baits at a time.

Handling of the baits determines how long they'll survive. The best tactic is to use a tiny "fish flipper" wire hook; slide it down the line, over the fly, turn the hook upside down, and let the bait drop off directly into your aerated live well without ever touching it.

Sardines and threads will only survive in a "flow-through" live well that constantly pumps new water in and lets used water run overboard. Pinfish are more durable and can live for some time in closed-system aerated wells as long as the water is kept cool. All types of bait do best if not crowded in the well, and circular wells work best so the baits don't stack up in the corners, stop swimming and sink.

All of these baits can be fished on short-shank 1 to 1/0 live bait hooks or small circle hooks. Most anglers hook them through the nose in high-current areas, or through the back in calm-water locations.
Leftover baits can be converted into chum by putting them through a grinder, bagging them in mesh then in zip-seal plastic and storing them in the freezer.

ODDS AND ENDS: Captain Neil Taylor presents a free kayak fishing seminar Thursday at 7 p.m. at Tightlines Tackle, 6924 N. Armenia in Tampa; (813) 932-4721. … The Ed Alber Tarpon Rodeo hosted by Tampa Bay Watch is Saturday. It's a tarpon and shark all-release event, entry $450 per boat, proceeds to Tampa Bay conservation projects; www.tampabaywatch.org; (727) 867-8166. … The Florida Big Buck Expo at Lakeland Civic Center continues through today, featuring top TV hunters, trick shooters, trophy displays and outdoors gear, admission $10; southerntrophyhunters.com. … The Florida State Duck Calling Championship is Aug. 10 at Bass Pro Shops Orlando, 1 p.m., $1,000 first prize, entry $30; (352) 263-1717.

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